Bayer/ Baycol on Trial in Texas_NYT Sat, 1 Mar 2003 Melody Peterson of the New York Times reports that in the first case brought against Bayer involving its anticholesterol drug, Baycol, a senior official of Bayer AG testified in court in Corpus Cristi, Texas. He acknowledged that company officials in…
Doctor’s Misconduct Left Trail of Broken Lives–A Broken Marriage and a ‘Life Destroyed’ – WashPost Mon, 29 Sep 2003 “I basically lost everything. And my kids? Well, who knows what the long-term damage might be.” A riveting, detailed, two part report in the Washington Post (Sunday, September 28) describes a…
Frontline: Dangerous Prescription Fri, 14 Nov 2003 Frontline, of Public Broadcasting System aired an investigative news report on Thursday that focused on the FDA’s systemic failure to protect the public from hazardous drugs. FDA had approved at least 12 dangerous prescription drugs–the “dirty dozen”–that killed people before the FDA ordered…
Schizophrenia drugs increase diabetes risk Fri, 29 Aug 2003 A large scale study by the Veterans Administration corroborates a body of evidence demonstrating that the much touted “improved” newer drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia–Zyprexa, Risperdal, Seroquesl– are precipitating the onset of diabetes at alarming rates– especially among younger patients….
NHLBI director Dr. Lenfant is Retiring Thu, 3 Jul 2003 The retirement of Dr. Claude Lenfant, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) was announced today. Not mentioned in the press release is the heated controversy surrounding two clinical trials sponsored by the NHLBI, conducted by the…
VA Drug Study Deaths under Criminal Investigation in NY_BNA Thu, 6 Feb 2003 Alexander Otto of the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) has uncovered a criminal investigation at the VA Medical Center in Albany, NY following the deaths of 5 patients who were inappropriately enrolled in a cancer drug trial….
Last Journey of Artificial Heart Recipient – NYT Tue, 8 Oct 2002 Sheryl Gay Stolberg’s drama-filled, but sobering article in The New York Times, chronicles the ordeal of James Quinn, the subject of an extraordinary and wrenching medical experiment in which his heart was replaced with an artificial one. From…
Director of OHRP Dr. Greg Koski resigns Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 Dr. Greg Koski has tendered his resignation as director of the federal Office of Human Research Protections. We agree, in principle, with Dr. Koski’s assessment: “to preserve public trust in research, the scientific community must go beyond a…
July 12, 2002 Duke Warning: Zyprexa-Diabetes Link FYI Since they arrived on the market in the 1990s, the so-called ‘atypicial’ antipsychotic drugs have been wrapped in controversy and promotional hype by drug companies and their paid professional spin masters who made bald claims about their “favorable side effect profile” referring…
NY Times Whitewashes Ritalin Experiment in Preschool Kids Sat, 16 Nov 2002 A story in The New York Times magazine about a controversial government sponsored drug experiment avoids examining the tough issues. Instead, it describes the growing pains of an apparently normal 4 year old boy, Sam, whose parents enrolled…
Psychiatric Drugs Pushing Children to Crisis Units_Tampa Tribune Tue, 15 Apr 2003 A report in the Tampa Tribune following its five month investigation, shows how misprescribing of psychiatric drugs for children can precipitate life-threatening tragedies. The report describes a 9 year old child’s descent into suicidal violence after she had…
How Health Care in America Became Big Business–And Bad Medicine – OpEd NYT Zoloft NYT Ad Fails to Disclose Suicide risk Mon, 25 Oct 2004 An Op-Ed in Sunday’ New York Times by Time magazine editors, Donald Barlett and James Steele, is a MUST READ assessment of what ails America’s…
