A Parenting & kids forum. ParentingBanter.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » ParentingBanter.com forum » misc.kids » Kids Health
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Dr. Mercola: Researchers Take Drug Company Pay, Then Lie About it



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 5th 08, 05:16 PM posted to misc.kids.health,misc.health.alternative,talk.politics.medicine
Ilena Rose
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,139
Default Dr. Mercola: Researchers Take Drug Company Pay, Then Lie About it

Health Lover, Ilena Rosenthal thanks Dr. Mercola for this excellent
and important expose of the damage done to children by greedy &
unethical psychiatrists.
http://ilenarose.blogspot.com


Researchers Take Drug Company Pay, Then Lie About it

http://www.mercola.com/forms/eftcourse1.htm
Dr. Joseph Biederman, of Harvard Medical School, is a world-renowned
child psychiatrist whose work has helped fuel an explosion in the use
of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children. He earned at least
$1.6 million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007.
However, he did not report much of this income to university
officials.

Biederman and other researchers may have violated federal and
university research rules designed to police potential conflicts of
interest.

Dr. Biederman reported no income from Johnson & Johnson for 2001 in a
disclosure report filed with the university. When asked to check
again, he said he received $3,500. But Johnson & Johnson said that it
paid him $58,169 in 2001.

Biederman’s consulting arrangements with drug makers were already
controversial because of his advocacy of unapproved uses of
psychiatric medicines in children.
Sources:
New York Times June 8, 2008


Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Articles like these make it very clear to me that the practice of
prescribing antipsychotic drugs to children is, in the vast majority
of cases, a complete scam by the drug companies. The research behind
the recommendations to use these drugs is so flimsy a light breeze can
rip it to shreds.

The fact that researchers are asked to comply with conflict of
interest rules based on the honor system obviously does not help the
situation. Universities do virtually nothing to verify the accuracy of
these voluntary disclosures.

I agree with U.S. Senator Grassley that this kind of conflict of
interest needs to be made more transparent and monitored. His proposed
legislation to create a national registry for disclosure of industry
payments to scientists and researching physicians is a great start.

Honest Is as Honest Does… Right?

Dr. Biederman is the Chief Clinical and Research in Pediatric
Psychopharmacology at the Massachusetts General in Boston, MA, and a
Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

In addition to receiving awards of excellence from both the American
Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, Dr. Biederman is also on the editorial board of
multiple journals, a reviewer for most of the Psychiatric journals,
and has served as a grant reviewer in the Child Psychopathology and
Treatment Review Committee of the NIMH.

The fact that Dr. Biederman chose NOT to do the right thing in this
honor system of disclosure of financial conflicts of interest really
opens the door to the question: Where else does Dr. Biederman choose
not to fly straight?

Through-and-through honest people generally tend to be honest in most
areas of life, not just when on the job. So his claim that he’s honest
and conflict-free in his research findings (just not so much in his
financial statements), doesn’t sit quite right.

The Explosion of Childhood Bipolar Disorder

In the past decade, Dr. Biederman and his colleagues have promoted the
aggressive diagnosis and drug treatment of childhood bipolar disorder,
maintaining that it was underdiagnosed in children and is treatable
with drugs.

Based on their influence, pediatric bipolar diagnoses and
antipsychotic drug use in children have soared. In 2007 alone, half a
million children and teenagers were given at least one prescription
for an antipsychotic, including 20,500 under the age of six.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), about 7
percent of all children seen at psychiatric facilities fit the bipolar
disorder criteria, using research standards – much of which originated
from Dr. Biederman and company at Harvard.

The Dangerous Side Effects of Antipsychotic Drugs

The drugs given to children diagnosed with bipolar disorder are
typically:
Lithium
Anticonvulsants (e.g., Depakote or other valproate products)
Atypical neuroleptics (e.g., risperidone, olanzapine, ziprasidone,
aripiprazole, quetiapine)

Even though atypical neuroleptics are approved only for adults, the
rate of children treated with atypicals is growing dramatically faster
than the rate for adults, according to Robert Epstein, chief medical
officer for Medco Health Solutions.

