I decided to write this brain blog because I receive so may email questions and requests for information that I felt this could be a great way to disseminate information. Plus, I love to write and keep in touch with people who follow the work we do at the Amen Clinics.
This has been quite a week for me. I taught a 5 day brain SPECT imaging course for physicians in the Washington, DC area, near our clinic in Reston, Virginia. In the middle of the week The Los Angeles Times published an editorial I wrote about the need to do brain scans on presidential candidates, which led to some fun interviews for radio, newspapers and on TV with Tucker Carlson at MSNBC. You can see the interview on MSNBC.com at the following link: Video Link
This is a very exciting time in the history of psychiatry and I am thrilled to be a part of it. If I was a medical student today I would absolutely go into psychiatry all over again. I have been a psychiatrist for 25 years and have loved so much of my work. The next 25 years will be the most exciting time in our checkered history. I believe we will finally come out of the dark ages to act like real doctors and see the illnesses we treat as real medical illnesses, where we use routine brain imaging and genetic markers to prescribe individualized treatments for those we serve who suffer. Until now, we make diagnoses similar to how doctors did when Abraham Lincoln suffered from depression in 1840. His doctors used symptom clusters and a face to face discussion, much like most shrinks still do in late 2007. There is a better way and we are clearly on the road to it.
I completely agree with Thomas Insel, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, when he said at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting in 2005 in Atlanta that “Brain imaging in clinical practice is the next major advance in psychiatry. Trial and error diagnosis will move to an era where we understand the underlying biology of mental disorders. We are going to have to use neuroimaging to begin to identify the systems pathology that is distributed in each of these disorders and think of imaging as a biomarker for mental illnesses. The DSM-IV has 100% reliability and 0% validity. We need to develop biomarkers, including brain imaging, to develop the validity of these disorders. We need to develop treatments that go after the core pathology, understood by imaging. The end game is to get to an era of individualized care.“ This is the kind of medicine I want to be a part of and that we have strived for at the Amen Clinics for the past two decades.
I also believe we will use more and more natural and “alternative” treatments to heal the brain, such as fish oil, supplements, such as Vitamin D, hyperbaric oxygen treatment and acupuncture. I think of the brain like hardware and software of a computer. When we optimize the hardware of the brain, we will still have to properly program it, so psychotherapy will also be an area of exciting study and clinical practice.
There are many exciting happenings at Amen Clinics that I will write about over the next year, including:
- Our research department has been more active than ever. We have several important articles coming out in peer reviewed journals on ADD, predicting treatment response to stimulants, murderers and suicide.
- I filmed a PBS Special scheduled to air in March. It is a blend of three of my books, including Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, Making A Good Brain Great and Preventing Alzheimer’s.
- We are also working on a new television series, like A&E’s Intervention, showing how using technology can be a huge help to people who suffer from psychiatric illnesses.
- Our high school course on practical brain science, Making A Good Brain Great, continues to grow, and is now taught in 34 states and 7 countries.
- I just finished the first draft of my next book, Wired for Success: 12 Keys to Unlock Your Brain to Optimize Your Life, due out early in 2009.
In closing for today, I want to share an email I received from a colleague about our drug education DVD, “Which Brain Do You Want.” Education is one of our primary missions at Amen Clinics.
Daniel,
I was just talking to my sister, a high school home economics teacher. She was telling me how much she values your DVD “Which Brain Do You Want?” She said it was by far the most valuable resource they have at school in communicating the impact of substance abuse.
She said the kids watch spellbound during the presentation. She said that the fact that you used young people on the DVD really makes it more real to
her students. She supplements it with scans she has gotten from brainplace.com. She told me she has urged other teacher friends at other schools to get a hold of the DVD.
I thought I would pass along the reminder that you are having an amazing impact thousands of people you will never meet. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication over the years that we all are benefiting
from!
David
Until next time, please know that success starts with a healthy brain. Failure is often the result of a brain gone wrong. The good news is that no matter how bad you have been to your brain it is never too late to change your brain and change your life.
To your brain health,
Daniel Amen, MD
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I agree that brain imaging is an important clinical tool in psychiatry!
woow… i read your report on the presidential brains and some of the other reports that have been coming in… simply fascinating and scary! it’s beginning to sound like hormone doctors, chiropractors and some of the other experts… the perfect answer leading to the perfect condition… keep helping society… i think the research and the results are fascinating! just one request… respect human imperfection! that is a reality we all have to live with and character is the only way to manage it! no brain scan and medication will ever take the place of character to deal with human imperfection! some “craziness” has been known to produce some of the great geniuses of the past! scanning brains to make all people “normal”? what is normal anyway? so what if you can explain every intricacy of the brain, find the right supplement to balance the brain… then what? give me the right presidential brain and most likely i will never vote for him/her! that’s life, Dr. Amen! In some ways you are growing a scientific buble disconnected from the human reality!–harold
Dear Dr Dan
The future of brain imaging lies as much in the skill of communicating findings to the public-at-large as in interpreting the images . Witness the sheer blather that has followed the press releases of Shaw et al’s article on cortical maturation (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0707741104v1). This has been completely beat up by the press to the point that people are seriously questioning the need for treatment on the basis that “Johnny will grow out of it” . How can they possibly countenance adult ADHD?
