You know those anti-depression drugs like Zoloft and Prozac? A new study finds that they “work no better than a placebo for the majority of patients with mild or even severe depression,” according to an article published today in The Times (London):

The study, by Irving Kirsch, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Hull, is the first to examine both published and unpublished evidence of the effectiveness of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which account for 16 million NHS prescriptions a year. It suggests that the effectiveness of the drugs may have been exaggerated in the past by drugs companies cherry-picking the best results for publication.

The study was published by the Public Library of Science (PLoS) and is titled “Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration.” Their published conclusion is, “Drug–placebo differences in antidepressant efficacy increase as a function of baseline severity, but are relatively small even for severely depressed patients. The relationship between initial severity and antidepressant efficacy is attributable to decreased responsiveness to placebo among very severely depressed patients, rather than to increased responsiveness to medication.”

Why does this matter? Because there are serious side effects to SSRIs, not the least of which can be suicidal or homicidal thoughts. Karen McCarron had just come off anti-depressants when she killed her autistic daughter, and NIU shooter Steve Kazmierczak had stopped taking Prozac a couple weeks before he killed five people and himself. There are lots of other examples.

The argument has been that the benefits of SSRIs outweigh the risks. But this study calls into question the efficacy of these anti-depression drugs, which undermines that argument. If SSRIs are no better than a placebo for most patients, then, as the researchers concluded, “there is little reason to prescribe new-generation antidepressant medications to any but the most severely depressed patients unless alternative treatments have been ineffective.”

Just a few brief comments on things from when I was gone:

• It looks like somebody got a new theme for his blog while I was gone over the weekend. Unlike just about every other theme change Billy has gone through, I actually like the look and feel of this one … which means it will inevitably change sometime in the next week and a half.
• The day I left, there was a shooting at Northern Illinois University. Maybe you heard about it. The shooter, Steven Kazmierczak, did not fit the profile of the type of person who would go on a rampage, except for one thing: he did go off his SSRI medication (Prozac, in this case) just a few weeks before the incident. While I see a trend, others don’t, but maybe this year’s coming lawsuits will shed more light on the issue.
• District 150 is looking into charter schools as if they’ve never heard of the concept before. But the fact is that the very first charter school in Illinois opened in August 1996 in Peoria. It was called Peoria Alternative Charter School and was located at 919 NE Jefferson St., in the old Greeley School building. It was a school which expelled and other troubled students could attend. According to a June 3, 1999, Journal Star article, “The charter school was managed by Youth Farm, which had Fred McAfree serve as the manager/principal.” It dissolved in 1999 after its three-year charter was allowed to lapse and it became a “Regional Safe School.” The type of charter school being considered now is different — instead of being a school for troubled students, Superintendent Ken Hinton has indicated that “a proposed math, science and technology academy could be a potential charter school candidate.”
• The Kellar Branch is still in the news — the new Peoria-Peoria Heights committee is looking at hiring a consulting firm to determine the feasibility of a side-by-side rail-trail solution. The results need to be back by April 1. I’m not going to prejudge the outcome; ever the optimist, I still hope a win-win option will emerge.
• The Journal Star ran an article on anonymous commenting on blogs and newspaper sites, along with a companion article that reassures us that venomous anonymous bloggers are only acting human. The answer is simple — it’s up to the owner of the site, whether that’s a blog owner or a newspaper, to monitor the comments and maintain a minimum level of civil discourse. That’s in fact what reputable blogs and newspapers already do. Problem solved.
• Joan Krupa is running as a Republican for the 92nd Legislative District seat being vacated by Rep. Aaron Schock. I wish her luck. I sure hope she’s been convicted of shoplifting at some point in her life — it appears that increases your chances of winning these days. Speaking of which, here are two more potential Democratic candidates for the state legislature.
• District 150 decided Monday night to let teachers and principals, not board members, decide grading appeals. Good. Although it doesn’t change the outcome of the situation that sparked this controversy, at least it will keep it from happening again. It also vindicates the teachers and administrators.

I hate it when local restaurants close. The Journal Star article implies that Red Zin is folding because of competition with all the new restaurants in East Peoria. I’m not convinced of that.

