Trouble in the Gap: A Bioethical and Sociological Analysis of Informed Consent for High-Risk Medical Procedures - Springer: "we argue that “informed” consent is a process that is usually incomplete, despite trappings and assumptions that help to create the illusion of completeness."
Why the TGA should make it harder for people to get Xanax
Why the TGA should make it harder for people to get Xanax: "This class of drug poses significant risks of misuse and dependence, paradoxical reactions, disinhibition, amnesia and intoxication"
In the setting of sympathectomy, interference with any of the effectors evokes immediate, precipitous declines in blood pressure
"From the finding that removal of the sympathetic nerves did not affect blood pressure much, Cannon inferred that the sympathetic nervous system did not contribute to blood pressure in intact, undisturbed organism. In the 1980s, however, several reports showed that sympathectomy compensatorily activates other effectors, such as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, the vasopressin system, and the adrenal medulla, and compensatory activation of these effectors maintains blood pressure at approximately normal levels. In the setting of sympathectomy, interference with any of the effectors evokes immediate, precipitous declines in blood pressure. Because Cannon was so firmly convinced of the functional unity of the sympathoadrenal system, which would be activated only in emergencies, he never considered adequately the possibility that the sympathetic nervous system might indeed contribute to levels of blood pressure and other monitored variables under resting conditions."
Adrenaline and the Inner World: An Introduction to Scientific Integrative Medicine
Ethiopian women in Israel 'given contraceptive without consent'
Ethiopian women in Israel 'given contraceptive without consent' | World news | guardian.co.uk: "Israel's health ministry is investigating claims that Ethiopian women are being injected with a controversial contraceptive without their knowledge or consent.
Thousands of Ethiopian women are said to be receiving shots of Depo-Provera every three months in Israeli clinics. The contraceptive stops menstruation and has been linked to fertility problems and osteoporosis.
Yaakov Litzman, Israel's deputy minister of health, who has previously denied the practice, will lead the inquiry, a spokesperson announced on Wednesday.
The phenomenon was uncovered when social workers noticed the birth rate among Ethiopian immigrants halving in a decade. An Israeli documentary investigating the scandal was aired in December and prompted a popular outcry."
'via Blog this'
Thousands of Ethiopian women are said to be receiving shots of Depo-Provera every three months in Israeli clinics. The contraceptive stops menstruation and has been linked to fertility problems and osteoporosis.
Yaakov Litzman, Israel's deputy minister of health, who has previously denied the practice, will lead the inquiry, a spokesperson announced on Wednesday.
The phenomenon was uncovered when social workers noticed the birth rate among Ethiopian immigrants halving in a decade. An Israeli documentary investigating the scandal was aired in December and prompted a popular outcry."
'via Blog this'
Genital removing doctor Reeves jailed for extra 18 months
Genital removing doctor Reeves jailed for extra 18 months: "Former gynaecologist Graeme Reeves will serve at least an extra 18 months in jail for assaulting patients, including cutting off one woman's genitalia."
BioEdge: UK report examines catastrophic failure at government hospital
BioEdge: UK report examines catastrophic failure at government hospital: "A report in 2010 into Stafford Hospital found that hundreds of patients had died unnecessarily and that conditions were sometimes unspeakably bad. Some patients were left in excrement-soaked sheets and some had to drink from dirty flower vases because nurses failed to bring them water.
A second report by a leading barrister, Robert Francis, into the causes of this disaster makes depressing reading. He found that there had been a total collapse of the system at the Mid Staffordshire NHS [National Health Service] Foundation Trust, which is responsible for running the hospital. In the report, which was released earlier this month, Mr Francis writes:
“This is a story of appalling and unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people. They were failed by a system which ignored the warning signs and put corporate self-interest and cost control ahead of patients and their safety. Patients were let down by the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. There was a lack of care, compassion, humanity and leadership. The most basic standards of care were not observed, and fundamental rights to dignity were not respected.”
A second report by a leading barrister, Robert Francis, into the causes of this disaster makes depressing reading. He found that there had been a total collapse of the system at the Mid Staffordshire NHS [National Health Service] Foundation Trust, which is responsible for running the hospital. In the report, which was released earlier this month, Mr Francis writes:
“This is a story of appalling and unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people. They were failed by a system which ignored the warning signs and put corporate self-interest and cost control ahead of patients and their safety. Patients were let down by the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. There was a lack of care, compassion, humanity and leadership. The most basic standards of care were not observed, and fundamental rights to dignity were not respected.”