On the other hand, the release of Vance’s work on parietal lobe involvement has caused scarcely a ripple. (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22871025-421,00.html)
I hope that this blog will go some way to countering some of the rubbish bombarding the poor unsuspecting community of ADHD sufferers.
Dr. Amen,
Thank you for your weekly emails and for starting this blog. Your training DVD’s ARE very valuable. Not only do children watch them very intently, adults do too! I too believe that brain imaging is the treatment of the future. Like you said, “It makes sense!” After an accident 5 years ago, my son who is now 23, was diagnosed with frontal orbital syndrome. I’m wondering if you have any training information on that subject? Some of our days are very challenging. Thanks for all that you do Dr. Amen! I’m looking forward to the blog!
Debra Gordon
I met you at the FL Independent School Conference in 2006. I have purchased and read, change your brain, change your life, Mind Coach, and I am working on “How to Get Out of Your Own Way. I used drugs for 11 years of my life. From age 15-26. It is a miracle I am not dead. But what is great is that my brain is not dead either! I use many of the supplements you suggest and I better understand someone of the brain challenges I have.
Thank you for your work. I share your materials with everyone who will listen. I especially love “Mind Coach”. I wish someone would have challenged the way I thought as a child. Erroneous thinking certainly evolves into self destruction. This book is a great holiday gift for any age.
I love your blog it is more personal and easy to read. Keep writing!
So excited about the blog. I look forward to the comments every week and this added part will be very nice. Please, give info occasionally on bipolar and diet, lifestyle, things of that nature that effect this disease. Welcome comments on spousal support for bipolar and what you think would be appropriate.
Hi,I was diagnosed at age 50 with ADD+bipolar via a SPECT scan and am now accurately medicated and have Dr Amen’s book about the 6 types of ADD to thank.I had never heard of ADD until my son who is now 22 began having trouble at school as a teenager.His psychiatrist took one look at me and asked me to take a test and I was right off the scale!It was a huge relief to discover what had been wrong for all of my life,I had been dominated by a disorder I had never heard of,I only wish I had found out about it 40yrs previously.After my first diagonosis,I was prescribed dexamphetamine which made me feel worse,then Ritalin and an antidepressant which was worse still,so I stopped all medication.I live in Perth,Western Australia and we have a volounteer organisation called LADS(The Learning and Attentional Disorders Society of WA)They have a great library of books and videos on ADD and there I found Dr Amens book mentioned above,it had a huge effect on me,I was reading the history of my life!!!LADS had a list of recommended psychs who used SPECT in diagnosis and I consulted a Dr DeJong.I stormed into his office waving Dr Amen’s book and told him he should read it asap.He reached up and showed me his own copy and explained that he had been to a seminar held by Dr Amen in the US and was now a disciple.I was pleased to find that he didn’t seem to mind being told how to do his job by a truck driver.I had a detailed diagnosis,the SPECT scans clearly showed core ADD symptoms(type 3+ bipolar),I was astonished to see my brain disfunction in colour and was even more surprised that any brain cells at all had survived my years of self-medication with alcohol and various drugs.I am now on the correct combination of meds and have become a disciple of the scan method of diagnosis,the wierd thing is that I can pick other ADDers,and they me.I have discovered 6 others among my workmates,it is so good to be with other ADDers,we only understand one another.I also found out that a few of my freinds outside of work are also ADDers we were drawn to one another in some way by our shared disorder.They are hilarious to be with at social gatherings,we see the world through a wholly different lens,often funny but often tragic and sad.I feel much grief at the hurt and pain I’ve caused to others in my life before diagnosis but at least I now know that it wasn’t that I was an inherently bad person which was something I heard continually at home, school and work.On the plus side,I have a gift for language,mimicry and telling jokes,I also bring home a lot of junk I find in bins and by the side of the road,it drives my wife crazy but I can’t seem to stop.I’m endlessly fascinated by history,human society,geography and many other subjects and am usually reading at least 6 books at once.The odd thing is that I seem to have no problem picking up where I left off when doing so,I seem to soak up info like a sponge.On the other hand,I need my kids or wife(she’s a computer programmer,they’re different!)to set my alarm clock,set the VCR to record soccer games or decipher instructions for any household appliance from my mobile phone to the microwave,all of which operate in some mysterious netherworld hidden from people such as me.I just paged up to remind myself what the question was,oops,never mind I tend to go off on tangents.Have a look at ADD on YouTube,absolutely hysterical!I’ll leave it there,or I’ll never shut up,have a great day and keep up the good work.If Dr Amen gets to read this,you changed my life,it was a stunning revelation to discover I wasn’t really crackers,it’s everybody else!