It might be their prices or the quality of their food or the consistency of their service. For example, the last time my wife and I visited Red Zin, we were served baked potatoes that were stone cold. Not lukewarm. Not even room temperature. Cold. At the prices they were charging, it didn’t motivate us to visit again anytime soon.

Maybe that was just a bad night. Or maybe there were a lot of bad nights, and customers got turned off. Who knows? One thing’s for sure, they weren’t losing business because people are scared off by the HRA tax. You might choose the East Peoria Steak n’ Shake over a Peoria Steak n’ Shake if you’re about the same distance from both when you decide to go. But if Red Zin is among your options for dinner, the tax rate is not likely to be high on your list of concerns.

So what’s next for this location?

I say, bring back The Grill. Or, better yet, have a ground-level restaurant that’s like a sports bar and restaurant where people can hang out before/after Rivermen and Bradley games whether they’re with their buddies or with their family, and put the highfalutin upscale restaurant at the top of the twin towers where diners can get an aerial view of the city while they eat. I’ve never quite understood why Peoria puts all its fine dining establishments in the basements of its downtown buildings.

Dr. Michael Siegel is worried. He’s concerned that “the anti-smoking movement is increasingly becoming more extreme” and “getting out of control.” And he’s started an organization to counteract it.

Due to the new law of anti-smoking many people have been switching to the products that are being sell at vape battery mod australia.

Don’t think that Siegel is pro-smoking. He’s not. According to his website, the Boston resident has “published numerous peer-reviewed scientific papers on the health effects of secondhand smoke” and that his articles have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and other prestigious publications. No, it’s precisely because he’s anti-smoking that he’s worried about misrepresentations of science by anti-smoking organizations. He’s afraid that the public will not take anti-smoking campaigns seriously if organizations keep exaggerating health risks and playing to people’s emotions.

Thus, he has founded The Center for Public Accountability in Tobacco Control. He says he “became disillusioned by the direction in which the anti-smoking movement is going.”

The Center for Public Accountability in Tobacco Control is dedicated to ensuring the ethical and honest practice of tobacco control by anti-smoking organizations in the U.S. It aims to help ensure that efforts to reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality are sustainable by a movement that can remain credible and effective into the future. Its premise is that the anti-smoking movement is increasingly becoming more extreme, getting out of control, going too far in its agenda, and losing its solid public health basis. The tactics being used by many anti-smoking organizations have become questionable, including misleading and deceiving the public, improperly attacking individuals, and improperly using kids to promote a political agenda. The agenda itself has become less and less public health-based; it now include [sic] efforts to deny employment to smokers, treat smoking parents as child abusers, and ignore basic issues of individual privacy and autonomy to coerce smokers into adopting healthier behavior.

In order to restore the movement, the Center for Public Accountability in Tobacco Control hopes to highlight the tactics currently being used, bringing these tactics to public attention in order to hold public health groups accountable to their primary constituency: the public.

If you visit his site, you’ll see example after example of inaccurate health claims and misleading statements published by anti-smoking groups. In particular, he takes on statements made by Americans for Non-Smokers’ Rights (ANR) and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, two organizations that are heavily relied upon by Smoke-Free Illinois advocates.

Siegel thinks the health risks are compelling enough without exaggeration, but apparently the public didn’t, which is why these other organizations felt the need to resort to hysterical rhetoric and heavy-handed tactics. It’s good to see an honest physician speak out against such abuses.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

JENNINGS — The school board voted 4-3 on Monday night to buy out Superintendent Kay Royster’s contract, which was to run through June 2009. The buyout was estimated to cost about $230,000.

Royster had come under fire in recent months, accused by teachers in public meetings of allowing reserve funds to dwindle, hiring unnecessary administrators and failing to implement a $1.5 million computer program.

Hat tip: WMBD Radio.

I received this press release today:

PEORIA, IL—The CENTER for PREVENTION of ABUSE believes that all persons deserve the right to live free from violence, regardless of “collateral” issues.

