From the ACOEM/AOEC list serv by a Quackwatch advocate

[Guest guest]

From the ACOEM/AOEC list serv by a Quackwatch advocate

" Subject: Chemical sensitivity traps victims in their own

bodies (MI)

It's sad when journalism abandons science for quackery.

The author clearly did not actually look at the studies

showing that MCS claimants cannot reliably discriminate the

presence or absence of chemicals; that electrical allergy

is completely without scientific support etc. A

ridiculous mix of dark-ages fears, pseudoscientific

pronouncements and hypochondriacal and/or delusional

patient complaint.

E. Hartman, Ph.D., ABPN ABPP

Medical and Forensic Neuropsychology

Chicago, Illinois.

Chemical sensitivity traps victims in their own bodies

Web-posted Sep 2, 2007

By Jerry Wolffe, The Oakland Press

They say they are the 21st century's version of canaries in

the coal mine.

They contend that with each passing year, more and more

people are joining their ranks because " we are poisoning

ourselves. "

And we wonder why the sick are not able to receive viable

treatment. Some " experts " , who obviously have done little

to no (as in little to know) research into loss of tolerance after a

chemical

microbial encounter is spouting off his nonsense to the

occupational physicians of ACOEM, AOEC and PEHSU's on the

UNC list serv.

I wonder if this guy serves as an " expert " for the defense

in MCS cases. This is a very worrisome situation. This is

what the occupational (and big joke, environmental)

physicians and nurses of ACOEM/AOEC/PEHSU/AAOHN are being

told thru the GOVERNMENT FUNDED UNC list serv.

Check out where the esteemed Mr. Hart, PhD in

neuropsychology refers people to find " true

experts " ...Quackwatch.

Review of Dr. Rea's work by Mr. Hartman: Chemical

Sensitivity: Only Available As Individual Volumes, See Pid

2101552, 2303673, 2303668, and 2303670

by J. Rea

Edition: Hardcover

Availability: Currently unavailable

According to Mr. Hart,

" Another kind of load., April 19, 2004

It's a load all right, but not of toxicants. The 3 volume

set is an exercise in pseudoscience and misdiagnosis that

is astounding for both its detail and its level of

inaccuracy. Before considering such a set, go to

www.quackwatch.com and look up the articles on multiple

chemical sensitivity. There is far too much wrong with the

entire concept to review here. Readers are urged to go to

actual controlled studies of this concept, which generally

fail to prove any of the major postulates put forth by the

author. E. Hartman, Ph.D. (Author " Neuropsychological

Toxicology, 1995). "

And we wonder why so many children are experiencing such an

increase in cognitive problems. Yet are being diagnosed by

the uninformed, risk manager types as having " bi polar

disorder " . And government is funding this nonsense being

spread to the physicians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/health/04psych.html?

ei=5087%

0A & em= & en=13c932cc4a338702 & ex=1189051200 & pagewanted=print

The New York Times

September 4, 2007

Bipolar Illness Soars as a Diagnosis for the Young

By BENEDICT CAREY

The number of American children and adolescents treated for

bipolar disorder increased 40-fold from 1994 to 2003,

researchers report today in the most comprehensive study of

the controversial diagnosis.

Experts say the number has almost certainly risen further

since 2003.

Many experts theorize that the jump reflects that doctors

are more aggressively applying the diagnosis to children,

and not that the incidence of the disorder has increased.

But the magnitude of the increase surprises many

psychiatrists. They say it is likely to intensify the

debate over the validity of the diagnosis, which has shaken

child psychiatry.

Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings.

Until relatively recently, it was thought to emerge almost

exclusively in

adulthood. But in the 1990s, psychiatrists began looking

more closely

for symptoms in younger patients.

Some experts say greater awareness, reflected in the

increasing diagnoses, is letting youngsters with the

disorder obtain the treatment they need.

Other experts say bipolar disorder is overdiagnosed. The

term, the critics say, has become a catchall applied to

almost any explosive, aggressive child.

After children are classified, the experts add, they are

treated with powerful psychiatric drugs that have few

proven benefits in children and potentially serious side

effects like rapid weight gain.

In the study, researchers from New York, land and

Madrid analyzed a National Center for Health Statistics

survey of office visits that focused on doctors in private

or group practices. The researchers calculated the number

of visits in which doctors recorded diagnoses

of bipolar disorder and found that they increased, from

20,000 in 1994 to 800,000 in 2003, about 1 percent of the

population under age 20.

The spread of the diagnosis is a boon to drug makers, some

psychiatrists point out, because treatments typically

include medications that can be three to five times more

expensive than those for other disorders like depression or

anxiety.

" I think the increase shows that the field is maturing when

it comes to recognizing pediatric bipolar disorder, but the

tremendous controversy reflects the fact that we haven't

matured enough, " said Dr. March, chief of child and

adolescent psychiatry at the Duke University School of

Medicine, who was not involved in the research.

" From a developmental point of view, " Dr. March said, " we

simply don't know how accurately we can diagnose bipolar

disorder or whether those diagnosed at age 5 or 6 or 7 will

grow up to be adults with the illness. The label may or may

not reflect reality. "

Most children who qualify for the diagnosis do not proceed

to develop the classic features of adult bipolar disorder

like mania, researchers have found. They are far more

likely to become depressed.

