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DR. DREW

Teens Suffer from Mysterious Illness; Demi Moore Was Hospitalized; Seal and Heidi Klum`s Marriage Breakup

Aired January 25, 2012 - 21:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST: Here we go.

Mounting effort, parents still grappling with the mystery illness inflicting their daughters. Why the feds and Erin Brockovich may now be getting involved.

Demi`s demons, Demi Moore rushed to the hospital and the paparazzi press wild with speculation. What is the real story here?

And Hollywood heart breaks, why did so many celebrity marriages crumble so fast? What can we learn from their problems?

Let`s get started.

OK. Now tonight we are bringing you a story we`ve been following since Friday and I hope you don`t mind, I plan to stay on top of this one until we get some sort of resolution. In fact I`m contemplating heading over to New York and visiting that town and seeing what I can figure out.

Twelve teenage girls, of course who I`m talking about, from the same small school suffering the same mysterious illness, tics, twitching, and uncontrollable outbursts, very similar to a Tourette`s Syndrome. And tonight, two more students are reportedly in the grips of this strange condition.

And with concerns that something odd -- growing concerns, speculations that something on the school grounds could be causing this. And we`ve got news now that environmental activist Erin Brockovich is reportedly getting involved. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PINSKY (voice-over): With Melisa Phillips` daughter Thera, the debilitating affliction came on without warning. She witnessed her little girl wake up from a nap suddenly stricken with an inexplicable stuttering.

MELISA PHILLIPS, THERA SANCHEZ`S MOTHER: The stuttering had -- I mean, it took over, you know, really contorting on the left side of, you know, with her mouth and her neck.

PINSKY: Her honor roll daughter`s bright future was abruptly shrouded in pain. Doctors said it was brought on by stress and that Thera would get better, but when the stuttering ended, it gave way to uncontrollable twitching and daily seizures. Melisa struggles for sure for daughter`s declining health. Thera has trouble keeping down food and has lost almost 30 pounds.

Thera`s friend Lydia Parker has similar symptoms. We had them both on the show Friday. Their suffering was clearly very real and painful. Therea even had a seizure during the interview, although she stabilized quickly.

Since then, I`ve been coordinating with a team of experts searching for answers. For distraught mom, Melisa, the desperate fight for her daughter`s health is taking a devastating toll.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PINSKY: Parents of six of the girls met this past weekend and they agreed they want some sort of cohesive team, perhaps one physician, who has expertise in this area and, of course, tensions are growing as different specialists strongly disagree on the possible causes of this condition.

Here with me tonight to try to sort this all out, Psychiatrist Dr. John Sharp, who`s at the faculty of Harvard Medical School. He`s also the author of book "The Emotional Calendar." And Melisa Phillips whose daughter, Thera, we saw on those tapes suffers from the condition. Also I`ve got Heather Parker, whose daughter, Lydia, you also saw there in those tapes we`re playing.

Ladies, thank you so much for being here. First of all, Melisa, I just want to let you tell us how Thera is doing, everything going OK?

PHILLIPS: She`s had a rough couple of days. She has had a few more seizures, and she`s not being able to keep food down is getting more intense.

PINSKY: Are you saying she`s having vomiting? Is that what`s happening or she just not hungry?

PHILLIPS: She is, she`s vomiting or probably be in the ER visit near soon.

PINSKY: OK. And so, again, this is yet another sort of avenue that has to be traveled down, which is a gastroenterological sort of a work-up.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

PINSKY: Heather, how about Lydia? I heard she`s in a wheelchair now. How is she doing?

HEATHER PARKER, LYDIA PARKER`S MOTHER: She was walking today. She was doing pretty well for the last three -- three days. She`s been going to tutoring in a wheelchair.

Her legs like when your hands go to sleep and they tingle, her legs are feeling like that and they`re not supporting her all the time. She`s fallen a few more times. She`s got a few more bruises, but she`s hanging in there and she`s keeping a pretty positive attitude.

PINSKY: Now on our last show, last Friday, rather, I interviewed both Thera and Lydia about the condition and how it`s affecting their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYDIA PARKER, SUFFERS FROM MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS: I was in school for a little while after it started, but I ended up leaving the last week of October, because I didn`t feel like I could handle school anymore.

THERA SANCHEZ, SUFFERS FROM MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS: It`s hard being -- it`s hard not being able to do what you love, even going to school, I love going to school, but it`s -- it`s -- it`s hard that -- I think it`s even harder knowing that I don`t know what`s going on. Like I`d like to be able to answer people if they ask me what`s happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Now, Thera also has a seizure disorder. It`s called Juvenile Myoclonic Seizure. And because of the unexplained illness, she`s manifesting other sorts of seizure activity. This has gotten worse. She even experienced one during that interview last Friday.

Melisa, now, there`s another part of your story I just got wind of that I understand Thera had mononucleosis a few years ago and experienced tics on the heels of that illness as well, is that correct?

PHILLIPS: Yes, it is.

PINSKY: Has anybody been sort of hooking those things up that maybe somehow that -- we`ve talked in the past, you and I, about the PANDAS Syndrome and for my audience I`ll going to be talking quite a bit more about that as we go on here.

