Adult ADHD Often Undiagnosed by Primary Care Physicians New York University School of Medicine Survey Reveals PR Newswire – June 25, 2003 8:31am - Commentary by Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
For more on the fraud of ADHD as a brain/neurological disease, or as a
disease in any sense of the word see the June, 2003 issue of the magazine,
CHRONICLES. The name of the article by myself and Bev Eakman, beginning on
page 44 is "Making a Killing". (see

----- Original Message -----

From: "***************" 

To: "Fred Baughman" 

Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 7:08 PM

Subject: RE: Website Vistor - Pharma Goes After "Adult ADHD"

 
  Subject: News Article from Hoover's
  Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 19:01:19 -0700
 
  Message from sender:
  Pharms really want to target more adhd adults--sponsored by Eli Lilly et
  al--
 
  Adult ADHD Often Undiagnosed by Primary Care Physicians New York University
  School of Medicine Survey Reveals
  PR Newswire - June 25, 2003 8:31am
 
  NEW YORK, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Inadequate clinical training, inexperience
  and the lack of a well-validated screening tool are major barriers
  prohibiting primary care physicians from diagnosing ADHD in adults,
  according to a national survey released today by New York University School
  of Medicine.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
This sort of thing brings shame on my alma mater, NYU. In fact,
ADHD has never been validated as a disease/abnormality, regardless of age.
This is why there is no test or "well-validated" screening tool." They
speak as if this was not the state of the "science". ]

  The survey also revealed that primary care physicians would
  take a more active role in treating adult ADHD if these issues were
  addressed.
 
  ADHD affects nearly 8 million American adults and can lead to increased
  healthcare costs, higher divorce rates, unemployment and motor vehicle
  accidents.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
This is disease mongering of the worst, most unethical sort. In that
their is no abnormality/disease, there can be no "prognosis" or
"co-morbidity" (like heart disease in diabetes). Although there is no
"disease" there is a decided "co-morbidity" and prognosis to being
spuriously labeled with a fraudulent diseases, and the gravity of having
this invented disease is compounded when treatment is begun, almost always
with known drugs of addiction]

  Yet, the vast majority of these patients remain undiagnosed, with
  only one quarter seeking medical help for impairment associated with ADHD.
  Even those patients who seek help often aren't identified as having ADHD.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
Here they say 8 million cases of adult ADHD exist. Pray-tell what is
the sized of the epidemic cradle to 18 years of age?]

  "The results tell us that we need to do a better job of supporting primary
  care physicians who are on the front lines of diagnosing adult ADHD," said
  Lenard Adler, M.D., Director of the Combined Departments of Psychiatry and
  Neurology Adult ADHD Program, New York University School of Medicine.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
I am a neurologist. It is the main responsibility of neurologist
to determine, patient by patient whether or not disease/abnormality of the
nervous system is present, and, if so, which one. Many specialties other
than psychiatry have discovered the favorable economics of making patients
of normals (regardless of age). ADHD is the prototypical invented
disease/epidemic/marketplace. Looking around we see academic neurology
selling it's soul, joining psychiatry in calling ADHD and all invented,
psychiatric, chemical imbalances of the brain--neurological diseases, brain
diseases. Here we see that this collusion between neurology and psychiatry
is highly advanced at my alma mater, NYU]

  "This disorder causes significant problems for millions of adults and yet their
  doctors, including internists and general practitioners, often miss it."

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
with the ADHD epidemic at 4-5 million in 1998, the ADHD Consensus
Conference heard from NPR correspondent, Joe Palca: "What you're telling us
is that ADHD is like the Supreme Court definition of pornography, you know
it when you see it." I testified, publicly, that it was a "total, 100%
fraud." There was no rebutal from any ADHD expert present (they were all
there) and so the Panel had to conclude: "there is no test for ADHD and
there is no evidence of brain malfunction." ]

  A new symptom assessment tool, the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), may
  assist physicians in evaluating symptoms of ADHD. Dr. Adler and other ADHD
  experts, in conjunction with the World Health Organization, developed the
  ASRS.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
such screening tests, all of them in psychiatry are aimed to make
patients of normal in what is an unprecedented perversion of medicine and
science]

  Key Survey Findings
 
  * Nearly half (48 percent) of 400 primary care physicians surveyed said
  they do not feel confident in diagnosing ADHD in adults.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
but it's easy in normal children]

  * Only 34 percent of primary care physicians report being "very
  knowledgeable" or "extremely knowledgeable" about adult ADHD compared with
  92 percent who said the same for depression and 83 percent for generalized
  anxiety disorder (GAD).
 
