More on the Ritalin - Cancer link, and how well Psychs keep up to date

As seen here, all regarding this. to summarize:

18 kids, newly diagnosed with ADHD, started the study, only 12 finished. They showed up on day 1, and blood was taken. The kids were then given Ritalin (methylphenidate) 20-54mg/d, as part of ordinary treatment, for three weeks. At the end of three weeks, another blood sample was taken. The bloods were evaluated for cytogenetic abnormalities.

In every single case, the frequency of chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges (SCE), micronuclei, and nucleoplasmic bridges were all dramatically higher than at baseline. Not a little higher-- massively higher.

Cutting threough the jargon, the apparency is that Ritalin is linked to factors that may cause cancer. This is news by itself.

But then there is this anecdotal item later in the article

What is astounding to me, apart from the obvious, is that no one knows this article. It has not been referenced in any subsequent articles. I can't find one psychiatrist, academic or otherwise, who has even heard this. They all look at me blankly: "Really?"

Yet, simultaneously, psychiatrists live with complete confidence that Ritalin is safe. They've never checked the known information before, of course, so what allows them to be so confident I have no idea; and they certainly don't run Medline once a month "just to keep up with all of science"-- but they're sure of what they know. Not even an empty patronizing nod to "but of course, our knowledge base is expanding..."

The point is not that Ritalin is unsafe. This study could be a load of crap, for all we know. But shouldn't psychiatry have at least heard of this study? What is the mechanism to disseminate this kind of information? How long does it take for something like this to hit the psychiatric press? In other words, given psychiatrists' arrogant confidence, how do they believe they would be informed of new developments? They don't really read psychiatry journals. They certainly aren't going to read cancer journals.

It might be witty to note, that since in normal society, 1 to 3 percent of the population could be described as psychopathic, that among psychiatrists, 1 to 3 percent may be honest and ethical about thier practice and thier patients. Even if they are mis-informed.