Forbes Article - Eat Your Statins

Matthew Herper with Robert Langreth 11.16.08, 6:00 AM ET

Want to avoid a heart attack? Stop taking your vitamins and switch to a cholesterol-lowering statin drug instead.
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One statin critic not backing down is John Abramson, author of Overdosed America. He points out that patients on Crestor had the same rate of serious illnesses requiring hospitalization as those on placebo. "You haven't improved their net health," says Abramson. Instead, he argues, you're trading heart attacks and strokes for other serious illnesses. And he contends that not offering weight-loss counseling to an overweight population created an "artificial situation" that exaggerated the benefits of the drug. He's not alone. Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's fake news show The Colbert Report joked the study was "a great breakthrough in the battle to find things to prescribe to people who don't need them."

http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/15/statins-crestor-jupiter-biz-healthcare-cx_mh_rl_1116statins.html

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Newsweek Interview: Pfizer's Headache

Pfizer's Headache
Lawsuit charges drugmaker was deceptive about Neurontin.
Mary Carmichael
NEWSWEEK, Oct 8, 2008
http://www.newsweek.com/id/162906/
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In the meantime, Abramson—who wrote about many similar cases in the 2004 book "Overdosed America"—said in an interview that the new charges are just one more example of corruption in the pharmaceutical industry. "There was just a wanton manipulation of what physicians believed to be true," he said. "Physicians have to be able trust certain sources. They can't analyze all the data on all the drugs they prescribe themselves; if they did, the medical system would grind to a halt. So the question is, how do doctors typically receive knowledge? Pfizer knew how that happens—through articles, through continuing medical education, through reviews. And they knew how to jam those airwaves."
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http://www.newsweek.com/id/162906

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Dose of bias is unhealthy

By John Abramson / As You Were Saying | Saturday, May 31, 2008 | Boston Herald | Op-Ed

Though the pharmaceutical industry does an excellent job of convincing doctors and the public that its mission is to improve our health, don’t be fooled - its real job is to sell drugs for the highest price.

I recently testified at a hearing in federal court concerning alleged illegal marketing activities that resulted in overpayment of several billion dollars for the drug in question. The judge opened the hearing by quoting the highly respected American Law Institute’s statement that the fundamental purpose of a corporation is to maximize profits and return those profits to its shareholders.

Though the pharmaceutical industry does an excellent job of convincing doctors and the public that its fundamental mission is to improve our health, don’t be fooled - its real job is to sell the most drugs for the highest price. And they do so by capitalizing on every opportunity to influence our beliefs about the need for and benefit of their products.

Providing gifts to physicians and financial support to hospitals for continuing medical education are an integral part of the drug industry’s strategy to achieve this goal. If these were the only sources of bias in what doctors believe is the best way to treat their patients, the legislation to ban these activities - courageously passed by the state Senate and pending in the House - would still be vital, but not of such critical urgency.

Unfortunately, they are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s what’s beneath the surface that is the real problem.

Over the past 30 years, the funding of clinical trials has been largely removed from the National Institutes of Health and taken over by the drug and medical device industries. Consistent with their fundamental mission, these industries design their research to maximize their return on investment. Medical knowledge itself has become a commodity, produced for its business value rather than its health value.

It’s not just the commercially biased “educational moments” that are the quid pro quo that come with the gifts to doctors. No, the problem starts with the “scientific evidence” that we doctors read in our most respected journals.

More than two-thirds of the clinical trials that are published in our most trusted medical journals are commercially sponsored. And the odds are five times greater that the commercially sponsored studies will conclude that the sponsor’s drug is the treatment of choice compared to non-commercially funded studies of exactly the same drug. (Wouldn’t it be nice to take those odds to the casino?)

In other words, what we naively think of as objective science is more often than not an extension of marketing - an infomercial.

This is an enormous problem and goes a long way toward explaining why Americans pay twice as much for health care as the citizens of the next 21 wealthiest countries, but actually live two and a half fewer years in good health than the citizens of those countries.

The drug industry has so much money and power that even raising these issues is a third rail for American politicians. The head of U.S. operations for drug maker GlaxoSmithKline recently attempted to wield some of that power when he threatened decreased investment in Massachusetts if the proposed ban on gifts is passed.

So if you want your doctor to be as independent of commercial influence as possible when deciding the best treatment for you and your loved ones, the gift ban is a necessary first step.

