Fred A. Baughman, Jr., MD
Neurology
& Pediatric Neurology
1303
Hidden
Daniel R Weinberger, MD, Chief of the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch National Institute of Mental Health
Room 4S235
MSC 1379
20892
Re: “Imaging for psychiatric disorders is done
mainly for research, not clinical purposes”-- Daniel R Weinberger, MD, Chief of
the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch , NIMH—Neurology
Today, June, 2002.
Dear Dr. Weinberger,
In Neuroimaging Advances Offer New Data on Stroke Detection and the Genetics of Mental Illness, in Neurology Today, June, 2002, p 26-28, author, Gail McBride quoted you:
“At this time, the only clinical reason to do a neuroimaging
study in psychiatry is to rule out a neurological disease masquerading as a
psychiatric illness.”
She went on:
Dr. Weinberger explained that neuroimaging in
the form of MRI, fMRI, and PET has demonstrated that
most major psychiatric diseases—depressive disorders and schizophrenia, for
example—are associated with “subtle but objectively characterizable
changes” in brain structure and function. “These changes do not establish the diagnosis
but do demonstrate the involvement of the brain in these disorders,” he said.
What you said, in
essence, was that the psychiatric conditions/disorders to which you referred
were diseases/abnormalities of the brain—neurological diseases. Nowhere in the article by McBride were there
citations to proofs in the peer-reviewed literature regarding any specific
psychiatric conditions or diagnoses. For
that reason I wrote to Neurology Today:
Dr. Weinberger must submit for publication in Neurology Today, references to the proof that “neuroimaging in the form of MRI, fMRI, and PET has demonstrated that most major psychiatric disease—depressive disorders and schizophrenia, for example—are associated with “subtle but objectively characterizable changes” in brain structure and function.” If he is unable to present proof of the “subtle but objectively characterizable changes” in these psychiatric conditions, the editors of should say so and print a retraction.
To this date, neither
you or they—the editors of Neurology Today (a publication of the
I await your reply.
Sincerely,
/s/
Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD
PS: As an aside, you are Chief of the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch of the NIMH, I wonder if you have trained in neurology or in any neurological subspecialty, such as neuropathology.
CC
Lewis P. Rowland, Editor
Neurology Today
710
Neurological Institute NI-14
NeuroToday@LWW.com
CC
Sandra F. Olson, MD, President
55116