| Dr. Jai Maharaj 2004-10-27, 10:11 pm |
| Cholesterol panel highlights medical conflicts of interest
Forwarded message from fidyl@yahoo.com
[ Subject: Cholesterol panel highlights medical conflicts of interest
[ From: fidyl@yahoo.com
[ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004
Cholesterol panel highlights medical conflicts of interest
By Marilynn Marchione
Provided by InsideVC.com on 10/17/2004
http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=10062
They led influential medical groups, starred at prestigious meetings,
published in top journals and were undisputed giants in their field.
But when these famous doctors advised the government recently on new
cholesterol guidelines for the public, something else they had in
common wasn't revealed.
Eight of the nine were making money from the very companies whose
cholesterol-lowering drugs they were urging upon millions more
Americans.
Two own stock in them. Two others went to work for drug companies
shortly after working on the guidelines. Another was a senior
government scientist who moonlights for 10 companies and even serves
on one of their boards.
Consumer groups and others now are questioning not only the advice
these doctors gave but also their fundamental ability to act in the
public's best interest.
It comes as some of these companies lobby the government to let drugs
at the center of this controversy -- statins such as Lipitor and
Zocor -- be sold over-the-counter. Prominent doctors with ties to
statin makers are urging approval.
There's little doubt that statins save lives or that too few people
take them now. But critics say the doctors' coziness with drug
companies compromises their credibility and undercuts their latest
advice that more people would benefit from these medications.
Conflicts of interest are increasingly common now that two-thirds of
medical research at universities is funded by private industry.
Twenty years ago, only one-third was.
Government has its own problems. A ban on private consulting was
lifted a decade ago, and recent years have seen one scandal after
another involving federal scientists taking money from companies
directly affected by their decisions.
The drug industry spent $2 billion in 2001 on events for doctors --
double what it spent five years earlier, Dr. Jerome Kassirer, former
editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, reports in
his book, "On the Take."
"The time has come to ask whether all of the money floating around
medicine has created a pattern of corruption," he writes.
Some say it's naive to think a panel of experts with no industry ties
could be assembled today.
But at the university of Illinois in Peoria, they think a lot of Dr.
Frank Gold, who in 30 years as a cardiologist has taken no consulting
or lecture fees from industry.
"I'm squeaky-clean," he says, and "would jump at the opportunity" to
be on a guidelines panel.
To see more of InsideVC.com, or to subscribe, go to www.InsideVC.com
End of forwarded message from fidyl@yahoo.com
Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jai
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
The terrorist mission of Jesus stated in the Christian bible:
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not so send
peace, but a sword.
"For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in
law.
"And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
- Matthew 10:34-36.
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
|