Better Than Prozac: Creating the Next Generation of Psychiatric Drugs - Hardcover

Barondes, Samuel H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195151305 ISBN 13: 9780195151305

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2003

Synopsis

Every day millions of people take psychiatric drugs. In Better Than Prozac Samuel Barondes considers the benefits and limitations of Prozac, Ritalin, Valium, Risperdal, and other widely used medications and the ways that superior ones are being created.
In tracing the early history of these drugs Barondes describes the accidental observations that led to their discovery and their great impact on our view of mental illness. He goes on to show how their unexpected therapeutic effects were attributed to their influence on neurotransmitters that carry signals in the brain and how this guided their improvement.
But Barondes reminds us that, like the originals, current psychiatric drugs don't always work, and often have negative side effects. Furthermore, none were crafted as remedies for known brain abnormalities. In contrast, the design of the drugs of the future will be based on a different approach: an understanding of the molecular mechanisms that give rise to specific patterns of mental symptoms. Using colorful examples of contemporary research, he shows how it is gradually leading to a new generation of psychiatric medications.
A lucid evaluation of psychopharmacology, Better Than Prozac offers a deep understanding of psychiatric drugs for people who take them, those who are considering them, and those who are just fascinated by the powerful effects of these simple chemicals on our thoughts and our feelings.

About this title

About the Author

Samuel H. Barondes, M.D. is Jeanne and Sanford Robertson Professor and Director of the Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. A leading authority on the application of molecular biology to psychiatry, he is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and recently served as Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute of Mental Health. His books include Molecules and Mental Illness and Mood Genes: Hunting for Origins of Mania and Depression, both of which were selected by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives as among the 35 "Great Brain Books."

Reviews

The only thing missing from this book is a question mark in the title. Better Than Prozac is about the long road that neuropsychopharmacology has traveled and about hopes for its future, particularly with respect to creating better drugs. Drugs that treat psychiatric conditions are inherently fascinating. In the 1950s, when effective agents became available for use by psychiatric patients, many doctors thought that drugs with a simple pharmacologic action could not solve human problems. Of course, this is true, but what the drugs can help are psychiatric illnesses, which now seem to be caused by abnormal brain function. Many years of consolidation and refinement of the basic concept and of the drugs that were introduced during the 1950s have followed that golden decade. Much of the early "out of the box" thinking occurred in Europe, particularly in France. However, the action seems to have moved across the Atlantic, and the field is now dominated by North America, albeit with some important contributions from various centers around the world. These are interesting times for the field of neuropsychopharmacology. Our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms that give rise to psychiatric disorders and of the contributions of genetic, metabolic, and indeed psychosocial factors still remains frustratingly provisional. Added to this is a growing distrust of the pharmaceutical industry and its role in developing and marketing new drugs. With this background, it is easy for those involved in biologic psychiatry and psychopharmacology to feel beleaguered. Barondes's excellent book provides an antidote. Better Than Prozac is one of the few books I have found that is relevant not only to experts in the field and trainee psychiatrists but also to patients and their families. It is accessible to all and accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of making complex issues in psychopharmacology understandable and clear. Barondes's technique is essentially that of a storyteller recounting the history of the development of psychiatric drugs in an elegant and lucid style. He enriches this historical account with real-world clinical examples and brings the reader from the dawn of psychopharmacology, through all the important developments in the field, and right up to date with breaking research and the potential implications for the future. Barondes's perspective is particularly valuable because he shows not only a wisdom derived from long and varied clinical practice but also an understanding of fundamental neurobiology. I found myself reinvigorated by this book and refreshed to tackle the tough problems it outlines. In particular, it is clear that the achievements of the field in the past 50 years have been so valuable, and recent advances in neurobiology so great, that new and exciting developments are highly likely to happen in the second half of psychopharmacology's first century. Barondes is to be complimented on an excellent book. Allan H. Young, M.D., Ph.D.
Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

In this readable, upbeat treatise, Barondes, a professor of psychiatry and neurobiology, reviews how the advent of powerful and versatile psychiatric drugs has revolutionized both the treatment and the understanding of mental illness, and assesses the prospects for further advances. Covering all the major categories of psychoactive drugs, Barondes charts the (usually serendipitous) discovery of blockbusters like Thorazine, Prozac, Valium, Benzedrine and Ritalin and their unanticipated effects (and side-effects) in treating schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and a host of other disorders. He shows how the success of these drugs has helped uncover the neurological mechanisms underlying psychiatric illness and all but obliterated the old conceptual divide between the physical and the psychological. Barondes is an engaging guide to the new biological paradigm of psychiatry. He gives lay readers a lucid introduction to such topics as the role of neurotransmitters, the psychological similarities of mice and men, and advances in genetics and neurology that promise better, precisely tailored drugs and new treatments for neural disorders like Alzheimer's and narcolepsy. He touches on some of the controversies surrounding psychopharmacology-the large placebo effect, possibly murderous "idiosyncratic responses" of patients to drugs, the over-use of Ritalin and amphetamines for ADHD kids and the marketing of drugs for such mild conditions as "social phobia" (i.e., shyness)-but he has a generally sanguine view of these drugs and their wide application.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About 50 years ago, a funny thing happened to scientists searching for a remedy for the common cold: they discovered a drug that helped people sleep better. Then an even funnier thing happened to doctors who prescribed that drug: they discovered it would help schizophrenics lead more normal lives. Thus began the history of modern psychiatric drugs, according to University of California neurobiologist Barondes, who in this extensively documented book describes the bumpy road from Thorazine to Prozac--a thoroughfare paved with quirky strokes of luck and sometimes-tragic side effects, with fascinating anecdotes and eye-opening facts. The history Barondes provides then serves as background for his report of recent scientific advances, such as the human genome project, which aims at a time when drugs can be customized to suit each patient's unique needs and physiology, averting unwelcome side effects. Barondes discusses the world of psychiatric drug therapy with candor and compassion, painting a hopeful future for anyone suffering disorders ranging from clinical depression to schizophrenia. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195151305
• ISBN 13: 9780195151305
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240