And that may follow other kinds of conditions other than strep, has anybody thought about that possibility?

PHILLIPS: No one`s discussed that with me.

PINSKY: OK. Now the Health Department of New York has been investigating this case apparently for more than three months and has found no cause for the illness. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. GREGORY YOUNG, NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: We`ve spent the last three and a half months doing an in-depth review of not only the cases, but other factors. We have conclusively ruled out any form of infection or communicable disease and there`s no evidence of any environmental factor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Well, the people in the community still have nagging concerns and apparently it was enough to bring environmental activist Erin Brockovich into the story. There are rumors that she is planning to send a team to test ground samples and whatnot at the LeRoy High School.

Heather, do you know anything about this? And I also understand there was some concerns about there having been some contamination of some of those concrete or something at the school. Is that -- is that part of the story here?

PARKER: I had just heard about that today as a matter of fact. I don`t know much about it at all. I`m all up for any testing that anybody wants to do. I just want an answer on how to make my daughter better.

PINSKY: And Melisa, you and I have talked about that same thing. You just want to make sure that you`re not leaving any stone uncovered.

PHILLIPS: Correct.

PINSKY: Dr. Sharp, who`s with us as well, I`m going to talk to him for a second here. And Dr. Sharp, you and I have been conversing about this all week since we did that interview last Friday, and kind of give me your sort of -- we`re going to also talk after the commercial break to the team that is treating these girls now -- or at least some of these girls now -- and talk to a physician that`s heading on up there who believes that there may be -- he may have an explanation.

Before we launch into that, Dr. Sharp, can you give us your sort of take on what you think is going on here?

DR. JOHN SHARP, PSYCHIATRIST, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Absolutely. You know, what we want to do is to put together support for the best treatment possible for the girls, and everyone knows that I`m a psychiatrist. I`m not some guy, though, that works off in an asylum, you know, taking care of people who only have like mental problems.

I work with doctors who are internalists, neurologists and surgeons. I work in hospitals and clinics. And I know that the footprint here is consistent with what we`re calling conversion disorder, and even though you`re right it`s a diagnosis of exclusion, which just means you have to rule out all other treatable causes, it`s not some flimsy diagnosis. It`s a psychiatric emergency when there`s a decisive, counterintuitive act that the individual is not even aware of, which needs to be addressed and treated.

You have to help support the individual and their families. I think if we can get the girls into the right kind of routine, which they`ve developed a start with with Dr. Mechler, I think with a little bit more support and focus, we have a real avenue of hope. That`s where I see the benefit and the therapeutic treatment resting.

PINSKY: Dr. Sharp and I -- I now I`m working very closely with you and I agree. I have no doubt that some of the girls need exactly the type of treatment you`re talking about. I have a deep instinct that some of these girls have a biological problem that may trigger the conversion, but I really want to get to the bottom of those that actually have a biological medical explanation. Because if we don`t hit that we`re not going to get good outcomes here.

Melisa and Heather, thank you so much for joining us.

SHARP: Agreed.

PINSKY: Next up, as I said, we`re going to talk to the two doctors who are currently treating these girls and another physician who`s heading to LeRoy this weekend to administer some fancy test of his own. Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES DUPONT, DAUGHTER SUFFERS FROM MYSTERY ILLNESS: I`m talking about something that just comes on within a couple of weeks and these kids are just totally normal, and the next thing you know they`re going -- and their arms are swinging and they can`t control themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: Welcome back. We`ve been discussing the dramatic mystery illness striking a group of young teen girls from the same school. It`s mysterious in that some of these girls went to lie down for a nap and woke up with a severe Tourettes-like tics and twitches and stuttering, verbal outburst.

Back with me is Dr. John Sharp, psychiatrist, who`s also a faculty member of Harvard Medical School. We have now Dr. Rosario Trifiletti, a pediatric neurologist, who is heading to LeRoy, New York, this weekend to meet with some of the girls and their parents.

And two physicians who have treated 10 of the girls, Neurologist and Vice President of the DENT Neurologic Institute, Dr. Laszlo Mechtler and Dr. Jennifer McVige, a pediatric neurologist who works with Dr. Mechtler. Now, both have diagnosed some of these girls with conversion.

Let`s clarify what that is so people get a sense of what this is. And I - - and I hope this is as interesting to my viewers as it is to us and how much we want to stay on top of this until we have full resolution for everybody.

Now, according to the Mayo Clinic, conversion disorder is, quote, "a condition which you show psychological stress in physical ways, the condition was so named to describe a health problem that starts as a mental or emotional crisis, a scary or stressful incident of some kind, and converts to physical problems."

Symptoms include -- and this is what you pay attention to -- poor coordination or balance, paralysis in arm or leg, inability to speak, vision problems including blindness, and some seizures or so-called convulsions.

Dr. Mechtler, on what do we base the fact that your opinion is these are conversions?