  * Sixty-four percent of survey respondents indicated they received "not at
  all thorough" or "not very thorough" instruction in diagnosing and treating
  adult ADHD, compared with 13 percent who said the same for their training in
  depression.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
again, as if this were the main problem in diagnosis]

  * Sixty-five percent of primary care physicians defer to a specialist when
  diagnosing adult ADHD compared with two percent for depression and three
  percent for GAD.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
none of them actual abnormalities/diseases]

  * Eighty-five percent of primary care physicians surveyed said they would
  take a more active role in diagnosing and treating adult ADHD if they had an
  easy-to-use screening tool.
 
  "Making quality, easy-to-use screening and symptom assessment tools
  available to physicians and the public will help adults with ADHD receive an
  accurate evaluation," added Dr. Adler. "These tools could go a long way to
  help increase confidence among primary care physicians in diagnosing adult
  ADHD."
 
  Development of the ASRS was supported in part by an unrestricted educational
  grant from Eli Lilly and Company.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
does this include golf?]

  The tool will be available online from NYU at: www.med.nyu.edu/Psych/training/adhd.html.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
I want to see an account of the moneys taken from pharmaceutical
companies by my alma mater, NYU. Are they free any longer to advocate to
patients or does Big Pharma rule their every clinical decision as seems the
case. Are they free to actually do true science and report it in the
literature. I think not. Did they cross the line with acceptance of the
Pfizer Building? Only a full account of all financial ties to Pharmas will
tell us.--Fred Baughman, MD, NYU, School of Medicine, 1960 ]

  Survey Methodology
 
  Four hundred physicians completed the survey from May 14, 2003 through May
  28, 2003. New York University School of Medicine Institutional Board of
  Research Associates approved the final survey instrument. The survey was
  conducted by Harris Interactive® for New York University School of
  Medicine, with support from Eli Lilly and Company.

  Target physicians were in family
  practice, general practice or internal medicine and were recruited randomly
  from the American Medical Association master file. In order to qualify,
  physicians must have been practicing for at least two years and treating at
  least 30 patients per week with any combination of ADHD, bipolar disorder,
  depression, GAD or obsessive compulsive disorder. 

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
In other words
they had to be dedicated to the proposition that psychiatric
conditions/disorders are chemical imbalances of the brain for which the
standard of practice was to treat them with psychotropic drugs. How could
they not feel comfortable diagnosing ADHD in adults, no less illusory than
ADHD, bipolar disorder,
depression, GAD or obsessive compulsive disorder. ]

  Recruitment for the survey was completed by mail, and the survey was conducted online.
 
  About Adult ADHD
 
  Until the 1970s, ADHD was believed to be a childhood disorder that was
  outgrown. However, scientists now know that while hyperactivity may
  diminish, clinically significant inattentiveness and impulsivity can persist
  into adulthood. In adults, ADHD manifests itself through symptoms including
  inability to focus, disorganization and restlessness. Adults with ADHD have
  lower rates of professional employment, frequent job changes, lower
  self-esteem and poor social skills.
 
  For more information about adult ADHD, visit www.adultadd.com,
  www.medscape.com, www.webmd.com, www.chadd.org and www.add.org.
 
  For complete survey results, please contact: Leslie Forte, Chamberlain
  Communications Group at 212-884-0684 or lforte@chamberlainpr.com, or Nancy
  Wong, Harris Interactive at nwong@harrisinteractive.com.
 
  About New York University
 
  One of the world's premier academic medical institutions for more than 155
  years, NYU Medical Center continues to be a leader in patient care,
  physician education and scientific research. NYU Medical Center is
  internationally renowned for excellence in areas such as cardiovascular
  disease, pediatrics, skin care, neurosurgery, urology, cancer care,
  rehabilitation, plastic surgery, minimally invasive surgery, transplant
  surgery, infertility, women's health and day surgery.
 
  Dr. Adler has received research grants and educational grants, and has
  participated in consulting, advisory boards and speakers' bureaus for: Eli
  Lilly and Company, Pfizer Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., Abbott
  Laboratories, McNeil Pharmaceutical, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline,
  Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Merck & Co., Inc.
  

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
As "Church Lady would say, Isn't that special!]

  About Harris Interactive
 
  Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a worldwide market
  research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll®, and for
  pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate market
  research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S.A., Harris Interactive
  combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in
  predictive, custom and strategic research. The Company conducts
  international research through wholly owned subsidiaries-London-based HI
  Europe (www.hieurope.com) and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan-as well
  as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of local market- and
  opinion-research firms, and various U.S. offices. EOE M/F/D/V
 
  Copyright © 2003 PR Newswire