Many of us are predisposed towards a mistrust of drug companies. The fact is, they make billions of dollars every year, and it seems like most would do anything for a buck. Recent news that AstraZeneca allegedly suppressed negative information about Seroquel, an anti-psychotic drug, is not helping the tarnished image that the pharmaceutical industry has earned.

A Washington Post article published recently outlines the study, known as “Study 15,” and reported that AstraZeneca had suppressed the study’s negative results, and at the same time promoted more positive results from other studies with less stringent protocols.

Also reported by the Washington Post: The shocking fact that one employee of AstraZeneca praised a colleague’s “smoke and mirrors job” in reference to the suppression of the negative results. Those suppressed results include a possible link between Seroquel and the development of diabetes. In addition, the study showed that Seroquel was no better than other anti-psychotic drugs at preventing psychotic relapses.

Who To Trust With Your Health And Prescription Drugs

Sometimes, it’s hard to know who to trust. And unfortunately, some doctors can’t be trusted when it comes to clinical trials either.

Dr. Scott Reuben, an anesthesiologist currently on leave from Springfield’s Baystate Medical Center in Massachusetts, has been accused of faking data in clinical trials for a staggering twelve years. According to the accusations, Dr. Reuben is responsible for faked data in no less than 21 published medical papers.

• According to news released by the Baystate Medical Center, a routine hospital review carried out in 2008 revealed that some of the doctor’s research had not been approved by the hospital’s review board.
• An investigation into the issue found that Reuben had made up some or all of the data in 21 papers published over the last twelve years.
• The data involves several drugs, including Celebrex, Lyrica, and Effexor, and Reuben attests to their effectiveness as painkillers in the published studies.

On the basis of the studies, Reuben had received numerous research grants from several sources, including drug company Pfizer, which makes and markets Celebrex.

As if the monetary rewards weren’t bad enough, the doctor has become widely respected in the field of anesthesiology on the basis of his fraudulent research, and many doctors have been basing their own use of pain relievers on Reuben’s results.

And even worse for patients, some of the drugs Reuben “studied” have been shown to delay bone healing – but Reuben’s work didn’t show up any of those problems. It’s now likely that many of the clinical trials Reuben published will be redone to ensure that accurate results are achieved.

photo credit: HA! Designs – Artbyheather

When a doctor explains treatment options to a patient, it’s often little understood; frequently glossed over; and delivered in over-technical terms. A new movement in health care is makings strides to change the status quo, and with it the decisions of a whole new group of patients.

Case Examples of Informed Consent Opportunities

Currently, the most effective early warning signal for prostate cancer is an elevated level of prostate-specific antigen in the blood. But that test is nowhere near perfect – many men with prostate cancer test negative for PSA, and men who are overweight and have developed prostate cancer often have reduced PSA levels. Up to 25% of men with prostate cancer test negative for elevated PSA.

The medical world is full of situations like these, where tests and diagnoses are not as clear-cut as patients might think. If you knew that some blood tests were unreliable, would you still choose to take them? What about when the situation is more serious than a simple blood test – what if you had to choose between several rounds of chemotherapy, or the removal of one or both breasts, as a treatment for breast cancer?

The Solution to Improving Patient Decision-making

The fact is, with medical science becoming increasingly sophisticated and more highly technical, it’s harder for patients to keep up. What’s the solution? A growing movement of doctors is pushing for a solution that has become known as informed consent 2.0. The idea is to promote more extensive patient education in the form of decision aids – guidelines written in plain English, rather than overly technical medical language, to help patients fully understand the positives and negatives of their options for medical treatment.

The goal, say the doctors, is for patients to view these guides before they visit their doctor, so that during the appointment more time can be spent on patient decisions rather than explaining their options. At New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, for example, every woman who is diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer views a video decision aid before ever seeing a surgeon. The video includes information about treatment options – tumor removal followed by chemotherapy or full – breast removal and explains that both options produce almost equal survivability results.

Programs such as these are even more important in light of the results of a recent study from the University of Michigan which suggests that many patients making common medical decisions over medication and other treatments are not well informed. Many patients, for example, said their doctors rarely discussed the disadvantages of various treatment options.

photo credit: Lisa Brewster

The $787 billion economic stimulus package that was signed into law last week includes one or two health-related measures that haven’t been widely publicized, but which are no less important for it.

