Monthly Archives: May 2011

Wellbutrin – To Promote or Not Promote… That is the Question

Lauren Stevens, the Glaxo associate general counsel, who is charged with one count of obstructing an official proceeding, one count of falsifying documents before a federal agency and four counts of making false statements to the FDA, has heard evidence given to a jury by James Millar, GSK vice president of strategic pricing, contracting and marketing. Millar had originally refused to testify but prosecutors persuaded the US District Judge [Roger W. Titus] to order him to give his testimony.

Another Prescription Drug Abuse Problem: The Overmedication of Foster Kids

A recent study by the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute found that over that past decade the use of psychotropic medications — those used for the treatment of behavioral and mental health issues — for children between the ages of 2 and 21 has risen significantly. Moreover, while during the same period an estimated 4 percent of the general youth population was prescribed these medications, the figure for kids in foster care was much higher — anywhere from 13 to 52 percent. Recent studies in Texas and Georgia arrive at similar findings.

FDA approved Big Pharma drugs without effectiveness data

Consumers constantly are told how complicated it is to get a new drug on the market. After all, researchers have to jump through all sorts of hoops to assure safety before new therapies are approved for the public, right? It turns out they may be missing some of those hoops or not jumping through some of the most important ones.

In fact, huge red flags are being raised about how drugs are tested and approved in two new studies, including one just published in the May 4th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

A case in point: it turns out that only about half of the new prescription medications pushed onto the market over the last decade had the proper data together for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – yet the FDA approved them anyhow.

Three Recent Warnings On Antidepressants; Latest Is Stroke Risk

As we all know, three of anything makes a trend in journalism, and my trend alarm has just gone off concerning scary news about antidepressants. First, there was this review three weeks ago finding a “modest link” between antidepressants and cancer — though not in studies funded by the drug companies.

Then, author and former Globe staffer Alison Bass reported a week ago on her blog here that a researcher has found that serious flaws tended to skew the biggest study ever of antidepressants toward making the drugs appear more effective than they really are.

And now, Dr. Adam C. Urato, assistant professor of medicine at Tufts, has just sent over the latest: a paper in the current American Journal of Psychiatry that suggests that antidepressants increase the risk of stroke.

My Favorite Mistake — by Stevie Nicks

The biggest mistake I ever made was giving in to my friends and going to see a psychiatrist. It was in the mid-1980s, and I had just gotten out of Betty Ford. I was feeling buoyant and saved and fantastic. But everyone said, “We’re sure you’re going to start using again. You should go to a psychiatrist.” Finally, I said, “All right!” and went. What this man said was: “In order to keep you off cocaine we should put you on the drug that we’re using a lot these days called Klonopin.” Stupidly, I said, “All right.” And the next eight years of my life were destroyed.