Video: Biological Causes of Depression

Presents information on biological causes of depression, which can include adverse effects from antidepressants, and natural help with nutrition.

Video Lecture: Dr. Alexander Schauss on Criminality and Nutrition

Pharma 2020: The Vision~Which Path Will You Take?

Read the entire 52 page report here (pdf)
By PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Introduction:

Demand for effective medicines is rising, as the population ages, new medical needs emerge and the disease burden of the developing world increasingly resembles that of the developed world. The E7 countries – Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey are also becoming much more prosperous, with real gross domestic product (GDP) projected to triple over the next 13 years.
By 2020, the E7 could account for as much as one-fifth of global sales.
Yet the biopharmaceutical sector (Pharma) will find it hard to capitalize on these opportunities unless it can change the way in which it functions.
Its core problem is lack of productivity in the lab. Several external factors have arguably exacerbated the industry’s difficulties, but the inescapable truth is that it now spends far more on research and development (R&D) and produces far fewer new molecules than it did 20 years ago.
The shortage of good medicines in the pipeline underlies many of the other challenges Pharma faces, including its increasing expenditure on sales and marketing, deteriorating financial performance and damaged reputation.
At the start of the decade, many people thought that science would come to the industry’s rescue and that molecular genetics would reveal numerous new biological targets, but the human genome has proved even more complex than anyone first envisaged.
It is no longer the speed at which scientific knowledge is advancing so much as it is the healthcare agenda that is dictating how Pharma evolves.
The first part of our report highlights a number of issues that will have a major bearing on the industry over the next 13 years. The second part covers the changes we believe will best help pharmaceutical companies:
~operate in this new milieu
~realise the potential the future holds; and
~enhance the value they provide shareholders and society alike.


Healthy habits and fab jabs!

The vaccines sector is growing rapidly, then; there are now 245 pure vaccines and 11 combination vaccines in clinical development and some industry experts estimate
that the market could be worth as much as $42 billion by 2015. Five major players –

• GlaxoSmithKline
• Merck
• Sanofi-Aventis
• Wyeth
• Novartis (via its acquisition of Chiron)

– have traditionally dominated the field, but a number of smaller pharmaceutical companies have also entered the fray. Moreover, the range of indications they are researching is surprisingly varied. It includes vaccines for cocaine addiction, diabetes, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, psoriasis, food allergies, rheumatoid arthritis and nicotine withdrawal.
But oncology is by far the most significant new therapeutic area; according to IMS, there are 90 therapeutic (as distinct from prophylactic) vaccines for cancer in the pipeline, and more than two-thirds of them are in late-stage development.
However, conventional vaccines are very different from other therapies in several respects. They usually require very large safety and efficacy trials using healthy volunteers; long-term surveillance to ensure the persistence of the antibodies they induce; and strict control of live materials in the manufacturing process (although new technologies are emerging, which should help to stabilise production).
More importantly still, any therapy aimed at the healthy carries a higher risk than one that treats the sick. This is not an insuperable obstacle, but it does suggest that Pharma may have to assume some
sort of underwriting role. It could, for example, guarantee to cover the medical costs of any patient
unfortunate enough to develop a disease against which he or she has been inoculated, where the patient has shown signs of a positive immune response after vaccination and the normal period of immunity still applies, in much the same way that insurance companies provide cover against accidents and thefts.

"The bottom line:
Unless Pharma improves its
reputation, its political, commercial
and clinical credibility will be
eroded, with serious implications
for its future success."

You think?!?!?! Let's HOPE?!?!?
And what's with calling vaccinations "Fab Jabs"?
They're acting as if it's CHIC to get a vaccination!
Anyway, now we know where 'they' plan on going in the future.
It's like a road map to the insane asylum....egads.

25 Shocking Facts About the Pharmaceutical Industry

Image: Valley of the Dolls, movie, 1960's

From the Nursing Online Education Database

25 Shocking Facts About the Pharmaceutical Industry

By Laura Milligan
Researching and snagging an adequate, wallet-friendly health care plan is tough these days, despite its high-profile presence in political debates. A large part of the controversy over expensive health costs stems from criticism of high-priced medications marketed by powerful pharmaceutical companies. From Medicare fraud to CEOs worth billions of dollars, big drug companies are accused of putting profits above patients, spinning false PR campaigns and more. We've uncovered 25 of the most shocking facts about the pharmaceutical industry in this list.
Some excerpts:

The price of drugs is increasing faster than anything else a patient pays for: Marcia Angell writes in her book The Truth About Drug Companies that "drugs are the fastest-growing part of the health care bill which itself is rising at an alarming rate."

Your doctor may have an ulterior motive behind your prescription: In 2007, the St. Petersburg Times reported that drug reps often give gifts to convince doctors to prescribe the medications that they represent.

