Federal Study Finds No Benefit of New Antipsychotic Drugs – WashPost/Wall StreetJ/NY Times Tue, 20 Sep 2005 The findings of a $44 million government sponsored study, CATIE, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, comparing an older generic antipsychotic to four new atypical antipsychotics, undercut the legitimacy of psychiatry’s…
Practice Guidelines: Can We Trustthe Evidence in Evidence-Based Medicine? Sun, 25 Sep 2005 “Research and Clinical Practice Guidelines: Can We Trust the Evidence in Evidence-Based Medicine?” is an article by Dr. John Abramson* (Harvard) and Dr. Barbara Starfeld (Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins), published in the Journal of the American Board…
Cognititve Therapy Halves Risk of Second Suicide Attempt – JAMA Tue, 6 Sep 2005 A study tested the effect of cognitive therapy in reducing the risk of a second suicide attempt by following 120 people who had attempted suicide. They were followed for 18 months–far longer than drug trials. According…
NYT Editorial: comparing schizophrenia drugs Wed, 21 Sep 2005 Today’s New York Times Editorial acknowledges: “A government-financed study has provided the strongest evidence yet that the system for approving and promoting drugs is badly out of whack. The study compared five drugs used to treat schizophrenia and found that most…
FDA Standards – Good Enough for Government Work? Fri, 23 Sep 2005 An essay in The New England Journal of Medicine, by Jerry Avorn, M.D., professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, chalolenges FDA’s “minimalist” drug…
At FDA, Changes In Name Only–Agency Puts Business interests Above Safety Fri, 30 Sep 2005 The sudden resignation of FDA Commissioner, Lester Crawford, after just two months in office, has prompted a bipartisan Senate investigation and requests both by the Senate committee HELP and by congressman Maurice Hinchey (NY) and…
THE CONSTANT GARDENER–John le Carre’s novel about Big Pharma gets rave reviews Sat, 3 Sep 2005 Constant Gardener, the movie based on the novel by John le Carre, about the pharmaceutical industry’s immoral and even criminal activities, opened nationwide. It has already received rave reviews. Below are two reviews…
CNN / Mercury News: Bioshield Vaccine Contracts to mfg with “closest ties with the government” Sun, 18 Sep 2005 Questions are being raised (again) about the government vaccine purchasing program, ostensibly as a measure to protect the American public in the event of a bioterrorist attack. Mercury News (Twin City,…
The Crawford Resignation Mystery Sat, 24 Sep 2005 Merrill Goozner of Center for Science in the Public Interest provides insight into what may lie behind the sudden resignation of FDA Commissioner, Lester Crawford. Goozner surggests, “One possible clue to the administration’s thinking comes from the appointment of Andrew von Eschenbach,…
What the FDA Isn’t Telling You – SLATE Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 Writing in SLATE, Jeanne Lenzer has uncovered evidence demonstrating FDA culpability in helping drug manufacturers conceal vital, life-saving information from the public. In this case, undisclosed suicides in clinical trials testing Eli Lilly’s drug, duloxetine (trade names:…
TIME inquiry finds top officials at vital gov agencies lack credentials for the job Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 The New York Times reports today that the mystery of Lester Crawford’s abrupt resignation as head of the FDA “fueled speculation that he had investments in companies regulated by the FDA."…
On Evidence, Medical and Legal Mon, 5 Sep 2005 An outstanding highly recommended article by a physician and an attorney, On Evidence, Medical and Legal by DonaldW. Miller, Jr., M.D. and Clifford G. Miller, Esq. clearly lays out the standards of evidence law in medicine. The authors critique the courts’…