DR. LASZLO MECHTLER, NEUROLOGIST, VICE PRESIDENT OF DENT NEUROLOGIC INSTITUTE: Well, we had the opportunity to see the first patient that showed up in October. At that point, Dr. McVige and myself, we evaluate the individual and based on our neurologic examination, the way we examine the patient and the history took, we felt that that individual had conversion disorder.

What shocked us was that in the following two, three months, then further patients started showing up to our office after being evaluated in the region and then at that time our diagnosis changed from conversion disorder to mass psychogenic illness.

PINSKY: Is it possible as it`s sometimes the case that case zero or case one is a biological condition that sort of gets clouded by all the conversion?

MECHTLER: Yes, that`s so-called index case, so the reality is, is there a patient among this 12 -- and let me just expand, actually 15 cases now, because we`ve had two new patients show up to an office in the last five days. Is there a patient among those 15 that may have a tick disorder, a movement disorder and then unfortunately the rest is just evolved from there? So we`re not sure, because we haven`t seen all the patients.

PINSKY: OK. Now in the last segment, I mentioned this thing called PANDAS Syndrome. And I want to just point out what it stands for. It`s an acronym for Pediatric Auto Immune Neuropsychiatric Disorders associated with streptococcal infection. That`s quite a mouthful.

According to National Institute of Health is a term used to described a subset of children who have obsessive-compulsive disorder and/or tick disorders such as Tourette Syndrome and in whom symptoms worsen following Strep infection such as Strep throat or scarlet fever.

In the old days, they called this St. Vitus Dance or Sydenham`s chorea. It`s classically a sort of a -- what we call a choreoathetosis movement, kind of like this. We don`t see it anymore, because strep infections, well, we don`t identify it as frequently anymore because strep infections are so well-treated with antibiotics.

Dr. Trifiletti, you think this may be a diagnosis of PANDAS, at least in some of these cases?

DR. ROSARIO TRIFILLETI, PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGIST: That`s right. And in fact the idea of PANDAS has actually changed over the years. When initially defined in the mid-`90s, it was very similar to what you were describing on the slide there where it followed a streptococcal infection. That was necessary to define the illness.

But as time has gone on over the last 10 years or so, we`ve come to appreciate that this illness can be associated with a number of other infections and, in fact, the name of the illness has been changed to something called PANS or PANS, Pediatric Acute Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. They`ve taken the strep out of the name of the illness, and this, in fact, was done at the National Institute of Mental Health Conference that was held in July of 2010 that I attended along with 20 or so others physicians that were very interested in this condition.

PINSKY: Dr. Trifiletti, I`m going to interrupt you if you don`t mind. And you`re on the record and somewhere out in the media and you`re quoted as saying that you think the conversion diagnosis is, I think the quote was garbage. Can you address that?

TRIFILETTI: Yes, I think it`s -- I think what I meant by there is that it`s a diagnosis of exclusion and that is a -- yes.

PINSKY: OK. And we all agree on that, Dr. Sharp and I. Dr. Sharp, you and I have been talking about that since we started this thing, is that we -- you know, every stone must be unturned -- overturned, especially, guys, I`m talking to my whole team here on the window, that we have a mom some and parents that are super duper motivated to look into every possibility.

Dr. Sharp, my understanding is you have some other resources out there, you`ve offered them as sort of a second opinion if they wish. Is that accurate?

SHARP: Completely right, Drew. What we`re doing is trying to just support the treatment that the girls are getting. So obviously, they`re getting great care there. Obviously, they live between Buffalo and Rochester.

Obviously Rochester is another great resource. I talked to Dr. Mechtler today about the possibility of the girls getting care there. You know, Rochester is a medical center when they pioneered something called the biopsychosocial model, which is a whole approach to the patient looking at every avenue, biological, psychological, and social. It`s right down the road.

So the girls can get coordinated back-up care there, a consultation, Dr. Mechtler knows about how to work that into his care practice. That`s the best thing I can think of. And if I can maybe point --

PINSKY: All right. Fair enough. Now, CNN --

SHARP: Conversion --

PINSKY: I`m going to interrupt you and tell you --

SHARP: Sure.

PINSKY: CNN talked to both Thera -- Thera Sanchez and Lydia Fields last week and this is what they had to say about the illness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It`s very heart breaking to me to be honest. I am knowing that right now I can`t do what I love.

LYDIA FIELDS (ph), SUFFERS MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS: The last time I went to the neurologist, they said that they`re not sure and that they`ll keep looking into it, but besides that they haven`t told anyone anything.

SANCHEZ: I don`t think this is in my head. I -- I don`t think I can wake up from a nap and this just happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Dr. McVige, I understand you haven`t treated Thera Sanchez, but she and her mother both suspect -- they believe somehow this is not a conversion reaction. What are your thoughts on this?

DR. JENNIFER MCVIGE, PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGIST: I`ve been working with these girls for a long period of time, since the beginning of October and the girls have had symptoms since -- some of the girls have had symptoms since the middle of the summer.

You know, it is a diagnosis of exclusion and I`ve worked very hard with the families to explain how we go about finding that through laboratory studies. I`ve done MRIs on the girls, EEGs on some of the girls, EKGs.

