Prof. George William Brown OBE, FBA (1930–2026)

"George Brown was a huge figure in sociology and social psychiatry. At a time when social science and psychiatry were so riven with conceptual differences they could not work constructively, George’s approach was collaborative, courageous and imaginative. His work addressed real-world problems and in so doing greatly enriched mental health research."

Professor Matthew Hotopf, Executive Dean, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/professor-george-william-brown-obe-fba-19302026

Starting in Warrington School of Nursing (Winwick Hospital) as a student mental health nurse in October 1977 you can how that curriculum and programme of study came about; and influences on Brian Hodges' early career.

 

Hodges' Health Career - Care Domains - Model

 

 An individual's 'health career' is impacted by their life chances and life events.

 

 

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES             

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

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group

Individual Psychology Life events PSYCHIATRY psycho-	Life events EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHIATRY
social Group Psychology Life events SOCIAL & CULTURAL  PSYCHIATRY	LIFE EVENTS  PSYCHO-POLITICAL PSYCHIATRY

See also:

Wing, J.K., & Brown, G.W. (1970). Institutionalism and Schizophrenia: A Comparative Study of Three Mental Hospitals 1960–1968. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press. 

Brown, G. & Harris, T. (1978) Social Origins of Depression. A Study of Psychiatric Disorder in Women. London: Tavistock.Google Scholar 

Brown G.W. & Harris, T. (1979) Social origins of depression: a study of psychiatric disorder in women, London: Tavistock Publications.

Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (Eds.). (1989). Life events and illness. The Guilford Press.

My source: Patrick Kidd. Forum, Obituary, The Observer. 20th September, 2026, p.42.
https://observer.co.uk/profile/obituary/article/george-brown-the-former-post-office-boy-who-unlocked-the-mystery-of-depression

Previously: 'social sciences' : 'psychiatry' : 'determinants'

15th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (P.I.C.A.D.)

15th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (P.I.C.A.D.) 
& 7th Mediterranean Conference on Neurodegenerative Diseases (Me.Co.N.D.)

24–28 February 2027 | KEDEA – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki, Greece

The Countdown Begins!

From 24 to 28 February 2027, Thessaloniki will host the 15th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (P.I.C.A.D.) and the 7th Mediterranean Conference on Neurodegenerative Diseases (Me.Co.N.D.), at the KE.D.E.A. (Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center) – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).

This important scientific meeting will bring together healthcare professionals, researchers, academics, and experts in the field of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disorders, providing an opportunity to:

• present the latest scientific findings and emerging data;
• exchange knowledge, experience, and best practices;
• discuss current developments and challenges in the field; and
• foster new scientific collaborations and professional networks.

The Conference is jointly organised by the Panhellenic Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, the 1st Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine of AHEPA University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and the Panhellenic Federation of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders.

The Conference will be held in a hybrid format, offering participants the opportunity to attend either in person or online.

Secure Your Participation

We invite you to register and join us in Thessaloniki for this important scientific event.
REGISTER NOW

Would You Like to Present Your Work?
Submit your abstract and contribute to the scientific programme of the Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to present your research, share your findings with the scientific community, and engage with colleagues from Greece and the wider Mediterranean region.

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT

Save the Important Dates
Please plan ahead and make sure to complete your registration and, if you wish to present your work, your abstract submission within the relevant deadlines.

Timely compliance with the Conference schedule is essential for the effective organisation of the event and will contribute to the smooth preparation of both speakers and participants.

IMPORTANT DATES
For registration deadlines, abstract submission, programme updates, and all other Conference information:

For detailed information, please visit the OFFICIAL CONFERENCE WEBSITE

We look forward to welcoming you to Thessaloniki, 24–28 February 2027, and to an engaging and productive scientific meeting.

The Organising Committee


n.b. I enjoyed taking part in 2025 virtually. Blog post to follow re. 'Propedeutic' above. PJ

HIFA Discussion: Alcohol Use Disorders (37) Do people understand the harms of alcohol? (9) How can they be better informed? (5)

Further to the post on 1st February 2024:

HIFA discussion on Alcohol Use Disorders, 5 Feb - 17 Mar 2024

- I have f/w some reflections (edited here). You may have your own experiences, skills, knowledge to contribute?

<>

As a teenager you were very aware of peer pressure (as a social expectation) to drink. Is it an acquired taste?

The media played a key role - advertising "Tetley Bitter-men", "Double Diamond - works wonders", Babycham, Advocaat, Martini Rosso .. and many of the popular TV series we consumed (pardon the pun).

Getting in the pub AND served was a right of passage - and a rather 'tame' one for a white, male.

In the family the harms and risks of alcohol were explained. 

Sometimes they were demonstrated at parties, weddings, the aunt, uncle - relative who was notorious for having too much.

Studying literature at school did have a role to play - although less directly.

Although on reflection when there were school assemblies I wonder if 'drink' (Church of England) was mentioned?
Interesting perhaps - the change in daily school routine.

I remember at a birthday party for a fellow class pupil at a social club, the birthday boy was sick all over the table - yes - had been drinking.

Tempered my attitude early on - c.15.

As a nursing asst. and student nurse you realised the other - dark - side. The key being the contradiction that alcohol represents:

• Drink to relax, socialise, be friendly, enjoy yourself;
• Impact of your health, risk of addiction, violence, (brewer's droop was an early lesson - tho not practically);
• IF YOU develop a drink problem then you're on your own and so is your family (there are of course agencies in developed nations - but the funding disparity - as in, gambling, tobacco?).

In a 'local' - public house - pub it was known in 1970s for some regulars (invariably men) to down c.12 (more?) pints in a night - even after drinking hours: they were heavy goods vehicle drivers.

