Americans consume more medications than any other population on earth. And they’ve become increasingly aware that while medications are prescribed for certain benefits, the risks involved must be taken seriously. The economic stimulus legislation created a council of up to fifteen federal employees to coordinate the research and to advise Congress and the President how… Continue reading Failure to Consider the Risks
Month: April 2009
Integrative Medicine and Healthcare Reform
The Bravewell Collaborative, a philanthropic organization, partnered with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene this past February’s Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public. The primary goal is to make a shift in US healthcare. John Weeks, publisher and editor of The Integrator Blog, poses this question to the integrative medical… Continue reading Integrative Medicine and Healthcare Reform
Food Safety and the FDA
According to the editors of Scientific American in the April 2009 issue, “the security of our food supply is at risk—in ways more noxious than anyone had feared.” The article referred to the FDA’s action in 2008 regarding the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in farm animal production.
Conflict of Interest in Conventional Medicine Practice Guidelines
The April 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association has an article written by a group of doctors who recommend that medical professional associations adopt stricter conflict of interest guidelines. The new proposals call for associations to refuse general budget support from the industry.
Genetics + Environmental Chemical Soup = Autism?
In the not-too-distant past, the rate of autism in the US was listed as 1 in 10,000 children. It is now acknowledged to be 1 in 150 children and as high as 1 in 93 children in New Jersey. While there are those who point to better diagnosis as the reason for the increase, little… Continue reading Genetics + Environmental Chemical Soup = Autism?
Going Back to Basics May Help Us Achieve Healthcare for All
According to Peter Chowka of NaturalHealthLine, the first two months of President Obama’s administration “have set the stage for the greatest transformation of American healthcare since the country declared its independence from Great Britain 233 years ago.” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has been quoted as saying Congress hopes to enact a mandate that… Continue reading Going Back to Basics May Help Us Achieve Healthcare for All
When the Sum of the Parts Exceeds the Whole
The first nationwide study of human drugs in fish tissue is completed. Researchers found that fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major US cities contained pharmaceutical residues, including medications used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder, and depression.
Media Distortion Damages Both Science and Journalism
Simon Baron-Cohen, PhD, director of the Autism Research Centre at University of Cambridge, recently published a study that showed a positive correlation between levels of fetal testosterone (measured by amniocentesis) and the number of autistic traits a child shows post-natally. None of the children in the study, however, had actually developed autism. What was being… Continue reading Media Distortion Damages Both Science and Journalism
Does the Medical Industry Have a Fundamental Lack of Integrity?
Two recent articles—one in the New York Times, the other in the Wall Street Journal—speak to a crisis of integrity in the medical industry that has led insiders like Dr. Jerome Kassirer of Yale and Tufts to muse that some of their colleagues appear to act as “paid prostitutes for the drug industry.”