Amphetamine is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the phenethylamine class that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Amphetamine was discovered in 1887 and exists as two enantiomers: levoamphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Amphetamine properly refers to a specific chemical, the racemicfree base, which is equal parts of the two enantiomers, levoamphetamine and dextroamphetamine, in their pure amine forms. However, the term is frequently used informally to refer to any combination of the enantiomers, or to either of them alone. Historically, it has been used to treat nasal congestion, depression, and obesity. Amphetamine is also used as a performance and cognitive enhancer, and recreationally as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant. It is a prescription medication in many countries, and unauthorized possession and distribution of amphetamine are often tightly controlled due to the significant health risks associated with uncontrolled or heavy use. (Full article...)
French psychiatrist Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) releasing people from their chains at the Salpêtrière asylum in Paris in 1795 (painting by Tony Robert-Fleury)
Szasz argued that mental illnesses are not real in the sense that cancers are real. Except for a few identifiable brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, there are “neither biological or chemical tests nor biopsy or necropsy findings for verifying or falsifyingDSM diagnoses", i.e. there are no objective methods for detecting the presence or absence of mental illness.(Full article...)
Image 5Republican Vilnius Psychiatric Hospital in Naujoji Vilnia, one of the largest health facilities in Lithuania, built in 1902 (from Psychiatric hospital)
Image 9Dr. Philippe Pinel at the Salpêtrière, 1795 by Tony Robert-Fleury. Pinel ordering the removal of chains from patients at the Paris Asylum for insane women. (from History of psychiatry)
