Australia: ADHD guidelines pulled after scandal on U.S. child psychiatrist Biederman’s tainted/pharma funded research

The Australian Government has been forced to stop the release of the ADHD draft guidelines and may have to rewrite them following the embarrassing scandal. A cloud had been cast over the draft’s validity after one of the psychiatrists, Dr. Joseph Biederman, whose research into anti-psychotic drugs helped form the guidelines, was accused of failing to reveal $1.6 million in payments from drug companies.

Psychiatrists want ‘binge eating’ as official mental disorder-millions of overweight Americans could be profitable target

The American Psychiatric Association is considering including ‘binge eating’ in its diagnostic manual, but to many skeptics, the recognition of binge eating as a psychiatric disorder does nothing but absolve weak-willed people of their responsibility to rein in a dangerous habit. And some suspect that the diagnosis is a sneaky way to sweep an entire nation of over-eaters under psychiatry’s umbrella — and possibly into the marketplace for new drugs.

U.S. Sen Grassley-Demanding transparency for Pharma funds paid to doctors, researchers, patient ‘advocacy’ groups

Senator Chuck Grassley has asked leading medical schools to describe their policies on ghostwriting as part of his continuing effort to shed light on financial ties between the pharmaceutical industry and medical professionals. “I’m interested in transparency, and academic institutions play an important role in establishing adequate and meaningful disclosure,” he said. Grassley also has conducted oversight and sought disclosure with physicians, continuing medical education and the patient advocacy community.