And not only are there these movements disorders, but some of the girls have fainting spells or syncable episodes as well. There have been some seizures that we`ve had. An EEG took (INAUDIBLE) during and it`s not actually an epileptic event or there`s no signs of an actual seizure on the EEG.

PINSKY: OK. So there is what we call fictitious --

MCVIGE: So we are looking into many things --

PINSKY: -- fictitious seizures. We call it fictitious seizures.

MCVIGE: Not epileptic seizures. Yes.

PINSKY: Not epileptic seizures, right.

Dr. Trifiletti, I`ve got less than a minute here, but this is a hard thing to nail down, the PNS Syndrome and it is something that`s hard to treat. There`s not a lot you can do. I`ve got 30 seconds, tell us what your plans are. I guess he didn`t hear me on that.

MCVIGE: Oh, I`m sorry --

PINSKY: That was for Dr. Trifiletti. That was for Dr. Trifiletti.

TRIFILETTI: Yes. We`re planning -- I`m sorry, I didn`t hear you. We`re planning to go up to LeRoy this weekend. We`re planning to go up there in LeRoy this weekend and fully evaluate.

PINSKY: Listen, here`s what we`ll do, I will report back on what your plan is when I get back from the break, because I have to go to break now, it`s live television.

Thank you to all my guests. Thank you for what you`re doing on behalf of these girls. This story has generated a lot of interest online, so we`re going to devote the next segment to your questions and comments.

And later, meltdown in Tinseltown, once again this time Demi Moore`s personal struggles are on display. I`ll tell you what I think. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: Welcome back. I`m once again joined by Dr. John Sharp, who`s helped me so much throughout the investigation into this particular mysterious case.

And before the break, I said I was going to tell you what Dr. Trifiletti`s plan was, and of course this is live television, he got up out of his satellite booth and went away. We don`t know where to reach him now.

But I`m going to speculate, because I know a little bit about this. He will do blood tests, primarily looking for antibodies and sort of evidence that there`s some sort of immune response to infecting agents that could cause this sort of thing.

The real conundrum, though, is if he does something like that, there aren`t a lot of great treatments to my mind. They use steroids. They use immunoglobulins. They use something called plasmapheresis and none of them has really shown to really work. Antibiotics do sometimes they will use.

But I`m not an expert in this. That`s his field of interest. I`ll be interested to see what he has to say. Hopefully we`ll maybe put that on the website at HLNTV.com.

A number of you continue to ring in about this teen illness, of course, we`ve been talking about since last Friday. I want to get to your latest comments and questions right now.

First up, we have Angela in California. Angela, go ahead.

ANGELA, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (via telephone): Hi, Dr. Drew.

PINSKY: Hi, Angela.

ANGELA: I was just concerned that the State of New York and the local school district may not be offering to provide any resources to help these students and their families. I think it would be a great benefit to do so to maintain and protect any other students from possibly being at risk.

PINSKY: I think, Angela, the appropriate agencies are on top of this. It`s not as though people aren`t taking is seriously, people are taking this very seriously. The question is, is there some avenue that could be pursued that somebody knows about, some stone we can look under that people haven`t thought of yet that could help them further.

Facebook, here we go. "I think the school is hiding something, they know something was done but they don`t want to be held liable. There`s definitely an environmental factor. They`re not talking about it. They are simply overlooking something in that school."

Dr. Sharp, do you think there`s any -- when you -- when you go online, there`s Dr. Sharp, when you go online people speculate on all kinds of things, it`s black mold, it`s the Gardasil (ph) vaccine, all these sorts of spurious things that we know were not likely to be a cause of this sort of thing. Do you think there`s likely to be an environmental cause?

SHARP: Not anymore. It`s all been excluded.

You know, we get so terrified, Drew, that we latch on to something. People believe they have the answer because we want to have the answer, but looking in too far-fetched a way is not going to help. We`ve got to look at things that are more likely to be the cause.

PINSKY: And, again, we`re going to be using experts who dedicate their life to investigating things like this.

Back to the phones, Darrell in Georgia, go ahead.

DARRELL, LEGRANGE, GEORGIA (via telephone): Hey, Dr. Drew.

PINSKY: Hey, Darrell.

DARRELL: You know, I think that the term mass hysteria may be misconstrued by these victims and families as a negative, whereas it`s actually a condition. I personally experienced the tics and the verbal outbursts off and on for many years. Initially, I thought it was neurological based on the fact that I do have neurological conditions. However, I began to think that maybe stressful situations can be the culprit.

PINSKY: Well, Darrell, thank you for sharing that. And people with preexisting neurological conditions are at slightly added risk of the conversion.

Dr. Sharp, what do you think about what Darrell said? I`ve got less than 20 seconds here.

SHARP: It`s a great example. People are off in their own symptom model and, you know, when you can make a good theory and get it supported by facts why this would be an enduring psychological problem, then you have the basis for treatment. Again, that`s what matters.

PINSKY: Thank you, Dr. Sharp. Thank you for continuing to help me with this case. As I said, we`re going to stay on top of it.

And you can head over to HLNTV.com for much more on this story and others. Check out our top 10.

