Dr. Amen seemingly is a very popular “ADHD influencer”. Many of his claims surrounding ADHD, however, are scientifically dubious. His main claim to fame is his work with SPECT imaging as a tool for diagnosing mental disorders [11]. Specifically relevant to this community is his advocacy for its purported use in diagnosing ADHD [12]; however, there is virtually no research to support this practice [1]. The only research that does exist (as far as I’ve been able to find, anyways) is a paper that he co-authored [2]. The paper does appear to show that SPECT can be used to measure observable differences between ADHD brains and the control brains [2.1], but one paper is far from an established body of supportive science for a medical practice that he touts and charges money for [5][10]. In addition to this, he also diagnoses what he calls the “7 types of ADD” [6]. This is not standard diagnostic practice in the DSM-5 [7]. He also operates an online store at brainmd.com where he sells many supplements that he has publicly claimed help with ADHD management [3.1], and he advocates for their use in his practice [4] — this is a conflict of interest; however, the supplements that he advocates for (that I have looked into) do have some research behind them [8][9], but they appear to not be well established treatments. I would also be wary of his research as he has openly stated that he doesn’t respect the main body of psychiatric researchers, and that he doesn’t wish to listen to their criticism [3.2].
I don’t intend for this post to be interpreted as a trashing of Dr. Amen’s reputation, nor do I fault him for trying to earn a living. There is simply a large potential for shady behavior given the context as a whole, and I believe that it is wise to be very cautious of his advice. I do hope that his research turns out to be beneficial, and not exploitative — I think that there is great benefit to be had from more accurate diagnostic methods, and improved classifications.
References
- “The Puzzle of Neuroimaging and Psychiatric Diagnosis: Technology and Nosology in an Evolving Discipline”. Martha J. Farah, Seth J. Gillihan. AJOB Neurosci. 2012-10-01. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8653781/.
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The lack of empirical validation has led to widespread condemnation of diagnostic SPECT as premature and unproven.
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- “SPECT Functional Neuroimaging Distinguishes Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder From Healthy Controls in Big Data Imaging Cohorts”. Daniel G. Amen, Theodore A. Henderson, Andrew Newberg. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2021-11-24. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3597411/.
- See Table 3.
- ““Healing ADD - See And Heal The 7 Types!” with Dr. Daniel Amen”. AmenClinics. YouTube. 2014-07-11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWnJ4wjVu9k.
- T23:20
- T11:26
- “Is Dr. Amen a scammer or legit?”. KeyasWorld. YouTube. 2022-03-01. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhQx6UMDLGw.
- T15:32
- “Daniel Amen is the most popular psychiatrist in America. To most researchers and scientists, that’s a very bad thing.”. Neely Tucker. The Washington Post. 2012-09-09T08:57-04:00. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/daniel-amen-is-the-most-popular-psychiatrist-in-america-to-most-researchers-and-scientists-thats-a-very-bad-thing/2012/08/07/467ed52c-c540-11e1-8c16-5080b717c13e_story.html [Internet Archive link].
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A full initial session, including two scans, costs about $3,500.
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- “Getting to know the 7 Types of ADD”. Amen Clinics. https://www.amenclinics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ADD_eBook_FNL_R1.pdf [Internet Archive link].
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At Amen Clinics, one of the first—and biggest— lessons we learned from our brain imaging work is that attention deficit disorder (ADD) is not a single or simple disorder. In fact, there are 7 Types of ADD and each has a unique set of symptoms that requires a customized treatment plan.
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- “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. 5ed. American Psychiatric Association. 2013. https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm [Internet Archive link].
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314.01 (F90.2) Combined presentation: If both Criterion A1 (inattention) and Crite- rion A2 (hyperactivity-impulsivity) are met for the past 6 months.
314.00 (F90.0) Predominantly inattentive presentation: If Criterion A1 (inattention) is met but Criterion A2 (hyperactivity-impulsivity) is not met for the past 6 months.
314.01 (F90.1) Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive presentation: If Criterion A2 (hy- peractivity-impulsivity) is met and Criterion A1 (inattention) is not met for the past 6 months.
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- "The Role of Iron and Zinc in the Treatment of ADHD among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials ". Roser Granero, Alfred Pardo-Garrido, Ivonne Lorena Carpio-Toro, Andrés Alexis Ramírez-Coronel, Pedro Carlos Martínez-Suárez, Geovanny Genaro Reivan-Ortiz. Nutrients. Elsevier. 2021-11-13. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/11/4059.
- “Magnesium status and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A meta-analysis”. Mohammad Effatpanah, Mahdi Rezaei, Hosein Effatpanah, Zeynab Effatpanah, Hamed Kord Varkaneh, Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, Somaye Fatahi, Giulia Rinaldi, Rezvan Hashemi. 2019-02-25. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165178118318456
- “Could High-Tech Brain Scans Help Diagnose ADHD?”. Carl Sherman. ADDitude. 2023-11-17. https://www.additudemag.com/brain-scans-for-adhd/ [Internet Archive link].
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Several scans may be required, at a cost that can top $1,000.
