The Curious History of Medicines in Psychiatry

by Wallace B. Mendelson

In the years following World War II, there were no effective medicines for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression. There were not even names for such things-- words like 'antipsychotic', 'mood stabilizer','antidepressant' or 'tranquilizer' had not even come into being. Within the next two decades all these types of medicines were developed.  Most of these discoveries occurred inadvertently, often with a chance observation by a physician or scientist who was looking for something else. Who would have predicted that war surplus fuel from German V2 rockets would be used to develop a new tuberculosis drug, and that a doctor prescribing it noticed that patients felt more hopeful, and thought this might be useful for depression? Or that a scientist testing a preservative for penicillin noticed that animals became quieter, and wondered if it might be a helpful treatment for human anxiety? In this book Dr. Mendelson, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, draws upon forty years of experience studying medicines to describe how they were found, as well as the context of world events and the lives of the discoverers.

Genres: Psychiatry

135 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2020

About the author

Dr. Mendelson is a Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Pharmacology, and director of the Sleep Research Laboratory (ret), at the University of Chicago. He earned an MD degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed a residency in psychiatry there as well. He has held professorships at Ohio State University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, was Chief of the Section on Sleep Studies at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD, and Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Mendelson is a past president of the Sleep Research Society. Among his honors is the William C. Dement Academic Achievement Award from the American Sleep Disorders Association/American Academy of Sleep Medicine as well as a Special Award in Sleep and Psychiatry from the National Sleep Foundation, and he is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Mendelson has authored 15 books and numerous peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of sleep research, psychiatry, and medical history. More information about his work can be found on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace...) and at his website (www.zhibit.org/WallaceMendelson).

Reviews

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
The Curious History of Medicines in Psychiatry is an explanation of how medications were developed for patients. At first they were by chance discoveries. After World War II, medications were created by changing the molecular chemical structure.
This is a carefully written book for people who want a better understanding of the history of medications given to people who have a mental health disorder.
The time period is post World War II with a focus of the 1950s to the 1990s.
There is an addendum giving sub stories on people and events briefly given previously in the book.
Included is a medical glossary.
My Thoughts:
This is the third book I've read and reviewed written by Dr. Mendelson. The other two books are Understanding Antidepressants and Understanding Medicines for Anxiety.

What I love about all his books.
•They are brief and to the point, which helps because the topics can become heavy with subject matter that goes over my head.
•Interesting information is added to the medical content that is about culture and society, or a short bio of a historical person.

What I love about The Curious History of Medicines in Psychiatry.
•I had several aha moments. For example, Lithium was originally used to treat gout. Later it was used to treat bipolar disorder. Chloroform was used during one of Queen Victoria's labors (8th child). Acceptance followed.
•An interesting story about LSD.
•Scientists continued working towards discoveries even though they were told to cease. I'm so glad they persevered.
Source: I received a complimentary paperback copy from the author, I was not required to write a positive review.

[Chris N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understanding psychiatric medications

Mendelson takes us on a fascinating trip reviewing the history of multiple medicines used in psychiatric practice, including lithium, tricyclics, serotonin reuptake inhibitors, neuroleptics, and benzodiazepines. He describes the people and situations behind the development of these drugs, often concluding that it was the careful observation of unexpected effects that led to original progress. We are now deep into “rational drug development” in psychiatry. Let us hope that it won’t blind us to the possibility of new insights from unanticipated quarters. I would recommend this to experts looking for additional historical detail, trainees seeking understanding of the field, and anyone who finds scientific knowledge to be interesting and stimulating.

[John Crowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read! Before I saw this book, I always imagined medicines had always been sitting on the pharmacy shelves. It didn’t occur to me that there was a story of how they came about, and how their history was tied up in world events. This is a fascinating book, written in a way anyone can understand. I really recommend it!

[George Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I read this book, I never really thought about how medicines like antidepressants and tranquilizers were discovered. In this really interesting book I discovered that in fact many of them were discovered almost by accident (‘by serendipity’). Sometimes the doctors were working on some other issue, and just noticed something that caught their interest. I was surprised that after World War II there was extra fuel left over from V2 rockets, and it became the raw material that antidepressants were made from. The author tells these stories in an engaging and easily readable way. If you are interested in how medicines medicines were developed, this is a fascinating read.

[Genoveva Uzunova · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book. The process of discovery of new medicines of psychiatry is difficult and long nowadays. It was very interesting for me to learn about the serendipitous discovery of medicines years ago. I think it's important for people working in the fields of psychiatry and pharmacology to familiarize themselves with this history.

[Kimberly R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well presented and concise summarization of physiological pharmacology history. I would like to read more from this author. Mendelson greatly narrated and presented the content logically while considering many perspectives adding clarity to the historical information included in the book.


Anyone interested in medicine history, pharmacology, and organic chemistry would enjoy this book.

[Kathy Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

I wood recommend if looking in to history of antidepressants and how they came to be. I didn't understand stand some of names of medicine until I looked them up

[Brylo Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cool! Quick fun historical book on psych pharm for those into pharmacology like me 💪🏼💊