NIH: Public Servant or Private Marketer? Wed, 22 Dec 2004 David Willman of the Los Angeles Times provides an important reminder that the FDA is not the only government healthcare agency to have betrayed the public trust and lost its credibility. While the FDA has lent its seal of approval…
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…
Circumcision May Offer Powerful 70% HIV Prevention Tue, 5 Jul 2005 A front page report in the Wall Street Journal reveals that a controlled clinical study conducted by French and South African researchers have found that circumciion reduces the risk of transmitting AIDS by 70%. “The circumcision findings were so…
FDA’s Lethal Weakness Requires More than Committees Sun, 7 Nov 2004 Bloomberg News reports that New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer requested information from Pfizer about the promotion of some of its drugs for unapproved uses – the recalled diabetes drug, Rezulin and the antidepressant, Zoloft were named. In…
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…
FDA Underhanded Tactics Against Medical Officer Who Blew the Whistle Mon, 29 Nov 2004 The Food and Drug Administration is the epicenter of a collision between medical officers in the drug safety office and senior officials in managerial positions whose focus is on facilitating new drug approvals. Officials at the…
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…
Integrity in Scientific Research : Peer review ineffective – Institute of Medicine / Lancet / Science August 25, 2002 Integrity in Scientific Research: Creating an Environment That Promotes Responsible Conduct This report and by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and two current editorials in major scientific journals-the Lancet (Aug 17)…
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…
House Votes to Prevent Pharma-tied Scientists on FDA Advisory Panels Thu, 9 Jun 2005 The House passed an amendment introduced by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (NY) to rein in pharmaceutical industry influence on FDA advisory panels whose recdommendations have resulted in the approval of lethal drugs. Below Merrill Goozner write: “The…
July 18, 2002 Anthrax Vaccine Not Safe and Effective – Emergency Medicine News FYI In her letter in the July issue of Emergency Medicine News (below) Dr. Meryl Nass cites a body of evidence linking the anthrax vaccine with systemic adverse medical reactions, and 100,000 to possibly 200,000 veterans who…
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…
