“Second Patient Dies in Zafgen Obesity Drug Trial”
Two patients have now died while taking the drug beloranib in an obesity drug trial. Both patients were in the active arm of the study and had received the drug rather than a placebo. Zafgen did not say whether it believed the drug had caused the blood clotting in the lungs that led to the patient’s death.
“Why Does Psychiatry So Often Get a Free Pass on Standards of Evidence?”
Rob Wipond takes HealthNewsReview.org to task for its coverage of a Philadelphia Inquirer article about a medical device designed for people experiencing panic. He writes that “hyperbolic psychiatric and psychological claims frequently get free passes from otherwise thoughtful medical critics.”
“Many in US Congress Hold Health Industry Investments”
“About 30 percent of senators and 20 percent of representatives held assets in biomedical and health-care companies, or in specialty funds set up to invest...
“As Opioid Deaths Reach Record High, Drug Industry Resists Efforts to Rein in Prescriptions”
“In 2014, the number of people who died from drug overdoses in the United States reached 47,055 — an all-time high, according to a disturbing report published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” but “the effort to get physicians to curb their prescribing of these drugs may be faltering amid stiff resistance from drugmakers, industry-funded groups and, now, even other public health officials.”
Head Movements Have Been Producing Consistent Bias in Brain Scans
A new study has shown that brain scans have an inherent bias towards making people with movement disorders seem to have less grey matter, writes Neuroskeptic in Discover. The findings, he writes, may be significant with respect to studies involving brain scans of people taking psychiatric drugs that either induce or reduce movement.
“Feds Probe Drugmaker-Charity Connections”
Last week, reports circulated about a system through which drug companies used charitable giving for profit. Now, three drug manufacturers, Gilead Sciences Inc., Biogen...
“Steps to Reduce Pharma Influence over Canadian Docs Criticized”
The College of Family Physicians of Canada has now come under fire after releasing a report last month addressing conflicts of interests between pharma...
Lancet Editorial Argues for Better Science in Mental Health
An editorial in the Lancet Psychiatry suggests that mental health professionals rely more on intuition and "good intentions" than "good science," and that needs...
“Potential biomarker that could predict”? – caveats about psychiatric brain imaging
-HealthNewsReview.org takes on Dr. Richard Friedman's description of a “potential biomarker in the brain that would help psychiatrists direct depressed patients towards treatment to which they would more likely respond.”
“Punish People, Not Just Corporations”
Drug makers have faced large fines for unethical and harmful practices but have simply treated these as a cost of doing business. Ed Silverman reports...
Sixty Percent of Canadian Clinical Trials Broke Rules
Canadian physicians and psychiatrists regularly do not report serious negative side effects during their clinical trials of drugs, according to an investigation by the...
“New Pill for Boosting Female Libidos Off to a Slow Start”
Ed Silverman reports that only 80 prescriptions for Addyi, or Flibanserin, were filled in the drugs’ first two weeks on the market.
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“High-volume Care, Not Good Care”
WSJ Live interviews cardiologist Dr. Sandeep Jauhar about his new book, Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician. Jauhar describes "the perverse incentives of...
TV Doctors Not Disclosing Conflicts of Interest
Columbia Journalism Review examines the new database of drug company payments to physicians, and finds some high-profile physicians who appear on TV have not...
NIMH Director Insel Proposes Solutions to Lack of Reproducibility in Research
National Institute of Mental Health Director Thomas Insel laments the lack of reproducibility in such a large majority of mental health-related research. He describes...
“Why Are There Deadly Drugs?”
-Health policy analyst Joel Lexchin discusses how and why deadly drugs get onto the market and often take years to be identified and withdrawn.
Outrage Over Biotech Party Objectifying Women
“Two prominent women in the biotech community were so appalled by reports about a party at J.P. Morgan featuring scantily clad models that they've...
Check the FAQs On Online Counseling
-Some online counseling services have half-hidden disclaimers that they aren't actually providing "counseling."
FDA Invites Comments on Guidelines for Informed Consent
The United States Food and Drug Administration is inviting comments on its new draft guidelines for informed consent. "This guidance is intended to provide...
Prominent Patient Safety Advocate Was Taking Kickbacks from Pharma
ProPublica revisits the story of Dr. Chuck Denham, the previous editor of the Journal of Patient Safety and former "co-chairman of a committee that...
