[NVIC] Pharma Influence on Medicine

[Guest guest]

E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER

Vienna, Virginia http://www.nvic.org

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UNITED WAY/COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN

#8122

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" Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982. "

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BL Fisher Note:

Healy, M.D., a critic of the pharmaceutical industry's influence on

treatment protocols for those with mental health issues, is also questioning

the credibility of scientific studies concerning psychiatry published in

medical journals. The points he is raising regarding the quality and

quantity of " scientific evidence " used to support the safety and efficacy of

mass use of psychiatric drugs are important ones. His concerns are quite

applicable to the concerns that have been raised about the quality and

quantity of the " science " used to support the safety and efficacy of the

many other drugs and vaccines the pharmaceutical industry and medical

organizations aggressively market in technologically advanced countries like

the US and Britain.

ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)

Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability

www.ahrp.org

.. The focus of a forthcoming presentation by Dr. Healy,

" Psychopharmacology in Turmoil:A Scientific or Ethical Crisis? " is bias,

faulty data analysis, and manipulated clinical trial finding reports as

manifested in the psychiatric literature. In his lecture, at Columbia

University Medical Center (October 20), Dr. Healy will demonstrate how

current clinical practice guidelines that purport to be " evidence-based " are

not based on scientifically valid evidence at all.

For those who are unaware of Dr. Healy's contribution to the credibility

crisis in psychiatry: his analysis of previously undisclosed company data

from SSRI drug trials contradicted the published reports about these trials.

His findings of a drug-induced suicide risk, challenged the mindset and

prescribing practices of the psychiatric establishment in the UK, Canada,

Australia, and the US. By bringing the undisclosed hazards to public notice,

the debate about the efficacy and safety of SSRs--and the validity of the

process by which they were tested--reached a crescendo.

Families whose children became suicidal after being prescribed an

SSRI--some becoming casualties of drug-induced suicide--came to Washington

from coast to coast to testify before two FDA advisory committee hearings

(in February and September, 2004). Their compelling testimonies coupled

with independent analyses replicating Dr. Healy's, resulted in mandatory

Black Box warnings about the drugs posing a twofold risk of suicidal

behavior for adolescents.

For those who are unable to attend--as well as those who want to

familiarize themselves with the issues--as they stood in 2003--a video of

Dr. Healy's Grand Rounds presentation at UCLA, Neuropsychiatric Institute,

" How Pharmaceutical Companies Mold our Perceptions of Mental Illness "

(October 28, 2003) is on view at:

http://www.mentalhealth.ucla.edu/opce/gr0304.html

" Psychopharmacology in Turmoil:A Scientific or Ethical Crisis? " -

Healy, M.D.

Date: Thursday, October 20

Time: 12:30 - 2:00

Location: Columbia Presbyterian Hospital --622 West 168th Street

10th floor - Irving Conference Room

Directions from Penn Station: take the #1 train (red line) uptown or the A

train (blue line) uptown to 168th street.

At 168 Street station (#1 train) take the elevator up to 168th and Broadway

A train: just go up the stairs to 168th and Broadway

From trains: walk west on 168th street 1/2 block to circular driveway:

Presbyterian Hospital 622 west 168th street

get a pass from the guard. take elevator behind the guard desk to the 10th

floor

go through the doors to the Irving Conference Room.

After the lecture there will be about 40 minutes for Q & A

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

212-595-8974

veracare@...

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