Friday, January 14, 2005

UK Drug Firms Deny Burying Research, Pushing Pills  Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday denied aggressively pushing their products onto Britain's health system or suppressing negative research on new drugs. Under cross-examination from parliament's Health Select Committee, executives from both companies said a new climate in Britain - with the public demanding more information and transparency, and the media looking for the next big medical story - made for a tough working environment." "med"  
  

Mental Health Drug Use Increasing Rapidly  WebMD story - "More Americans than ever are being treated for substance abuse, depression, and other mental health disorders, but the treatment they are getting is increasingly limited to prescription drugs alone. That is the finding from a government study that assessed changing patterns in the treatment of mental illnesses from the mid-1990s to 2001. While the number of people receiving other types of treatment, such as psychotherapy or behavioral therapy, remained the same during the five-year evaluation period, prescription drug use increased rapidly."