RISK/BENEFIT RATIO IN A REAL BRAIN (WHOLE-BRAIN) DISEASE (MEDICAL HEALTH VS. MENTAL HEALTH) - Commentary by Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD

RISK/BENEFIT RATIO IN A REAL BRAIN (WHOLE-BRAIN) DISEASE
(MEDICAL HEALTH VS. MENTAL HEALTH)
>
> The Kahn Gauthier Law Group is investigating possible legal actions against
> Amarin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the manufacturer of the prescription drug
> Permax (pergolide mesylate), to recover for heart damage suffered by some
> patients taking the drug. Permax is prescribed for patients suffering from
> Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that causes shaking, freezing,
> and other movement disorders. Concern over Permax has risen since the
> publication of an article in the December, 2002, issue of the medical
> journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings that revealed three cases of heart valve
> disease in patients taking Permax.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
This is an example of "medical health" as
opposed to "mental health."
Parkinson's disease, for which Permax is prescribed is a real disease, a
whole-brain disease/abnormality which Permax and other anti-Parkinson's
agents/compounds/chemicals can, in some cases, improve (this means the
risk/benefit ratio has been positive; that there has been net improvement).
On the other hand, no mental/psychiatric/psychological "disorder"/ "disease"
is an actual disease, having, as it must a detected/demonstrable
abnormality. Psychiatry only claims and says their diagnoses are
diseases/abnormalities. This means that no psychiatric diagnosis, like
medical/surgical diagnoses/diseases, puts the individual at physical risk.
In mental health, the only physical risk is that coming from the
whole-body, whole-brain intoxication that comes with the taking of any drug.]