One of these is the $1.1 billion that has been assigned for a study to compare the effectiveness of a large number of medical treatments, drugs, surgeries, and other current standard medical procedures and devices. A council of fifteen federal employees will be set up to coordinate the research and advise the President and Congress on where the money would best be spent.

The program is a response to growing concerns that doctors have little solid evidence on which to base the value of many of the treatments that are currently considered standard.

Questions to Answer with the Stimulus Package Health Care Money

According to Dr. Elliott S. Fisher of Dartmouth Medical School, the study will help answer questions such as these:

• Should severe neck pain be treated with physical therapy, medication, and exercise, or with surgery?
• What is the best combination of prescription medication and therapy for the treatment of depression?
• Is it more effective to treat arterial blockage in the legs with medication or with surgery?
• Is medication alone an effective treatment for chronic heart failure, or are active health intervention measures also necessary?

Second Concern: Rapidly Increasing Health Care Costs

A second concern is the rapidly increasing cost of health care. Healthcare spending hit a total of $2.2 trillion in 2007. That’s 16% of gross domestic product – and it’s been estimated that figure will hit 25% by 2025. It is hoped that the research will save money by discouraging the use of expensive treatments that are largely ineffective and, at the same time, boosting the use of more effective treatments. During her years as a senator, Hilary Rodham Clinton was a firm proponent of such research and President Obama endorsed the concept during his White House campaign.

Not everyone is supportive of the idea of spending millions of taxpayer dollars on health care comparison studies. Critics say it may allow the federal government to be too intrusive when it comes to personal health care choices, and may jeopardize the doctor-patient relationship by put the government squarely between patients and health care professions. Others worry that insurance companies will use the data gained from the study as an excuse to deny coverage of more costly medical treatments.

photo credit: Emily Taliaferro Prince

The medical breakthroughs that get reported in the media rarely end up being the miracle cures they’re often portrayed as. In 2008, however, there were several important advanced made in medical science that could have a significant impact on public health in years to come.

1. The question of whether organic food is good for you has finally been answered: A review of studies on nutrient content of organic fruits, vegetables, and grains has confirmed that these have up to 25% more nutrients than conventionally-grown produce.
2. Another long-held myth—about the efficacy of antibiotics for sinus infections—was also dispelled in 2008. Over the course of nine studies involving 2,500 participants, it was found that antibiotics didn’t significantly hasten recovery. According to allergist Neil L. Kao, MD, taking a decongestant or mucus thinner, along with a painkiller as needed, is just as beneficial.
3. If weight loss is your resolution for 2009, look into adding resistant starch—found in beans, green bananas, and potatoes—to your diet. This type of starch is digested very slowly, helping to suppress your appetite, and can help stabilize blood sugar levels, too.
4. Women take note: a new risk calculator, known as FRAX, has been developed to help doctors determine whether women are at risk of osteoporosis, and whether preventative treatment may be necessary.
5. If you receive a diagnosis of diabetes, it’s important to know the results of three major studies that were completed in 2008. All three reinforce the importance of taking control of blood sugar levels as soon as possible, and managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels as well.
6. Also from the field of diabetes research comes the news that body fat percentage may be a more reliable indicator of risk than body mass index. Mayo Clinic researchers studied 1,101 women with a BMI of less than 25 (considered a healthy BMI), and found that those with higher than 30% body fat were at higher risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
7. Unfortunately for people with arthritis in one or both knees, a result study showed that arthroscopic surgery doesn’t provide any real benefit in most cases. If you’re affected by this condition, the study concluded, you’re better off with physical therapy and medication for pain management.
8. Another potentially major breakthrough is in the field of multiple sclerosis treatment, where current medication can prevent relapse of major symptoms in around 30% of people with the disease. A new drug, called fingolimod, has so far been able to prevent relapses in more than two thirds of patients, for three years, according to results of clinical trials.

photo credit: a.drian

Off-label prescribing—the practice of prescribing medication for a condition for which it is not indicated or approved—is very common in America, particularly in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. In 2001, an estimated 21% of prescriptions for the 160 of the most commonly-used drugs were off-label.  And 75% of those off-label prescriptions were written for conditions for which there is absolutely no scientific evidence to prove they work!

The law doesn’t prevent this practice, although it does prevent pharmaceutical companies from promoting off-label prescribing. Often, there’s no real harm in off-labeling, but equally so, there’s even more often no scientific proof that those off-label drugs are doing you any good. The only evidence is what’s called anecdotal – evidence that has been noted by doctors, but there has been no scientific study carried out to provide hard proof.

Doctors and law-makers know it’s a problem, but they say it’s such an extensive issue that they just don’t know how to even begin solving it. This December, however, that might be about to change, as a group of physicians will publish a paper in scientific journal Pharmacotherapy, about ways in which solutions to the off-labeling problem might be approached.

The researchers who studied the issue have identified a list of fourteen medications that are often prescribed for off-label uses. Many of the drugs on the list are antidepressants and anti-psychotics – drugs used to treat psychological problems. Six of the drugs on the list are used to treat bipolar disorder. All three of these represent categories of illness where both physicians and their patients are eager to try new solutions and off-label prescriptions.

Often, this can provide an effective means of treatment for people with psychological disorders – but the problem is, these drugs haven’t been FDA tested and approved for the uses to which they are put. That means a serious risk of unintended and unanticipated side effects, which in turn can endanger the life and safety of the patient.

An additional problem is that drug companies are reluctant to put their products through the testing required for off-label uses, not only due to the expense, but also because testing might prove the existence of undesirable side effects that might make the drugs less popular for off-label use.

The solution? The researchers and physicians who have studied the off-label issue have proposed that an extensive round of testing and surveying be conducted on the fourteen drugs identified as being most commonly used for off-label purposes. They also say that patients should be proactive and ask their doctors for more information about the medications they are prescribed.

photo credit: ragesoss

Imagine constructing a human being synthesized completely through science—a seemingly supernatural fabrication of life. You may think Frankenstein. You may visualize Iron Man. But it’s called bionics.

The field of bionics doesn’t necessarily create entire human beings, but rather constructs body parts for better human functionality. People have been losing body parts and use of body parts since the beginning of time. Non-functioning limbs have been replaced with plastic, wood and even steel.

photo credit: Walraven

Enter Eileen Brown from London, who has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis since her late 20s. It took a while for doctors to figure out her condition – first diagnosing her with growing pains and depression. Over the past 20 years, she has undergone countless surgeries to replace her joints with metal.

In the 80s, she had the knuckles on her left hand replaced with plastic joints. Then in the 90s, her wrists had fused together and she was required to have her knee replaced with metal – this is after alternative treatments had failed. Shortly after, she had to have her left shoulder replaced with a metal joint. Right before the new millennium, she began having pain in her right shoulder – another metal joint needed.

After falling from a ladder in 2003, she was required to have the bones and metal replaced in her left shoulder, due to fractures and an infection that began to spread. Her last operation was on her hips and is looking forward to her 50th birthday and a surgery for her neck and the bottom of her spine.

Imagine how difficult it is explaining why the metal detectors are going off.

Regardless of how bizarre it may appear, cases like Brown are more common than one may think. It’s not rare to see people with one or two bionic legs; even some athletes continue to run track and play sports on their prosthetic limbs. Some industries have argued about the use of “bionic athletes” because of their possible super-human abilities to run faster and jump higher. They believe that bionic athletes should participate in separate events.

Thought Robocop Was Cool?

Law enforcement agencies are upgrading their bulletproof vests with nanotube technology. Although bulletproof vests are great for stopping bullets, it doesn’t protect its human hosts from blunt force trauma, which can cause bruising and organ damage. This technology is currently being studied in Sydney by the Centre for Advanced Materials Technology.

How About Iron Man?

In 2005, there was a release of a ROBOT suit that gives its wearer super strength – don’t get carried away, this suit is far from bulletproof and it doesn’t fly. What it can do is help the elderly or those with disabilities to move about and lift heavy objects. This suit, called HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb), has been under preparation a decade before its release; Yoshiyuki Sankai created it. It is attached to your legs and hips and operates by a battery pack on the belt. HAL 3 helps you to walk by detecting electrical currents sent to you brain by your nerves attempting to move. The HAL is also available for the arms.

The Ever-watching Eye

You’ve heard of people getting eye surgery and glass eyes, but have you heard of bionic eyes that help you to see? It uses a camera – yes, a camera – and electrodes to help its host to identify simple objects. The surgery is known in London; the first operation was done at Moorfields Eye Hospital, where two men in their 50s had their retinas artificially fitted. You may find these available on the market within the next three years. It costs about £15,000; or $30,000 USD.

The Merits of Red Yeast Rice

A Chinese supplement, red yeast rice, is a natural remedy for lowering cholesterol and preventing heart attacks. Studies have showed that 5,000 Chinese heart attack patients who were taking red yeast rice pills cut their risk of getting another heart attack by nearly 50%. They also reduced their chances of needing heart procedures like bypass surgery or angioplasty. Chances of dying from cancer were also reduced by two-thirds.

So who are likely candidates for taking red yeast rice supplements? If you are a heart patient that is having a hard time lowering your cholesterol with statin drugs, this may be a solution for you. These supplements can be found at most local grocery stores, but before using any of them, make sure to check with your doctor for medical advice. Your doctor can prescribe you a statin drug that contains Chinese red yeast rice (these drugs are usually called lovastatin).

It may also be best to have healthy diet while taking the supplement to help better reduce your chances of cardiovascular diseases.

photo credit: tellumo

Why Sausage Could Lead to Cancer

Much of the processed meat is cured using preservation methods that have been in practice for years. Such methods include smoking, salting, and placing additives into the meat. As little as one sausage a day could lead you to an early demise, research shows. Experts are recommending that people should try to eliminate processed meats completely out of their diets, but if it is difficult, try to at least lower the amount consumed.

What Kinds of Cancer Could Sausage Cause?

The negative effects that these meats can have on our health include cancer in the bowels, stomach, breast, colon, pancreas and prostate. Red meat too has shown signs of being linked to such cancerous growths and should also be consumed much less (pork, beef and lamb). In the United Kingdom, there are about 100 new cases of bowel cancer reported every day.

So how does processed meat cause so much harm? Well, the substances that are used to preserve the meats have N-nitroso compounds (a product of nitrates); this increases the chances of consumers getting cancer. So if you are looking to keep red meat in your diet, you should try to stick with fresh meat. It is recommended that people consume less than 17.6 oz of red meat each week (since it is a valuable nutrient we need and can’t be eliminated) and to cross out processed meat out of our diets completely.

• Beef, when in its natural form, can be very healthy to consume. The cow has a non-pollutant diet consisting of lots and lots of grass. However, with beef that is non-organic, you will sometimes find traces of harmful products, including mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals. Even pesticides can be found in cow meat.

• Hot dogs are known to have nitrites contained in them to help for preservation, so it too has been linked to cancerous growth. It was even said to cause leukemia in children.

• Just 50g of processed meat being eaten each day can cause your risk of getting bowel cancer to go up by a fifth! This is about one sausage or three rashers of bacon per day. Not much at all.

• You may have found comfort in smoked or cured ham, but this is definitely a no-no and can lead to cancer. It is known to have nitrosamines, a class of chemical compounds produced at high temperatures (like in the stomach or stove).

photo credit: Gaetan Lee

The American Academy of Neurology is giving us one more reason to stop smoking and drinking: Alzheimer’s sets in earlier for these risk groups, and the data seems to be undeniable. At the same time, there is apparently a new miracle cure for Alzheimer’s on the horizon. This entry will review both the newest cures and curses of Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimers’ New Curses

In the American Academy of Neurology study, two risky behaivors were cited as the “most preventable factors” in helping to curb Alzheimer’s: drinking and smoking. The study found that heavy drinkers developed Alzheimers four years earlier, on average, than non-drinkers. Heavy smokers developed the condition nearly 2 1/2 years before non-smokers.

Alzheimers’ New Cures

The study about the potential risk factors for Alzheimers comes on the heels of a recent medical breakthrough, in which a well-placed injection of an anti-arthritic drug into the spinal cord could potentially cause immediate curative effects.

One study subject in the new potential “cure” for Alzheimers had not recognized his wife for years, but upon receiving the injection immediately greeted her. Of the 50 subjects currently undergoing the experimental new procedure, there is apparently a 90% success rate.

Still, there is still much research to be done. The set of subjects is relatively small and Suzanne Sorenson, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, says there is still much research to be done, “On the surface, these results are exciting, but we need to study with caution,” she said. “The evidence suggests it is worth giving these drugs a trial.”

Alzheimer’s is caused by an accumulation of protein in the brain, which cause loss of memory — also known as dementia. Incidence of Alzheimer;’s, along with its closely related ailment, Parkinson’s, have dramatically risen in recent years – suggesting that environmental factors are partly to blame.