“Questioning the status quo in medicine is not easy,” Dr Harlan Krumholz, of Yale School of Medicine
BioEdge: Doctors slow to blow whistle: "A lawsuit against the medical products giant Johnson & Johnson has raised questions about doctors’ willingness to warn colleagues and patients about bad drugs or devices. According to the New York Times, memos brought as evidence in the first of 10,000 lawsuits over a faulty hip replacement show that doctors were very reluctant to be whistleblowers.
“Questioning the status quo in medicine is not easy,” Dr Harlan Krumholz, of Yale School of Medicine, told the NYT. Doctors also shy away from the work of reporting errors and failures. “The Food and Drug Administration relies on physicians to help monitor product safety by alerting the agency to adverse patient reactions, doctors usually do not make such filings, saying they are too busy for the paperwork,” says the NYT.
Financial ties also influence doctors. “If someone has been paying you or employing you, it is very difficult to blow the whistle,” said Professor George Loewenstein, of Carnegie-Mellon University. “It offends our sense of loyalty.”"
“Questioning the status quo in medicine is not easy,” Dr Harlan Krumholz, of Yale School of Medicine, told the NYT. Doctors also shy away from the work of reporting errors and failures. “The Food and Drug Administration relies on physicians to help monitor product safety by alerting the agency to adverse patient reactions, doctors usually do not make such filings, saying they are too busy for the paperwork,” says the NYT.
Financial ties also influence doctors. “If someone has been paying you or employing you, it is very difficult to blow the whistle,” said Professor George Loewenstein, of Carnegie-Mellon University. “It offends our sense of loyalty.”"
BioEdge: Israel halts underhanded contraceptive injections for Ethiopian migrants
BioEdge: Israel halts underhanded contraceptive injections for Ethiopian migrants: "Years of rumours that Ethiopian women were pressured into having contraceptive injections by Israeli officials have finally been confirmed. The Health Ministry has ordered immigration officials in Ethiopia and health workers in Israel to stop coercing or coaxing women into accepting the long-lasting injectable contraceptive Depo-Provera.
The directive instructed doctors “not to renew prescriptions of Depo Provera to women of Ethiopian origin or any other women who, for whatever reason, may not understand the treatment’s implications.” They should also ask patients why they want to take the shot, using a translator if necessary. The Ministry did not confirm or acknowledge any wrongdoing.
Ethiopians who claim to be Jews are welcome to migrate to Israel under the Law of Return, but they face discrimination and have not always integrated well into Israeli society. Births among Ethiopian women have dropped by 50% in the last decade, according to a report by the “Vacuum” investigative news program on Israeli Educational Television. “This story reeks of racism, paternalism and arrogance. It’s a story to be ashamed of,” journalist Gal Gabai concluded. "
The directive instructed doctors “not to renew prescriptions of Depo Provera to women of Ethiopian origin or any other women who, for whatever reason, may not understand the treatment’s implications.” They should also ask patients why they want to take the shot, using a translator if necessary. The Ministry did not confirm or acknowledge any wrongdoing.
Ethiopians who claim to be Jews are welcome to migrate to Israel under the Law of Return, but they face discrimination and have not always integrated well into Israeli society. Births among Ethiopian women have dropped by 50% in the last decade, according to a report by the “Vacuum” investigative news program on Israeli Educational Television. “This story reeks of racism, paternalism and arrogance. It’s a story to be ashamed of,” journalist Gal Gabai concluded. "
Not all doctors believe that honesty is the best policy, according to a new survey published in Health Affairs
Your Doctor May Be Keeping Secrets - ABC News: "Not all doctors believe that honesty is the best policy, according to a new survey published in Health Affairs. When a team of researchers surveyed almost 2,000 physicians nationwide, they discovered a disturbing trend of white coats telling some white lies:
34 percent of doctors don't think they should disclose serious medical errors to patients, and nearly 20 percent said they didn't disclose an error last year for fear of a malpractice case.
Almost two-fifths of doctors don't think they need to share their financial relationships with drug companies to patients.
Just over 10 percent of physicians say they told their patients something that wasn't true in the past year."
'via Blog this'
34 percent of doctors don't think they should disclose serious medical errors to patients, and nearly 20 percent said they didn't disclose an error last year for fear of a malpractice case.
