382:"The commercial context of the discovery of benzodiazepines sets them apart from other drugs of this era." In 1970, Cohen noted that benzodiazepines were “a model of how a therapeutic agent is initiated and brought forth by an enterprising pharmaceutical manufacturer who simply seeks to find a drug superior to others already in the marketplace.” Cohen regarded this as a neutral, but the commercial origins of benzodiazepines would later serve to imflate the charges that tranquilizers were created to compound corporate profits rather than to eradicate human suffering.
281:(anti-anxiety) action, which occurred without any accompanying clouding of consciousness or intellectual dysfunction. Toxicity was minimal, and the success of Phase III testing in thousands of patients in three settings (prison, clinic, and private office) led to its approval by the FDA in February 1960. A month later, it was marketed as Librium. The first clinical note on its therapeutic efficacy was published in the March 1960 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
312:, Samuel Gershon, Robert Prien, and Joseph Tupin, after repeated meetings over 2 years, advised the FDA to approve the use of lithium carbonate for the treatment of mania, and lithium officially became available in the pharmacy." These psychopharmacologists, working in New York and Galveston, established a framework for the safe dispensation of Lithium as a treatment for mood, manic episodes, and bipolar disorder. "The overall impact of
293:, an Australian, with significant advances further described by Danish scientists in 1954. In the United States, research progress was delayed due to the unfortunate circumstance that six months before the publication of Cade's research, lithium salts had been approved as a "taste substitute" for table salt, "leading to a number of severe poisonings and some deaths."
249:, at the 111th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, reporting on his comprehensive 14 month study of dosage and usage in some 1,400 cases. Although the medication produced numerous undesirable effects and complications, overall his conclusion was that chlorpromazine was "a relatively safe drug" clinically.
827:
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and slurred speech. Interest in the drug diminished, until Cohen and two other clinical investigators agreed to engage in clinical trials of the drug with their psychoneurotic patients who received office-based treatment, as well as with a small number of patients in the Texas
Correctional System.
200:
Irvin M. Cohen was born in
Birmingham, Alabama, on August 29, 1922. He attended the University of Texas at Austin (1939-1943) and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (1943-1945), before serving as a captain in the Army Medical Corps.
232:
With his particular interest in psychopharmacology, he was an early proponent of the use of chlorpromazine in the treatment of schizophrenia, though he became increasingly aware of its limitations. Chlorpromazine, introduced in 1951, was seen as
191:
In the 1950s and 60s, Cohen implemented the clinical trials that supported the pharmacological advances in these areas, bringing to patients a new era of pharmaceuticals, many of which have remained in widespread use throughout the 2020s.
316:
at this point was to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment in psychiatry." Cohen, chair of the
Lithium Task Force, was a key voice here, as well as in the crafting of the Lithium Task Force's influential 1975 status report.
241:
any of the old drugs, including morphine," and "for psychiatrists working on the front line it was a miracle drug." But the very excitement generated by this drug suggested to Cohen that further trials were necessary.
333:, Houston, and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He served on the Executive Council of the Board of Houston Methodist Hospital and led several psychiatric organizations in Texas and the South.
269:, had synthesized a new molecule, chlordiazepoxide, which he felt had potential for psychopharmological therapies, but its first human study, involving high doses, produced
83:
330:
918:
601:
691:
413:
908:
625:
Laurence, William L. (February 28, 1960). "HELP FOR MENTAL ILLS: REPORTS ON TESTS OF SYNTHETIC DRUG SAY THE RESULTS ARE PROMISING".
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471:
297:
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340:. He was elected Speaker of the APA Assembly 1987-88, and served on the APA Board of Trustees and its Council on Research.
305:
709:"Lithium therapy at the millennium: a revolutionary drug used for 50 years faces competing options and possible demise"
93:
326:
205:
641:
145:
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181:
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Cohen, Irvin M. (1970-01-01). "The
Benzodiazepines". In Ayd, Frank J. and Barry Blackwell (ed.).
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Cohen's clinical trials produced impressive results. The drug, in smaller doses, had a powerful
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Nationally, Cohen was a
Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA, and an Emeritus Fellow of the
185:
309:
696:. National Institute of Mental Health (U S.) Program Analysis and Evaluation. p. 90.
708:
525:
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In 1954 he married
Dorothy Lewis, one of the organizers of the psychiatric unit of the
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Better than Prozac : creating the next generation of psychiatric drugs
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By the late 50s, the search for new psychopharmacological agents was on.
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177:
385:
Cohen died
September 7, 2019, in Savannah, Georgia, at the age of 97.
