Guest guest Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 They're currently polishing up that moldy old musket and aiming it right at our kids. In 2006, while the NIMH was under Insel, the NIMH public information section on autism described **investigations into " psychosurgery " for autism**. Not kidding. I think I saved the text from that entry. This reference is now gone from the current NIMH section on autism, but that doesn't mean that the campaign to bring back lobotomy for any number of " mental conditions " has ended or that vaccine injured kids are out of the woods regarding dangerous, invasive procedures. http://www.breggin.com/lobotomy.htm Read Breggin's " The War Against Children of Color " for ghastly descriptions of Harvard's relatively recent ventures into lobotomy and implanted electrodes (a hint about how the experiments turned out: very badly). > > Note the 11th paragraph: > > Undaunted by his failures, Freeman's pitch that lobotomy cured mental > illness was seized on by the press -- the Washington Star called it > among " the greatest innovations of this generation, " and the New York > Times pronounced it " history-making. " > > Sounds a lot like the way the press talks about mass vaccination > today... > > > 'Lobotomist' Serves as a Warning > Documentary Shows Damage Done When Medicine Goes Awry > > By G. Boodman > Washington Post Staff Writer > Tuesday, January 15, 2008; HE01 > > > > One of the most horrifying medical treatments of the 20th century was > carried out not clandestinely, but with the approval of the medical > establishment, the media and the public. Known as the transorbital > or " ice pick " lobotomy, the crude and destructive brain-scrambling > operation performed on thousands of psychiatric patients between the > 1930s and 1960s was touted as a cure for mental illness. > > Its prosaic name comes from the instrument initially used to perform > it: an ice pick plucked from the kitchen drawer of the procedure's > tireless proselytizer, Walter J. Freeman, who pioneered the operation > in 1936 while at Washington University Hospital. > > The story of how Freeman sold his procedure to credulous colleagues, > assiduously courted the press and convinced desperate families that > sticking an ice pick through a patient's upper eye sockets and > twirling it like a swizzle stick through brain matter would cure > psychosis, depression or troublesome behavior is the ultimate in > cautionary medical tales. > > As the riveting hour-long " American Experience " documentary " The > Lobotomist " (scheduled to air Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. on WETA and other PBS > stations) makes clear, Freeman's operation reflected the > neurologist's peculiar combination of zealotry, talent, hubris and, > as one of his trainees noted, craziness. Sometimes Freeman, who > relished putting on a show, used a carpenter's mallet instead of a > surgical hammer during demonstrations of his operation. At other > times, he would operate left-handed rather than right-handed. > > Based in part on the much-praised 2005 biography " The Lobotomist " by > medical writer Jack El-Hai, who appears in the film and served as a > consultant, the film by Barak Goodman and Maggio features > chilling black-and-white home movies as well as haunting photographs > of patients before and sometimes after their lobotomies. Many of the > movies are narrated by a gravel-voiced Freeman demonstrating the > procedure he performed on more than 2,900 people, the youngest of > whom was 4. > > As the filmmakers note, lobotomy flourished in a therapeutic vacuum: > Until the mid-1950s when the groundbreaking tranquilizer Thorazine > swept through mental hospitals, ushering in the era of > psychopharmacology, medicine had virtually nothing to offer > psychiatric patients. > > State hospitals were teeming, squalid warehouses that had become > permanent homes to thousands who had little hope of ever leaving. One > of the most notorious was Washington's St. s Hospital, where > Freeman began his career in the 1920s and was struck by the sight of > 5,000 patients " whose lives were going nowhere, would go nowhere, " in > the words of El-Hai. > > The solution, Freeman believed, lay in a radical experimental > procedure invented by a Portuguese neurologist who in 1949 would win > the Nobel Prize in medicine. He claimed the drastic brain operation > had cured a substantial number of people with mental illness. > > The scion of a distinguished Philadelphia medical family who had a > burning desire for fame, Freeman began experimenting and developed > the ice pick procedure. His operation severed the frontal lobe from > the thalamus, the repository of emotions and the site where Freeman > believed mental illness originated. > > A few patients and their families claimed lobotomy was beneficial, > especially in reducing agitation, which was Freeman's measure of > success. But others died on the table or were left irreparably > damaged: childlike, docile, vacant and incontinent. Among them was > Rosemary Kennedy, the 23-year-old mildly retarded sister of F. > Kennedy, who spent 56 years of her life in an institution after > Freeman operated on her in 1941. > > Undaunted by his failures, Freeman's pitch that lobotomy cured mental > illness was seized on by the press -- the Washington Star called it > among " the greatest innovations of this generation, " and the New York > Times pronounced it " history-making. " Many doctors embraced it as a > 10-minute operation that promised to empty mental hospitals and > return patients to their families. Opponents, mostly psychiatrists > who practiced Freudian talk therapy, didn't matter much: In those > days public criticism of a doctor by his peers was regarded as > unethical. > > By the early 1960s lobotomy had fallen out of favor, in part because > of its low success rate and the disastrous harm it inflicted on many > patients. > > Freeman, who died in 1972, performed his last lobotomy in 1967; his > privileges at Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, Calif., were revoked > after the patient died. > > While several of his relatives appear on camera, one of the most > affecting interviews is with Berkeley bus driver Dully, who > was lobotomized by Freeman at age 12 after his stepmother complained > he was difficult. > > The issue at the heart of this powerful and unsettling film is not, > as one writer puts it, " how a man could go off the rails, but how > science could go off the rails. " > > It's a question well worth pondering. ¿ > > Comments:boodmans@... > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 When we don't learn the lessons of the past, we are doomed to repeat those lessons.KP Stoller, MDPresident, International Hyperbaric Medical AssocMedical Director, Hyperbaric Medical Center of New Mexicowww.hbotnm.com-- "" <awremail@...> wrote: Note the 11th paragraph:Undaunted by his failures, Freeman's pitch that lobotomy cured mental illness was seized on by the press -- the Washington Star called it among "the greatest innovations of this generation," and the New York Times pronounced it "history-making."Sounds a lot like the way the press talks about mass vaccination today...'Lobotomist' Serves as a WarningDocumentary Shows Damage Done When Medicine Goes AwryBy G. BoodmanWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, January 15, 2008; HE01One of the most horrifying medical treatments of the 20th century was carried out not clandestinely, but with the approval of the medical establishment, the media and the public. Known as the transorbital or "ice pick" lobotomy, the crude and destructive brain-scrambling operation performed on thousands of psychiatric patients between the 1930s and 1960s was touted as a cure for mental illness.Its prosaic name comes from the instrument initially used to perform it: an ice pick plucked from the kitchen drawer of the procedure's tireless proselytizer, Walter J. Freeman, who pioneered the operation in 1936 while at Washington University Hospital.The story of how Freeman sold his procedure to credulous colleagues, assiduously courted the press and convinced desperate families that sticking an ice pick through a patient's upper eye sockets and twirling it like a swizzle stick through brain matter would cure psychosis, depression or troublesome behavior is the ultimate in cautionary medical tales.As the riveting hour-long "American Experience" documentary "The Lobotomist" (scheduled to air Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. on WETA and other PBS stations) makes clear, Freeman's operation reflected the neurologist's peculiar combination of zealotry, talent, hubris and, as one of his trainees noted, craziness. Sometimes Freeman, who relished putting on a show, used a carpenter's mallet instead of a surgical hammer during demonstrations of his operation. At other times, he would operate left-handed rather than right-handed.Based in part on the much-praised 2005 biography "The Lobotomist" by medical writer Jack El-Hai, who appears in the film and served as a consultant, the film by Barak Goodman and Maggio features chilling black-and-white home movies as well as haunting photographs of patients before and sometimes after their lobotomies. Many of the movies are narrated by a gravel-voiced Freeman demonstrating the procedure he performed on more than 2,900 people, the youngest of whom was 4.As the filmmakers note, lobotomy flourished in a therapeutic vacuum: Until the mid-1950s when the groundbreaking tranquilizer Thorazine swept through mental hospitals, ushering in the era of psychopharmacology, medicine had virtually nothing to offer psychiatric patients.State hospitals were teeming, squalid warehouses that had become permanent homes to thousands who had little hope of ever leaving. One of the most notorious was Washington's St. s Hospital, where Freeman began his career in the 1920s and was struck by the sight of 5,000 