according to Biederman’s testimony, he prepared the presentation himself.
Another presentation promised that a study of J&J’s psychiatric drug
Concerta would “extend … positive findings” on the drug to adolescents. …
The results compelled AstraZeneca to look deeper into the data
for more positives. What they got were negatives. On a rating scale, patients in
these same four studies showed a greater reduction in behavioral symptoms when
taking Haldol instead of Seroquel, according to the analysis. …
Antipsychotics are, at times, cruel drugs. Some cause shaking, salivation,
restlessness, infertility, stiff ness, agitation, and frail bones; others cause
obesity, somnolence, and increase the risk of heart attack, diabetes, and
stroke. Antidepressants also have side-effects, although theirs are typically
less dramatic: sickness, sexual dysfunction, a feeling of being numbed, or
losing one’s personality, and acutely increased risk of suicide. …
Novo Nordisk sends mobile clinics through villages in Goa to screen patients for
diabetes. And Eli Lilly has been working with the Self-Employed Women’s
Association in Ahmedabad to educate people on tuberculosis and encourage them to
seek treatment. …
Burt’s Bees, Tom’s of Maine, Naked Juice: Your Favorite Brands? Take Another Look (AlterNet C/O OCA)
I began to wonder about the other products I liked, trusted and respected for
their independence and their social responsibility. How many were really owned
by big corporations, who were going out of their way to hide the link between
the big corporate company with the small, socially responsible brand? It didn’t
take long for my list of disappointments to grow and grow. …
It turns out that zapping saltwater with low-voltage electricity creates a
couple of powerful, nontoxic cleaning agents. Sodium ions are converted into
sodium hydroxide, an alkaline liquid that cleans and degreases like detergent,
but without the scrubbing bubbles. Chloride ions become hypochlorous acid, a
potent disinfectant known as acid water. …
The power of the acupuncture technique is that rare or limiting specimens can be
examined for expression levels without harming them so they can be used for
other studies such as DNA or protein analysis. …
The study authors stated that these results appear to corroborate the
findings from the ARIC and Framingham studies indicating that consumption of
diet soda, either independently or in conjunction with other dietary and
lifestyle behaviors, may lead to metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes.
“Higher vitamin C intake is independently associated with a lower risk of gout,”
the study authors write. “Supplemental vitamin C intake may be beneficial in the
prevention of gout.” …
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca folks were worried about Study 15. As you know, internal
emails released as court documents show that higher-ups praised a company
doctor’s efforts to put a “positive spin” on “this cursed study.” Company
officials discussed their “cherry-picking” of data; one said, “Thus far, we have
buried Trials 15, 31, 56 and are now considering COSTAR” (which also produced
unfavorable results). In public, however, AstraZeneca publicized a less-rigorous
study showing that patients lost weight
on Seroquel. …