Fondest Regards,David Leon
ps the name is French,not Spanish.
Thank goodness for trailblazers who are not satisfied with the way things have been! We have benefitted greatly from a SPECT scan, mainly because it has helped us understand our son better and why and how he should be treated medically. It has also affirmed us in that we really are good parents! Many older people in our family want to disregard any possibilities of brain disfunctions and simply blame behavioral issues on our parenting skills. After a while, you also begin to beat yourself up. The SPECT scan helped us to see that we deal with REAL issues that must be addressed. A parent wouldn’t leave a child unmedicated if his pancreas didn’t work properly!! Likewise, we should also be concerned about our children’s mental health. I am so grateful for Dr. Clements and how he has helped our family!
My son has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and adhd. He is 25. He has seen several psychiatrists but so far, none of the meds have helped him enough to live on his own. It is very sad and frustrating. Do we have to go to one of your clinics for a brainscan or is this becoming more commonplace? We live in Jacksonville, Fl.
I’m interested in finding out the link between brain chemistry and physiology/physical structure. Thanks for this blog. Looking forward to many more….(an ADHD “sufferer”)
How do I interest my own psychiatrist in your work and your discoveries? I have schizophrenia and he has never ordered any kind of brain scan, he never orders blood sugar tests even though I gained 93 lbs on Zyprexa, he rarely weighs me. If I could be helped by your discoveries/studies I, of course, would like to do so.
I am glad to see your blog! I look forward to perusing and commenting in the future. As a budding student in the area of psychology with a keen interest in brain imaging, I look forward to reading more about this subject and the interchange of ideas.
Thanks!
I am a registered nurse with advanced practice certification in addictions nursing. I have been very interested in the approach of SPECT scanning, attended a seminar and have purchased several tapes and books to broaden my understanding.
In October 2003 my adult son suffered what has been termed a “sub-vascular neurological incident” for lack of a definitive diagnosis. He lost short and long-term memory, spoke robotic-like, spelled words backwards and had intractable occipital headaches. Up to that time he held a high-paced job where multi-tasking was a daily challenge. After this incident Michael could only take care of his basic needs.
Multiple tests were performed in and out of the hospital (ie. MRI, EEG, spinal tap, etc.) with all findings negative. After 8 months of no answers and no improvement, I took him to the Amen Clinic in Reston, VA. SPECT scans were conducted at rest and with activity. The blood flow activity was markedly abnormal when compared to a picture of a “normal” brain. In technicolor the brain area was almost completely red.
As Michael lived in Pennsylvania, it was not feasible to continue follow-up care with the Amen Clinic in Virginia, which we regretted very much. We did find another doctor in Pennsylvania that understood the approach of Dr. Amen and began monthly visits with him.
It has now been over 3 years. My son has shown some improvement in certain areas but the occiptal headaches have never gone away. He is now on 13 different medications with several of them causing dependency and tolerance which is a major concern to me as an addictions nurse. As his tolerance rises, so does the need to increase the dosages. I feel like we are in a whirlwind with no escape.
Thanks for letting me “vent”. I am so very grateful for Dr. Amen and the availabililty of the SPECT scan as it finally gave us something tangible to look at and identify when no one in the medical field had answers for us — but I would appreciate any encouragement or supportive guidance as to the road we now find ourselves on. Would I do it all over again for my son? Yes. I just don’t know where to go from here — and I’m scared. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and feedback.
Hi Daniel,
For over 20 years I have been treated with low doses of antidepressant meds with no real change in my overall demeanor. I read your book, Change your brain, change your life and found myself saying out loud, that’s me over and over again as I read about ADD. I was always a straight ‘A’ student, never in trouble and always daydreaming. Finishing a task is tough, starting many….easy! I took your online test which confirmed my thoughts. Discussed it with my physician and have been on Ritalin for one year. The difference it has made in my life is mind blowing. Thank you,
Seth M. Blitzer, DMD
I have not had an imaging done, but I agree that it is and will continue to be essential. I am fortunate to see one of the Psychiatrist’s who supports DR Amen’s research. After reading “Change your Brain,Change Your Life” I really did change mine. THANK YOU DR AMEN!!!!! And thanks to Dr Moseley who has worked with me for four years!
My question is, how can I find a common resource to access natural herbs, etc. and their interaction with Psychiatric medication?