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- “SPECT Research Overview”. Amen Clinics. https://www.amenclinics.com/approach/spect-research/ [Internet Archive link].
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Research has repeatedly recognized the value of brain SPECT—the imaging technology we use with our patients at Amen Clinics—for assessing many different areas of brain function, especially the blood flow patterns in issues such as traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, ADHD, depression, OCD, dementia, substance abuse, autism, seizures, and strokes.
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- “Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)”. Amen Clinics. https://www.amenclinics.com/conditions/adhd-add/ [Internet Archive link].
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[…] we use brain SPECT imaging to determine which of the 7 types of ADD/ADHD a patient has so our doctors can target treatment specific to their needs.
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All you had to do was tell me he sells his own supplements…
Or that he’s an “influencer”.
It reminds me of like a modern day version of phrenology. Like where they thought the shape of your skull determined your mental traits.
Instead of feeling the lumps on the skull for ADHD this quack use suspect brain scans.
Instead of feeling the lumps on the skull for ADHD this quack use suspect brain scans.
Imo, it’s nearly equally as suspect to claim that there is no correlation between SPECT brain scans and ADHD as saying that there is a correlation between SPECT brain scans and ADHD. The point that I was trying to convey in the post is that he is harnessing extremely sparse, and far from established, research to try and sell things to people. That isn’t to say that there is established evidence to say that what he’s doing is indeed bogus, there’s simply little research to show that it actually works.
When you have testimonials from trash like oz and phil on you site you know its full of shit. Nothing wrong with my mental strengh. I can concentrate on a problem for twelve hours straight forgoing food and a restroom break. None of them possess a mental strength like that. I’ll stick with my qelbree for treatment thank you very much. You know a real drug not some essential oil type treatments.
Haven’t seen many people on qelbree. How does it work for you? I’ve been curious about it, but I’ve read so many stories about negative side effects, that I decided to stick with concerta
I didn’t think it was doing anything for the first two months. Then I went three weeks without it. Since I couldn’t get united health to pay for it and the psychiatrist was out of samples. During that time I noticed that I couldn’t keep on task as well as I had. I still lose my keys in plain site and leave my lunch at home on occasion but not nearly as much as I used to. Just like all the rest its no miracle cure but since I can’t take any stimulant based treatment its much better than nothing.
As to the side effects I haven’t had many. No insomnia if taken in the morning. No headaches or no more than normal. No nausea or vomiting. Perhaps a bit of constipation but easily manged with a change in diet. The lack of appetite is a plus for me.
Brain Doctor to the Stars Labeled a ‘Snake-Oil’ Salesman
Updated Jan. 09, 2023 1:19PM EST
Published Dec. 10, 2022 11:25PM EST
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A warning about “Dr. Amen”. Please dont go to his clinic…
1 year ago
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May I add an article from 2008.
As might be anticipated, Amen is not a stranger to controversy. In 2005, on Quackwatch.org, a nonprofit that investigates health-related frauds, myths, fads and fallacies, Dr. Harriet Hall, a retired family physician, outlined concerns regarding Amen’s practices. In addition to those I’ve mentioned, Hall was critical of Amen’s unsupported claims that SPECT scanning provides “guidance in the application of specific medications or other treatments such as supplements, neurofeedback, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.”
https://www.salon.com/2008/05/12/daniel_amen/
He is known to be a quack for almost two decades. Reminds me of Hulda Clark and the likes.
I had a SPECT scan done once at an Amen clinic.
Didn’t really help anything besides give cool pictures of my brain. Turns out my brain is the only hyperactive part of me (SPECT shows bloodflow in the brain and mine was way more active than most). It was neat I guess, but I already had been diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type, so it ended up just being expensive and not really helpful. My mom was happy about it though, so there’s that.
I wouldn’t recommend it. They need to inject you with a radioactive isotope for your blood to show up in the scans. Supposedly it’s not much worse than a couple of X-rays, but still.
Did the Amen clinic diagnose you with ADHD from the SPECT scan? If so, were they aware that you had ADHD prior to you being given the results of the scan? And did the scan include a standard DSM-5 ADHD test or was it only the scan?
I had a prior diagnosis and both they and I knew it. ADHD meds didn’t help me as much as I’d hoped so the scan was looking for anything else. They said I had OCD tendencies and that might have contributed to the meds not helping (in some cases they made things worse). The scan didn’t include the standard ADHD test (it was DSM-4 at the time, I’m 32), but they did do 2 scans: one as a control and another after I did an attention-specific puzzle/challenge (think n-back type stuff). They compared the results and showed one spot where I had less blood flow after the focus challenge.
I had a prior diagnosis and both they and I knew it.
Ah, okay. I’m just wondering if the results of the scans were affected by confirmation bias due to them already knowing that you had been diagnosed with ADHD.
Almost certainly. Like I said previously, it was mostly just kinda “neat”. Total ripoff for the price
Total ripoff for the price
If you don’t mind, how much did it cost?
I don’t remember, but it was at least in the hundreds
We should create a list of adhd resources… Wondering if we can get a sticky from the mods.