patients "whose lives were going nowhere, would go nowhere," in the words of El-Hai.The solution, Freeman believed, lay in a radical experimental procedure invented by a Portuguese neurologist who in 1949 would win the Nobel Prize in medicine. He claimed the drastic brain operation had cured a substantial number of people with mental illness.The scion of a distinguished Philadelphia medical family who had a burning desire for fame, Freeman began experimenting and developed the ice pick procedure. His operation severed the frontal lobe from the thalamus, the repository of emotions and the site where Freeman believed mental illness originated.A few patients and their families claimed lobotomy was beneficial, especially in reducing agitation, which was Freeman's measure of success. But others died on the table or were left irreparably damaged: childlike, docile, vacant and incontinent. Among them was Rosemary Kennedy, the 23-year-old mildly retarded sister of F. Kennedy, who spent 56 years of her life in an institution after Freeman operated on her in 1941.Undaunted by his failures, Freeman's pitch that lobotomy cured mental illness was seized on by the press -- the Washington Star called it among "the greatest innovations of this generation," and the New York Times pronounced it "history-making." Many doctors embraced it as a 10-minute operation that promised to empty mental hospitals and return patients to their families. Opponents, mostly psychiatrists who practiced Freudian talk therapy, didn't matter much: In those days public criticism of a doctor by his peers was regarded as unethical.By the early 1960s lobotomy had fallen out of favor, in part because of its low success rate and the disastrous harm it inflicted on many patients.Freeman, who died in 1972, performed his last lobotomy in 1967; his privileges at Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, Calif., were revoked after the patient died.While several of his relatives appear on camera, one of the most affecting interviews is with Berkeley bus driver Dully, who was lobotomized by Freeman at age 12 after his stepmother complained he was difficult.The issue at the heart of this powerful and unsettling film is not, as one writer puts it, "how a man could go off the rails, but how science could go off the rails."It's a question well worth pondering. ¿Comments:boodmanswashpost. _____________________________________________________________Click for limited time offer on lawn mowers, top quality, affordable. 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Guest guest Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 now we have chemical lobotomies - heavy metalsKP Stoller, MDPresident, International Hyperbaric Medical AssocMedical Director, Hyperbaric Medical Center of New Mexicowww.hbotnm.com-- "anacat_11" <anacat_11@...> wrote: They're currently polishing up that moldy old musket and aiming it right at our kids. In 2006, while the NIMH was under Insel, the NIMH public information section on autism described **investigations into "psychosurgery" for autism**. Not kidding. I think I saved the text from that entry. This reference is now gone from the current NIMH section on autism, but that doesn't mean that the campaign to bring back lobotomy for any number of "mental conditions" has ended or that vaccine injured kids are out of the woods regarding dangerous, invasive procedures. http://www.breggin.com/lobotomy.htmRead Breggin's "The War Against Children of Color" for ghastly descriptions of Harvard's relatively recent ventures into lobotomy and implanted electrodes (a hint about how the experiments turned out: very badly).>> Note the 11th paragraph:> > Undaunted by his failures, Freeman's pitch that lobotomy cured mental > illness was seized on by the press -- the Washington Star called it > among "the greatest innovations of this generation," and the New York > Times pronounced it "history-making."> > Sounds a lot like the way the press talks about mass vaccination > today...> > > 'Lobotomist' Serves as a Warning> Documentary Shows Damage Done When Medicine Goes Awry> > By G. Boodman> Washington Post Staff Writer> Tuesday, January 15, 2008; HE01> > > > One of the most horrifying medical treatments of the 20th century was > carried out not clandestinely, but with the approval of the medical > establishment, the media and the public. Known as the transorbital > or "ice pick" lobotomy, the crude and destructive brain-scrambling > operation performed on thousands of psychiatric patients between the > 1930s and 1960s was touted as a cure for mental illness.> > Its prosaic name comes from the instrument initially used to perform > it: an ice pick plucked from the kitchen drawer of the procedure's > tireless proselytizer, Walter J. Freeman, who pioneered the operation > in 1936 while at Washington University Hospital.