Almost two-fifths of doctors don't think they need to share their financial relationships with drug companies to patients.
Just over 10 percent of physicians say they told their patients something that wasn't true in the past year."
'via Blog this'
Effectiveness of antidepressants: an evidence myth constructed from a thousand randomized trials?
Antidepressants, in particular newer agents, are among the most widely prescribed medications worldwide with annual sales of billions of dollars. The introduction of these agents in the market has passed through seemingly strict regulatory control. Over a thousand randomized trials have been conducted with antidepressants. Statistically significant benefits have been repeatedly demonstrated and the medical literature is flooded with several hundreds of "positive" trials (both pre-approval and post-approval). However, two recent meta-analyses question this picture. The first meta-analysis used data that were submitted to FDA for the approval of 12 antidepressant drugs. While only half of these trials had formally significant effectiveness, published reports almost ubiquitously claimed significant results. "Negative" trials were either left unpublished or were distorted to present "positive" results. The average benefit of these drugs based on the FDA data was of small magnitude, while the published literature suggested larger benefits. A second meta-analysis using also FDA-submitted data examined the relationship between treatment effect and baseline severity of depression. Drug-placebo differences increased with increasing baseline severity and the difference became large enough to be clinically important only in the very small minority of patient populations with severe major depression. In severe major depression, antidepressants did not become more effective, simply placebo lost effectiveness. These data suggest that antidepressants may be less effective than their wide marketing suggests. Short-term benefits are small and long-term balance of benefits and harms is understudied. I discuss how the use of many small randomized trials with clinically non-relevant outcomes, improper interpretation of statistical significance, manipulated study design, biased selection of study populations, short follow-up, and selective and distorted reporting of results has built and nourished a seemingly evidence-based myth on antidepressant effectiveness and how higher evidence standards, with very large long-term trials and careful prospective meta-analyses of individual-level data may reach closer to the truth and clinically useful evidence.
http://www.peh-med.com/content/3/1/14
http://www.peh-med.com/content/3/1/14
Pfizer to Pay Record 23 Billion Fine
Pfizer to Pay Record 23 Billion Fine: "In the largest health care fraud settlement in history, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer must pay $2.3 billion to resolve criminal and civil allegations that the company illegally promoted uses of four of its drugs, including the painkiller Bextra. The other drugs were the antipsychotic Geodon, the antibiotic Zyvox, and the anti-epileptic Lyrica.
Once the Food and Drug Administration approves drugs, doctors can prescribe them off-label for any use, but makers can't market them for anything other than approved uses. Pfizer subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn pleaded guilty to a felony violation for promoting off-label uses of Bextra. At the FDA's request, Pfizer pulled Bextra off the market in April 2005 because of its risks."
'via Blog this'
Once the Food and Drug Administration approves drugs, doctors can prescribe them off-label for any use, but makers can't market them for anything other than approved uses. Pfizer subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn pleaded guilty to a felony violation for promoting off-label uses of Bextra. At the FDA's request, Pfizer pulled Bextra off the market in April 2005 because of its risks."
'via Blog this'
Flu Vaccine Increases Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness
Flu Vaccine Increases Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness: "The Canadian press recently broke the story that new research confirms initial findings that the flu vaccine appeared to actually increase people's risk of getting sick with H1N1, and cause more serious bouts of illness to boot.
According to the Vancouver Sun:1
"Researchers, led by Vancouver's Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an influenza expert at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, noticed in the early weeks of the [2009 H1N1] pandemic that people who got a flu shot for the 2008-09 winter seemed to be more likely to get infected with the pandemic virus than people who hadn't received a flu shot. Five studies done in several provinces showed the same unsettling results."
New Study Confirms: Flu Vaccine Really Does Increase Your Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness"
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-03-04/vaccines-may-have-increased-swine-flu-risk/1967508
According to the Vancouver Sun:1
"Researchers, led by Vancouver's Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an influenza expert at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, noticed in the early weeks of the [2009 H1N1] pandemic that people who got a flu shot for the 2008-09 winter seemed to be more likely to get infected with the pandemic virus than people who hadn't received a flu shot. Five studies done in several provinces showed the same unsettling results."
