Are SSRIs and Atypical Antidepressants Safe / Effective for Children / Adolescents/ Neonates? Wed, 2 Mar 2005 The American psychiatric establishment continues to operate within a “head in the sand” culture of denial when confronted with compelling evidence that has been scientifically replicated showing that their prescribing of antidepressants for…
Tamiflu Cited in 2 Teen Deaths – Global Plan for Influenza Action – Lancet Monday, November 14, 2005 Japanese newspapers report that two teenage boys – one 14 the other 17 – died after taking one dose of the antiviral drug, Tamiflu, the drug being stockpiled in the event that…
Ecstasy- Long-lasting brain damage and may trigger Parkinson’s_BBC October 2, 2002 In 1989 Dr. George Ricaurte (Johsn Hopkins University) reported that MDMA (Ecstasy) the party drug used at all night dances (“raves”) caused neurotoxicity, long-lasting brain damage in non-human primates at doses similar to those ingested by humans. In the…
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Page Coverage to Boost SSRI Market Wed, 2 Jun 2004 The New York Times saw fit to print a report about preliminary, unpublished findings of a study whose authors claim to have “found that Prozac helps teenagers overcome depression far…
FDA Rejects Crestor Petition–Sacrificing Patient safety Tue, 15 Mar 2005 The FDA’s safety standard for allowing a drug to be marketed has been turned on its head. The law requires that a manufacturer provide scientific proof that a drug is safe and effective before it can be licensed for marketing….
How Did the Vioxx Debacle Happen? USA Today / Lancet Tue, 12 Oct 2004 Dr. Eric Topol of the Cleveland Clinic: “The senior executives at Merck and the leadership at the FDA share responsibility for not having taken appropriate action and not recognizing that they are accountable for the public…
FDA Approves Lilly’s Growth Hormone for Healthy Children Mon, 28 Jul 2003 The FDA has approved Eli Lilly’s injectable human growth hormone (hGH) therapy, Humatrope, for healthy children who are short but have no hormonal deficiency. Lilly claims that its trials in 300 healthy short children resulted in an increase…
“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…
“Black Hole” of medical research–Negative Results Don’t get Published – JAMA, WSJ Sat, 5 Jun 2004 “No one likes bad news. But in science, there is an ethical imperative to publish research, even if the findings aren’t what the researcher had hoped for.” The New York Times, which tends to…
Intimidation, Politics and Drug Industry Cripple U.S. Medicine – FDA Permits Dr. David Graham to publish Vioxx Report Wed, 5 Jan 2005 FDA officials could not maintain their iron grip in an effort to suppress evidence of far reaching lethal effects of Vioxx when their actions were in full public…
Just How Effective are Medical Screening Tests? Mon, 17 Nov 2003 A investigative report in the Guardian (UK) takes a critical view of medical screening for early detection of latent diseases. Contrary to the promoters of medical screening tests, there is scant evidence that early detection actually saves lives. The…
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…
