Editorial Note: Its an Irish custom to offer one for the road. Having finished the trilogy on Outsourcing Fascism, here's one for the road. A little over two years ago I wrote two posts - Little Red Riding Hood and Little Red Stethoscope that give me pleasure today - but also make me worry about Alzheimer's figuring that I've rarely hit those heights since. My warm … [Read more...] about Reds Under the Bed: the New McCarthyism
Celebrity Science
Editorial Note: This is part three in a sequence of posts that began with Outsourcing Fascism and continued last week with Not Our Nomination. Our Nomination The RxISK nomination for the SAS JM Prize is Lisa Rosenbaum from the Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston. Dr Rosenbaum has courageously stood up for the mainstream of science on a range of fronts including moral … [Read more...] about Celebrity Science
Not the 2018 Sense about Science JM Prize Nominee
Editorial Note: This post continues from Outsourcing Fascism. For more on James Coyne, see Rolf Harris to James Coyne. Coyne was the perfect candidate for a Sense about Science JM Prize until a few years ago. He was the first to wade in and rubbish anyone who might have thought there was something wrong with a medication. His dark past had not come to light. But … [Read more...] about Not the 2018 Sense about Science JM Prize Nominee
Outsourcing Fascism
In 2017 the Sense about Science (SAS) John Maddox (JM) Prize was awarded to to Riko Muranaka for her efforts to counter apparent misinformation about the HPV vaccine. MedWatcher Japan are the group who have helped raise the profile of concerns about the HPV vaccine in Japan. When it comes to tackling the adverse effects of treatments, there is no more … [Read more...] about Outsourcing Fascism
The Night Before Christmas and The Nights After
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just … [Read more...] about The Night Before Christmas and The Nights After
Pandemrix and Narcolepsy
Editorial Note: In Pandemonium and Pandemrix the question was when and what basis is it possible to agree with an obviously smart women, as AM is, that there must be a link between the Pandemrix she was given and the narcolepsy she ended up with. No one really tackled this head on. The answer has to be that if she and other smart people figure there is a link in their … [Read more...] about Pandemrix and Narcolepsy
Pandemonium and Pandemrix
Editorial Note: At the heart of RxISK is the idea that if something goes wrong for you on some medication you are the person best placed to know if there is an issue. But again and again when people raise a problem they find they are invalidated - nonsense, rubbish, its your illness or whatever. If it is pointed out medicine had the same response fifty years ago to … [Read more...] about Pandemonium and Pandemrix
A Call to H*ARMS
Editorial Note: This is the fourth and final post in the Trick or Treat series that started with Vampire Medicines. These posts need to be read linked to the RxISK MAP posts. These are the theoretical background. The MAP posts are the practical - what needs to be done posts. Access to Medicines In the 1980, we faced one of the greatest medical crises of any century – … [Read more...] about A Call to H*ARMS
Raiders of the Lost Drug Wreck
Editorial Note: This post follows from Vampire Medicines and Cisparency and Transparency and links to Relationship Based Medicine on Rxisk. The painting is of Joshua crossing the Jordan with the Arc of the Covenant - an image that catches the essential features of climactic scene of Raiders of the Lost Arc with Joshua in the Indiana Jones position. In every generation, … [Read more...] about Raiders of the Lost Drug Wreck
Cisparency and Transparency
Editorial Note: This post continues Vampire Medicine and links to Reformation Day on RxISK and forthcoming posts - Here We Stand. Between 2002 and 2004, giving antidepressants to teenagers and the risks of triggering suicidality became one of the most high profile issues in medicine. Raising a profile should be the way to put things right but things are getting much worse. … [Read more...] about Cisparency and Transparency