New Study Confirms: Flu Vaccine Really Does Increase Your Risk of Serious Pandemic Flu Illness"
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-03-04/vaccines-may-have-increased-swine-flu-risk/1967508
PFIZER has been fined for breaches of the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct over misleading promotional material
PFIZER has been fined for breaches of the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct over misleading promotional material for the arthritis drug celecoxib (Celebrex) and pneumococcal vaccine Prevenar 13.
The separate complaints resulted in fines of $35,000 and $10,000 respectively and orders to cease using the misleading claims.
The $35,000 fine was imposed for claims about celecoxib contained on the cover of promotional material that implied osteoarthritis caused other conditions, including depression, sleep disorders, neuropathic pain and musculoskeletal pain. The complaint was made by a health professional.
Initially Pfizer was also found to be in breach of the code on another count, for a comparison to oral opioid analgesics. An $85,000 fine was imposed for the two breaches.
Medical Observer, 23rd Jan 2013
after sympathectomy "the extremity will be more apt to have disturbance of circulation and is left unprotected from fluctuation in circulation"
1. Sympathectomy is analogous to the act of killing the messenger. The sympathetic nervous system has the critical job of properly controlling and preserving the circulation in different parts of the body, especially in the extremities. By paralyzing the system, the extremity will be more apt to have disturbance of circulation and is left unprotected from fluctuation in circulation.
Sympathectomy is similar to permanently removing the central heat and air-conditioning system and never replacing it because of malfunction.
Sympathectomy permanently damages the temperature regulatory system. The reason sympathectomy does not cause side effects other than ineffective control of pain as well as impotence and orthostatic hypotension is because it is invariably partial and incomplete.H. Hooshmand, M.D.: Chronic Pain
9780849386671
Chronic Pain: Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Prevention and Management
ISBN 10: 0849386675 / 0-8493-8667-5
ISBN 13: 9780849386671
Publisher: CRC Pr I Llc
Publication Date: 1993
Binding: Hardcover
German doctors shaken by corruption allegations
BioEdge: German doctors shaken by corruption allegations: "The German Medical Association has investigated nearly 1,000 cases of corrupt doctors over the past few years, according to its president, Frank Ulrich Montgomery.
Dr Montgomery told Der Spiegel that more than half of the case involved alleged bribes from an Israeli pharmaceutical company, Ratiopharm. The doctors were paid for prescribing its drugs to their patients. This was “clearly prohibited”, says Dr Montgomery.
“The Medical Association punished 163 Ratiopharm doctors after state prosecutors made the files available to us,” said Montgomery. He wants the government to pass legislation which would permit the Medical Association itself to conduct searches and confiscate files.
However, this is opposed by health insurance companies. “Corruption is not a minor offence which doctors can regulate amongst themselves,” said an industry spokesman."
'via Blog this'
Dr Montgomery told Der Spiegel that more than half of the case involved alleged bribes from an Israeli pharmaceutical company, Ratiopharm. The doctors were paid for prescribing its drugs to their patients. This was “clearly prohibited”, says Dr Montgomery.
“The Medical Association punished 163 Ratiopharm doctors after state prosecutors made the files available to us,” said Montgomery. He wants the government to pass legislation which would permit the Medical Association itself to conduct searches and confiscate files.
However, this is opposed by health insurance companies. “Corruption is not a minor offence which doctors can regulate amongst themselves,” said an industry spokesman."
'via Blog this'
Doctor earning $1m and huge debts: the state of our hospitals
Doctor earning $1m and huge debts: the state of our hospitals: "A MILLION-DOLLAR doctor, thousands of unpaid bills and debts that exceed assets: that's the financial shape of NSW hospitals says the Auditor-General.
Six employees earned more than half a million dollars over the past three years, and one was paid more than $1 million in overtime and call-backs over three years.
The Auditor-General, Peter Achterstraat, said he found it astounding that one person could earn so much overtime."
'via Blog this'
Six employees earned more than half a million dollars over the past three years, and one was paid more than $1 million in overtime and call-backs over three years.
The Auditor-General, Peter Achterstraat, said he found it astounding that one person could earn so much overtime."
'via Blog this'
Register all trials, report all results – it's long overdue
Register all trials, report all results – it's long overdue: "If researchers go to the effort of getting funds, recruiting patients, and following them up, you would think that they would be keen to publish the results. So it’s surprising that our best estimates show around half of all completed clinical trials have never been published in academic journals. And the half we have is biased towards trials with positive results."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
Perks put patients at risk - claim
Perks put patients at risk - claim: "A SENIOR Geelong Hospital anaesthetist has been accused of putting patients at risk by prescribing a drug he was effectively being paid by a pharmaceutical company to use.
