FIRST OFF . . .

A Maryland psychiatrist who said he opposed drug and shock therapy for the mentally ill on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” earlier this year will keep his license after a medical review board recommended against its revocation. Peter Breggin, 52, of Bethesda, Md., said he was grilled for more than an hour at a closed-door hearing of the Physician-Patient Relations Committee, part of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of Maryland. The hearing was called to respond to complaints from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, which endorses the use of anti-psychotic drugs. The alliance said that after Breggin had stated on the show that he personally recommended avoiding doctors who immediately prescribe medication, it received reports from around the country that mentally ill patients who heard Breggin’s comments stopped taking their medication.