Damaging Drug studies buried

[digital goldfish]

Saw this, and thought it was of interest. I'm presenting it without agenda or prejudice.

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,63186,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3

Researchers in the United Kingdom analyzed 22 randomized controlled trials that compared the effects of antidepressants and placebos in children from 5 to 18 years old. Data on four out of the five antidepressants examined showed the drugs had the potential to do more harm than good in depressed kids, according to research published in the April issue of the British medical journal The Lancet.

 

[athon]

Interesting article. But there's no mention from the pharmaceutical company on why they witheld the results. It's easy to assume that it was because publishing data that was damaging to their trade (one reason why any study must be examined in view of its financing body), but this is speculation.

Neglecting to publish certain results is probably much more widespread than first appears. Universities, pharmaceutical companies, pathology lab's...all will have interests in the outcomes of their studies. It's about business, sadly enough. It's one of the major issues modern science has to contend with, and one that is not likely to be fixed any time soon.

Athon

 

[Wrath of the Swarm]

I've recommended it before, and I'll recommend it again:

Blaming the Brain by E. Valenstein. Some of the chapters discuss how the pharmaceutical companies perform studies, get negative results, and then suddenly find "flaws" in the studies that make them unpublishable and not worthy of submitting to the FDA.

 

[Soapy Sam]

General observation- The functional effectiveness of any practice and its moral implications are not the same thing.

The Inquisition burned people to save their immortal souls.
The Pharmas save lives to make money for their stockholders.

Somewhere in there are a myriad moralities.

We all sell our souls daily. We should know the market rate.

 

[Darat]

Interesting article about some of the problems of the drug approval system.

http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg18124373.100

 

[Darat]

G...snip..

The Inquisition burned people to save their immortal souls.

...snip...

Pedantic note, the Inquisition didn't burn people alive, they passed the guilty over to the secular authorities to do the execution.

 

[Soapy Sam]

The "Guilty "?

OK. Taken as intended.