Daniel Carlat is an American

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

known for his critical stance towards pharmaceutical prescription practices and corporate sponsorship of

continuing medical education Continuing medical education (CME) is continuing education (CE) that helps those in the medical field maintain competence and learn about new and developing areas of their field. These activities may take place as live events, written publications ...

(CME). He is the CEO of Carlat Publishing, which sells newsletters and other materials used for CME.

Background

Currently, Carlat is a faculty member at Tufts Medical School and serves as the editor of ''The'' ''Carlat Psychiatry Report,'' a monthly newsletter. In 2007, he wrote a ''New York Times Magazine'' article entitled "Dr. Drug Rep" about how he was recruited by the pharmaceutical company

Wyeth Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. was a pharmaceutical company until it was purchased by Pfizer in 2009. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as John Wyeth and Brother. Its headquarters moved to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, a ...

to promote the

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. Common side effects of antidepressants include Xerostomia, dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, akathi ...

Effexor Venlafaxine, sold under the brand name Effexor among others, is an antidepressant medication of the serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic ...

as being more effective than other antidepressants on the market. According to Carlat, he began to doubt the quality of the data that supported the drug he was paid to promote, pointing towards the short-term nature of the studies cited by the company, along with concerns raised about withdrawal symptoms. He eventually chose to quit giving talks on behalf of drug companies entirely after being questioned by a Wyeth district manager about his "enthusiasm" for the product''.'' In another 2007 article in ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', he criticized

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

for accepting millions of dollars from drug companies that sponsored continuing medical education courses in psychiatry. Carlat has also criticized the quality of psychiatric

pathophysiology Pathophysiology (or physiopathology) is a branch of study, at the intersection of pathology and physiology, concerning disordered physiological processes that cause, result from, or are otherwise associated with a disease or injury. Pathology is ...

by comparing his field to

cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

, which he argues has a better understanding of how to treat problems using medication. He cites problems such as an inability to directly measure

neurotransmitter A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a Chemical synapse, synapse. The cell receiving the signal, or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neurotra ...

levels in living patients and a reliance on indirect testing methods (e.g., measuring

serotonin Serotonin (), also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), is a monoamine neurotransmitter with a wide range of functions in both the central nervous system (CNS) and also peripheral tissues. It is involved in mood, cognition, reward, learning, ...

based on

cerebrospinal fluid Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear, colorless Extracellular fluid#Transcellular fluid, transcellular body fluid found within the meninges, meningeal tissue that surrounds the vertebrate brain and spinal cord, and in the ventricular system, ven ...

samples or during

post-mortem An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death ...

studies).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlat, Daniel Living people American psychiatrists University of California, San Francisco alumni Year of birth missing (living people)