Mind Wonk

The Doctor Won’t See You Now: New Training Helps Prescribers Cope With Pharma Over Promotion « SpeakEasy

“We need to be holding their hand and whispering in their ear Neurontin for pain, Neurontin for monotherapy, Neurontin for bipolar, Neurontin for everything,” sales reps at Park-Davis, now Pfizer, were told in 1996 by senior executive John Ford. “I don’t want to hear that safety crap either.”

Eight years later, after thousands were harmed or killed from such off-label marketing — Neurontin could only be legally promoted for seizures and post-shingles nerve pain — a judgment against Pfizer awarded $430 million to the nation’s Attorneys General who earmarked $21 million for training products for prescribers to help prevent future Neurontins.

via blogs.alternet.org

Read the rest of this article to see what health care professionals are doing to address the problem.

AHRP - Pharma Targets Children-- Fastest Growing Market for Rx Drugs

According to MEDCO, the growth in prescription drug use among American children was nearly four times higher than the rise seen in the overall population.

"While H1N1 caused a spike in antiviral use among children last year, the far more alarming trend since the beginning of the decade is the increasing use of medications taken by children on a regular basis and in some cases, for conditions that we don't often associate with youth, such as type 2 diabetes," said Dr. Robert S. Epstein, Medco's chief medical officer and president of the Medco Research Institute."

In 2009, the FDA facilitated the expanded use of adult drugs for children when it expanded the labels for pediatric use of drugs for the indications for cholesterol control Welchol® (colesevalm HCl) and Crestor® (rosuvastatin); for hypertension Atacand® (candesartan cilexetil);  for migraines Axert®; for heartburn Protonix® (pantoprazole); and, worst of all, atypical antipsychotic medications Abilify® (aripriprazole), Seroquel® (quetieapine fumarate) and Zyprexa® (olanzapine).

via www.ahrp.org

Cathie's notes: The full article includes other material from MEDCO and the Wall Street Journal.

Mental Health Official Puts Female Patients in Same Ward As Dangerous Male Patients — Sexual Assaults Spike « SpeakEasy

In what is one of the most deplorable examples of “What About the Menz” I’ve ever seen, Milwaukee County’s chief mental health official, John Chianelli, decided to placate violent male psychiatric patients by housing female patients in the previously sex-segregated locked ward. When the integrated ward resulted in a surge of sexual assaults against the female patients, Chianelli then defended the decision as a “trade-off.”

via blogs.alternet.org

America's Gone Nuts on Prescription Drugs | | AlterNet

We have two traditional drugs: alcohol and religion. Both of which produce the same eventual side effects: dropping to your knees and feeling guilty.

When it comes to prescription drugs, for me - it's all about the side effects.

Nausea, anal leakage, dysplasia, and temporary blindness are not just great name choices for late 80's heavy metal bands -- they are but a few of the little prices Americans are willing to pay each time they swallow a magic pill designed to help them lose weight, gain confidence, stop shaking or become the proud owners of medically-induced erections.

via www.alternet.org

Do You Have Excessive Sleepiness? Shift Work Sleep Disorder? Big Pharma Hopes So « SpeakEasy

Cephalon shouldn’t have a hard time convincing people they have shift work sleep disorder or excessive daytime sleepiness judging from all the unprescribed Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin and Strattera people are taking  — and number of meth labs. Provigil “is increasingly being diverted for nonmedical use by healthy individuals with the expectation that it will improve cognitive performance,” says an article in the March 18, 2009 JAMA. An article this week in the Daily Northwestern, Northwestern University’s student paper, says college kids who’ve outgrown their ADHD can make a quick $300 a month flipping their Adderall and Concerta scripts on campus.

But the reason FDA rejected Provigil (modafinil) in 2006 for children with ADHD was not for its abuse potential but for its Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) potential — a drug reaction so severe patients are treated in burn units and resemble Napalm victims.

via blogs.alternet.org

Cathie's notes: Wake up, people!

School for Disabled Forces Students to Wear Backpacks That Deliver Massive Electric Shocks | | AlterNet

A former employee of  the center told an investigator, "When you start working there, they show you this video which says the shock is 'like a bee sting' and that it does not really hurt the kids. One kid, you could smell the flesh burning, he had so many shocks. These kids are under constant fear, 24/7. They sleep with them on, eat with them on. It made me sick and I could not sleep. I prayed to God someone would help these kids."

Noting that it believes United States law fails to provide needed protections to children and adults with disabilities, MDRI calls for the immediate end to the use of electric shock and long-term restraints as a form of behavior modification or treatment and  a ban on the infliction of severe pain for so-called therapeutic purposes.

"Torture as treatment should be banned and prosecuted under criminal law," the report states.

via www.alternet.org

Cathie's notes: Well, here's a companion piece to my earlier post on psychiatric drugging of kids. This article also has links to the report and to a great Mother Jones article in 2007: School of Shock, by Jennifer Gonnerman.

Leigh Donaldson: Psychiatric drugging of American children is cause for alarm | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

According to a 2010 study of data on more than a million children reported by American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's journal, the use of powerful anti-psychotics with privately insured U.S. children, ages 2 through 5, doubled between 1999 and 2007.

In the 2007 study, the most common diagnoses of anti-psychotic treated children were pervasive developmental disorder or mental retardation (28.2 percent), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (23.7 percent) and disruptive behavior disorder (12.9 percent).

Fewer than half of drug-treated children received a mental health assessment, a psychotherapy visit, or a visit with a psychiatrist, during the year of anti-psychotic drug use.

via www.pressherald.com

Cathie's notes: Author of this article, Leigh Donaldson, is a Portland writer who is completing a series of investigative feature articles exploring mental health issues among people of color for national publication. This is an extremely important issue. I'll be back later with other links to his series (I hope)

via tennesseehawk.typepad.com

AHRP - 10-Year Old Disabled Boy Starved to Death in State Foster Care

An investigation by the Detroit Action News reports that one year after ten-year old, disabled, Johny Andron (weighing 120 lbs) was removed from his mother--who sought help--was placed in a Michigan state foster care facility, he died of starvation, weighing 48 lbs.

State and federal policies are designed to enrich the foster care system while undermining the welfare of children and families: state policies encourage the removal of children from loving parents who need support to care for children with special needs. Instead of support, such children are being dumped into state foster care where, more often than not, they are neglected, abused, routinely prescribed brain damaging drugs, and even starved to death.

via www.ahrp.org

AHRP - Grassley Probe: Pharma Provides 81% of NAMI Income

The $$$ amounts--one might call them, "fees for services rendered"--reveal the truth about who wields the greatest influence on NAMI policies--and whose interests are being served by NAMI. 

For years NAMI (the National Alliance of Mental Illness) refused to dislcose it sources of income. But thanks to Senator Charles Grassley's probe, the dollar amounts--"fees for services rendered," one might call them--reveal the truth about who wields the greatest influence on NAMI policies--and whose interests are being served by NAMI. 

In October, 2009, Sen. Grassley revealed that between 2006--2008 NAMI garnered 3/4 of its income from pharmaceutical companies--$23 million . 

NAMI's wheel of fortune is graphically shown a PharmaMarketingBlog
In 2009,  NAMI's total intake from contributions above $5,000 totaled $4,737,610.00. 
NAMI's cash haul from manufacturers of psychotropic drugs amounted to $3,836,750.00--that's 81% of the intake. 

From Pharmalot we learn that in a letter to NAMI ( April 26, 2010), Sen. Grassley reveals the fact that NAMI state chapters are also "on the take"--heavily financed by key psychotropic drug manufacturers. 

via www.ahrp.org