289:
Lithium's psychoactive properties had first been described in 1949 by
750:"The Current Status of Lithium Therapy: Report of the APA Task Force"
270:
373:
Taylor Manor
Hospital Award for Discoveries in Biological Psychiatry
126:
Taylor Manor
Hospital Award for Discoveries in Biological Psychiatry
362:
The
Current Status of Lithium Therapy: Report of the APA Task Force
602:"Benzodiazepines: The Accidental Tranquilizers | Psychology Today"
180:) treatments in depressive patients, and in the adoption of
845:"Listening to the Past: History, Psychiatry, and Anxiety"
501:"Fifty years chlorpromazine: a historical perspective"
445:"Irvin Cohen Obituary (1922 - 2019) Houston Chronicle"
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In the United States, it was not until 1970 that the
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408:. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 47.
160:(1922–2019) was a psychiatrist specializing in
84:University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
164:, recognized for his role in the early use of
8:
646:Journal of the American Medical Association
693:Lithium in the Treatment of Mood Disorders
478:. Obituaries. Plano, TX. December 31, 2009
325:Dr. Cohen held clinical professorships at
225:, Cohen established a private practice in
18:
860:
553:"Complications of Chlorpromazine Therapy"
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394:
350:Complications of Chlorpromazine Therapy
247:Complications of Chlorpromazine Therapy
217:Psychiatry, early psychopharmaceuticals
505:Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
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829:Discoveries in Biological Psychiatry
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245:In 1955, Cohen presented his paper,
551:Cohen, Irvin M. (August 1, 1956).
331:University of Texas Medical School
208:, where she served as head nurse.
14:
725:10.1034/j.1399-5618.1999.010201.x
707:Fieve, Ronald R (December 1999).
338:American College of Psychiatrists
16:American psychiatrist (1922–2019)
787:Cohen, Irvin M. (October 1988).
690:Gattozzi, Antoinette A. (1970).
658:10.1001/jama.1960.63020110010011
300:Lithium Task Force of America, "
298:American Psychiatric Association
919:People from Birmingham, Alabama
760:(9): 997–1001. September 1975.
640:Harris, Titus H. (1960-03-12).
261:, a pharmacologist working for
172:, the development of the first
112:
849:Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
793:American Journal of Psychiatry
754:American Journal of Psychiatry
557:American Journal of Psychiatry
1:
402:Barondes, Samuel H. (2003).
94:University of Texas, Austin
935:
909:University of Texas alumni
862:10.1177/070674370505000702
327:Baylor College of Medicine
206:Houston Methodist Hospital
843:Tone, Andrea (Jun 2005).
151:
130:
196:Early life and education
805:10.1176/ajp.145.10.1342
789:"Report of the Speaker"
606:www.psychologytoday.com
914:American psychiatrists
642:"METHAMINODIAZEPOXIDE"
766:10.1176/ajp.132.9.997
569:10.1176/ajp.113.2.115
344:Selected publications
146:Psychopharmaceuticals
168:in the treatment of
158:Irvin M. Cohen, M.D.
832:. J. B. Lippincott.
356:The Benzodiazepines
627:The New York Times
267:Nutley, New Jersey
162:psychopharmacology
799:(10): 1342–1344.
713:Bipolar Disorders
652:(11): 1162–1163.
415:978-0-19-803450-6
368:Honors and awards
321:Positions of note
263:Hoffmann-La Roche
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132:Scientific career
65:Savannah, Georgia
57:September 7, 2019
33:Irvin Myron Cohen
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115: 1954)
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719:(2): 67–70.
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59:(2019-09-07)
904:2019 deaths
899:1922 births
72:Nationality
893:Categories
611:2022-02-20
482:2022-02-20
476:Star Local
454:2022-02-21
449:Legacy.com
389:References
279:anxiolytic
237:effective
142:Psychiatry
39:1922-08-29
813:0002-953X
774:0002-953X
666:0002-9955
577:0002-953X
517:1176-6328
291:John Cade
184:to treat
80:Education
879:31205149
871:16086534
733:11252660
674:14400012
585:13340010
535:19300578
424:58991830
75:American
526:2655089
472:"COHEN"
314:lithium
285:Lithium
182:lithium
178:Librium
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378:Legacy
358:(1970)
352:(1956)
271:ataxia
212:Career
138:Fields
123:Awards
100:Spouse
875:S2CID
629:: E9.
221:Post
111:(
107:
867:PMID
809:ISSN
770:ISSN
729:PMID
670:PMID
662:ISSN
581:PMID
573:ISSN
531:PMID
513:ISSN
420:OCLC
410:ISBN
239:than
235:more
54:Died
29:Born
857:doi
801:doi
797:145
762:doi
758:132
721:doi
654:doi
650:172
565:doi
561:113
521:PMC
265:in
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