Sickening Meds: Rather Depressing

In a series of previous postings (which start here), I bemoaned the fact that not one of the political candidates has picked up the issue raised by the fact that drug companies often hide data about side effects caused by medications they peddle, and do not report adverse reactions, even when these include fatalities. A new round of such sickening conduct is not as grievous, but is troubling enough. Where is the voice?

Antidepressant makers have not published the results of about one third of the drug tests they conducted to win government approval. A new analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine found that while 94% of the positive studies found their way to print, only 14% of those with disappointing results did. This form of highly selective publication misleads doctors and patients about the true effectiveness of the medications.

The new analysis has found that in published trials, 60 percent of those on drugs such as Paxil or Prozac reported a significant relief from depression, as opposed to 40 of those on placebo pills. But when one includes data from the unpublished trials, the benefits shrinks considerably.  The drugs still outperform the placebos, but only modestly. 

The FDA has been long been aware that favorable studies are much more likely to be published, but has done precious little to attend to this deceptive practice. In fact, the researchers who conducted this new analysis obtained some of the unpublished data for the more recently approved drugs from the FDA’s website.  They used the Freedom of Information Act and worked through their colleagues to track down information for older drugs.   

Ultimately, it is the job of the elected officials to see to it that governmental agencies do what they are supposed to do. Before they can provide proper oversight, elected officials must inform and mobilize the public, in order to have a chance to stave off the powerful and rich pharma lobby. So far all the candidates for national office have kept mum.

Comments

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I have a friend who suddenly dosn't have any health insurance and her meds for psych and other stuff is over

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Hi great article The medical term refers to a syndrome or cluster of symptoms that affect mainly the emotional sphere: sadness pathological decay, irritability or mood disorder that can decrease performance at work or limit the normal life activity, regardless that their cause is known or unknown. Although this is the core of symptoms, depression can also be expressed through conditions of the cognitive, volitional or somatic. In most cases, the diagnosis is clinical, but must be differentiated from similar expression boxes, such as anxiety disorders. The person suffering from depression may not experiencing sadness, but loss of interest and inability to enjoy normal play activities, and a little experience motivating and slower over time.