Professor of Psychiatry & Beh Sciences @StanfordMed decreasing stigma/increasing evidence/improving care. Food tweets. Digital Ed @BMJMentalHealth Opinions mine
Stanford, CA
Joined January 2013
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Just had a patient tell me today that my prescribing acamprosate saved his life. Hasn't drank since. "I just don't think about it anymore." Never had someone taking gabapentin tell me that, so just a reminder to all of you out there to follow the data and to watch your biases.😀
Picked a bunch of apples on Whidbey Island that are traveling home to become something. Yes, actually. #twittersupperclub
Udon noodle soup with fishcakes and green onions. I’m watching too many Japanese restaurant YouTube videos! #twittersupperclub
Kratom-derived products are everywhere and they’re not safe. We are seeing more people with addiction to these than ever before. Great interview with @KeithNHumphreys
Spoke with @nbcbayarea about MGM-15, a new semi-synthetic opioid that is sold in gas stations, convenience stories, and smoke shops.
nbcbayarea.com/video/news/lo…
Michael Ostacher, MD, MPH retweeted
Interesting new data on alcohol use in the UK (N=1.7 million).
This annual household income trend probably driven by fact that younger generations drink much less.
Less than 1 in 50 people aged 18 to 29 drink every day, compared to 1 in 5 people aged over 80!
Overstuffed apple pie, practice for Thanksgiving #twittersupperclub
“I’m old. I’ve paid my home off. I should probably help pay for the fire department in case my house is on fire.”
“I’m old. I’ve paid my home off,” said Ray Warner, a 72-year-old Akron resident. “Why would I pay property tax?”
Across the country, homeowners are asking the same question and revolting against property taxes at a scale not seen in a half century.
politico.com/news/magazine/2…
Michael Ostacher, MD, MPH retweeted
FYI: VA is running a large clinical trial at sites all over the country on GLP-1s for problem drinking. Currently recruiting info in link.
va.gov/orlando-health-care/n…
Lunch at Zareen’s and dinner at my house (including a fish curry). Her naan is great and I wish I could create that at home but a tandoor is just not in the cards. #twittersupperclub
Two important things that I understand from decades of practice and recovery: neither self-medication (and I was a student of Ed Khantzian) or that you must have a “bottom” are true. Nice piece by @chrisaikenmd
1. The self-medication hypothesis comes up short:
psych-partners.com/self-medi…
2. Hitting rock bottom is not a reliable route to recovery:
psych-partners.com/dont-wait…
Michael Ostacher, MD, MPH retweeted
A month or so away.
Forensic Psychiatry Research Society annual meeting on 16 November (10am-5pm) at Pembroke College, Oxford.
New research presentations in morning; risk assessment masterclass in afternoon (focus on methods and systematic reviews)
To register and book: eventbrite.co.uk/e/199928154…
Michael Ostacher, MD, MPH retweeted
Stanford’s neuroanesthesia team is hiring! Great opportunity for an anesthesiologist- we do all kinds of interesting cases, teach residents & students and have ongoing research collabs across the university careers.asahq.org/jobs/view/…
Michael Ostacher, MD, MPH retweeted
SAINT (SNT) TMS once promised outsized recovery rates for refractory depression, but two new trials from independent centers bring it back to earth:
psych-partners.com/a-setback…
Thanks for the find @RecoveryDoctor
Michael Ostacher, MD, MPH retweeted
The most important briefings of the day.
Karl Deisseroth, professor of bioengineering and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, shares the news of his Nobel Prize with his kids.
Michael Ostacher, MD, MPH retweeted
Karl Deisseroth just won the Nobel Prize.
He showed that brain cells can be turned on/off by shining blue light on them, after inserting a light-sensitive protein from algae.
The method was named optogenetics and has been used worldwide to link specific neural circuits to behavior.
BREAKING NEWS
The 2026 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.”
Michael Ostacher, MD, MPH retweeted
A extremely well deserved Nobel Prize for discoveries that have dramatically changed our ability to study and understand the brain. @NobelPrize
BREAKING NEWS
The 2026 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.”