And when we come back, Demi, Heidi, Seal, never a dull moment in Hollywood, and yet it seems never a healthy moment in Hollywood, that`s what I say. It`s the kind of people that are trapped into this world.

Stay with us and talk about it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY (voice-over): Celebrities, your kids idolize them, but now, another one is coping with problems no parent wants with their child. Demi Moore rushed to the hospital. First we heard it was exhaustion, nonsense. Now reports of wild behavior, drug abuse, and even anorexia. What`s really going on here? Did the recent split with Ashton precipitate a crisis?

And later, what is it with fly by night Hollywood marriages anyway? Kris and Kim, Ashton and Demi, now Seal and Heidi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PINSKY: So tonight, is Demi Moore in danger? We`re going to talk about it. But first, I need to update you on a story we have been following.

First, the body of missing Atlanta woman, Stacey English has been discovered in the wounds about a mile from where car was found abandoned in December. The medical examiner still working to determine the cause of death. Her disappearance was clouded with mystery. The last person to see her alive said she was acting peculiar on the night of the disappearance. This gentleman said she asked him if he was safe before asking to leave her home.

And of course, our heart out to the English family tonight. We hope they get some answers in this case there, beautiful girl.

All right, we`re going to switch gears and we are going to talk about Demi Moore, who was rushed to a hospital. There is some speculation that she had a seizure while doing nitrous oxide, the term whippets have been tossed around. We cannot confirm this report and when I asked about this story, Demi`s representatives say quote "no further info."

TMZ reports paramedics responded to a 911 call Monday night and transported Demi to a local hospital. TMZ says she`s now receiving treatment there for substance abuse. Demi`s daughter was seen outside the hospital. She was smoking and pacing. There she is out there looking appropriately upset that her mom is sick.

Demi recently had split from her husband of six years, Ashton Kutcher, after this woman came forward claiming they had had an affair. So the question is, did this stress precipitate what we`re seeing now? Rumors are flying all over the place. Radar online reports Demi is treated for a eating disorder. TMZ says Demi has got hooked on nitrous oxide, again I mentioned "whippets". We can`t confirm this, although her rep did not deny it.

"US Weekly" reports Demi was seen a couple of weeks ago dancing in a bar and was "cold-trashed". Tabloids going crazy tonight. What is up with where Demi?

Straight to my guest, Anna David is the executive editor of thefix.com. she, also herself, recovering addict. And knows quite a bit about this condition. Dr. John Schwarzlose is the CEO of Betty Ford Center. And I have Dylan Howard, the senior executive editor of radaronline.com.

Dylan, give us the latest.

DYLAN HOWARD, SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR, RADARONLINE.COM: Well, this is what we know, Dr. Drew. She remains in a hospital being treated. Interestingly, that --

PINSKY: That`s it, in a hospital being treated. She`s not exhausted?

HOWARD: Well, that was the claim. That`s spin, nothing more than spin.

PINSKY: I have a stronger word for that but not able to say it on television.

HOWARD: What is it?

PINSKY: I can`t say it on television. But the fact is, I`m sick and tired of reps shooting things up and don`t make any sense because exhaustion isn`t a diagnosis that requires hospitalization.

HOWARD: Well, what we`ve been able to establish is that she has some serious troubles.

PINSKY: Yes.

HOWARD: Sources tell me that she has been a runaway train for some time. She`s been using substances, including alcohol.

PINSKY: Since the break up?

HOWARD: Pre-dating the break up. You know, Demi Moore`s had her battles long been documented in the tabloids. This isn`t the first time she`s been treated for such issues. She remains in a hospital at the moment. Was she using nitrous oxide, whatever it`s being called? That we don`t know. The rep`s not denying it, was she using cocaine, that`s another thing. Is she anorexic?

Well, I can tell you that people very close to her say have been saying that she goes days on end without eating. And you only make to look at her frail stick seem frame to realize there are issues with this woman.

PINSKY: But that maybe depression. It could be grief from the break up. It could be drug addiction.

Anna, you wrote one of my favorite books chronicling a story like this, your own story like this. What does your instinct tell you, is going on here? And by the way, let me point out to people that everyone`s making so much of the "whippet" thing, nitrous oxide not that uncommon to my world. Steve-O, himself, that was his drug of choice and that was what attributed to him getting so nutty. Nitrous oxide is what --

ANNA DAVID, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THEFIX.COM: I can tell you what it`s like. I would think it`s difficult to get addicted to it.

PINSKY: It`s difficult, but it happens.

DAVID: It happens. I mean, it`s something you can buy actually on Amazon. You can buy it in a cooking store. You put it in a nitrous oxide container, you do whippets to put it into balloon and inhale.

PINSKY: Don`t go too far, I don`t want to tell how to do drugs on the show.

DAVID: And by the way, it`s just massive head rush. It`s a little bit upsetting. It`s not the greatest thing. I can`t imagine.

PINSKY: For you, but some people have a more euphoric experience.

DAVID: It`s overwhelming, not something you do -- it`s not like cocaine or another drug--

PINSKY: For you. Be careful, brains react differently, but what is your instincts telling you, what`s going on here because you, as a woman who had this issues, tell us.

