Editorial note: This post is copied from RxISK where there will be 5 posts this week on aspects of Enduring Sexual Dysfunction after treatment, covering the issues below. Wikipedia stumbles and falls Wikipedia used to host a valued page on Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD). On January 27th this was taken down. A Post-Finasteride Syndrome page has also been taken down. … [Read more...] about Sexual Dysfunction Enduring After Treatment Halts: s-DEATH
What Do Women Want?
Editorial Note: This is cross-posted from 1boringoldman - Reassure Us. It tackles the most important issue in healthcare and one of the most important in politics. GSK have clearly persuaded Ben Goldacre, Iain Chalmers and David Cameron, and J&J have persuaded Harlan Krumholz and Barack Obama that their model of Data Access - the AbbVie model - is the only game in town. See … [Read more...] about What Do Women Want?
The Devil’s Disclaimer
Editorial Note: The marketing of pharmaceuticals avails of something given to no other area of marketing - the product is made available on prescription-only. In this post Johanna Ryan, from RxISK's Community Advisory Board, spells out the risks this gives rise to. This is a theme that has come up often and one we will return to. Direct to consumers? If you live in the USA, I … [Read more...] about The Devil’s Disclaimer
Psychiatry Gone Astray
Editorial note: We follow up the Guilty post last week with a piece written by Peter Gøtzsche that has caused a stir in Denmark and provoked some of the Danish professors he critiques to respond. At the Nordic Cochrane Centre, we have researched antidepressants for several years and I have long wondered why leading professors of psychiatry base their practice on a number … [Read more...] about Psychiatry Gone Astray
Guilty
Days of reckoning? A little over a year ago, there was consternation in psychiatric circles as a French psychiatrist, Daniele Canarelli was found guilty after her patient hacked a man to death. She had not recogized the hazard he posed. Doctors didn't like the implications they saw. In a series of lectures I have raised the question as to how long it might be before a … [Read more...] about Guilty
Drug Traffic Accidents: ADHD
Editorial Note: In an End of Year post on RxISK, the concept of a Drug Traffic Accident was introduced. This can refer to being run over by a drug, sometimes called side effects, or adverse events, or adverse drug reactions or it can refer to the trafficking of drugs. This post covers both types. The first part is written by David Antonuccio and the second by the Editorial … [Read more...] about Drug Traffic Accidents: ADHD
The Snow Queen
Crusoe and Hans grew up together. Crusoe’s father encouraged her to believe she could do anything she put her mind to. Han’s father, Peter, was a story-teller who delighted both children with his stories, especially during the long evenings at the onset of Winter. He told them about the Microbe Hunters who discovered the causes of diseases and laid the basis for new … [Read more...] about The Snow Queen
The Medicine Maker
Editorial Note: This is based on the Finnish National Epic, the Kalevala. The image comes from the series painted by Axel Gallen to illustrate the Kalevala. Crusoe spent years trying to make a Medicine Maker. She was finally successful at the end of a long Winter just as the first signs of growth appeared on the trees. Everyone for miles around came when they heard the news. … [Read more...] about The Medicine Maker
Medystopia
Editorial Note: Crusoe has not been lying low since The Shipwreck of the Singular and The Girl who Wasn't Heard When She Cried Wolf. Check these out for previous Crusoe posts. The AbbVie story calls for a decent myth. Here is a start. Sink all vaccines to the bottom of the sea? Crusoe was listening to Oliver give out. "They called me yesterday evening", he said, "to tell me … [Read more...] about Medystopia
EMA v AbbVie
Editorial Note: Three months ago we launched an AbbVie campaign and followed it up with a petition calling on AbbVie and InterMune to drop their action against EMA (European Medicines Agency). The hope was to raise awareness of this critically important issue that had been sailing beneath the radar. Over 6000 of you from more than 120 countries responded. This interim … [Read more...] about EMA v AbbVie