---------
I may have posted before - how in 1987-88 I completed a study of alcohol (intervention) teams, Preston, Salford, Blackburn here in NW England. The consultant psychiatrist made a key point about the (much debated even then) use of economic levers to help reduce alcohol consumption.

Scotland have just updated their intervention:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/08/scotland-raises-minimum-alcohol-prices-by-almost-one-third

As a student nurse - I was already aware of some of the inorganic molecules that have been found in space: the original primordial soup!

The chemical names still remind me of a chemical plant, such as the former ICI plant at Widnes / Runcorn, Cheshire, England, e.g.:

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/heavy-industry-panorama-night-panoramic-view-chemical-plant-refinery-blue-sky-illumination-some-freight-85481422.jpg

This in-turn takes me to the miracle that is the liver - the biological chemical plant - with a potential powerful message in how 'alcohol' is broken down:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6527027/

Sometimes insight into this can work wonders in terms of motivation for change - the facts - not trying to scare (waste of time)...?

Which brings me to the obvious 'contradiction' in caring for people with a primary / secondary problem with alcohol.

Having a liver function test.

If it's OK that *means* I can carry on!!

I have over the years developed what imho I consider to be potentially therapeutic relationships with patients affected by alcohol.

I say potentially as I, with supervision, have had to withdraw input and discharge them. Even if the client can't 'draw the line', you cannot support the patient in their damaging alcohol consumption and related behaviours. The offer of further support was offered, with signposts should there be a change of  mind.

Alcohol, tobacco - vapes, the 'mental pollution' that can be passed as legitimate 'advertising', fake news ... still calls for a generic model, a universal conceptual framework for personal and global health - across literacies and forms of informatics:

'alcohol'
https://hodges-model.blogspot.com/search?q=alcohol

Just to close I saw an item (I will try to find...) on the preponderance of 'smoking' in films 1940s - present day.

Still a problem now.

Of course: advocacy for health requires constant vigilance.

'Mechanical medicine' is a thing ...

Planet Medicine

"Mechanical Medicine: Ancient surgery, poultices; some herbal medicine and bodywork; all Western technological medicine. 

Since healing occurs in the physical world, all medicines must have some substance, if only the substance from which a potency is derived or the bodies of the participants. The acupuncture needles are not pure energy, and the herbs of the Ayurvedic or Basque doctor grow from real soil; even the mind has the external properties of the brain. The San Pedro cactus of Peru which, according to Eduardo Calderon, transfers its light and vibration to the patient and locks with his aura to drive all physical and mental aspects of alienation to the surface, originates in the physical properties of the desert." p.374.

Grossinger, R. (1982) Planet Medicine - from stone age shamanism to post-industrial healing, London: Shambala Publications Inc.

Book cover: Ebay.

Count Down: What on Earth are We Doing?

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

	COUNT DOWN

See also:

https://www.healthandenvironment.org/webinars/96557

My source:

Capurro, D. 2021, Falling sperm counts 'as big a threat to humans as climate change', The Daily Telegraph, 27 February, p.15.

Button Batteries: Power ... in its place

INDIVIDUAL

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

HUMANISTIC----------------------------------------------- MECHANISTIC

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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  COMMUNITY

INFANTS - TODDLERS	BUTTON BATTERIES
“It turns out this is one of the most damaging and dangerous things that my beautiful boy could have ever swallowed. It does not get much worse than this.” - Mother of an 8 month-old baby boy	Credit: Child Accident Prevention Trust

Motivating the Gut to Walk, to Run

individual - self

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group- population

motivation: "I must go for run again  - regularly -  build up the distance to long ..." *Walk, run, do something ...	On long distance runs: the body produces lactate -  a by-product of muscles working in reduced oxygen. Guts of marathon runners nurture colonies of bacteria that can consume lactate. The bacteria transform lactate into propionate. Propionate "has been shown to increase the heart rate and maximise  the rate of oxygen consumption, making it essentially a natural performance-enhancing drug." Whipple, p.13.

Scheiman, J. et al. (2019) Meta-omics analysis of elite athletes identifies a performance-enhancing microbe that function, via lactate metabolism, Nature Medicine.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0485-4

Fitbiomics
https://www.fitbiomics.com/

*I'm sure I recall reading in Bortz's 'Next Medicine' stressing the importance of movement to independence.

My source:

Whipple, T. (2019) Gutsiest endurance atheletes have the running bug, The Times, 25 June, p.13.

c/o BBC Radio 4: Inherited Fear

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

Inherited Fear "Scared - but not named."  The ghost of a ghost or the memory of a	Biology Germ cells Neuro-epigenetics PAG or periaqueductal gray - the primary control centre for pain modulation Know your surroundings Facial recognition
shadow Transmission of trauma across generations Who is Who	All around the World War, Perpetual Conflict Ethnic cleansing Refugees Climate migrants ... The Past The Present The Future

My source: BBC Radio 4: Inherited Fear

Book: The Vital Question

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic --------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

Book: THE VITAL QUESTION

"We are nothing special. Bacteria such as E coli can divide every 20 minutes. To fuel its growth E coli consumes about 50 billion ATPs per cell division, some 50-100 times each cell's mass. That's about four times our rate of ATP synthesis. Convert these numbers into power measured in watts and they are just as incredible. We use about 2 milliwatts of energy per gram - or some 130 watts for an average person weighing 65kg, a bit more than a standard 100 watt light bulb. That may not sound like a lot, but per gram it is a factor of 10,000 more than the sun (only a tiny fraction of which, at any moment, is undergoing nuclear fusion). Life is not much like a candle; more a rocket launcher." p. 64.

Lane, N. (2015) The Vital Question: why is life the way it is? London: Profile Books. p.64 (Paperback)