February 12, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN TO THE BRAIN; REFERENCED EEG, ADDICTIONS AND DUAL DISORDERS
Thom Montgomery, Ph.D. CADC
Scientific Breakthrough in Brain Wave Analysis.
In its leadership role in the treatment of addictions, Brookside Institute insists on using the latest in modern diagnostic and treatment methods. As part of Brookside Institute's science based protocol, the Referenced Electroencephalograph [rEEG] offers treatment professionals of many disciplines and patients the first real hope for long term recovery.
Among the great advances in the scientific and professional treatment of addictions is the increasing availability of brain diagnostic tools, such as the electroencephalograph [EEG]. Traditional treatment methods have largely ignored the actual organic brain and its function, and have suffered an undue amount of failures in recovery.
Science based treatment is a highly effective option today. Research has given us many advances in understanding of the human brain and its potential - and barriers.
Since the 1920's, the EEG has been used to map brain function for many purposes. The carefully gathered data has been stored, compared and studied, and today we are able to get a vision of the actual brain operation in both the average individual and individuals suffering from a variety of traumas to the brain.
While there has been tremendous advance in the acceptance and treatment of addiction as a disease, there has been very little advance in the recovery rate within traditional treatment programs. Relying primarily on behavioral and moralistic approaches, scientific advances have only slowly been incorporated into the treatment process.
Over the last thirty years, the scope of treatment programs has changed. Treatment has moved from treating only the alcoholic, to treating patients addicted to a wide range of drugs. The dual diagnosis patient, formerly considered non-treatable in mainstream programs, now represents an increasing number of patients in treatment today.
The failure rate of traditional programs is well known.
Science Based, Science Proven
Melding the knowledge gained in EEG studies of the actual brain and its function since the 1920s, at least one remarkable physical assessment tool has evolved from the scientific community and is gaining widespread acceptance.
Where the average addictions treatment program focuses on behavior and its damage to the individual on a psychological level, few programs have been willing to work with the center of the addictive process - the physical brain.
In his report on "Referenced EEG - A Database of Medication Response," Daniel A. Hoffman, MD of the Neuro-Therapy Clinic, P.C., Greenwood Village, CO reported that "While the referenced EEG is particularly useful in treatment resistant patients, the future holds promise for almost all patients to be tested before beginning a course of medication. The implications are profound, both for the future delivery of psychotropic medications, as well as clinically."
Based on actual brain operation, the rEEG locates those areas of the organic brain which are operating under or above the norm, and compare it to a large database of prior tests. By comparison, it is then possible to identify what medications have been effective in that area of brain function for most people.
Pulling Back the Curtain on the Brain
The organic brain itself is treated - not just the noticeable behavioral symptoms. The advantages are obvious. It is the difference between treating a fractured leg with pain medication, and actually treating the fracture so the bone may properly heal.
Reported at the International Society for Neuronal Regulation's 12th Annual Conference, in August 2004, conditions often linked to persons suffering from addiction were shown to be measurable by EEG examination, and responsive to well established neurofeedback techniques.
Consistent with this finding, over 70% of subjects who had shown great difficulty in achieving long term recovery, showed marked improvement in recovery rates using medications suggested by the "referenced EEG." The rEEG test is proving a boon to addiction treatment specialists and psychiatrists. It provides a key to both addiction and to its many co-occurring mental health issues.
Various conditions were studied, including mood disorders, ADHD, and disorders often attached to addiction. For example Kamran Fallahpour, PhD of The Brain Resource Company, Brainquiry, The Institute of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Performance, New York, NY, reported on what the EEG showed as variables that "were the best predictors of favorable response to ADHD medication."
For years, psychologists and psychiatrists have been treating mental disorders by looking for similarities of symptoms: the most common example is that of depression, for which antidepressants are prescribed. Yet science has not always been able to pinpoint the best anti-depressant, so prescribing has been on a hit or miss basis. Patients have had to take a medication for several days, sometimes weeks before discovering that it is not effective.