In recent news articles and coverage of the arrest(s) of Monterius Hinkle, it has been suggested by local leadership that female victims of violence are held to a higher standard by prosecutors and juries than their assailants. Martha Herm, Executive Director at The CENTER for PREVENTION of ABUSE, and Julie Boland, Program Director of the Sexual Assault Service program, assert that it is the community and those who commit violent acts that should be the ones held to the highest scrutiny.

Herm and Boland assert:

• “Each one of us must learn to separate the victim’s life and actions from those of the perpetrator. We need to draw a box around the incident. The bottom line is…did someone commit an act of violence against another’s will? YES or NO?
• What a sad message we’re sending to those who have been victimized that they shouldn’t come forward because they won’t be able to get help. In crimes of sexual assault, victims are small children, teens and college students, they are mature women and seniors who may live by themselves or in long term care facilities. They are boys and men. It happens in all socio-economic circles. No one is immune.
• All members of our community deserve to be treated with dignity and fairness. That treatment must start with the criminal justice system, but can’t end there. It is critical that we work together to change the attitudes of everyone in central Illinois. Even if the police arrest the rapist and the prosecutor takes him to court, the decision of what happens next is often in our hands. We must hold sexual predators accountable for their actions. We must ask ourselves how we would want to be treated if we were victimized. We must stop blaming victims in order to excuse the crimes of their attacker.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, there is help. The CENTER for PREVENTION of ABUSE is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide help and hope to those who have been harmed at the hands of another. To get help or to learn more, please call 309-691-0551.

A couple of important dates for your calendar:

• Blogger Bash tonight at Buffalo Wild Wings near the Shoppes at Grand Prairie. Billy has the details.
• JammSammich Tenth Anniversary Concert is this Saturday, Feb. 2, at Crusen’s on War Memorial Drive. Show starts at 8:30. Believe me, if you like live music and especially if you like dance music, you will have a blast at this show. The original five-piece band will be there (Brian Carroll, Mike Mercer, Doug Rendleman, Matt Tomlianovich, and me), plus every incarnation of the band thereafter right up to today, including fantastic musicians like Scott Wignall, Steve Davis, Eric Anderson, Chris Booher, and Bill Trulove. You can see more details on the JammSammich website.

That’s the sentence for the four boys whose careless actions took the life of Danny Dahlquist. It was a plea bargain in which they agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter in exchange for the reduced sentence. They also have to pay monetary fines and court costs.

What do you think? Was justice served?

The jail time was a surprise — speculation was that they’d get off with only probation. I think jail time is appropriate; in fact, even six months seems a little short for taking someone’s life. On the other hand, there will be those who think that six months is too long for these “good boys” since it was, they say, just a “prank” that went horribly wrong.

I don’t see it as just a “prank,” on par with short-sheeting someone’s bed or TPing a house. This was a lethal combination of underage drinking and incendiary devices. Everything that happened that night was illegal. It was illegal for someone to deliver alcohol to someone underage. It was illegal for the underage students to be drinking. It was illegal to possess roman candles. It was illegal to use those roman candles to criminally damage someone’s property. What’s the difference between this and a drunk driver accidentally killing someone with his car? You can get 3-14 years in prison for aggravated DUI that results in the death of one or more persons. In light of that, six months seems pretty lenient.

And I know I’ll get flak for this, but ask yourself honestly, if this had been four African American youths down on Krause Avenue that did this exact same thing, what do you think public sentiment would have been? “Oh, these are good kids; go easy on them”? “Six months is too long; they should have only gotten probation”? I think we all know the answer to that.

Can you name the top countries from which the U.S. imports crude oil? Here’s the answer from the Energy Information Administration’s website, along with the average number of barrels that were imported per day in Nov 2007 (in thousands):

1. Canada (1,919)
2. Saudi Arabia (1,530)
3. Mexico (1,484)
4. Venezuela (1,227)
5. Nigeria (1,215)
6. Iraq (508)
7. Angola (408)
8. Colombia (197)
9. Algeria (184)
10. Ecuador (154)
11. Kuwait (154)
12. Chad (107)
13. Argentina (86)
14. Russia (81)
15. Brazil (78)

It’s interesting to me that Iraq only accounts for a little over 5% of our oil imports, and that over 75% of our imports don’t come from the Middle East at all.

Just a Monday morning fun fact for you.