Why is an MRI important. Is your brain matched up with others, says having S.A.D.
or anxiety or OC. Is their a known brain pattern for each neurosis. What about the role of hormones in depression? Is Dr. Amen’s book open for everyone to read?
Why is it not easy to communicate with Amen? Jack Sisson 850-222-9935
We had a recent shooting in a mall here in Omaha last week. What can brain imaging tell us about violent brains. More importantly, what can we do once we know someone’s brain is impaired – especially if they resist help? Any thoughts?
Keep up the cutting edge research!!! It is definetly helping and our 13 year old ADHD/OCD/Anxiety afflicted son!!! His opportunties for success and peace in life are greater than they ever have been before.
I am very happy there is a blog now because I have many questions, and concerns. First off, I think Dr. Amens work is AMAZING and so beneficial in so many ways. I wish it didn’t scare so many current Psychiatrists, like their jobs are in danger. WE SHOULD ALL WORK TOGETHER TO HELP EACH OTHER!! I don’t live very close to any of the offices, but I saved enough money and had a scan 8 months ago. I felt it was an amazing process, but not many doctors up this way have been very open to it. I have been trying all kinds of meds just like before, only I have a little more focus on what parts of my brain are problematic. It is so hard because there are so many types of meds for each problematic area. I have temporal lobe issues, and low prefrontal cortex issues. I am currently on Tegretol and low dose of klonipin. I need some help with focus but when I use the stimulant, and makes me nervous and my moods are erratic. I am tired if I don’t use it. I am in a bind. I wish insurance companies would actually WANT people to get well. Maybe then I could get another scan. For now I am living in the same misery as before. I see what the problem is, but I don’t know what to do about it.
I have only just begun getting your newsletter, but read it with great interest. I do quite a bit of research for my clients, and your newsletter and website are so helpful to me. I am always happy to learn of the latest and greatest “coming down the pike”, so to speak, relative to psychology and brain imaging. The latter being such a valuable tool for clinicians and their clients alike.
Thank you so much for being such a great resource for me – and my clients.
Ruth Hofmann
C.D.C., D.R.M.,
M. NLP Psychology
Hi,
I partly read your book ‘Making a good brain great”. I thought of having a SPECT scan done just like people go for Blood Lipid profile test but at around USD 3000/- it is out of financial limits for most of the people.
Is there any estimate as to when people would be able to get it done for as low as $1000/-?
I suspect my PFC is some what under active after going through the ADD questionaire on your web site.
If PFC is underactive, would the person has to take the medicine forever to keep it activated at normal level
or
medicine can rectify it permanently after a while (after completing course of medicine) , that is, after few weeks or few months?
Thanks,
Ajay
Your work is the reason I am currently seeking my MS in Psych and hope to continue after that with a special interest in Neuropsychology. I pass on your info. to classmates on a regular basis.
I have ALL your materials and have been a patient in Newport Beach. You are one of my heros! My special interest is early parenting of children, puppies and kittens:-)
Keep up the GREAT work. Love the Blog idea.
I am an RN who works on a small mental health unit in Northwest Missouri.
I have used your DVD “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life” in groups with patients, I have talked to the Docs and hospital admin. until they are sick of me. (However, I think some of them have become “believers”.)
Even tho I am semi retired, I am still strongly pushing for the addition of brain imaging.
It just makes sense.
I am very glad you have started this blog.
Thank you for your work.
I wish we could get Cincinnati Children’s on your bandwagon! I have a 15 year old boy who from symptoms is diagnosed with inattentive ADD. I really hate trying to figure out medications from in the dark so to speak but our adolescent psycharitrists and neurologists aren’t into looking at the brain physically. My son is currently taking 80mg of Strateera and 10mg of tenex(He had been on 80 mg of Adderall xr but wasn’t growing much and when he did grow the dosage had to be increased. Lots of concern over dosage although on Adderall he was very clear in thinking. I have been reading alot about natural supplements. Are there any contraindications of using omega3 fish oil supplements and tyroscene supplements with the medication he is on?
What do you think about EEG’’s that are being done with the patient concentrating on tasks? I read that they can give us feedback as to what part of the brain is having trouble by the type or variation in brain wave. Also someone mentioned about biofeedback CT’s. How do these compare to the information you get from Brain spectography? Do you know of anyone doing brain spectography in the midwest region?
My son read your book for teenagers and really enjoyed the stories you told about your children and other teenagers. It sort of comforted him to know he wasn’t alone especially about the long hours of homework. Thank you and your children for sharing. I also have him reading your book on positive self talk. I know there is a book out there by a Virginia about the importance of self talk but I think it’s too technical for my son at 15(although test say he reads at college leve). Do you have another book on postive self talk for his age? With the change from Adderall he doesn’t think as fast or as clearly or retain what he has studied and can really get down on himself.
Thank you for all the work that you do. It has really helped me work with my son.
I work at an alternative high school in Irvine and could use your DVD on substance abuse. How do I obtain it? And, is there anyone that is willing to make a presentation to these students?
I heartily agree as well, however, I fear it will take a long time before getting here in Kansas or Missouri. I have Dr. Amen’s materials and DVD’s and have used it often with childtren and adults but when sending it on to a psychiatrist with the client, it is ignored. I have shown the material to a couple of NP’s and they are intersted in it but then their physicians are unfamiliar with his work. It appears the Pharmaceutical salesman have a much higher impact on the doctors and nurses. The clients are interested, just no backup by physicians. I believe there should be a liability issue, treating an brain dysfunction without looking at the brain. SO IF YOU KNOW OF A PHYSICIAN WHO FOLLOWS DR. AMEN’S RESEARCH IN THE K.C. METRO AREA, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A GOOD REFERRAL SOURCE.
I want to be listed as a specialist for treating ADHD/ADD. I am a Licensed Mental Health Therapist in Utah. I noticed you do not have any professionals listed in this state. I will provide whatever information needed to provide credibility in my speciality.
I really liked the idea of imaging public officials and leaders for potential leadership problems.
I also think that the ego, apart from the brain, is naturally unsuited for leadership positions and this why “absolute power always corrupts absolutely”.
I also have come to believe that the purpose of real meditation practice is to displace the ego with the higher self to specifically avoid these types of selfish leadership problems where big money and big power keep running the show and getting us into wars and global warming.
I think we should promptly photograph a number of officials out of public service indefinitely, starting with Bush. Our country should demand images of foreign ruler’s brains before we do business with them.
Finally, let me recommend that before and after images of meditating brains be placed in the database for all to see. Falun Dafa meditation seems promising, as well as many others.
Thanks for reading.
There are “banked” dyslexic brains….why no bank to study brains of those who have perpetrated violent acts? Another good book: The Omega-3 Connection by Andrew Stoll, MD, director of psychopharm research lab at McLean Hosp & faculty Harvard.
…and why no national registry for those diagnosed with adhd (as there soon will be for autism? As the parent of one who later (age 22) was found to also have complex partial seizures, I would strongly encourage clinicians to run 24 hr EEGs, sleep studies, & whatever else will r/o pssible other comorbid concerns.
Almost two years ago I was rear-ended and put into a ten day coma. I came out of it and was moved to a Trauma Center near my home. After lots of therapy (believe it or not no SPECT scan or any other scan once I left Ryder Trauma Center/ Miami-Jackson Hospital) and returned to the west coast of Florida. I was not physically broken and so doctors and nurses just treated me like I was okay. My Neuro discharged me and my Ortho discharged me, saying that they had done all they could for me and my shoulder and hand may just be arthritis and not injury. It took two tries to pass the driving exam (neuro-psych exam said I was ADHD — Traumatic Brain Injury). I have worked hard to get back to where I was before (background is teaching reading, AP English, and math in high school and vocational school).
I cannot believe that they treated my brain without ever looking at it. I retired and am still able to live independently. Things come tumbling back all unsorted, and I have trouble sorting and ordering them. People who knew me before say that I am much more AR (anal retentive) if “more” is possible. I have lost my “scanning” ability at this point. I also have found that I am unable to run. That set of motions is just not what I can do comfortably and safely. I can bike and Trikke easily.
Sandy
I have not had seizures and people tell me that I am much less scattered than at first.
I am thrilled that you have decided to have a blog.
We adopted two children from Los Angeles County fostercare, 12 and 14 years ago. They are half brother and sister, same mom. Mom is an alcoholic and a drug user. She used cocaine, heroin, and marijuana while pregnant with both of the children.
Our children were spect scanned at Newport Beach location. What we were told by our psychiatrist at the time was that both kids had “Ring of Fire”. We have since found out that both children have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Now we know the reason for all the “behaviors”.
We are at the end of our ropes trying to cope with our children’s issues. Can you recommend a direction for us to pursue?
Thank you so very much for what you do. You are truly a blessing to people who have brain problems and the many people who love them……
Dr. Amen, how would you respond to this quote of a former official in your field of mastery and I quote, “We don’t know the causes [of mental illness]. We don’t have the methods of ‘curing’ these illnesses.â€
– Rex Cowdry
Former Director National Institute of Mental Health
There has always been BRAIN INJURY. What is new is that the field has been taken over by profiteers, acting under the guise of medicine.
I await your response.
Best Regards,
David Steele
MY HERO
THANK YOU for your BRAIN BLOG. Keep your awesome answers coming.
Marilyn L. Halferty, M.Ed.
