Dr. Ghaemi's thinking is not so radical, according to Dr. Boghos Yerevanian, clinical professor of psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, and director of the mood disorders program at Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare/Sepulveda.
“I agree with Dr. Ghaemi's observations; they are wise words,” Dr. Yerevanian said in an interview. “There are some data, not as well studied as [they] should be, that long-term stimulant treatment is associated with brain microvascular disease. This further complicates the problem with bipolars whose brain integrity is already compromised due to various factors, some of it known and most unknown. Stroke, of course, is associated with cocaine use in young people and cocaine in many respects mimics amphetamines.”
The next step is for the biologic data to be taken into monkey and human studies, and for the current evidence to be more widely disseminated, Dr. Ghaemi said. “I'm not saying you should stop using amphetamines, but you should think about these data when you're using amphetamines.”
Dr. Ghaemi reported that in the past year he has received research support from Pfizer Inc. and honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb. He was on the speakers bureau for Pfizer and Astra-Zeneca but is not currently.
To watch a video interview of Dr. Ghaemi, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWuxgMtZxZY