Tuesday, November 30, 2004

A Taxpayer-Funded Clinical Trials Registry and Results Database
Essay at the Public Library of Science web site by Erick Turner - "Over the past several years, there has been growing concern about selective publication of clinical trial results. The debate has intensified since New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer filed suit against GlaxoSmithKline on June 2, 2004, alleging that the company was hiding data regarding the efficacy and safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pediatric patients with depression. ... In this essay, I argue that a highly valuable but underused registry and results database for US trials already exists within the Department of Health and Human Services, specifically within the Food and Drug Administration."  
  

Governor Bush to take on Medicaid reform (Florida)
Sun Sentinel story - "Under pressure to stem soaring costs for treating poor and sick Floridians, Gov. Jeb Bush will ask state legislators and federal officials early next year to authorize the biggest changes ever made to the state's $14 billion Medicaid program. Bush will begin his final two years in the Governor's Mansion taking on the politically ambitious task of rewriting hundreds of pages of rules on how Florida pays for and delivers tax-funded health care to the state's most vulnerable residents."  
  

Reform of Postmarketing Drug Surveillance System Needed, Experts Say
Medscape Medical News story - "Early approval of new drugs in the U.S. is a double-edged sword, allowing the public rapid access to the health benefits of new drugs, yet potentially exposing them to serious adverse effects recognized after the drug launch. Much of the burden of early detection falls on the U.S. postmarketing systems. Recent congressional testimony by a reviewer from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and a study and several articles published in the Dec. 1 issue of JAMA and released online Nov. 22, have fueled the controversy over whether conflicts of interest could influence evaluation of suspected adverse drug reactions." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Imaging tool may help physicians diagnose bipolar disorder
Radiological Society of North America press release at EurekAlert - "Magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy may prove to be the definitive diagnostic test for bipolar disorder, a serious brain illness characterized by an alternating pattern of extreme emotional highs and lows, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Using MR spectroscopy of the brain, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., identified significant differences between the brain chemistries of people with and without bipolar disorder."  
  

Mental health survey uncovers discrimination (New Zealand)
Story at Stuff - "Friends and families of more than half of the respondents in a survey of people with mental illness left them out of activities, called them abusive names or cut them out of their lives completely. Respect Costs Nothing, a survey of 785 people who had experienced mental illness, was released yesterday by the Ministry of Health. Fifty-nine per cent reported being discriminated against by friends and family, 61 per cent of whom were pakeha, 57 per cent Maori, and 49 per cent Pacific Islander. Forms of discrimination included being ignored by fearful friends or siblings, locked out of family dwellings or threatened with admission to psychological institutions. The survey is the latest step in a government-funded campaign, Like Minds, Like Mine, designed to reduce the stigma on mental-illness sufferers."