MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'charles'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:54:15 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182365&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2F6qvlMx61zSo%2Flet-me-ride-on-the-wall-of-death-one-more-time.html We are all fine after Irene, and thank you for asking. The storm tore up the southern part of our state so badly it makes me cry to see the pictures, and nearby towns were inundated, made inaccessible by rising waters and washed-out roads, but my town suffered only flooded streets and basements. I expected worse, and I say that not in an eye-rolling-major-metro-jerkwaddy way, but dodged-a-bullet-grateful style. I grew up in south Louisiana, where we took these things seriously enough to tape our windows and fill our bathtubs, and damned if it didn't stick, because there I was bottling up water and charging the emergency lights as if driven by instinct alone. But it has to be nurture, not nature, nothing genetic about it, because on Saturday evening, after we'd stowed the lawn furni... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182365 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5182365 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158872&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fquis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes-redux.html Revised HHS Rules for Conflict of Interest Fall Short This morning NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins announced revisions to the existing 1995 regulations on objectivity in research that is funded by the Public Health Service. The focus is on significant financial interests (SFI) and on financial conflicts of interest (FCOI). The regulations illustrate the 3-way dance involving academic institutions (the grantees), NIH (the grantor) and academic scientists (the investigators). Thanks to Senator Grassley (R-Iowa) and his investigator Paul Thacker, headlined revelations in recent years about unacceptable management of FCOI at places like Stanford (Alan Schatzberg), Emory (Charles Nemeroff) and Harvard (Joseph Biederman) forced these revisions of the NIH regulations. The general initial react... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158872 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:10:00 +0100 5158872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5097158&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2Ft6p3wnk5pqE%2Fmothers-little-helper.html This morning at breakfast I referred to our kids as epsilons. Charlie, who can effectively tune out everything we say short of Charlie, the house is on fire and if you die Ben gets all your stuff, is by contrast exquisitely sensitive to anything he thinks he's not supposed to hear. So the code word piqued his interest. "What's an epsilon?" he asked. So I started to explain about noted 20th century mathematician Paul Erdös, whose substantial legacy includes more than a thousand published papers, the so-called Erdös problems, and the amusing notion that mathematicians might be assigned an Erdös number, denoting their collaborative proximity to the blah blah blah blah Charlie, the smoke is overcoming me! Saaave the iPod Touuuuch. He tuned out, of course, long before I got... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5097158 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5097158 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086513&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fcarl-elliott-useless-studies-real-harm.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086513 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:39:00 +0100 5086513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057943&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FFyhzJAHzvXw%2Fit-seems-the-fish-were-biting-along-with-everything-else.html Hey, you know how I always talk about Tyler Place as if everyone there walked around in an unshakeable haze of smiles, relaxation, and goodwill? Well, this summer Ben proved me wrong: I wasn't there when this photo was taken. I was probably doing something like cooking a meal or scrubbing a toilet or — ha ha ha haaaaaaaaa just kidding; more like kayaking with my spouse or lingering over coffee with new friends or reading a book on a chaise longue in the cool of the morning shade. Whatever I was doing, I certainly wasn't impaling worms, keeping a boat full of preschoolers from hooking each other, or, worst of all, touching fish. But Ben, I am told, had a fantastic time, and indeed he said so later. I can only suppose that in the moment, when the photographer said some... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057943 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036221&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyrSfYHrRWHI%2F By Chris EdwardsCharles Krauthammer is absolutely right that Republicans must call President Obama’s bluff on the debt-limit vote. I suggested that the House GOP pass $2 trillion in cuts tied to a $2 trillion debt increase, thus handing the matter over to the Senate and the president and refusing to budge. Krauthammer has the same idea, but with $500 billion in cuts and a $500 billion debt increase. That would certainly be better than Senator McConnell’s chicken-out plan, and it would have the advantage of being so modest in size that I think it would ultimately get large support in the Senate from moderates. The cuts–small “trims” really–could be taken right from Obama’s own Fiscal Commission report. The table below illustrates how modest and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036221 