> > The story of how Freeman sold his procedure to credulous colleagues, > assiduously courted the press and convinced desperate families that > sticking an ice pick through a patient's upper eye sockets and > twirling it like a swizzle stick through brain matter would cure > psychosis, depression or troublesome behavior is the ultimate in > cautionary medical tales.> > As the riveting hour-long "American Experience" documentary "The > Lobotomist" (scheduled to air Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. on WETA and other PBS > stations) makes clear, Freeman's operation reflected the > neurologist's peculiar combination of zealotry, talent, hubris and, > as one of his trainees noted, craziness. Sometimes Freeman, who > relished putting on a show, used a carpenter's mallet instead of a > surgical hammer during demonstrations of his operation. At other > times, he would operate left-handed rather than right-handed.> > Based in part on the much-praised 2005 biography "The Lobotomist" by > medical writer Jack El-Hai, who appears in the film and served as a > consultant, the film by Barak Goodman and Maggio features > chilling black-and-white home movies as well as haunting photographs > of patients before and sometimes after their lobotomies. Many of the > movies are narrated by a gravel-voiced Freeman demonstrating the > procedure he performed on more than 2,900 people, the youngest of > whom was 4.> > As the filmmakers note, lobotomy flourished in a therapeutic vacuum: > Until the mid-1950s when the groundbreaking tranquilizer Thorazine > swept through mental hospitals, ushering in the era of > psychopharmacology, medicine had virtually nothing to offer > psychiatric patients.> > State hospitals were teeming, squalid warehouses that had become > permanent homes to thousands who had little hope of ever leaving. One > of the most notorious was Washington's St. s Hospital, where > Freeman began his career in the 1920s and was struck by the sight of > 5,000 patients "whose lives were going nowhere, would go nowhere," in > the words of El-Hai.> > The solution, Freeman believed, lay in a radical experimental > procedure invented by a Portuguese neurologist who in 1949 would win > the Nobel Prize in medicine. He claimed the drastic brain operation > had cured a substantial number of people with mental illness.> > The scion of a distinguished Philadelphia medical family who had a > burning desire for fame, Freeman began experimenting and developed > the ice pick procedure. His operation severed the frontal lobe from > the thalamus, the repository of emotions and the site where Freeman > believed mental illness originated.> > A few patients and their families claimed lobotomy was beneficial, > especially in reducing agitation, which was Freeman's measure of > success. But others died on the table or were left irreparably > damaged: childlike, docile, vacant and incontinent. Among them was > Rosemary Kennedy, the 23-year-old mildly retarded sister of F. > Kennedy, who spent 56 years of her life in an institution after > Freeman operated on her in 1941.> > Undaunted by his failures, Freeman's pitch that lobotomy cured mental > illness was seized on by the press -- the Washington Star called it > among "the greatest innovations of this generation," and the New York > Times pronounced it "history-making." Many doctors embraced it as a > 10-minute operation that promised to empty mental hospitals and > return patients to their families. Opponents, mostly psychiatrists > who practiced Freudian talk therapy, didn't matter much: In those > days public criticism of a doctor by his peers was regarded as > unethical.> > By the early 1960s lobotomy had fallen out of favor, in part because > of its low success rate and the disastrous harm it inflicted on many > patients.> > Freeman, who died in 1972, performed his last lobotomy in 1967; his > privileges at Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, Calif., were revoked > after the patient died.> > While several of his relatives appear on camera, one of the most > affecting interviews is with Berkeley bus driver Dully, who > was lobotomized by Freeman at age 12 after his stepmother complained > he was difficult.> > The issue at the heart of this powerful and unsettling film is not, > as one writer puts it, "how a man could go off the rails, but how > science could go off the rails."> > It's a question well worth pondering. ¿> > Comments:boodmans@...> _____________________________________________________________Take flight with great quotes on an aircraft loan. 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Guest guest Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 And Risperdal. Posted by: " KP Stoller, MD " hbotnm@... hyperbarics2002 Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:08 pm (PST) now we have chemical lobotomies - heavy metals ________________________________________________________________________________\ ____ Never miss a thing. Make your home page. http://www./r/hs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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