“McCain Introduces Bill to Prevent Overmedication and Suicide Among Veterans”
Last week, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) introduced the Veterans Overmedication Prevention Act in the House of Representatives to prevent the overmedication of veterans and combat suicide...
“Does the FDA have a High Enough Standard for Drug Approvals?”
Last week STAT hosted a panel of experts, asking “Is the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process broken?”
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“The Drug Industry Thrives on the Revolving Door”
Sheila Kaplan reports for STAT on a new study finding that more than half of FDA drug reviewers went on to work for the...
“U.S. Just Made It a Lot Less Difficult to Sue Nursing Homes”
The New York Times reports on a new federal rule the prevents nursing homes from forcing disputes into arbitration. “The sad reality is that...
“Drug Maker’s Marketing Faulted in a Woman’s Death”
From Matthew Orr at STAT: “There was a stranger waiting for Sarah Fuller when she visited her doctor to discuss switching medications for her...
“80% of Data in Chinese Clinical Trials have been Fabricated”
An investigation by the Chinese government found that more than eighty percent of all of the data on new pharmaceuticals had been “fabricated.” “The...
“Veterans’ PTSD and Brain Injury Deserve Focused Research on New Treatments”
For STAT, Magali Haas reports on a research summit organized to improve the treatments available for PTSD. “If the goals are ambitious, the obstacles...
“How the FDA Manipulates the Media”
The Scientific American reports that the FDA offered scoops to major media organizations but, in exchange, the news agencies had to agree only to...
“Medicating a Prophet”
In the New York Times Sunday Review, Irene Hurford, a psychiatrist, reflects on the ethics of forced treatment for psychosis. “As doctors,” she writes,...
“Shouting, Voting and Not Much Science: How Sexuality Becomes ‘Mental Illness’”
Tracy Clark-Flory describes “how subject to changing scientific understandings and, sometimes, even political influence the DSM can be-perhaps especially when it comes to sexuality.”
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“New Federal Rules Target Woeful Public Reporting of Clinical Trial Results”
For STAT, Charles Piller covers new federal rules requiring stricter reporting for researchers conducting human studies. Previous investigations have documented widespread noncompliance with such...
“Did the FDA set ‘a Dangerous Precedent’ with Latest Drug Approval?”
STAT reports that the latest drug approval by the FDA “may have set a precedent that could rocket through the health care system, opening the...
“The Meta-analysis is Falling Prey to Bias”
A major review argues that research is being polluted by a “massive production of unnecessary, misleading, and conflicted systematic reviews and meta-analyses.”
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“Secret Trove Reveals Bold ‘Crusade’ to Make OxyContin a Blockbuster”
David Armstrong, reporting for STAT, highlights a trove of internal documents that describe the tactics Abbott pharmaceuticals used to convince doctors to prescribe OxyContin....
“More Child Suicides Are Linked to A.D.D. Than Depression, Study Suggests”
The New York Times reports on a new study finding that ‘ADHD’ is the most common diagnosis for children under 12 who die by...
“The ‘Untreatables’: When Modern Psychiatry Can’t Help”
For Vocative, Alexandra Ossola writes an in-depth report on ‘treatment resistance’ and the limitations of our current approaches to mental health treatment. “If we...
“Why I Knocked Boston Children’s Hospital Off The Internet”
In 2014, Anonymous took credit for taking down the internet at a Boston hospital in what they described as a defense of a 15-year-old...
“Is This Leading Suicide Prevention Organization a Front for Big Pharma?”
"According to its website, AFSP is the ‘leading national not-for-profit organization dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide.’ Yet due to its Pharma relationships and continued...
“Canadian Patients Fight Forced Electroshock”
"A retired nurse, a Harvard-educated musician and others sued British Columbia this week, claiming it forcibly subjects mental health patients to electroconvulsive therapy and...
“Patients Unwilling to Consent to ECT”
More than one-in-10 forms authorising ECT received by the Mental Health Commission (MHC) between 2013 and 2015 reported that the patient was unwilling to consent...
“How Tens of Thousands of Patients Who Weren’t Actually Dying Wound up on Hospice...
The Washington Post reports that one in three patients sent to hospice were not given key information, including the fact that they were foregoing...
“My Sister Made Her End-of-life Wishes Clear. Then Dementia Took Hold”
For STAT, Judith Graham tells the story of her sister who had always strongly opposed aggressive life-sustaining measures for herself until she developed dementia....
“FDA Panel Votes to Remove Serious Warning from Pfizer’s Smoking Cessation Pill”
This week an FDA advisory panel decided to remove warnings of serious psychiatric side effects from the Chantix product label. “In making its recommendation,...
“The Drug of Choice for the Age of Kale”
For The New Yorker, Ariel Levy explains how drinking the ancient Amazonian hallucinogenic brew, ayahuasca, became the latest trend. “If cocaine expressed and amplified...
Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis Foundation President to Attend the Premiere Screening of “Brain on Fire”
MIA contributor Nesrin Shaheen, president of The Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis Foundation, will attend the premiere of the movie “Brain on Fire” at the Toronto International...
