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…
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…
