We are running out of antibiotics raising the terrifying prospect of untreatable STDs, hospital superbug infections or tuberculosis. Yet because these drugs are not profitable enough, development by drug companies has almost dried up. So let the public sector research and develop them says a BMJ article. Good idea and what about doing the same […]
Event (Closed): 3 May 2012; Participant at Healthy Ageing Conference
April 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
College of MedicineConferenceHealthy Ageing: Radical New SolutionsThursday 3 May 2012 At Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists27 Sussex Place, London NW1 4RG 09.00 to 17.15 Closed to the public
Sex, no Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll
April 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
All you need to remember to age well For more details see The 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing’ Sex: Staying a reasonable weight, plenty of sunshine for vitamin D and a diet that is lower in carbs will keep your keep both energy and libido up. One of the keys is having a low glycemic […]
Five myths about ageing
April 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
1)It’s your genes that decide the diseases you’re going to get. The truth is that even genes that raise your risk aren’t a done deal. Some of the genes that push up you risk of various diseases can be changed. And not with high-tech wizardry. You can do genetic engineering on your kitchen table. 2) […]
The 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing
April 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The big myth about getting old is that there’s nothing good about it. The future is frailer, weaker sicker. It’s downhill all the way. In fact you have choices. The first Baby Boomers hit 65 last year – a Silver Tsunami that is going to keep on coming. Bad for pension providers but great for […]
Tamiflu: evidence-free yet we spent millions on it
April 25, 2012 by 1 Comment
Following up on the article in the Mail today about Pharmageddon – a book that details the way companies hide inconvenient data to the detriment of patients – I was struck by how the Tamiflu saga was a perfect example of what the author Professor David Healy was talking about. It also raises the issue of […]
Drug companies and off label
April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
News item from Pulse that following legal challenge by Novartis about off label prescribing of cheaper Lucentis that there is now talk of doctors not being allowed to prescribe off label if there is a licenced alternative. This has nothing to do with protecting patients and everything to do with protecting profits. Off label prescribing has […]
Drug company sues over off label prescribing
April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday the drug company Novartis announced it was taking the NHS to court to protest about off-label prescribing, that’s when a drug is given to patients even though it doesn’t have a license to treat that particular condition. “It’s unacceptable to put the safety of patients at risk,” said a spokesperson for the company “though widespread use […]
Pharmageddon: how distortion and cover up happens
April 25, 2012 by 5 Comments
The most detailed and passionate statement of what has gone wrong with evidence based medicine and how it is damaging patients can be found in a new book called Pharmageddon by psychiatrist and campaigner Professor David Healy (published by the University of California Press, £27.95). I wrote a summary of the book with David Healy, […]
Prescribing off label – common and unscientific
April 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Two recent reports have just peered into a murky corner of evidence based medicine and found illegal doings and a distinct lack of evidence Over 11% of the prescriptions handed out in Canada were done off-label, according to a study published yesterday What this means that there weren’t clinical trials backing up their use for that condition. […]
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