But we citizens also must be ready to exercise our power as consumers. The drug and medical device companies should know that blocking this legislation or not participating in a voluntary ban on gifts to doctors could result in a consumer boycott of their drugs and devices that have me-too therapeutic equivalents made by companies that are honoring the ban. This is the way to help the medical industry serve its shareholders by better serving the public interest.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1097650

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deeply concerned at the rate of prescription drug abuse in my city

I am a twenty year old college student attending the University of Louisville. I am deeply concerned at the rate of prescription drug abuse in my city. It seems that a very high rate of my friends are either prescribed to Alprazolam (primarily in the medication known as Xanax). I am wondering about the true negative effects of this chemical on the brain.


I have noticed that my friends who are abusing these type of anti-anxiety drugs seem like completely different people than they were before they started the abuse. I know (as was cited by you on Coast to Coast last night and as is general fact here in the old Kentucky home) that my general geographical area is a hot spot for the abuse of prescription medications. I have heard that Xanax can actually alter brain chemistry in the long term is this true? I am deeply concerned. Really enjoyed the show last night and I await an answer from someone who seems to actually know what they are talking about. Please email me back.
W.S.

Dear W.S.,
I share your concern about the overmedication of college students. I think the real danger is not so much the biochemical effect on the brain as the way people learn not to deal with the real sources of their anxiety when they take a drug that simply covers up the symptoms. Besides education, the most important pychological task of college years is to leave behind the ways of childhood and emotional dependence on one's family of origin and learn how to become an independent productive and fulfilled adult in this complex world. This is far from an easy task and highs and lows are an inevitable part of the process. To "medicalize" these psychological growing pains can slow down the rate at which people make progress in adopting constructive adults behaviors. Of course, there are times when the subjective discomfort is just too great, but for the most part engaging in talking therapy, I believe, is more constructive than just drugging the symptoms.
Al the best,
Dr. A

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Dr. Abramson on Coast To Coast

Listen to Dr. Abramson on Coast to Coast, Sat night 10 pm-1 am Pacific Time / Sun 2 am to 5 am Eastern Time

Click here for info.

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I was put on simvastatin, 40mg

Feedback:

I was put on simvastatin, 40mg, by my cardiologist for a total cholestrol level of 220. My side effects included muscle aches, severe neck and elbow pain, and alopecia areata in two large patches on my head.

I read the article called "Lipitor" in Business Week and subsequently purchased your book, "Overdo$ed America". After reading the magazine article, I decided to stop taking the drug (I took it for only 3.5 months). After reading the book, I decided not to see the cardiologist again since my cholestrol level was the only reason I was seeing him. I realize that this man is completely influenced by the drug companies, and is probably unable to have an intelligent discussion about other cholestrol reducing options. I walk between 8 and 12 miles per week and do some resistance training. My weight is 225 lbs. and I am 6' 4" tall. I lost 30 lbs slowly since retiring about 6 years ago, and I am still trying to reduce even more. I eat oatmeal 4-5 times per week. I am 62 years old.

Facts in your book are particular disturbing to me. The fact that the FDA is in bed with the drug companies indicates the depth of the health care crisis in America. When you combine this with the political arena where corporations are literally buying congressmen, senators and the executive, as well as a supreme court that has time and again voted to limit liability from lawsuits for corporations, one wonders if there is any hope for the people.

The only power we have is to vote. However, it seems that one party is almost as bad as the other. Couple this fact with the fact that the vast majority of Americans are in-curious, it seems to me that it will take a total collapse of the economy to wake enough people up.
I just don't see enough resolve on the part of people or politicians to make the necessary changes. I hope I'm wrong, but I can only see more of the same. Money talks!

God help us all!

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Salute you for having the courage...

Dear Dr. Abramson,

I have just begun reading your book, "Overdosed America", and I salute you for having the courage to go against the grain and tell the truth about one of the most egregious broken promises of American medicine......I could not help but think of what I have read so far regarding statin drugs when I saw the following article (link below) in which it is stated that strokes have tripled in middle aged women. I don't think that can all be blamed on obesity :

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080220/ap_on_he_me/obesity_strokes

I have never been a believer in drugs when a natural alternative is available. I reversed my own osteoporosis by following a regimen recommended by the Weil Institute of Wellness at Cornell. I changed my form of calcium supplement from carbonate to citrate, added chelated magnesium in a 2 to 1 ratio , faithfully use a portable stair stepper to increase bone density in hips, and it has worked. I voluntarily discontinued my Actonel, against the advice of my physician, and I feel much better. (I took it for five years,, with no improvement until I began the aforementioned regimen, and I pray that the Actonel did not damage my bones or internal organs)

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/printerfriendlynews.php?newsid=94058

I bought a copy of your book to give to one of our family's favorite physicians, Dr. Julio Gundian, in the hopes that he will read it with an open mind, and pass the info gleaned within to his colleagues.

Thank you for informing the general public that we are not only being duped, we are being harmed.

Sincerely,
Peggy, FL

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