The Worshipful, the Mayor of the Borough of Wandsworth, Councillor Jim Maddan attended the inaugural lectures given by
researchers Mohammed Abou-Saleh and Jeremy Turk to mark their being awarded University of London professorships. A police
inspector with 30 years experience dealing with mental health problems on the streets, Clr. Maddan said that he had gained
“fascinating insight” into problems of addictions and other mental disorders.
Professor Mohammed Abou-Saleh, a specialist in addiction psychiatry, talked about his research, revealing how his studies
have shown that lithium is very useful in treating people with comorbid depression and how taking folic acid could help in
the treatment of depression and resultant stimulant dependence as well as helping prevent heart attacks and strokes. His studies
of the mental health of women in a traditional Arab community have shown a higher rate of depression in women than men, apparently
related to their socially disadvantaged lives.
Prof. Abou-Saleh also discussed the value of a harm reduction approach. He reported on his studies demonstrating that treatment
of injecting drug addicts prevents them contracting Hepatitis C.
Professor Jeremy Turk presented a history of treatments used for young people with harmful drug use and other mental health
problems. In addition to outlining major discoveries in treatment, including the recent discovery that melatonin could be
beneficial for children with such problems, he “named and shamed” some bizarre past approaches — from suspending
children with autism or ADHD by their heels and swinging them round in a bid to “kickstart their neurological processes”
to practices where children were “facilitated” in tapping out evidence of abuse on a keyboard. Professor Turk’s
lecture emphasized the need for the type of treatment effectiveness research that is one of the research priorities of the
Centre for Duncanian Studies.
Professor Turk also expressed strong objections to recent media scare stories arguing that there was evidence of a link
between the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism. In his view these claims have been “largely discredited”.
He warned that Britain’s children are already suffering harm due to these dubious fears. “We are experiencing
a rise, if not an epidemic, in measles, mumps and rubella as a result.”
Councillor Jim Maddan, Mayor of the London Borough of Wandsworth, said: “After my 20 or 30 years dealing with people
with mental health problems as a police inspector, it was fascinating to hear about the professionals working with them on
the other side. The two different approaches, from Professor Mohammed Abou-Saleh and Professor Jeremy Turk, each brought a
fresh perspective and new insights to a complex and compelling area.”
The talks were followed by a wine and pancake reception.