DAVID: Well. You know, it`s been documented that Demi Moore got sober after "St. Elmo`s Fire." And, you know, she was never a celebrity that was publicly, professionally sober. She didn`t make a big deal about it. You know, I heard from sources that, you know, she started to drink again when she got together with Ashton.

PINSKY: So, this is evitable? That`s an evitable? It`s an evitable?

DAVID: Well, once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. If you got treated forth back in the `80s, even if you weren`t drinking for 20 years, it doesn`t mean is goes away.

PINSKY: Dr. John Schwarzlose, would you like to ring in on this, I particularly would be interested in your opinion about the difficulty people have as celebrities staying with their treatment.

DR. JOHN SCHWARZLOSE, CEO, BETTY FORD CENTER: Well, you know, it varies very much for celebrities and for others and I`m just not sure, you know, Drew, that the speculation helps. What I see when someone finally is making a call for help, which as you know takes a lot of courage to ask for help. What I see what works is when it becomes more of a private thing. And when it`s played out in the public, it`s really not fair to that person. And you and I and others have watched it not work, so if she`s reached a point where she`s asking for help, I certainly hope she gets an accurate diagnosis and finds the help that she needs. But, I hope that can be done in a private way.

PINSKY: I -- well said. I think inevitably there`s going to be speculation, but there`s no doubt the care needs to be private and sustained. Now, I have to read a statement released from Demi`s rep when she was first hospitalized that says, quote "because of the stresses in her life right now, Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health. She looks forward to getting well and is grateful to support of her family and friends." As we said, that`s a meaningless statement. No further comment. You make anything what they are releasing?

HOWARD: No. They are not denying the use of this so-called whippets. And they are also not denying anorexia. One thing`s for certain though, this is a woman that`s battled far too much. She was the victim in the breakdown of her relationship with Ashton Kutcher. And I think universally is a well-liked person in Hollywood. Our heart goes out to her.

PINSKY: And again, I want you as the woman on the panel here who`s lived through these sorts of experiences to ring in on what you think Demi`s going through? How does she feel, is she aware, too far gone to understand?

DAVID: Well, I think that she has suffered massive humiliation, first of all, with the dissolution of her relationship, now this on top of it. I would imagine she`s in a great deal of pain, hitting bottom can be a wonderful thing, because it means there`s only one way to go.

PINSKY: Well, I was going to say that. That`s the thing to point out is that treatment works. I hope she engages on that treatment. John, I`m going to give you the last word on that part, treatment works. I hope you or someone like sees her soon. Give me the last word.

SCHWARZLOSE: Treatment really does work and it works when you involve the whole family and you give the person enough time engaged in treatment. It works very, very well. And so I hope, again, that she has an accurate diagnosis and gets to a place where she can find that help. That`s all we wish from anybody who`s at this point.

PINSKY: There you go. And this really nothing special about Hollywood people except as we pointed out, this stuff goes on publicly at people with it may be picked it up. But listen, it helps them maybe breakthrough their denial. The fact is that although it seems like more people in Hollywood suffer from this kind of thing, I`m of the opinion -- well, it`s true, my data shows they do, but not because of Hollywood. It`s because Hollywood attracts a certain kind of person that is predisposed to these sorts of things.

Now next up, from Demi to Ashton, to Seal and Heidi Klum. This again, red carpet couples crumbling. What is going on? And is there anything we can learn from them? And that is coming up.

But first, there`s a huge reaction on twitter to last night`s state of the union address, everything from Hillary`s head band to that emotional hug from congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who of course I think everyone knows survived an assassination attempt last year. But most of the chatter was about President Obama`s policy ideas and solutions. So we get to streets to get straight from you, the voters.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He talked about, you know, moving us away in education from teaching to the tests, which I think is a ridiculous idea. We should be, you know, teaching kids how to learn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the inherent populism in the speech, which is pretty genuine, it was a long time coming. I hope it`s not too little, too late.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: State of the union address last night was the same rhetoric from both sides of the coin, flip-flop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought he was fabulous, really terrific.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president gave a very eloquent speech. I feel like he really focused on the Democrats and Republicans coming together, which is a huge issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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SEAL, SINGER: Because you go into these things with the greatest intentions. When you say I do, and then we said until death do us part. I mean, that those vows hold value, they are not just words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: And that was Grammy winner Seal talking to Ellen DeGeneres yesterday about the end of his near seven year marriage to former super model Heidi Klum. Although Seal told Ellen vows are just words, I think I`d take issue at that. The headline making separation of countless Hollywood couples says otherwise, watch this.

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CARLO DIAZ, HLN HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: J-Lo and Marc Anthony split, shocking details today about what may have led to the break-up of Hollywood`s hottest couples.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Kim Kardashian`s divorce. One of the shortest, the most celebrated and clearly most profitable marriages in Hollywood history.

Katy Perry`s divorce war. Katy speaks out for the first time since her split from Russell Brand.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST, ISSUES: Super bowl Heidi Klum and singer Seal, so gorgeous, so perfect, but now they are calling it quits after seven years of marriage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: In a joint statement released earlier this week, Seal and Heidi Klum said in part, "while we have enjoyed seven very loving year of marriage, after much soul searching, we have decided to separate. We continue to love each other very much but have grown apart."