Dr. Mani Pavuluri, director of the pediatric mood disorders

program at the University of Illinois, Chicago, said the

label was often better than any of the other diagnoses

often given to difficult children.

" These are kids that have rage, anger, bubbling emotions

that are just intolerable for them, " Dr. Pavuluri

said, " and it is good that this is finally being recognized

as part of a single disorder. "

The senior author of the study, Dr. Mark Olfson of the New

York State Psychiatric Institute at the Columbia University

Medical Center, said, " I have been studying trends in

mental health services for some time, and this finding

really stands out as one of the most striking increases in

this short a time. "

The increase makes bipolar disorder more common among

children than clinical depression, the authors said.

Psychiatrists made almost 90 percent of the diagnoses, and

two-thirds of the young patients were boys, said the study,

published in the September issue of The Archives of General

Psychiatry.

About half the patients were identified as having other

mental difficulties, mostly attention deficit disorder.

The children's treatments almost always included

medication. About half received antipsychotic drugs like

Risperdal from Janssen or Seroquel from Astrazeneca, both

developed to treat schizophrenia.

A third were prescribed so-called mood stabilizers, most

often the epilepsy drug Depakote. Antidepressants and

stimulants were also common.

Most children took a combination of two or more drugs, and

4 in 10 received psychotherapy.

The regimens were similar to those of a group of adults

with bipolar diagnoses, the study found.

" You get the sense looking at the data that doctors are

generalizing from the adult literature and applying the

same principles to children, " Dr. Olfson said.

The increased children's diagnoses reflect several factors,

experts say. Symptoms appear earlier in life than

previously thought, in teenagers and young children who

later develop the full-scale disorder, recent studies

suggest.

The label also gives doctors and desperate parents a quick

way to try to manage children's rages and outbursts in an

era when long-term psychotherapy and hospital care are less

accessible, they say.

In addition, drug makers and company-sponsored

psychiatrists have been encouraging doctors to look for the

disorder since several drugs were approved to treat it in

adults.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration approved one

of the medications, Risperdal, to treat bipolar in

children. Experts say they expect that move will increase

the use of Risperdal and similar drugs for young people.

" We are just inundated with stuff from drug companies,

publications, throwaways, that tell us six ways from Sunday

that, Oh my God, we're missing bipolar, " said Dr. le

Carlson, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the

Stony Brook University School of Medicine on Long

Island. " And if you're a parent with a difficult

child, you go online, and there's a Web site for bipolar,

and you think: `Thank God, I've found a diagnosis. I've

found a home.' "

Some parents whose children have received the diagnosis say

that, with time, the label led to effective treatment.

" It's been a godsend for us, " said Simons of

Montrose, Colo., whose son Brit, 15, was prone to angry

outbursts until given a combination of lithium, a mood

stabilizer, and Risperdal, which was often given to

children " off label, " several years ago. He now takes

just lithium and is an honor roll student.

Other parents say their children have suffered side effects

of drugs for bipolar disorder.

Ocampo, 40, of Tallahassee, Fla., whose 8-year-old

son is being treated for bipolar, said that he had tried

several antipsychotic drugs and mood stabilizers and that

he had improved.

" He has gained weight, " Ms. Ocampo said, " to the point

where we were struggling find clothes for him. He's had

tremors and still has some fine motor problems that he's

getting therapy for. But he's a fabulous kid. And I think,

I hope, that we're close to finding the right combination

of medications to help him. "

This is absolutely unconscionable.

Sharon

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[Guest guest]

My response to Jerry Wolfe. There are many names for chemical

intolerance reactive airways disease, a chemical type asthma, mcs. .

It is odd that this article doesn't mention that people with certain

kind of asthma chemicals are the trigger. Asthma Attack Triggers -

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Many people with chemical sensitivities got it from indoor mold but

that is another problem that our government is dragging their feet.

With all these recalls from China you would think people might

understand that our products are full of chemicals that have not even

been tested for safety.

There is so much information all over where detergents, fragrances,

air fresheners, even today there are articles about the microwave

popcorn danger which many of the ill have known about for years.

Just because the government has not bothered to take the lead in

these illnesses does not mean they don't exist. I have been writing

for ten years about these illnesses and have read documents from

Washington, the Bush Administration, writing to other countries not

to join the EU Government in making our products safer. The EU

Government is now making products that are safer.

Some countries do not accept wood with formaldehyde that the US

accepts. It is not only China that is making bad products. It

seems like someone would take the lead as this man has that wrote

this bookAlterNet: WorkPlace: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday

Products.

I hope you will read this information and not just put everything

away since your article has been printed. I will send this to a

group where sick people are trying to make change. Someone has to do

it. Delp

>

>

> From the ACOEM/AOEC list serv by a Quackwatch advocate

> " Subject: Chemical sensitivity traps victims in their own

> bodies (MI)

> It's sad when journalism abandons science for quackery.

> The author clearly did not actually look at the studies

> showing that MCS claimants cannot reliably discriminate the

> presence or absence of chemicals; that electrical allergy

> is completely without scientific support etc. A

> ridiculous mix of dark-ages fears, pseudoscientific

> pronouncements and hypochondriacal and/or delusional

> patient complaint.

>

> E. Hartman, Ph.D., ABPN ABPP

> Medical and Forensic Neuropsychology

>