A Fair Work Australia hearing was on Tuesday told Dr Mark Colson reported colleague Dr Simon Tomlinson to the ombudsman in 2007 for accepting business-class flights from Pfizer for him and his family to attend a conference in New York.
Deputy director of anaesthesia at Geelong Hospital Dr Colin Gordon said Dr Colson also alleged the hospital had the highest prescription rate of a drug called parecoxib because of Dr Tomlinson's dealings with Pfizer and that this was ''harming patients and potentially causing patients to die''."
'via Blog this'
A Fair Work Australia hearing was on Tuesday told Dr Mark Colson reported colleague Dr Simon Tomlinson to the ombudsman in 2007 for accepting business-class flights from Pfizer for him and his family to attend a conference in New York.
Deputy director of anaesthesia at Geelong Hospital Dr Colin Gordon said Dr Colson also alleged the hospital had the highest prescription rate of a drug called parecoxib because of Dr Tomlinson's dealings with Pfizer and that this was ''harming patients and potentially causing patients to die''."
'via Blog this'
Mass donor organ fraud shakes Germany | World news | The Guardian
Mass donor organ fraud shakes Germany | World news | The Guardian: "German medical authorities are calling for an extensive overhaul of the country's organ transplant programme after transplant centres across Germany were placed under criminal investigation over allegations that they had systematically manipulated donor waiting lists.
Scores of patients are believed to have been given priority access to donor organs after doctors falsified the severity of their illnesses to ensure they received treatment ahead of other patients in Europe.
The revelations have led to accusations of widespread corruption and dishonesty in the system, and shattered public trust. Since the scandal emerged last year as a handful of cases that were initially believed to be isolated incidents, the number of Germans willing to donate organs has plummeted."
'via Blog this'
Scores of patients are believed to have been given priority access to donor organs after doctors falsified the severity of their illnesses to ensure they received treatment ahead of other patients in Europe.
The revelations have led to accusations of widespread corruption and dishonesty in the system, and shattered public trust. Since the scandal emerged last year as a handful of cases that were initially believed to be isolated incidents, the number of Germans willing to donate organs has plummeted."
'via Blog this'
Dollars for Docs - ProPublica
Dollars for Docs - ProPublica: "Drug companies have long kept secret details of the payments they make to doctors and other health professionals for promoting their drugs. But 12 companies have begun publicizing the information, some because of legal settlements. ProPublica pulled their disclosures into a database so patients can search for their doctor. Accepting payments isn’t necessarily wrong, but it can raise ethical issues."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
in the absence of autonomic arousal, behavior that appears emotional will not be experienced as emotional
"In the presence of a barking dog, for example, the sympathectomized cats manifested almost all of the signs of feline rage. Finally, Cannon notes the report of Dana (1921) that a patient with a spinal-cord lesion and almost totally without visceral sensation still manifested emotionality.
For either the Jamesian or the present formulation such data are crucial, since both views demand visceral arousal as a necessary condition for emotional arousal. When faced with this evidence, James's defenders (e.g., Wenger, 1950; Mandler, 1962) have consistently made the point that the apparently emotional behavior manifested by sympathectomizied animals and men is well-learned behavior, acquired long before sympathectomy. There is a dual implication in this position: first, that sympathetic arousal facilitates the acquisition of emotional behavior, and second, that sympathectomized subjects act but do not feel emotional. There is a small but growing evidence supporting these contentions. Wynne and Solomon (1955) have demonstrated that sympathectomized dogs acquire an avoidance response considerably more slowly than control dogs. Further, on extinction trials most of their 13 sympathectomized animals extinguished quickly, whereas not a single one of the 30 control dogs gave any indication of extinction over 200 trials. Of particular interest are two dogs who were sympathectomized after they had acquired the avoidance response. On extinction trials these two animals behaved precisely like the control dogs - giving no indication of extinction. Thus, when deprived of visceral innervation, animals are quite slow in acquiring emotionally-linked avoidance responses and in general, quick to extinguish such responses." (p. 163)
"A line of thought stimulated by the Wynne and Solomon (1955) and the Hohmann (1962) studies may indeed be the answer to Cannon's observations that there can be emotional behavior without visceral activity. From the evidence of these studies, it would appear, first, that autonomic arousal greatly facilitates the acquisition of emotional behavior but it is not necessary for its maintenance if the behavior is acquired prior to sympathectomy; and second, that in the absence of autonomic arousal, behavior that appears emotional will not be experienced as emotional." (p. 167)
Psychobiological Approaches to Social Behavior
P. Herbert Leiderman, David Shapiro, Harvard Medical School. Dept. of Psychiatry, United States. Office of Naval Research - 1964 - 203 pages
Controversial Surgery for Addiction Burns Away Brain’s Pleasure Center | TIME.com
Controversial Surgery for Addiction Burns Away Brain’s Pleasure Center | TIME.com: "How far should doctors go in attempting to cure addiction? In China, some physicians are taking the most extreme measures. By destroying parts of the brain’s “pleasure centers” in heroin addicts and alcoholics, these neurosurgeons hope to stop drug cravings. But damaging the brain region involved in addictive desires risks permanently ending the entire spectrum of natural longings and emotions, including the ability to feel joy.
