Federal Agency Responsible for Mental Health Research Gives Short Shrift to Serious Mental Illnesses

11/13/2003

From: Shannon Little, 202-588-7742, Angela Bradbery, 202-588-7741, both of Public Citizen, Alicia Aebersold of the Treatment Advocacy Center, 703-294-6008

News Advisory:

WHAT: Press conference to release report showing the continuing failure of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to sufficiently fund meaningful research of serious mental illnesses.

The Treatment Advocacy Center and Public Citizen have found that the NIMH allocates only a small portion of its research grants to scientific research into serious mental illnesses -- bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and severe forms of depression -- in spite of the millions of Americans who suffer from these illnesses and their enormous economic and social costs. From 1997-2002, the NIMH rejected funding for many promising research proposals on serious mental illnesses and instead funded much research on topics that had no relationship at all to these brain diseases, such as pre-schoolers' conception of love and characteristics of sleep in insects. Although the NIMH budget doubled during those years, the proportion of money spent on researching mental illness declined significantly.

WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m.

WHO: E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., lead author, president of the board, Treatment Advocacy Center

Mary Zdanowicz, executive director, Treatment Advocacy Center

Jon Stanley, assistant director, Treatment Advocacy Center, has bipolar disorder

Sidney Wolfe, M.D., director, Public Citizen's Health Research Group

WHERE: Public Citizen, 1600 20th St. N.W., Washington, D.C.

(The office is located at the northwest corner of Q and 20th Streets, N.W.)