Biomedical therapy

Biomedical therapy may sound like a complicated topic to understand, but it's really pretty
straightforward. This lesson will help you get the facts straight and organize your thinking on
this topic. After the lesson, test your understanding with a brief quiz.

Definition
When you hear the word therapy, you might think of a treatment such as physical therapy, to heal
muscles after an accident, or perhaps going to a psychiatrist for depression. You're on the right
track!
Biomedical therapy focuses on treating and reworking the brain. It falls under the branch of
mental health, which is an often stigmatized topic. Biomedical therapies are meant to help
patients with physiological symptoms and psychological disorders by using drugs,
electroconvulsive treatment, and psychosurgery. Let's take a closer look at those three
interventions.

Drug Therapy
The use of medicine to treat mental disorders is known as psycho pharmacotherapy.
Therapeutic drugs are used for an array of psychological issues and can be grouped into three
categories:
1. Medicines meant to treat depression or alter moods are called anti-depressant drugs. People
who use anti-depressants are more than just sad. These medicines are prescribed by a doctor to
treat clinical depression, a mood disorder characterized by feelings of extreme hopelessness and
lack of interest in life. Anti-depressants include drugs such as Zoloft or Prozac.
2. Medicines used to relieve anxiety are called anti-anxiety drugs. Anxiety is a condition
characterized by chronic worry, unease, or nervousness. You may feel mildly anxious before a
test or major life event, or maybe you've experienced extreme anxiety for longer periods. Doctors
prescribe anti-anxiety drugs such as Valium or Xansa.
3. Medicines used to treat larger psychological issues, like schizophrenia or psychotic episodes,
are called anti-psychotic drugs. Patients with these mental disorders can suffer from delusions,
confusion, hallucinations, or other extreme conditions. Antipsychotic drugs include Mellaril,
Haldol, and Theorizing.

Electroconvulsive Therapy
A second type of biomedical therapy is electroconvulsive therapy, better known as electric
shock therapy. It was first used by doctors in the 1930s to treat depression, anxiety, and
schizophrenia by altering brain waves.

Electroconvulsive therapy delivers a shock to a patient's brain through electrodes placed on the
temporal lobes. After the shock is delivered, the patient has a convulsion, or brief seizure, and
becomes unconscious. Results varied, and the device is rarely used today.

Psychological treatments
Psychological treatments (also known as talking therapies) can help you change your thinking
patterns so you're able to keep your anxiety under control and reduce irrational worries.
There are several types of effective psychological treatments for anxiety, as well as different
delivery options. Some people prefer to work one on one with a professional, while others get
more out of a group environment. A growing number of online programs, or e-therapies, are also
available.
Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
Behaviour therapy
E-therapies
To find out about other psychological treatment approaches and the level
of evidence behind them, download A guide to what works for anxiety.
Biochemical Treatment: Medicines for the Next Century

During the past 20 years, research aimed at development of advanced drugs has intensified. This
has been especially true for psychiatry and the behavioral sciences, which have experienced a
radical revolution. Recent research has shown that innate chemical imbalances, rather than, as
previously believed, distorted environments or disturbing life experiences, are responsible for
most mental disorders. Many doctors trained in psychotherapy and counseling in medical schools
have had to adjust to the realization that these techniques have limited effectiveness for
biochemical disorders. The net result has been a massive shift to drug therapies, often applied on
a trial-and-error basis
Biochemical Treatment of Schizophrenia
Pfeiffer found that 90 percent of schizophrenics have either histapenia, meaning low histamine
(histamine is an essential protein metabolite); histadelia, meaning high histamine; or pyroluria
(disordered vitamin B6 metabolism) as their principal disorder, with hypoglycemia (low blood
sugar) often a complicating factor. In addition, many histapenics and histadelics are also
pyroluric. The remaining 10 percent of the schizophrenic population are afflicted by a variety of
"splinter" disorders, including cerebral allergies, wheat gluten intolerance, homocystineuria (an
inborn error of sulfer amino acid metabolism), celiac disease, polydypsia (excessive thirst),
prolactin (a hormone that stimulates and sustains lactation) overabundance, and thyroid
deficiency.

Nearly 50 percent of schizophrenics have histapenia as their major chemical imbalance.

Symptoms commonly include paranoia, suicidal depression, auditory or visual hallucinations,
religiosity, and sleep disorder. The classic biochemical signature of histapenia involves depressed
blood histamine and basophiles (a class of white blood cells) and elevated serum copper.
Treatment usually revolves around vitamin B3 as either niacin or niacinamide; folic acid;
cobalamine (part of the vitamin B12 group); vitamins B6 and C; zinc; and manganese. Most
histapenics experience major improvement within six weeks, but a year of treatment is
commonly required before the last symptom (usually paranoia) can be overcome.
Biochemical Treatment of Depression
Most depressed persons were born with a biochemical predisposition for depression, which
renders them particularly vulnerable to traumatic events and difficult life circumstances.
Contribution to their depression are a wide variety of biological imbalances, including elevated
histamine, zinc deficiency, copper overload, thyroid deficiency, low histamine, pyroluria, and
many others.
Symptoms and medical history are often helpful in identification of specific chemical
imbalances. Depressed persons with elevated histamine commonly exhibit frequent headaches,
allergies, and obsessive/compulsive/addictive tendencies. Those with zinc deficiency may report
poor wound healing, impaired taste acuity, amenorrhea, stress dyscontrol, delayed growth, and/or
premenstrual syndrome. Persons with elevated copper are prone to tinnitus and post-partum
depression. Low-histamine depressives often report anxiety/panic attacks, upper body pain, and
paranoia. Pyroluric depressives usually suffer from rage attacks and severe inner tension.
Biochemical Treatment of Behavior Disorders
A 12-year collaboration between Carl Pfeiffer and myself resulted in classification of behavior
disorders into four chemical categories, based on trace metal patterns. Pfeiffer developed drugfree treatments for each of these conditions, and more than a thousand patients have been treated
under this system.
Type A individuals are characterized by a high copper/zinc ratio, depressed hair sodium and
potassium, and a sensitivity to lead, cadmium, and other toxics. Type A boys commonly exhibit
Jekyll-Hyde behavior with episodes of fighting or severe tantrums interspersed with periods of
excellent behavior. Type A girls are prone to oppositional behavior, mood swings, promiscuity,
and non-violent delinquency. Biochemical treatment benefits 85 percent of Type A persons, with
25 days usually required for significant improvement. Examples of persons afflicted with severe
Type A chemistry are mass-murders Richard Speck and Patrick Sherrill. About 40 percent of all
behavior-disordered children exhibit mild or moderate Type A chemistry.
Biochemical Treatment of Learning Disabilities
Biochemical treatment has been shown to be an effective alternative to the

prescription drugs Ritalin, Cylert, Dexedrine, and Norpramin, which are

frequently administered to underachievers. The Carl Pfeiffer Treatment Center has
measured a success rate of over 70 percent, based on treatment of 500 children
with learning disabilities, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder (ADD), and
dyslexia. In contrast, development disabilities, autism, and Downs syndrome are
seldom improved following biochemical treatment. The Carl Pfeiffer Treatment
Center is organizing a controlled, double-blind study to measure treatment
effectiveness for ADD and learning-disabled children.