In 2004, the Ministry of Health in China banned this procedure due to lack of data on long term outcomes and growing outrage in Western media over ethical issues about whether the patients were fully aware of the risks.
However, some doctors were allowed to continue to perform it for research purposes—and recently, a Western medical journal even published a new study of the results. In 2007, The Wall Street Journal detailed the practice of a physician who claimed he performed 1000 such procedures to treat mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia and epilepsy, after the ban in 2004; the surgery for addiction has also since been done on at least that many people."
'via Blog this'
In 2004, the Ministry of Health in China banned this procedure due to lack of data on long term outcomes and growing outrage in Western media over ethical issues about whether the patients were fully aware of the risks.
However, some doctors were allowed to continue to perform it for research purposes—and recently, a Western medical journal even published a new study of the results. In 2007, The Wall Street Journal detailed the practice of a physician who claimed he performed 1000 such procedures to treat mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia and epilepsy, after the ban in 2004; the surgery for addiction has also since been done on at least that many people."
'via Blog this'
The hidden world of medical racism in the United States
The hidden world of medical racism in the United States: "The idea that discredited, repugnant ideas about racial differences might play a role in medical diagnoses and treatment today is one that doctors ought to find profoundly disturbing. The racially biased treatment of patients is a grievous violation of medical ethics and a direct threat to the dignity of the profession.
But over the past two decades, American medical literature has published hundreds of peer-reviewed studies that point to racially-motivated decisions by physicians that may do serious medical harm. The principal result of these studies has simply been more studies of the same kind."
'via Blog this'
But over the past two decades, American medical literature has published hundreds of peer-reviewed studies that point to racially-motivated decisions by physicians that may do serious medical harm. The principal result of these studies has simply been more studies of the same kind."
'via Blog this'
Remove industry bias from clinical trials before it's too late
Remove industry bias from clinical trials before it's too late: "A study published today shows that clinical trials with industry sponsorship report greater benefits and fewer harmful side effects. In the discussion, the authors note that most reviews and guidelines don’t report the funding sources for the included trials."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
BioEdge: Leveson Inquiry recommends reform of science reporting
BioEdge: Leveson Inquiry recommends reform of science reporting: "Remember patients: don't call something a "cure" that is not a cure."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
BioEdge: The ultimate hot potato: female genital mutilation is not as bad as it seems
BioEdge: The ultimate hot potato: female genital mutilation is not as bad as it seems: "The authors’ aim is to "move the coverage of the topic from an over-heated, ideologically charged, and one-sided story about 'mutilation,' morbidity, and patriarchal oppression to a real, evidence-based policy debate governed by the standards of critical reason and fact checking."
The claims and counter-claims are too long to list. But the authors – about 15 of them, mostly from Western countries – make the following points about female genital mutilation (or “female genital surgery”, as they call it)"
Provocatively, the authors argue that women and girls who have undergone genital mutilation should not be stigmatized or taught to expect sexual dysfunction. This might cause “psychological mutilation", potentially compromising the development of a normal and healthy psychosexual life.
The claims and counter-claims are too long to list. But the authors – about 15 of them, mostly from Western countries – make the following points about female genital mutilation (or “female genital surgery”, as they call it)"
Provocatively, the authors argue that women and girls who have undergone genital mutilation should not be stigmatized or taught to expect sexual dysfunction. This might cause “psychological mutilation", potentially compromising the development of a normal and healthy psychosexual life.