The Referenced EEG is instrumental in reducing that need for trial-and-error medicating of patients.
By studying brain waves in relation to behavior and function, science has been able to note that certain areas of the brain respond to different medications. By refining this technique, when the EEG shows a marked deficit in any area of the brain, it is only a short step to noting which medications most favorably impact that same area of brain function.
It has long been known that the probable center of addiction lies in the organic brain. Studies from the 1950s onward have shown that there is a genetic component to addiction, while studies throughout the eighties and nineties and on into the present day have shown the benefits of appropriate medication in assisting patients to achieve long term recovery.
In line with our mission of providing the best in proven, scientific care, Brookside Institute makes the rEEG available to all of its patients.
Brain Centered Disease, Brain Centered Recovery
With addiction identified as a brain centered disorder on a biological level, the use of the rEEG has made possible a thoroughly new approach to recovery for the addict. Many of the mood disorders and maladaptive behaviors can be identified as to source, and appropriate chemical balances achieved by simple medication adjustments.
As reported by Sharon Worcester of the Tallahassee Bureau of CP NEWS [February 2005, Volume 33, No 2]:
"Max Schnieder, M.D., who is another proponent of the rEEG system, described the case of a 47-year-old man with opiate and other dependencies, and severe chronic pain from injuries, surgeries, and professional athletics. The DSM-IV diagnosis was polysubstance dependency, Tourette's syndrome, and dyssomnia disorder not otherwise specified. The patient had been treated with varying combinations of narcotic analgesics, tricyclic antidepressants, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors without adequate improvement.
On the basis of his rEEG correlation, the patient was treated with carbamazepine, and fluoxetine was then added. He experienced rapid improvements in his tics, sleep disorder, dysphoria, and cravings.
A repeat rEEG at 3 weeks' follow0up showed marked improvement. However, 3 months after discharge, the patient saw a new psychologist and medical doctor, who together questioned-and changed-the treatment regimen.
'The patient called in a panic with recurrent tics, dyssomnia, and anxiety' said Dr. Schnieder of the University of California, Irvine.
The patient is now on 800 mg of carbamazepine and 20 mg of fluoxetine daily and was doing well at 7 months follow up.
..Dr. Schnieder said he is 'enthralled' with rEEG."
For Brookside Institute, the process begins with a complete physical assessment: neurological, physiological and with a rEEG administered at the Brookside Institute campus. To achieve maximum effects, individuals who have been using drugs, alcohol or medications, are required to be abstinent for a pre-determined length of time prior to the EEG, based upon the nature of the actual drugs or medications used.
The results of the EEG are then entered into a database for comparison. A report is generated which identifies those areas of the brain that are dormant or below normal levels of function. A comparative analysis identifies those categories of drugs most likely to stimulate improved brain function in the identified problem areas.
The next step identifies the actual medications considered most effective and safe, with specific medications proven beneficial with similar brain dysfunction. The report offers Brookside Institute's treating physician or psychiatrist both the identified drugs which have most often helped patients, and a subset of drugs which have also proven helpful to many.
Because the rEEG is not invasive - that is, no injections are given, no drugs administered - it is a truly safe test.
In line with our mission of providing the best in proven, scientific care, Brookside Institute makes the rEEG assessment and follow-up available to all of its patients. Patients suffering from dual diagnosis disorders benefit greatly, as does the single diagnosis patient.
Where medication alone greatly assists in achieving maximum recovery, medication combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, usually achieves beneficial results much more quickly than by any other known method.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [CBT] assists the patient in learning new ways of behaving, coping, and re-framing issues that formerly overwhelmed them. It is this unique combination of brain wave analysis through rEEG, with CBT and appropriate medication that sets the Brookside Protocol™ apart from other treatment programs.
Properly understood and appropriately used, the rEEG is a cutting edge technology that holds great promise for improved recovery and the highest quality of life.
Contacts:
E. Keith Owens, Director
Brookside Institute
Phone: (949) 679-7425
Fax: (949) 679-7428
owens@brooksideinstitute.com
Brookside Institute
