January 14th, 2010 by Harriet Hall, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, Research
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A recent story on NPR accused the drug manufacturer Merck of inventing a disease, osteopenia, in order to sell its drug Fosamax. It showed how the definition of what constitutes a disease evolves, and the role that drug companies can play in that evolution.
Osteoporosis is a reduction in bone mineral density that leads to fractures. The most serious are hip fractures, which require surgery, have complications like blood clots, and carry a high mortality. Many of those who survive never walk again. Vertebral fractures are common in the osteoporotic elderly and are responsible for dowager’s hump and loss of height. There is also an increased risk of wrist and rib fractures. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
November 17th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, News
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The physical scars will be nothing compared to the emotional scars that will haunt the children. I recently read that the effective acne treatment Accutane was pulled off the market this summer quietly ending access to an excellent and effective acne treatment for millions of self conscious teens and young adults. Accutane, or isotretinoin as it’s known, was used to treat severe nodular acne.
It turns out that Accutane was linked to inflammatory bowel disease, and other side effects resulting in thousands of lawsuits. It spent twenty five years on the market embroiled in controversy.
Approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 1982, Accutane has been the subject of controversy for years. It first garnered attention in the late eighties for causing severe birth defects. It has also been known to cause psychiatric problems, and has been linked to hundreds of cases of suicide in the United States. Accutane has also been associated with problems of the liver, kidneys, central nervous system, and pancreas, as well as the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and auto-immune systems.
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*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
