August 2006 Archives

For those keeping up with the news of the autism world, it's pretty well-known that there are some folks who really believe that mercury poisoning from the MMR vaccine causes the disorder. A handful of researchers occasionally publish what they claim to be evidence for this, two of which are the father-and-son duo of Mark Geier and David Geier. A caveat of academic research, however, is that it cannot be conducted without approval of an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Here's where things are a little interesting, and where any doubts of the Geiers' legitimacy should be firmly solidified: they created their own IRB! First came the corporation, The Institute for Chronic Illnesses, and then came the committee. Seven members, three of which hold the last name of Geier (Yes, father Mark, son David, and wife/mother Anne). Sound too shady to be true? Check this out. Then this. Then an example of it in use here.

What the heck is going on here? If they want to do research, they can do research, but if they need to circumvent the system like this, they don't deserve an ounce of respect or notoriety. It's pitiful, really.

It seems that a local doctor, who happens to be the director of Neuromedical/Neurosurgical Intensive Care at the University of Chicago, has a bit of a dark side: serial indecency. For supposedly being such a smart guy, he sure is an idiot.

I don't know why this bothers me so much, but it does - so much that it is driving me to create a blog posting about it. Seriously.

Okay, here's the thing: most people out there are aware of the existence of the disorder called ADHD, or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Most people also seem to prefer calling it "ADD." Well sure, that was all find and dandy 20 years ago, but ever since the DSM-III-R was published back in 1987, ADD as a distinct disorder stopped existing. That is not to say, of course, that we stopped paying attention to it; we simply made it a subtype of ADHD.

I know, it doesn't necessarily make too much sense. It's essentially ADHD, hold the 'H'. Why have the letter in there in the first place if you're just going to take it out? But yet, that's the way it is. Maybe I'm a stickler for following rules and standards, but damn it, if we didn't follow standards and rules, our society will fall into chaos and anarchy. So tell me this: is it worth it to risk chaos and anarchy for the sake of one little letter? Is it?

So repeat after me - "ADD is not correct terminology. From now on, I will use the only correct and proper name ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Subtype. I will be a better person for it."

Knowing that you're working for the Greater Good, it's worth the extra few seconds. Seriously.