May 11
...serving up your daily dish.
In today's Star Ledger, controversy over whether it's appropriate for NJ's favorite pseudo-psychiatrist, The Sopranos' Dr. Jennifer Melfi, (a.k.a. Lorraine Bracco) to act in a new role, as spokesperson for antidepressants, specifically Zoloft.
Some folks are not thrilled that Bracco, who will sing the praises of antidepressants as a speaker at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, may give folks the perception that the psychiatric establishment is thisclose to drug manufacturers.
In more better living through pharmaceuticals news...
Baristaville has another Hall of Famer. Leo H. Sternbach, Ph.D., a long-time Montclair resident, and one of the inventors of Valium® (diazepam), has been selected as a 2005 Inductee to the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) for his contributions to medicine. Sternbach, who is 96 and now lives in Chapel Hill, NC, will be honored at a ceremony in Akron, OH. Hmmm... 96 years old -- Leo, what's your longevity secret?
Someone who confuses a real-life psychiatrist with an actor who plays one on TV probably could use some heavy-duty meds.
Posted by: Chris | May 11, 2005 4:06:53 PM
I don't know, except for the big smile in the picture above, I've seen several Lorraine Bracco performances and she never comes off as lighthearted. So it's now hard for me to tell if she's simply been a bad actress or a depressed one. I certainly never imagine her as a genuine therapist, not with that honk she has.
Jeff Bridges has also played a shrink twice. He was equally unbelievable as one. There really is an "intelligence issue" that isn't publicly discussed much in movies.
Now, however, were such famed Hollywood press-haters as Richard Gere or Sean Penn to sing the praises of anti-depressants, I might sit up, take notice and beg for a Valium prescription. There are still chemical wonders to be worked out there, I suppose. Thank you, Dr. Sternbach.
Posted by: cathar | May 11, 2005 5:17:38 PM
current medical thinking links depression with a chemical imbalance in the brain, which medications in the ssri class, like zoloft, prozac, etc, help correct. similarly, diabetes medications help correct metabolic imbalances. valium (ie, tranquilizing the symptoms) has nothing to do with this.
not to nitpick.
Posted by: robert | May 11, 2005 7:09:48 PM
