Knock! Knock!
Who's there?
Dishes.
Dishes who?
Dishes psychobabble at its finest.
Psychiatrist Carmine Pariante is a key opinion leader who often speaks on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP), the coven that continually promotes bizarre brain disorders and the brain pellets whilst downplaying the adverse effects these toxins cause, to include horrific withdrawal problems and iatrogenic deaths.
Yesterday Pariante caused a Twitter storm when promoting his appearance on BBC's "Truth or Scare," hosted by former newsreader and British icon, Angela Rippon.
The bizarre rantings of Pariante had me perplexed. I'm going to try to dissect his comments for you but, frankly, I may need help from readers given I can't understand how anyone can make such outlandish and unproven claims. Watching the show I couldn't help but think of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.
I interviewed Pariante myself months ago, an interview that came to an abrupt end because it seemed we couldn't adequately address the first and most important issue. (See here)
The BBC show, Truth Or Scare, sets out to prove whether stories in the media are true versions of facts or if merely scary stories.
Pariante was batting for the side of the pill-pushers. It seems he was batting alone as there was no invite, to my knowledge, of any batter from the other side of the issue, one who could rebut Pariante's televised claims. It seems the BBC may want only one opinion regarding brain pellets and depression.
BBC host, Rippon, took everything Pariante said at face value and never once asked for evidence. (More on this later.) She kicked off the show by asking Pariante to explain depression in laypersons terms. Here's where the fun starts so hold on to your sides, folks, as they just might split!
"Brain cells are close but they are not physically connected so to communicate they need a chemical to go from one cell to another", claimed Pariante, adding, "People with depression need a stronger connection."
Pariante then showed Rippon an explanation of this by, um, well, by knocking on doors in a corridor. (See video below** where he appears around the 3 minutes, 12-second mark.)
Rippon then tells viewers, "For a more scientific explanation of how antidepressants work, Professor Pariante has recreated the effects of antidepressants in a culture lab." She adds, "His team chemically induce brain cells in test tubes to mirror the state of depression. Antidepressant medication is then added."
Pariante, speaking with Rippon, says, "If you induce depression in a dish, as you can see, new brain cells stop growing and you have much fewer cells compared to healthy conditions."
Pariante then claims that once an antidepressant is added the number of new brain cells "rises again".
I was just digesting the "depression in a dish" claim when Rippon claimed, "The Science certainly seems clear."
At this point, I had to dry my eyes and change my underpants. Biting the table leg didn't help with my state of uncontrollable laughter either.
Pariante later backs up his "Depression in a dish" claims by quoting the Cipriani study (back story here) - Pariante claims that Cipriani's study "clearly shows antidepressants improve the symptoms of depression."
When asked about the 'dark side' of antidepressants, Pariante said, "Antidepressants are no more or no less than any other medication, they are effective in most people, they are tolerated in most people, and in some people there are side effects, in a very small number of people there are severe side effects, but that's like all medication."
When asked about the dependency on antidepressants Pariante says, "There is no evidence that we are over prescribing antidepressants, yes more antidepressants are prescribed today than 10 years ago but, in fact, most people who need antidepressants are not receiving an antidepressant."
Yes, he really did say this, and he also neglected to share that a recent study found nearly 56% of people taking brain pellets suffer withdrawal effects and 1.8 million people are currently at risk of severe symptoms when they decide to come off these drugs. (1) If Pariante gets his wish, these figures will, no doubt, rise.
The show (skit) also features two former patients who have opinions about brain pellets. It's well worth watching if only to see the performance of Pariante and some of his bizarre claims and also how Angela Rippon seems almost smitten with him.
"The science certainly seems clear" wins a gold star for the BBC's most unscientific quote of the year. Rippon's quote was based on walking around a lab with a guy in a white coat knocking on doors and examining slides of depression produced in Petri dishes.
Approximately two hours after the show was aired on BBC, Pariante, rather bizarrely tweeted the following:
He really does himself no favours.
Here's the video.
** The video was downloaded directly from the Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology Lab - SPI Lab Facebook page. Any copyright issues should be taken up with the owner of this page, ironically, Carmine Pariante.
If you can't get the video to work, try here.
Bob Fiddaman
(1) Millions are warned over ‘severe’ side-effects while coming off anti-depressants with 56% of patients suffering withdrawal effects
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