Modesto, CA
Dr. Amen:
I absolutely agree with you! You are truly a trailblazer! I went to your Reston, VA. clinic in January 2007 and I was amazed to see my brain scans.
When I received my diagnoses, so much of what had happened in my life made sense to me. I was both elated and depressed. I have been working with my psychiatrist ( He was the one who told me about your clinics and the SPECT scans and has even gone to one of your “classes” for physicians) to “accommodate” my ADHD brain and heal the injuries and toxic exposure. Please, please, please keep going!!! I believe that some day three things will happen: 1) SPECT scans will routinely done, 2) the ADHD brain will be recognized not as a disorder, but as a different type of brain…There are just too many of us who have it, and there are six types, and 3) We will all learn to be more careful of “brain injuries”, no matter how innocuous they seem and aware of toxic exposure and the brain (not just addictions ), but from chemicals, etc.
Sincerely,
Anne LaBelle
PS – Kudos to the personnel at the Reston VA clinic!
Dr. Amen,
I read your book some years ago called “Healing ADHD”, and having a child I had to micromanage from minute to minute, your book really help our whole lives with an addition of pyschodropic medication. You seemed to be the only Dr. I knew of at the time that did not entirely blame the child or the parent. I felt very strongly that your methods, and approach were on the right track. It been severally years now and me and son have moved, he has therapy visits every week, and attends a High School for kids with behavioral dysfuction. The ravages of what we are dealing with has taken an extreme toll on our relationship, and there are simply not words to describe what I go through with him. I love him, but I know he hurting, and he would definately benefit from your clinical assessment, and treatment. He has a diagnosis of ADHD, and Emotional Disturbed. He takes Stratera 60 mg (1X daily), Abilify 14 mg (2X), and Ritlin LA 30 mg (1X). He is desperate to interact socially, but has very little social awareness. I know you can’t diagnose via an email, but I really need to have my son seen by you anyway I can. He absolutely can’t handle stress, and I am having to be a constant buffer for him. I want to have him seen at your clinic in Virginia, and I need to know what I would need to say to our insurance provider to have him seen out of state. We have Anthem Blue Care Family Plan and I would visit anyone you recommended to get a referral. I know that my sons future depends on him getting an accurate diagnosis, and the right treatment. Please, please, please contact me and tell what steps I should take to have him seen at your clinic.
My contact information is: Deborah Standard, 71 Union Street, 1st Flr, Norwich, CT 06360 — deborah_standard@yahoo.com —- phone is 860-859-0747. Please, contact me- good mental health shouldn’t just be for those who can afford the premium services, my son deserves a real chance in life – he has every ’symptom’ that the Omaha shooter has and I am certain something terrible will happen some day without real, helpful intervention.
Sincerely,
Deborah Standard
Mom of Nolan – 14 – and my whole world
In response to David Steele and his challenge to Dr. Amen via a quote from Rex Cowdry, as he put it “official of NIMH”. I did an internship at NIMH, and having had first-hand experience, my impression is that it was no different than any other Huge Institution – you’ll have competent and incompetent people, people out for the greater good and those out for their own selves.
Following is an online quote regarding Rex Cowdry – I’d say, perhaps that his (Mr. Cowdry’s) own credibility might be at issue:
Rex Cowdry, MD, now of NAMI, a bought-and-paid-for pharm industry
mouthpiece/cheer-leader, formerly of the National Institute of Mental
Health (author of all of the fraudulent disease descriptions for
psychiatry and Big Pharm). “I have the same reaction when I hear that
one in three Americans have a mental illness. The problem with that
kind of data is that it undermines credibility — it doesn’t pass the
laugh
test.”
A healthy brain promotes healthy information.
Charles
p.s. David – please don’t shoot the messenger!
After reading all of these comments I am hopeful to see that so many of us have and are being helped. As Dr. Amen said in “Change Your Brain”, you want to see someone who has seen thousands of patients like yourself. You want a specialist, esp for your brain! Whether you get a scan or not, there is a list of Doc’s who support Dr Amen and are GREAT at what they do- is there a list online of these Doctors?
I see one of them in FL (as I mentioned in a previous post) and he is amazing! I am on a correct dose of Zoloft, which has stopped my Panic Attacks completely. I, like many of you who have posted, am SO happy to be “normal”. things CAN get better!
Yes, Dr Amen, I have the opportunity to undergo a 50 minute functional MRI for a study on ADHD, however I don’t know if there are any health risks with these radiowaves much the way there is touted health problems from cell phone radio waves(MRI for 50 minutes is many times greater then cell or earths magnetic fields) and really if I’ll receive any benefit from getting one, as it is the first time the team has ever used an MRI for ADHD (they have used it for 12 biopolar studies and establishing 11 normal control patients. So I really don’t think they know what to look for. In your opinion if I did do an MRI, is it something that one could take to your clinic to have properly read or is there anyone who knows how to read these things well enough in the cases of ADHD to assist in diagnosis and tailoring treatment based on what is seen?
