The drugs don't work: a modern medical scandal | Ben Goldacre

The drugs don't work: a modern medical scandal | Ben Goldacre | Business | The Guardian: "The doctors prescribing the drugs don't know they don't do what they're meant to. Nor do their patients. The manufacturers know full well, but they're not telling."

'via Blog this'

These observations further emphasize our ignorance of the mechanisms responsible for primary hyperhidrosis and of the effect of sympathetic ablation

"These observations further emphasize our ignorance of the mechanisms responsible for primary hyperhidrosis and of the effect of sympathetic ablation on the function of the remaining sympathetic system."  

"Only investigators who deviate from accepted standards innovate and thus advance science. Obviously, such deviations may also result in disasters;"  

Statement made by the former President of the International Society of Sympathetic Surgery,  and ETS surgeon, Moshe Hashmonai (Invited Commentary)   Endoscopic Lumbar Sympathectomy Following Thoracic Sympathectomy in Patients with Palmoplantar Hyperhidrosis    

World J Surg (2011) 35:54–55 DOI 10.1007/s00268-010-0809-5

Ben Goldacre: 'It's appalling … like phone hacking or MPs' expenses' | Business | The Observer

Ben Goldacre: 'It's appalling … like phone hacking or MPs' expenses' | Business | The Observer: "The point of my book is that it's possible for good people in badly designed systems to perpetrate acts of great evil completely unthinkingly. I don't think any of the people I write about would punch an old lady in the face, but they would inflict the same level of harm when they are abstracted away from the outcomes of their actions.

This is made easier, I think, because in general, most drugs do work better than nothing: it's just that we may be misled into using, for example, an expensive new drug where an older, cheaper one is more effective.

Overall, the problem is we don't have a competent regulatory framework that prevents things from going horribly wrong. If companies are allowed to hide the results of clinical trials then they will, and that will distort clinical practice."

'via Blog this'

Parents can't sue vaccine manufacturers - SFGate

Parents can't sue vaccine manufacturers - SFGate: "Parents whose children are harmed or killed by allegedly defective vaccines can't sue the manufacturers for damages in state court and must instead accept no-fault compensation from a national tribunal for vaccination injuries, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of a suit by a Las Vegas couple whose baby son suffered seizures and died after an immunization shot, saying such suits were precluded by a 1986 federal law.

The law established a "vaccine court" where those who claimed injuries from vaccination must file their claims. If a hearing officer determined that the harm was consistent with the vaccine's known side effects, the victim would be awarded compensation without having to prove that the manufacturer caused the harm or acted negligently."

'via Blog this'

Arthroscopy to treat osteoarthritis of the knee? | Medical Journal of Australia

Arthroscopy to treat osteoarthritis of the knee? | Medical Journal of Australia: "Changing clinician beliefs and behaviour in response to credible evidence of lack of treatment efficacy remains highly challenging"

'via Blog this'