The Newsletter features special assignments as they are given, and will alert you to any new features which have been added
to the Website or to the course. If you wish, you may also send letters to the editor, but I do not guarantee publication. I do
welcome suggestions and ideas. If you come across a website you would like to recommend to the rest of us, tell me about it.
Perhaps I can add a link for the benefit of all.

December 14, 2001: Antipsychotic drugs may be cardiotoxic.

According to this new study, older antipsychotic drugs may increase the risk of heart problems. Read the study report, found at http://news.excite.com/news/r/011213/17/health-risk

and think about how well the study is designed. Can you think of a reasonable rival hypothesis?

November 9, 2000:
I have added a new link in the course website to an example of a well-written article critique/review for this course, compliments of Nicole Koser.  The link is in the syllabus, along with the description of the article assignments, or you can go directly to  http://campus.houghton.edu/depts/psychology/DBehavArt2.htm .

The scientific report on which the FDA based its advisory to remove phenylpropanolamine from OTC medications for colds and weight loss is available at http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/science.htm.  From the article, determine what a "case-control" study entails, and explain it in your report.  The study reported in this article is not an experiment, but how did the researchers control the study in an attempt to show that PPA was a more likely causal factor than some other possible variables?  Were the methods they chose convincing?

Finally, on Tuesday the New England Journal of Medicine took the unusual step of releasing ahead of its scheduled December date the results of a study that links ephedra to catastrophic complications, including sudden death.  Ephedra is the plant source of ephedrine, which we studied in class.  Ephedra is marketed as an herbal supplement, sometimes called ma huang, and is an ingredient in the well-known Metabolife and Diet-phen to help weight loss, and in Ripped Fuel for body builders.  Go into ProQuest or Wilson Select in online resources and enter ephedra in the search box.  Read a newspaper article on the alert from Nov. 7, 2000.  What do you think of the risk-benefit analysis for ephedra?

September 29, 2000:  This study shows that exercise may be as effective as one medication in treating depression.  As you read it, notice especially the research design of three groups: exercise, sertraline, and combined exercise-sertraline.  What are the comparisons that the design makes possible?  Is there a control group?

In another study, the SSRI paroxetine (misspelled in the article), trade name Paxil, was shown effectrive in treating mild depression in the elderly--a double challenge.  As you read it, note the use of the placebo condition in the research.  How does the article identify the placebo condition?

September 5, 2000: We will be working soon on some computational problems for drug distribution ratios.  I have posted an additional set of problems, with worked solutions, that you may find helpful as you solidify your grasp of this material.

August 31, 2000:  Parents have the largest influence on a child's choice about whether to use drugs, right?  Probably, but sometimes the influence is not what one might hope.  Read this discouraging article from ABC News.

August 29, 2000:  Have you ever smoked a cigarette?  According to a University of Chicago study, the nicotine in it may have changed your brain, making you more susceptible to nicotine addiction.  Read this summary of the study.

On the other hand, there is some good news for over half of you.  A new study suggests that estrogen plays a protective role against cognitive declines like those associated with Alzheimer's disease.  Women past menopause apparently vary in their levels of free estrogen, and their free estrogen levels correlate negatively with cognitive decline.  While this report doesn't mention it, part of the reason that so many more women than men develop Alzheimer's disease may be that after menopause, women actually have less estrogen than men do.  Nonetheless, the main reason that more women than men are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease is probably that they live longer, and Alzheimer's disease is more likely to be diagnosed with advanced age.  As you read this article, note the point made about protein binding, as that topic will arise in class in the near future.

Last updated 9 November, 2000