They atleast grant me the ability to take the MRI info to other Dr’s after the study, if I choose to do the study that is.
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Secondly I wanted to share these studies with you, that I had meant to mail to you and months ago and never got around to it. Perhaps I do have ADHD after all, (lol)
Not only do they point to a new biochemical marker for ADHD of N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine ratio which I would like to get your opinion on. But also I hypothesize that the lack of creatine is why so many do well on a both a high protein diet and exercise which are both shown to boost creatine (also creatine supplementation I have heard is being applied to Parkinson’s an area that I always look too for research, since it is a dopamine issue, as is ADHD)
In your opinion how would one apply the information from the below studies to not only determine a biomarker for ADHD, but to MOST IMPORTANTLY create and adjunctive treatment to established ones? I have already been taking creatine supplements/workout/red meat from buffalo, and taking competing amino acids for glutamate’s ability to cross the blood brain barrier on first reading of the articles.
1: Acad Radiol. 2007 Sep;14(9):1029-35.Click here to read Links
Evidence of brain dysfunction in attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder: a controlled study with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Fayed N, Modrego PJ, Castillo J, Dávila J.
Magnetic Resonance Unit, Clinica Quirón, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a socially disabling condition whose pathophysiology is mostly unknown. Previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based reports have shown structural abnormalities in the prefrontal region and the striatum, but with inconsistencies across the studies with regard to right/left specificity of changes. Our study is aimed at finding evidence of dysfunction with more refined MRI techniques such as diffusion-weighted MRI and spectroscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 22 ADHD children (mean age 9; SD 2.91) and 8 healthy children (mean age 7.5; SD 3). All of them underwent diffusion-weighted MRI in several areas of the brain bilaterally: prefrontal, lentiform nucleus, posterior cingulate, and centrum semiovale; and single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the left centrum semiovale and right prefrontal region. RESULTS: We did not see either apparent structural abnormalities of the brain in conventional MRI or differences in the apparent-diffusion coefficients in any of the areas studied. However, we observed significant differences in the N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine ratios in relation to controls in the right prefrontal corticosubcortical region: 1.58 (SD 0.09) versus 1.47 (0.08), P = .01); and in the left centrum semiovale: 2.02 (0.13) versus 1.79 (0.13), P = .0003. This finding is consistent with a published report on eight ADHD children in whom N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine ratios were also elevated. CONCLUSIONS: Given these results, we hypothesize that a biochemical dysfunction might underlie in the brain of ADHD children. The N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine ratio may be regarded as a potential marker of the disease.
PMID: 17707309 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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1: J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2007 Feb;17(1):11-7.Click here to read Links
Striatal creatine and glutamate/glutamine in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Carrey NJ, MacMaster FP, Gaudet L, Schmidt MH.
Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Normand.Carrey@iwk.nshealth.ca
OBJECTIVE: The glutamatergic prefrontal-striatal pathway has been implicated previously in the neurobiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We used short echo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to examine glutamate in the prefrontal cortex, left striatum, and, as a control area, the occipital lobe. METHOD: Thirteen treatment-naïve ADHD children and 10 healthy comparison subjects participated. All were males between the ages of 6 to 11 years of age. Twelve ADHD subjects were scanned after 8 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Striatal glutamate, glutamate/glutamine (Glx) and creatine concentrations were greater in the ADHD subjects at baseline as compared to controls. Only striatal creatine, not glutamate or Glx, was reduced after stimulant treatment in the ADHD patients. No significant differences between groups were noted in the remainder of the striatal metabolites or any of the occipital lobe or prefrontal cortex metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide initial evidence of a striatal creatine/glutamatergic dysregulation in ADHD.
PMID: 17343550 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
P.S. This is just some follow up to the above. So here are all the questions in a nutshell at this point, others are welcome to chime in. For this Dr. Amen we are truly grateful:-)
1. What are the biochemical markers that have been established to get an objective diagnosis of ADHD at this point that you are aware of or are being actively researched?
2. What is understood is the underlying biology of ADHD at this point?
3. How does one use this FMRI to begin to identify the systems pathology and use this imaging as a biomarker for the INDIVIDUALIZED ADHD condition one may have?
As an aside regular FMRI’s if safe, seem like a far superior tool for neurofeedback compared to contemporary technology to me, don’t you agree?
4. How can one use the results of an FMRI, structural MRI, a previous Catscan and an ongoing series of QEEG’s on and off meds. to develop treatments that go after the core pathology?