Bad Science
Bad Science: "This morning at 11:30, Dr Sarah Wollaston MP will ask questions in parliament about the ongoing scandal of missing trial data. This is widely recognised as a problem by academics and doctors, but governments, regulators, and journalists have neglected the problem, while industry simply denies it. Watch the questions live here or watch it later here.
As an example, we spent £500m stockpiling Tamiflu in the UK, but the company Roche are still withholding vitally important information about the trials on whether it works from Cochrane, the international academic collaboration who make gold standard reviews of evidence for doctors, patients, and governments."
'via Blog this'
As an example, we spent £500m stockpiling Tamiflu in the UK, but the company Roche are still withholding vitally important information about the trials on whether it works from Cochrane, the international academic collaboration who make gold standard reviews of evidence for doctors, patients, and governments."
'via Blog this'
Irving Kirsch, P.h.D: Antidepressants: The Emperor's New Drugs?
Irving Kirsch, P.h.D: Antidepressants: The Emperor's New Drugs?: "It turned out that 75 percent of the antidepressant effect was also produced by placebos - sugar pills with no active ingredients that are used to control the effects of hope and expectation in clinical trials. In other words, most of the improvement seen in patients given antidepressants was a placebo effect."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
Peer review: Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre
Peer review: Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre: "In Bad Pharma he repeats this trick, but the headline news is infinitely more disturbing: contemporary medicine is acutely sick and in desperate need of therapy. Usually, it’s naturopaths who run this argument, portraying what they see as contemporary medicine’s de-humanising reductionism.
Goldacre’s perspective is very different: medicine’s evidence base has been undermined by an unscrupulous alliance of the pharmaceutical industry and regulators, which leads to the routine suppression of negative studies revealing many drugs to be either ineffective or less effective than those they seek to replace.
This suppression has been wilful and many academics (the industry’s “key opinion leaders”) have acted as willing partners in the enterprise, putting their names to ghostwritten articles reporting positive trials, while failing to publish negative trials.
Since there’s so much missing data, we can’t really say whether the therapies we use work or not. "
'via Blog this'
Goldacre’s perspective is very different: medicine’s evidence base has been undermined by an unscrupulous alliance of the pharmaceutical industry and regulators, which leads to the routine suppression of negative studies revealing many drugs to be either ineffective or less effective than those they seek to replace.
This suppression has been wilful and many academics (the industry’s “key opinion leaders”) have acted as willing partners in the enterprise, putting their names to ghostwritten articles reporting positive trials, while failing to publish negative trials.
Since there’s so much missing data, we can’t really say whether the therapies we use work or not. "
'via Blog this'
Limited heart rate variability, autonomic nervous system imbalance implicated in the aetiology of CFS
The Conversation: "The stress-response neural systems of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients remain on high alert even when they sleep, signalling that it’s not safe to relax, researchers have found.
Researchers also discovered that reduced heart rate variability, or changes in heart beat timing, are the best predictors of cognitive disturbances, such as concentration difficulties commonly reported by CFS sufferers. This adds to the growing body of evidence linking autonomic nervous system imbalance to this disorder.
The findings could lead to new ways to improve cognitive difficulties in people with CFS, which remains a poorly understood condition."
ETS result in limited (reduced) heart rate variability and alters the ANS (sympathetic and parasympathetic balance). This article might provide some insight into the cases where ETS resulted in a variety of unwelcome and detrimental side-effects, including fatigue, altered cognitive function ('brain fog'), etc.
Tamiflu effectiveness questioned as drug company refuses to release data
Tamiflu effectiveness questioned as drug company refuses to release data: "Public health researchers have stepped up their campaign to access clinical trial data about influenza drug Tamiflu, amid concerns about its effectiveness.
Professor Peter Gøtzsche, leader of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen, has called for drug company Roche, which manufacturers Tamiflu, to be sued over its refusal to share data with independent researchers.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised about whether Tamiflu works in the way its manufacturers claim, or acts like paracetamol instead.
Tamiflu, or oseltamivir, is supposed to reduce complications from flu, such as pneumonia, and reduce the rate of hospitalisation and death during outbreaks of the illness.