In an analysis that Medco did for USA TODAY, a sampling of about 2.5
million of Medco's 55 million members revealed that the rate of
children under the age of 19 with at least one atypical prescription
jumped 80 percent from 2001 to 2005 — from 3.6 per 1,000 to 6.5 per
1,000. And that only represents kids who have private insurance, not
those in foster care or others on Medicaid.

I don’t even advocate giving children cough syrup, Tylenol or
antibiotics, as these alone can be very harmful. But when you’re
talking about powerful psychotropic, mind-altering drugs, you’re
entering an entirely different ballgame.

Aside from the immediate risk of death, another serious and widespread
problem caused by these drugs is excessive weight gain and metabolic
problems.

The effect varies by drug, but children typically gain TWICE as much
weight in the first six months on atypicals as they should through
normal growth, adding an average of 2 to 3 inches to their waistline.
A lot of this is abdominal fat, which also increases their risk of
diabetes and heart disease.

Some experts claim that the weight gain and metabolic problems caused
by the drugs make it difficult to conclude that the medications
actually improve children’s lives in the long run.

Drugs Are Not the Answer to Children’s Behavioral Problems

I realize that many parents decide to put their children on a
psychotropic drug because they believe it will help them and that they
have no choice. However, even the experts can’t agree on the proper
way to diagnose children with bipolar and other mental disorders,
which means the chances of your child being misdiagnosed and
needlessly drugged are high.

I have treated many hundreds of children with varying levels of
behavioral problems and disorders and have consistently seen them
improve once the underlying toxicities and food changes were
addressed. So parents, let me assure you that there is hope!

You can view my interview with the late pediatric expert Dr. Lendon
Smith on this topic.

There can also be extreme pressure to give your kids prescription
drugs, with some public schools even accusing parents of child abuse
when they resist giving their kids drugs such as Ritalin.

In fact, parents who try to resist this insanity in their own homes
can even have their children taken away. In one such case, a
6-year-old mildly autistic boy was taken into state custody after his
mother refused medications for him.

Correcting Behavioral Problems Without Drugs

Behavioral problems in children – including what might appear to be a
more serious mental disorder -- are very frequently related to
improper diet, emotional upset and exposure to toxins. To address
these underlying toxins in your own child, without resorting to drugs:

1. Give your child plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats
like krill oil.

2. Balance your child’s intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fats (from
vegetables oils), by limiting their intake of vegetable oils.

3. Avoid giving your child ANY processed foods, especially those
containing artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.

4. Replace soft drinks, fruit juices, and pasteurized milk in your
child’s diet with pure water. This is HUGE since high fructose corn
syrup is the NUMBER ONE source of calories in children -- remember
this includes fruit juices!

5. Reduce or eliminate grains and sugars from your child’s diet -- yes
even healthy organic whole grains can cause problems. Try eliminating
them first for 1-2 weeks and see if you don’t notice a radical and
amazing improvement in your child’s behavior.

6. Make sure your child gets plenty of exercise and outdoor playtime
in the sunshine.

7. Give your child a way to deal with his or her emotions. Even
children can benefit from the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which
you or an EFT practitioner can teach them how to use.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Merk drug company vaccines admits injecting cancer viruses JOHN Kids Health 5 November 25th 07 09:02 PM
Feds Approve Unnecessary Cervical Cancer Vaccine That Will Make Drug Company Billions john Kids Health 25 August 6th 06 08:54 PM
How To Put A Drug Company Back On It's Feet Jan Drew Kids Health 1 March 16th 06 09:38 AM
Dr. Mercola is a FRAUD - STEVIA Todd Gastaldo Pregnancy 12 January 3rd 05 03:12 AM
What people don't post here ... and Dr. Mercola Mark Probert Kids Health 10 December 9th 04 11:17 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:19 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 ParentingBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.