5. Can meds actually make ADHD worse in the long run once they are discontinued?
Example: I know of someone who tried 10-40 mg ranges on Adderal 2x daily who got scared when they had to increase the dose to get the same effect. The concern seemed legitimate since the body must have been becoming habituated to Adderal even though they were using it only3-4 days a week with drug holidays in between. It scared them because if that was occuring what would occur when they actually went off meds? Do stimulant medications through habitutation actually make ADHD worse when one goes off of them, since now one has been become reliant on them, so one may take years or never recover to their pre ADHD treatment functioning? Much the way as one who has gets a buzz from their first coffee, now needs much more to get a buzz and when they go off their functioning is worse then before coffee was in there life. Perhaps it’s just a short period until homostasis is achieved again, or could it take years/or never fully recover? Or on the other hand are they some how better when they go off longterm meds, because the drug gave them such a holiday from ADHD as too allow for them to make structural changes. confidence, skill set building and progress in addressing their issues and applying cognitive treatments etc.. that they missed out on even during their childhood development because of ADHD?
6. There is a herb called Khat or often pronounced Cat, that is natural analogue
of amphetamines, meaning it has the same effect as them, yet is a natural plant.
you can google it for more info. It is often availiable at ethnic
grocers and coffee shops in the U.S. This is so, even though it is suppose to be illegal, since the law isn’t widely enforced due too Muslims use of it here during Ramadan and that it never became popular as a streetdrug. Wouldn’t a natural plant like this be safer as it may actually fit the biochemical locks then a man made substance that doesn’t? It is normally grown in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt, where it is chewed on freely. For info go to http://www.geocities.com/forceps1974/khat.html
7. Amantadine(a dopamine antagonist): There is a Dr. Singer at Yale that has had much success with this at low dose 25 mg range for ADHD. He’s saying that earlier studies used far too much. What is your experience and understanding of using this for ADHD, as it reportedly has no side-effects according to Singer(need to check the PDR to verify this), Another Dr. said it does have the side effect of just making you feel bad.
8. Is a QEEG 90% accurate in ADHD diagnosis? If the QEEG is done but in a resting state for 20-30 minutes (no concentration task, just eyes closed etc) is it at all useful in diagnosing ADHD?
9. Helpful advice is to not only workout once or twice a day, but also to re-enroll in College or where ever one has left off in their education regardless of age. Even if it is just a night school course, since this can have a huge impact on brain function, concentration, socialization skill set, and provide feedback for how various protocals are working. This would be an even more important recommendation then working out for brain bloodflow alone.
My God, I just realized I may have the indications of hypergraphia, after reading the length of my post(s),
“Hypergraphia is an overwhelming urge to write. It is not itself a disorder, but can be associated with temporal lobe changes in epilepsy and mania.” I know I’m not manic or epileptic, but if you look at the length above something may be up. Sorry about that folks, I don’t mean to post so many studies that it becomes data diarrhea or be so diffuse in my prose.
Boy this blog is already becoming very diagnostic, if we just look at our posts, we can actually see our thinking patterns objectively.
Perhaps, I need to change my user name to “Coming to a waiting room near you”:)
Dear Dr. Amen,
I found your blog and website because a friend – who still reads paper newspapers — tore out your Op-ed piece on presidential candidates and mailed it to me. I agree with you totally, and thank you for your public outreach on this.
I have too many comments to say in a single post — so I’ll be a reader of your articles and blog!
Swivelchair
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article Welcome to My Brain Blog, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
Dear Patients of Dr. Amen & Dr. Amen,
Thank you Dr. Amen for helping Lad out with the understanding of his thinking process he never would have had without your clinic. What I need from you and from you, his patients, are reasons why or why not Lad (24 yrs)can or cannot continue to use pot while starting his treatment with the Amen Clinic. We, his family think that it will be a hinderance to the “better thinking” ability he needs to have to stick with a job, classes, or whatever he does. Please post your comments to Lad on this blog, or Dr. Amen, is there a place for patients or for you to answer to this? Thank you for your attention to this.
I would like to know how to treat FAS children.???
Thank you.
Hi Dr,I’m very interested in finding out what is the best way to deal with panic attacks .My nice suffers from them on a regular passes and she re fusses to take Med.she says they make her feel very bad and tired all the time. We desperately need your help in finding natural ways to help her out we do appreciate any help or advice you can give.thank you very much for all you do.
Dear Dr. Amen, thank you for this blog and for sharing your information on the brain. I am hoping you can suggest something to help my mother. She will be 100 years old this December, and has survived many illnesses including a broken leg three years ago. About four weeks ago she started to exhibit signs of dementia which we were told is probably the result of small strokes.
For Mom to be this close to her 100th birthday and possibly not be able to enjoy it as she should is heartbreaking for our family. Thank you for any suggestions you may have.
I tried both yesterday and today to enter the questionaire to see what type brain I have. The site is not working, I could not get in.