The drug was stockpiled in Australia, Europe and the US following the swine flu outbreak of 2009. The British Medical Journal claims it has made billions of pounds for Roche."
'via Blog this'
Professor Peter Gøtzsche, leader of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen, has called for drug company Roche, which manufacturers Tamiflu, to be sued over its refusal to share data with independent researchers.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised about whether Tamiflu works in the way its manufacturers claim, or acts like paracetamol instead.
Tamiflu, or oseltamivir, is supposed to reduce complications from flu, such as pneumonia, and reduce the rate of hospitalisation and death during outbreaks of the illness.
The drug was stockpiled in Australia, Europe and the US following the swine flu outbreak of 2009. The British Medical Journal claims it has made billions of pounds for Roche."
'via Blog this'
Doctor pleads guilty to abortion clinic infections
Doctor pleads guilty to abortion clinic infections: "He made admissions to the Medical Practitioners Board in 1995 that he had abused fentanyl and pethidine, obtained by forging prescriptions.
He was charged by police with several counts of failing to give notice that a patient was drug-dependent and obtaining a drug of dependence by forging prescriptions.
He was convicted over the charges, received community-based orders and two months’ jail, which was wholly suspended for 18 months.
In July 1996 he was also charged with multiple counts of aiding and abetting another person to forge a prescription for drugs, and for being in possession of a drug of dependence, using a drug of dependence and introducing a drug into the body of another. He was again convicted and released on a community-based order for 18 months.
He was ordered to undergo assessment for a drug addiction, submit to medical, psychological and/or psychiatric treatment and be drug-tested as part of his conditions.
The medical board suspended him in 1996 before he returned to work at Box Hill Hospital the following year.
He tested positive for hepatitis C — a disease of which the health department must be notified — in 1997."
He was charged by police with several counts of failing to give notice that a patient was drug-dependent and obtaining a drug of dependence by forging prescriptions.
He was convicted over the charges, received community-based orders and two months’ jail, which was wholly suspended for 18 months.
In July 1996 he was also charged with multiple counts of aiding and abetting another person to forge a prescription for drugs, and for being in possession of a drug of dependence, using a drug of dependence and introducing a drug into the body of another. He was again convicted and released on a community-based order for 18 months.
He was ordered to undergo assessment for a drug addiction, submit to medical, psychological and/or psychiatric treatment and be drug-tested as part of his conditions.
The medical board suspended him in 1996 before he returned to work at Box Hill Hospital the following year.
He tested positive for hepatitis C — a disease of which the health department must be notified — in 1997."
GMC suspends 'rogue surgeon' accused of unnecessary breast operations | Society | The Guardian
GMC suspends 'rogue surgeon' accused of unnecessary breast operations | Society | The Guardian: "
An alleged "rogue surgeon" has been suspended by the General Medical Council after it emerged he might have performed "unnecessary or inappropriate" breast operations on more than 1,000 women in Britain.
Ian Stuart Paterson, a breast cancer specialist who worked at NHS and private hospitals in the Midlands from 1994 until last month, is suspected of misdiagnosing at least 450 of the women with breast cancer when they were in fact healthy, and then performing unnecessary "lumpectomy" surgery."
An alleged "rogue surgeon" has been suspended by the General Medical Council after it emerged he might have performed "unnecessary or inappropriate" breast operations on more than 1,000 women in Britain.
Ian Stuart Paterson, a breast cancer specialist who worked at NHS and private hospitals in the Midlands from 1994 until last month, is suspected of misdiagnosing at least 450 of the women with breast cancer when they were in fact healthy, and then performing unnecessary "lumpectomy" surgery."
We need a different national conversation about ADHD
We need a different national conversation about ADHD: "That’s why Australia needs to start a broader conversation about ADHD. And if we do, we might uncover a deep contradiction in our past response.
While we laud the qualities of activity, alertness and resistance to authority in our grandparents as foundations of the ANZAC tradition, we consider these same qualities in our children as something to be treated with medication.
It leads to the question – if Ginger Meggs were around today, would he be ADHD?"
'via Blog this'
While we laud the qualities of activity, alertness and resistance to authority in our grandparents as foundations of the ANZAC tradition, we consider these same qualities in our children as something to be treated with medication.
It leads to the question – if Ginger Meggs were around today, would he be ADHD?"
'via Blog this'
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'
'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'
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'
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'
'via Blog this'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)