Jonathan T. Leo is a former Professor of Anatomy at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. He is currently an Associate Professor of Anatomy at the

Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) is a private, non-profit medical school located in the city of Dothan in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the first osteopathic medical school in the state and is believed to be the first osteopa ...

. He has published articles critical of chemical and biological theories of

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. He is the former editor-in-chief of '' Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry''. With

Sami Timimi Sami Timimi is a British psychiatrist. He is a consultant in child and adolescent psychiatry, Director of medical education at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and a visiting professor of child psychiatry at the University of Lincoln. ...

, he is also the co-editor of the book ''Rethinking ADHD''.

''JAMA'' controversy

In 2008, Leo and Jeffrey Lacasse co-authored a letter to the editor that was published in '' JAMA''. The letter criticized a randomized controlled trial that had been published in ''JAMA'' aimed at determining the effectiveness of the

antidepressant drug Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, heada ...

escitalopram in the treatment of

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. Leo and Lacasse criticized the original trial for not directly comparing the effectiveness of escitalopram with that of

problem-solving therapy Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...

. After this letter was published, Leo discovered through a Google search that one of the authors of the escitalopram paper, psychiatrist Robert Robinson, had received speaking fees from Forest Laboratories, the company that produces and sells the drug under the name Lexapro. Robinson had not disclosed this conflict of interest in the paper. Five months later, Leo and Lacasse published a letter on the website of '' the BMJ'' pointing out this conflict of interest.

References

External links

Faculty page
* Living people Lincoln Memorial University faculty Macalester College alumni University of Iowa alumni American anatomists Academic journal editors Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-academic-bio-stub