Pharmaceutical companies spend more on marketing than research: According to ScienceDaily, a "new study by two York University researchers estimates the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development."

Brand name meds often have a 1,000% mark-up price: Many Americans are aware that brand name prescriptions cost more than generic meds.

Read the rest here

Thomas Szasz on NAMI

While we don't agree with Thomas Szasz that mental illness is a myth, we applaud his stance on human freedom and dignity. We were pleased to see him expose misdeeds of NAMI here:

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

"The NAMI web site describes the organization as follows: "NAMI is dedicated to the eradication of mental illnesses and to the improvement of the quality of life of all whose lives are affected by these diseases. ... Founded in 1979, NAMI has more than 210,000 members who seek equitable services for people with severe mental illnesses, which are known to be physical brain disorders. ... In addition to 1,200 state and local affiliates in the United States, NAMI has affiliates in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, and American Samoa, and has helped start sister organizations in Australia, Japan, and the Ukraine."

The NAMI rhetoric conceals that the organization is composed of, and controlled by, principally the relatives of so-called mentally ill persons and that its main purpose is to justify depriving such persons of liberty in the name of mental health. So convinced is NAMI of the nobility of its cause, that its web site offers this scenario:

Sometime, during the course of your loved one's illness, you may need the police. By preparing now, before you need help, you can make the day you need help go much more smoothly. ... It is often difficult to get 911 to respond to your calls if you need someone to come & take your MI relation to a hospital emergency room (ER). They may not believe that you really need help. And if they do send the police, the police are often reluctant to take someone for involuntary commitment. That is because cops are concerned about liability. ... When calling 911, the best way to get quick action is to say, "Violent EDP," or "Suicidal EDP." EDP stands for Emotionally Disturbed Person. This shows the operator that you know what you're talking about. Describe the danger very specifically. "He's a danger to himself "is not as good as "This morning my son said he was going to jump off the roof." ... Also, give past history of violence. This is especially important if the person is not acting up. ... When the police come, they need compelling evidence that the person is a danger to self or others before they can involuntarily take him or her to the ER for evaluation. ... Realize that you & the cops are at cross purposes. You want them to take someone to the hospital. They don't want to do it. ... Say, "Officer, I understand your reluctance. Let me spell out for you the problems & the danger. ...While AMI / FAMI is not suggesting you do this, the fact is that some families have learned to "turn over the furniture" before calling the police. Many police require individuals with neurobiological disorders to be imminently dangerous before treating the person against their will. If the police see furniture disturbed they will usually conclude that the person is imminently dangerous."

Deliberately giving false information to the police is a felony. Except, it seems, when the falsehood serves the avowed aim of providing mental health treatment for a "loved one."

Read the rest here

Vitamin Therapy: Niacin for Arthritis and More

Image from NLM/NIH.

Niacin - Vitamin B3 - can correct Pellagra, Schizophrenia, Arthritis and so much more.
Read about B3/Niacin therapy for arthritis at Dr. Andrew Saul's site.
Niacin can cause some unpleasant but harmless reactions, and before beginning to take it, you may wish to read
this article.
The Wikipedia article about Pellagra is here.
Tom Lehrer used Pellagra in a song, here

NYT: Merck wrote studies for doctors to sign

Great cartoon from Jabberwock via Veracare/AHRP, with thanks.


April 16, 2008
Merck Wrote Drug Studies for Doctors

By STEPHANIE SAUL
The drug maker Merck drafted dozens of research studies for a best-selling drug, then lined up prestigious doctors to put their names on the reports before publication, according to an article to be published Wednesday in a leading medical journal.

The article, based on documents unearthed in lawsuits over the pain drug Vioxx, provides a rare, detailed look in the industry practice of ghostwriting medical research studies that are then published in academic journals.

The article cited one draft of a Vioxx research study that was still in want of a big-name researcher, identifying the lead writer only as “External author?”

Vioxx was a best-selling drug before Merck took it off the market in 2004 over evidence linking it to heart attacks. Last fall, the company agreed to a $4.85 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits filed by former Vioxx patients or their families.

The lead author of Wednesday’s article, Dr. Joseph S. Ross of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said a close look at the Merck documents raised broad questions about the validity of much of the drug industry’s published research, because the ghostwriting practice appears to be widespread.

“It almost calls into question all legitimate research that’s been conducted by the pharmaceutical industry with the academic physician,” said Dr. Ross, whose article, written with colleagues, was published Wednesday in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. and posted Tuesday on the journal’s Web site.

Merck acknowledged on Tuesday that it sometimes hired outside medical writers to draft research reports before handing them over to the doctors whose names eventually appear on the publication. But the company disputed the article’s conclusion that the authors do little of the actual research or analysis.

Read the article here


Ghost Writers in the Sky