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…
UK Doctors told to stop giving antidepressants to children – Glaxo Warns of Paxil Birth Defects Wed, 28 Sep 2005 Related Link – See Guidelines at: http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=273073 The UK National Health Service has taken a decisive, responsible step to protect the lives of children who are being exposed to serious risks…
WSJ: Debate Over Antidepressants: FDA role in suppressing damaging data Tue, 25 May 2004 How were drug manufacturers able to conceal vital evidence of harmful antidepressant drug effects? The answer is becoming clearer by the day: federal regulators and the psychiatrists who tested these drugs in clinical trials are invested…
UK reports the FDA Conceals Vital Data on Prescription Drugs – Independent Sun, 12 Jun 2005 The entire world has trusted the FDA to ensure that only safe and effective drugs are approved for marketing–other agencies, lacking the necessary resources often followed FDA’s lead. However, such deferrence is no longer…
Data from Unpublished Trials Suggest that Most SSRI Antidepressant Drugs Unsuitable for Children Wed, 21 Apr 2004 An independent analysis in next week’s The Lancet compares the published and unpublished data of pediatric SSRI antidepressant clinical trial data, finding the published reports not to be evidence-based. “In a global medical…
NY Times Does it Again – Drug Advertisers Get Front Page Coverage to Boost SSRI Market Wed, 2 Jun 2004 The New York Times saw fit to print a report about preliminary, unpublished findings of a study whose authors claim to have “found that Prozac helps teenagers overcome depression far…
