The ECONOMICS & ETHICS of: A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION in the MIDDLE of a MAJOR PARADIGM SHIFT

and A SHADOW HEALTHCARE SYSTEM in CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Conjecture

• There are so many PAINFUL CHALLENGES about living in a WORLD OF INFINITE POSSIBILITY and
  • Finite Resources
  • Limited Time and
  • Energy

 

• We are almost always of necessity leaving work for FUTURE GENERATIONS.

 

• One of the most important things we can do is grapple with the ETHICAL ISSUES raised by PARADIGM SHIFTS in OUR OWN TIME.
  • AND how we can do this BETTER.

 

• To me ---- A BIG PIECE OF THE PUZZLE IN DEALING with COGNITIVE DIFFERENCE/DISABILITY and RESOURCE INEQUALITY is thinking through a PRO LIFE APPROACH through the LIFE SPAN.

 

• I often pick on Elon Musk because he is an "OUT" NEURO-DIVERSE PERSON, he is one of the RICHEST PEOPLE in the the WORLD --- and he is kind of a NUT CASE and in "some ways" is very SMART.

 

• I also often "pick on" the Mental Health Profession and the Legal Profession ---
  • and I do think those Professions have serious problems --- and so do most professions.

 

• So one of the ISSUES is trying to ACCURATELY DESCRIBE where we are at in our understanding of "Neuro-Developmental and Psychiatric Disorders."
  • Seemingly we know or some people (some researchers, lay people, etc) know that the current PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSTIC MANUAL is SERIOUSLY FLAWED and/or "INVALID" according to the National Institute of Mental Health in 2013.
  • What are the Ramifications of that?

 

• Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders are more and more viewed as on a "CONTINUUM."
  • What are the Ramifications of that?

 

• Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders are still viewed as "Brain Issues" but in addition to the Central Nervous System, we're also talking about DYSREGULATIONS of the IMMUNE SYSTEM, ENDOCRINE SYSTEM, the MICROBIOME, and the METABOLISM.
  • What are the Ramifications of that?

 

• Further, this is not as SIMPLE as:
  • Challenging Genes = Neuro-Developmental and Psychiatric Disorders
  • At the very least this is often:
    • Challenging Genes + Maternal Immune Activation (during pregnancy)
    • And the impact of GREATER "DEVELOPMENTAL" and AFTER ACQUIRED INFLAMMATION OVER THE LIFE SPAN
  • Both Maternal Immune Activation and Inflammation Acquired after Birth can come from MANY SOURCES.
  • What are the RAMIFICATIONS of this COMPLEXITY?

So when it comes to ECONOMICS ---

• We need to fund TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH, MEDICINE
• We need to DE-PERSONALIZE as in DE-CRIMINALIZE DYSREGULATIONS of the Body --
  • while at the same time recognizing the need for PRECISION MEDICINE and these DYSREGULATIONS can be HIGHLY IDIOSYNCRATIC.
• Get HONEST about IMPERFECT TREATMENTS, and
• Bring people into the PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS from all sides.

Neurodevelopmental disorders—the history and future of a diagnostic concept
 (2020)

Abstract

This article describes the history of the diagnostic class of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) up to DSM-5.

We further analyze how the development of genetics will transform the classification and diagnosis of NDDs. In DSM-5, NDDs include intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Physicians in German-, French- and English-speaking countries (eg, Weikard, Georget, Esquirol, Down, Asperger, and Kanner) contributed to the phenomenological definitions of these disorders throughout the 18th and 20th centuries.

These diagnostic categories show considerable comorbidity and phenotypic overlap. NDDs are one of the chapters of psychiatric nosology most likely to benefit from the approach advocated by the National Institute of Mental Health’s Research Domain Criteria project.

Genetic research supports the hypothesis that ID, ASD, ADHD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder lie on a neurodevelopmental continuum.

The identification of recurrently observed copy number variants and disruptive gene variants in ASD (eg, CDH8, 16p11.2, SCN2A) led to the adoption of the genotype-first approach to characterize individuals at the etiological level.


***Physical Health Issues, the Immune System, the Endocrine System & Mental Health Index

Shared Genes & Psychiatric Disorders

Maternal Immune Activation

Schizophrenia, the Immune System, the Endocrine System & the Microbiome

Psychiatric Disorders:

• Maternal Immune Activation
• Developmental Aspects
• Common Genes
• Epigenetics
• Executive Functioning Difference/Deficits