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
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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
Lives Touched by GSK
(Anonymous) Notes of a Paxil guinea pig What does GSK owe to the youngsters in its infamous Study 329 who became suicidal while taking the company’s paroxetine (Paxil/Seroxat)? As someone who was briefly a GSK Guinea Pig, I’d say the most important thing they’re owed is the truth. It’s a highly delinquent debt – but it’s not too late for GSK to pay up. I took part in a … [Read more...] about Lives Touched by GSK
GSK’s Transparency and Access Journey
Editorial Note: This post has been put together by Peter Goetzsche and David Healy Dear Dr Goetzsche ... "At GSK we firmly believe that making more information available, including clinical study reports and anonymised patient-level data, will enable researchers to study the science behind today’s medicines more closely, to learn more about them and how they can best be … [Read more...] about GSK’s Transparency and Access Journey
A Black Box Warning for Clinical Trials?
Controlled trials are universally touted as providing gold standard information on drugs. Doctors are routinely taught to disbelieve the evidence of their own eyes and trust in controlled trials instead. Governments in North America and Europe are forcing patients to participate in controlled trials — saying that you get better care in a controlled trial — and claiming that … [Read more...] about A Black Box Warning for Clinical Trials?
Trade Wars we have known and loved: Indianapolis v The World
Several weeks ago Canadians woke up to a Globe and Mail article saying that the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, who are based in Indianapolis, was suing their Government for $500 million for loss of revenues linked to the loss of patents on two of its drugs - Zyprexa and Strattera. "The drug giant alleges that the loss of its patents violates Canada’s obligations under … [Read more...] about Trade Wars we have known and loved: Indianapolis v The World
Reading the RIAT Act
Editorial Note: This is a press release for a potentially important development in medicine. You can access your copy of the RIAT Act here and an assessment of its likely significance here. Restoring invisible and abandoned trials (RIAT) “to correct the scientific record” Sponsors and researchers will be given one year to act before independent scientists begin publishing the … [Read more...] about Reading the RIAT Act
Six fired, one dead, no answers
This post was written by Alan Cassels and first appeared in Focus magazine online in early March. The full version is here. Alan was one of the creators of the Selling Sickness, or disease mongering idea. His recent book is "Seeking Sickness: Medical Screening and the Misguided Hunt for Disease. There is an editorial comment below. A year ago this month - March 28, 2012, to … [Read more...] about Six fired, one dead, no answers
Left Hanging: Suicide in Bridgend
The figures In the England and Wales there are roughly 5000 suicides in roughly 60 million people per year. This would until recently have led to around 2000 hangings per year, 34 hangings per million people per year, 3.5 per 100,000 people per year. Bridgend in South Wales has a population of 40,000. The greater Bridgend area has a population of 130,000. There should be 18 … [Read more...] about Left Hanging: Suicide in Bridgend