Big Pharma/Big Med Research Protects Its Own...

...from someone disclosing the symbiotic relationship between drug companies and researchers (the Wall Street Journal via Crooked Timber):

The Journal of the American Medical Association, one of the world’s most influential medical journals … , says it is instituting a new policy for how it handles complaints about study authors who fail to disclose they have received payments from drug companies or others that pose a conflict: It will instruct anyone filing a complaint to remain silent about the allegation until the journal investigates the charge.

The JAMA editors said Dr. Leo was guilty of a “serious breach of confidentiality” by writing about the problems with the JAMA study while the medical journal was still investigating the matter.

[JAMA editor] “flat out” threatened him and attempted to bully him during the conversation....“He said, ‘Who do you think you are,’ ” Dr. Leo said. “He then said, ‘You are banned from JAMA for life. You will be sorry. Your school will be sorry. Your students will be sorry.”

As per Crooked Timber comments,

Biz is biz.

Medical Report*

I've become organized! Unfortunately, that seems to mean less time for blogging. Not that my organized phase is apt to last very long, given my history.

The IHC diabetes management people kept calling and sending letters telling me to come in for my education Tuesday Wednesday Thursdays--afternoons or evenings!--but since that's when I have my office hours I just gave up on it. They are persistent, however, and scheduled me in my own 3-hour slot to talk to a nutritionist and a diabetes specialist. It was actually quite inspirational. I'm not technically diabetic, but borderline, with some chance of keeping my glucose levels down by "lifestyle" changes, and not having to take meds. They gave me (or charged DMBA for, no doubt) a cute little purple glucose tester that is the coolest toy ever. My doctor said check two or three times a month, but it's a lot more fun to do it twice a day, with its techie little chip-strips. Yesterday at the farm we all tested our blood sugar levels. Mine remain borderline. Maybe it takes more than ten days watching my carbs before I get it under control. I have lost the holiday 7 lb weight gain though. Yikes! Seven lbs! That was a lot of cookies!

And, I am noncompliant with my blood pressure meds. I bought another cute little computerized techie toy at Wallgreens, a blood pressure monitor, and despite the various meds--beta blocker, calcium channel blocker, ACE whatever inhibitor--my blood pressure was still incredibly variable. I read some post or something about some non-Big Pharma-funded study which showed that of all the BP meds, diuretics alone worked as well or better than the expensive drugs. So I just quit. And my BP seems the same if not better. It still ranges a little too far up there at times--no more than it did before with the meds--but maybe with my current (organized) diet and exercise it will come down on its own.

OK, boring stuff over.

*This post is for middle-aged people or older, or for people who are very interested in my health--my life insurance beneficiaries perhaps.

Money Money Money Drug Money

This properly belongs on my psych blog, but I'm having problems posting there, so here it is: a review of the tight, mutually beneficial, and corrupt relationship between medical practitioners and the pharmaceutical companies. Sit in any doctor's waiting room for an hour and you'll observe a visit by a happy drug rep bringing presents for everyone in the office. Some corruption is so brazen that it is hard to believe what you see with your own eyes. Ambien (Diovan, Lexipro, Abilify, etc. etc. etc) anyone?

Not to Snark on Only ONE Facet of the Legal Drug Industry

...I am also not a fan of our Utah home-grown network-marketing Orrin Hatch-protected "natural" "organic" "alternative" "homeopathic" "dietary supplement" drug-producing cottage industry. Not sure why I wouldn't be, since it's free of those interfering governmental regulations like "scientific testing for efficacy and safety" as well as "knowing the actual content of what it is you're selling people to take into their bodies." Like cocaine and steroids, to give only two examples from the workshop yesterday. And sorry for the lack of corroborating links to supporting evidence, but anecdote and testimonial are the highest form of proof, right? So take my word for it!