So, what`s going on here? With insight, I have Lisa and Ken Vanderpump, stars of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." They have been married for almost 30 years and are in this town. They should be able to tell us something.

Of course, Dylan Howard, the senior executive editor of radar online. And I just have to say this, because I sort of try to stay in the moment while we are doing this show, it`s live television.

I thought Lisa was going to shank you there, Dylan, for a second. What was the problem?

LISA VANDERPUMP , STAR, REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS: I`m angry when he said radar online. Because they ran a story last week that was absolutely, 100 percent, 1,000 percent untrue.

HOWARD: Let me give you background, there`s a former house guest that lived in -- has being serialized as part of a TV show that was written a biography of his time on reality television and makes a number of sort of allegations about this couple.

PINSKY: No back up. Here`s what we`re going to do. After this show, I`m going to put you guys in a room, we`re going to hammer this out. Ken wanted to -- Ken was --

HOWARD: I must say, though, these two here are my favorite part of the Beverly Hills show.

PINSKY: There we go. So, let`s get into this.

LISA VANDERPUMP: Right.

PINSKY: Let`s get into it. We have five minutes to talk about this. Now, since marrying in 2005, Seal and Heidi Klum have made headlines every year for renewing their wedding vows, often in lavish ceremonies.

So Lisa, I, that to me is very suspicious. I made my wedding vows and damn that was my wedding vows. And I live by my vows, and they are sacred. Why make them again, again, again, every -- let me ask Ken this, he seems he wants to ring in.

KEN VANDERPUMP , STAR, REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS: I agree with you about not having to make the vows again.

PINSKY: You made them once, right?

KEN VANDERPUMP: Sure, I believe in them, but --

PINSKY: Lisa doesn`t?

KEN VANDERPUMP: I think she does.

LISA VANDERPUMP: Think I do?

KEN VANDERPUMP: I`m going to make sure, because this year`s our 30th wedding anniversary and I`m going to ask Lisa to renew her vows.

PINSKY: That seems reasonable.

LISA VANDERPUMP: That`s a surprise to me, because that sounds expensive, my daughter just got married.

KEN VANDERPUMP: Got me excited.

PINSKY: And Ken, you`ve had great success as a married couple where very few people do. I have too, I love my family, love my wife. I don`t understand the craziness people getting into. I can`t imagine living like that. What advice did you give your daughter on her wedding day, along these lines.

KEN VANDERPUMP: I think she`s got to be friends with Jason, not just lovers. She`s got to -- they`ve got to be friends.

PINSKY: A lot of people say things like that, but I would say that you also have to be passionately involved with your partner. That`s sort of the glue that holds relationships together. And as we as see with Seal and Heidi, they talk about drifting apart.

Let`s look at this "Ellen" piece here, Seal also opened up about his feelings of sadness over the loss marriage. They grew apart as celebrities often do because they are living lives in different spheres and don`t give the nurturing to the relationship they need. Here`s seal on "Ellen."

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SEAL: To say, that neither of us was grieving, it would be an out and out lie and I don`t mind telling you that. But I think the operative here is that we both have a tremendous amount of respect and love and we will try and do this with as much dignity as we possibly can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Is he, Dylan, telegraphing something nasty coming down the pike, you think?

HOWARD: Well, a number of allegations that being led about Seal. That he has a violent temper. And in fact, this family source when years of this broke at the weekend. And this family source described to me an incident that stuck out to them two years ago in Aspen when he actually fired the family chef on the spot and rang someone and demanded they replace that chef immediately. This was in front of their four children in a fit of rage. There`s always going to be some form of --

LISA VANDERPUMP: So what if he fired the chef?

HOWARD: In a fit of rage in front of the children, caused major concern for Heidi at the time.

LISA VANDERPUMP: Right, I don`t know, these stories get exaggerated. You know how I feel about that.

HOWARD: You don`t have the source, I do. And I can tell you , it`s impeccable.

LISA VANDERPUMP: OK, well -- yes, exactly.

PINSKY: All three of you with the accents make these horrible things sound so delightfully civilized.

(LAUGHTER)

LISA VANDERPUMP: I`m so sad about Seal and Heidi.

PINSKY: It is sad.

LISA VANDERPUMP: Because, you know, I really thought they were in for the long haul.

PINSKY: Yes.

LISA VANDERPUMP: I mean, it`s just unbelievable we have this perception of couples and all disintegrates like that and it`s like, what do we miss?

HOWARD: We see this as well. I mean, we had Russell Brand and Katy Perry who have recently split, but to everyone of the younger generation, they were the picture perfect couple.

LISA VANDERPUMP: I thought they were precarious.

HOWARD: OK. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver.

LISA VANDERPUMP: Would never had thought that he would be --

HOWARD: And indeed last year, we saw also Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries which everyone has a lot to say, I know you do, Dr. Drew about the sanctity of marriage there. But this really has become almost an epidemic that people aren`t giving these marriages glow in Hollywood.

