Emer Cooke, the CEO of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is Irish. This is Dublin's famous Halfpenny Bridge which for some reason features in an article outlining the history of the phrase Tail wags Dog which seems appropriate for what followed. I wrote to Emer recently about a bizarre letter I received from Kinapse - A Brush with EMA - who run EMA's medical literature … [Read more...] about How the Safety of Drugs was Destroyed
Stimulants
The Wild Doctor – Le Médecin Sauvage
The French playwright Moliere loved poking fun at pomposity especially when it involved doctors. In Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, he pokes fun at Monsieur Jourdain, a pompous upstart, who has come into money and is taking on airs and graces. Translating gentilhomme into gentleman misses what the word meant around 1660, which was more like civilized, the manners which … [Read more...] about The Wild Doctor – Le Médecin Sauvage
ADHD and Polypharmacy. American Conditions?
This post tackles two RxISK themes - ADHD and Polypharmacy. While working through Pfizer's Serious Adverse Event narrative file, see The Fog of a Special Medical Operation, the term ADHD - attention deficit hyperactive cropped up quite often. There was one predictable feature to this - all cases came from the United States with none at the moment from Argentina, Brazil, … [Read more...] about ADHD and Polypharmacy. American Conditions?
Calling All ADHD Influencers
Obedience Pills has put Patrick Hahn, Bill James and myself in a bit of a spot. We’ve had feedback that we might be contributing to the stigma against ADHD. Our contact gave us a Video to orient us. At the same time, the Guardian in the UK - Tik-Tok and the Rise of ADHD - and Globe and Mail - Adults Seeking ADHD Diagnoses - were writing articles on Adult ADHD, more … [Read more...] about Calling All ADHD Influencers
Obedience Pills
Samizdat has just published Patrick Hahn’s Obedience Pills, a book that reviews the ADHD scene from its origins in the US to its current bloated stimulants-in-the-drinking-water state and the extension of the ADHD franchise to other countries. Like Patrick’s Prescription for Sorrow, Obedience Pills makes no excuses for grabbing people by the throat, pinning them against the … [Read more...] about Obedience Pills
A Public Service or A Lethal Scam?
RxISK was emailed about a post on SSRI Stories recently. Julie Wood runs SSRI stories, which features newspaper or related public domain material about suicides, homicides or other events linked to SSRI or other psychotropic drug intake. The email read as follows: Your using an article about my family members suicide as a propaganda piece and it is unacceptable, scummy, … [Read more...] about A Public Service or A Lethal Scam?
Clinical Trial Fraud
This is part two of Johanna Ryan's posts on Ghosts in the Clinical Trial Machine or Clinical Trial Fraud. Last weeks post reported on how doctors in three states have been convicted of handing in fake clinical-trial results from fake patients. This week we’ll examine how small-time crooks like these ended up doing world-class medical research for companies like GSK. Medical … [Read more...] about Clinical Trial Fraud
Ghosts in the Clinical Trial Machine
This is the first part of a two part series on clinical trial fraud from Johanna Ryan, with part 2 next week. Jo is RxISK's clinical trial and shoddy clinical practice sleuth - see The Maintenance Man. Recently the U.S. Department of Justice called attention to a small but worrisome crime wave. Health care fraud is a familiar feature of American life that may account for … [Read more...] about Ghosts in the Clinical Trial Machine
Antidepressants: Education and Disability Certificates
This post covers difficulties primarily on antidepressants that medicines can cause to people in schools or universities who end up unable to study or do course-work, as well as the difficulties people can have trying to get off medicines, a process that can be pretty disabling. The materials linked to this post are being put in your hands to run an experiment and hopefully … [Read more...] about Antidepressants: Education and Disability Certificates
Ketamine: What’s God got to do with it?
The fuss about ketamine has generated interest in where it has come from. There were probably multiple beginnings. One was with Stan Grof, who moved from Prague to Baltimore in 1967. His interest in therapy led him to a focus on early life experience. This stemmed from work with LSD and psilocybin in the 1950s and 1960s, under the influence of which many people volunteered … [Read more...] about Ketamine: What’s God got to do with it?