Time to put drug giants on trial – Scotsman (UK) Fri, 20 Jun 2003 The UK media-including BBC, the Guardian, the Scotsman, the London Times, and others–have been informing the British public about the hidden health hazards underlying the industry-controlled drug approval and drug marketing process. Current practices have led…
European perspective: Bird Flu–BBC Panoarama / German skeptics / Rumsfeld Tamiflu stock $5 to $25 million Sat, 5 Nov 2005 As the media continues its senstional coverage of the “Bird Flu pandemic”, healthy skeptics are examining the evidence. Two European examinations–The BBC Panorama will air a program, Lessons from Vietnam,…
US Preventive Services Task Force: No evidence that screening for suicide reduces suicide Fri, 21 May 2004 The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued its findings and recommendation against screening for suicide. The USPSTF findings corroborate those of the Canadian PSTF. “USPSTF found no evidence that screening for suicide…
Medicare Will cover New Treatments But Patients Will be Required to Enroll in Clinical Trials Fri, 5 Nov 2004 Dr. Mark McClellan, Director of Medicare, estimates that of Medicare’s $320 billion budget, “a third of all medical expenditures are for unnecessary or ill-advised treatments.” Medicare’s chief medical officer, Dr. Sean…
AIDS vaccine Worse Than Useless?_ISS Wed, 25 Jun 2003 An article published by the Institute of Science and Society (ISS locatedin the UK) cautions that experience thus far with 51 NIH-sponsored AIDSvaccinetrials (Phase I and II) belie the claimed positive findings made in anarticle in the currentissue of Vaccine, which…
Risks: Drugs / Vaccines / Trials / Treatment Evidence of antidepressant harm Oct 14, 2005: Andrew Finkelstein Letter to Dr. Russell Katz, Director, Neuropharmacological Drug Products, FDA about FDA’s Failure to Warn about Neurontin-Suicides Aug 29: FDA Response to Utah Court Must Be Truthful Re: Zoloft / SSRI Suicidal Risks…
P&G Osteoperosis Drug Trials Spark Major Academic Research Debate Re: Concealed Data Friday, November 25, 2005 Dr. Aubrey Blumsohn: “No self-respecting scientist could ever be expected to publish findings based on data to which they do not have complete and full access.” Sri David Weatherall, Professor Emeritus, Oxford: “People need…
The Evidence base: rock of certainty or shifting sands? – BMJ Wed, 5 May 2004 Dr. John Dewhurst, has written an extraordinary article from his first-hand experience as a pharmaceutical company physician who discovered the disparity that exists between the claimed and actual evidence of drug effectiveness–and the reality-based severe,…
Warning-Caution – Antidepressant Dilemma – NYT Magazine Mon, 22 Nov 2004 Tolstoy wisely observed: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Suicide is the ultimate tragedy affecting a family; the circumstances surrounding one person’s suicide are not transferable. The cover of Sunday’s New…
Leading Antipsychotic Drugs Come Under New Scrutiny – NYT Tuesday, May 20, 2003 A front page article in The New York Times reveals that the pillars of American psychiatry–including Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, Dr. John Kane, Dr. William Carpenter–are acknowledging that evidence is lacking to support the claims that the new…
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…
“The scariest thing is that nobody knows” risks of depression drugs for children Mon, 10 May 2004 Forest Laboratories, manufacturer of the antidepressant, Celexa / Lexapro, is the latest manufacturer to issue warnings (April 2004) about the possibility that “patients with major depressive disorder, both adult and pediatric, may experience…