LISA VANDERPUMP: I support that.

HOWARD: Oh, my God, you agree with Dylan, I`m stunned.

LISA VANDERPUMP: It`s a first. But you enter into this agreement with your partner and you have children. And I certainly know. You know, we`ve been married 30 years, as I said, but my priority was my family, but the children have no advocate of their own. So, you have to give it your best shot. You don`t just walk away because there`s some little glitch. Your children will have a much better life if you can maintain a happy marriage and stay together.

PINSKY: I absolutely agree with you, and it should be something that is part of the glue of forming that life together, you`re a family, a family together.

But, I do believe I have to take a quick break here, we`ll keep the conversation going in a couple of minutes, but you have to be passionately involved with your partner. And you gave us a little video clip that said you guys only have sex on holidays and anniversaries. That concerned me very, very much. And it should concern you, Lisa, by the way. So, I see that concerns Dylan, by the way.

Ok. Well, I`m just saying. So, we`ll get into that conversation. When it comes to divorce, celebrity or not, as we`re saying here, kids get hit very hard. More about helping parents navigate rocky relationships particularly when there are kids involved and how to make it work and maybe a little bit of how to make it work in a situation where things are very public. Stay with us.

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PINSKY: The divorce rate in California -- I almost can`t believe this data, is staggering 75 percent, a number perhaps impacting many of Hollywood`s break ups despite the reasons. Let me split between Seal and his wife, Heidi Klum. He told "Ellen DeGeneres" that the mother of his children is the most wonderful woman in the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAL: But you know I`m most proud about this great woman who I married and I really do mean that from the bottom of my heart. This great woman that I married is that together, you know, she has given me four incredible gifts, four beautiful children. She still, in my opinion, the most wonderful woman in the world.

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PINSKY: Back with me here in the studio are Dylan Howard, radar online and the Vanderpumps, Vanderpumps I beg your pardon, Lisa and Ken. By the way, you can catch part one of the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Reunion" next Monday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.

So, Dylan, during the break, you had a question. I don`t what it is.

HOWARD: That is to be able to tie you --

(CROSSTALK)

HOWARD: As part of this series, that you were talking about marriage counseling and you were talking to your co-star Taylor Armstrong, and of course we know what happened with Russell. And I don`t want to be criticizing you for saying that you wouldn`t subscribe to the notion of going to marriage counseling. Have you ever been to marriage counseling, the two of you? And if so, why and why not if you haven`t?

KEN VANDERPUMP: We never need to see goes a marriage counseling because we talk about things amongst ourselves. What I said was, I don`t believe in marriage counseling for me. I don`t think I could go and sit in front of somebody and discuss my marriage and my inner issues.

HOWARD: Where would you go?

PINSKY: Yes, Dylan. It`s a pretty common thing in my experience with people who grew up in Britain. Private problems are private. They don`t like sharing them with anybody. And not necessary --

LISA VANDERPUMP: But, I`m on reality.

(LAUGHTER)

HOWARD: I should say this as well. I think in a lot of blood.

PINSKY: Yes, it is. I think it`s particularly a cultural thing. And listen. They don`t have a 70 percent divorce rate in London. So, they are doing something OK.

LISA VANDERPUMP: Right.

PINSKY: Just saying.

LISA VANDERPUMP: And I used to think 10 years is very specific. OK, you got a problem, let it talk about it and work it out. And also --

PINSKY: So, Lisa. You give me the potion. What is it that makes a marriage last so long? What are the ingredients?

LISA VANDERPUMP: I think one of the most important thing is respect. I know, if you got communication but I think respect is so huge. I think when people starts talk to each other badly, and it starts to go down that part, you got to say stop right there. If you are feeling like that right now, I`m not carrying on this conversation.

PINSKY: The way I see that is people need to not win in an argument. They need to -- they have to end up fair, fight fair and not have a winner. If you have a winner, you have loser. And the marriage is the main loser.

LISA VANDERPUMP: Yes.

PINSKY: And we talk about passion for you guys. You want to correct that?

LISA VANDERPUMP: One thing I want to say as well. Is that, talk so good. If you criticize your spouse indirectly, if you say something, I hate him when (inaudible) does that rather than attacking them. Say, you see when that guy does that, that`s really annoying. That was really upsetting.

PINSKY: And I learned a language from young male, that`s turns me off. We have just 30 seconds left. As to pertains to that topic, sex on holidays and birthdays.

LISA VANDERPUMP: It`s not always twice a year. I mean, it may not always.

(CROSSTALK)

LISA VANDERPUMP: Well, I thought he had a romantic week with him, so it`s kind a tenure better.

PINSKY: There you go. Ken, congratulations! Well done. Dylan, thank you for joining us. Lisa, thank you so much.

Check us out on HLNtv.com. you can pick up the top 10 there and see more on this story we`re talking about tonight.

Again, I really appreciate you guys being open to us. And Dylan, for playing along with us a little bit. And I`m going to put these guys in a room during the commercial break. And yes, I`m going to put up the topic that answered well for something

We are going to stay on something on top of the story in New York. See you next time. Good night.

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