Given the fact that
the prevalence and costs of dementia are expected to rise in conjunction with
America’s changing demographics, there is an urgent need for health care
providers and policy makers to prevent the fundamental causes of brain
disease.
It is within this
context that many health care providers will need to revise their approach to
medicating patients.
Even though the
construct is seldom mentioned by physicians in their clinical work, it is
nevertheless significant that the American Psychiatric Association’s own
diagnostic handbook (the DSM) has long recognized the fact that drugs
of any kind may induce or enhance long-lasting, cognitive
limitations.
To the extent that
psychopharmaceuticals contribute to brain dysfunction and dementia (i.e.,
substance-induced persisting dementia), they are perpetrators of a perfect
crime.