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:34:46 +0100 5036221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028157&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0mz-qkeeVw4%2F By Gene HealyMy Washington Examiner column this week is on the final flight of the Space Shuttle, and what looks to be the withering away of the manned space program. In 2004, President Bush announced plans for a moonbase and an eventual Mars mission. But last year President Obama effectively cancelled the moonbase, and has exhibited little desire to liberate Mars. That’s good news, I argue: “We are retiring the shuttle in favor of nothing,” Michael Griffin, Bush’s NASA administrator, wailed to the Washington Post recently. Here, as usual, “nothing” gets a bad rap. I’ll be “in favor of nothing” until the advocates of federally funded spaceflight can come up with an argument for it that doesn’t make me spray coffee out my nose. NAS... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028157 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:36:37 +0100 5028157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968427&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fembedded-networks-of-influence-in.html At the 12th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), sponsored by Transparency International, one of the plenary sessions was devoted to the topic of "embedded networks of influence."  The session description included this description of the topic as:the major stumbling block in the fight against corruption, namely, the power of 'embedded networks' in advancing personal or group interests through state institutions. The extent of their power can create what is known as “state capture” meaning democratic governance failure. It will take a close look at the influential role of private sector, especially of the multinational private sector.A recent investigative report in the Chronicle of Higher Education illustrated a striking case of how one key individual has affected... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968427 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:11:00 +0100 4968427 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4960330&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FeV33sONHAAI%2F Now you see recusal, now you don’t. For the past couple of years, National Institute of Mental Health director Tom Insel has found himself at the center of a furious controversy over conflicts of interest involving academic researchers who simultaneously receive NIH funding and do work for drugmakers. At one point, he was ensnared in a probe by the US Senate Finance Committee. What prompted this attention was a long-standing relationship with Charles Nemeroff, a former Emory University psychiatry department chair who accepted sizeable consulting fees from GlaxoSmithKline at the same time he was the primary investigator on an NIH-funded grant for research into a Glaxo drug. The revelation sparked a probe by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Ne... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4960330 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:32:59 +0100 4960330 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4960352&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FaX0oQCySesI%2Fletters-in-the-mail.html A large envelope arrived in the mail, the first of two reports from Charlie's evaluation. Quickly: ADHD. This particular report runs to almost 20 pages and breaks my f.ing heart, not for the conclusion itself but for the details it contains. "Cannot work in a group." "Increasingly socially unengaged." "Did not attend or participate." "I hate all the work that I have to do; it's a bit too hard and I just don't want to do it." "Engages in a great deal of task refusal and expresses a disdain for school that is extraordinary for kindergarten students." "Verbally and physically aggressive." One classroom interaction in particular, as observed minutely by the evaluator, makes me cringe to consider. I'll just say th... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4960352 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4960352 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4945265&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2F4lepZkt_KU0%2Fthe-great-thing.html The kids were riding their bikes in the driveway, a long, smooth stretch of asphalt that slopes down from the street. Charlie was riding down, and Ben was heading up. Charlie was coming down fast, but they were a safe distance apart, and it would have been fine if Ben hadn't suddenly leapt off his bike and started running directly toward Charlie, laughing. I was down at the bottom of the driveway watching. I could see Charlie's face as he rode, watched him notice his brother, frantically trying to figure out what to do as Ben headed straight into his path. I called to Charlie, I called to Ben, and I ran.  I saw his face, and I watched him decide. Next to a bank of overgrown rugosa rosebushes, Charlie ditched his bike instead of hitting Ben. The bushes broke his fall, a ... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4945265 Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4945265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921786&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FCf0ZBoKIxnY%2Ficumen-in.html My aunt had a helper named Nora. Nora came weekly to clean the house, organize whatever she hadn't already encapsulated in a succession of Ziploc bags, and take care of the laundry. Like Jack Aubrey's Preserved Killick, she was absolutely steadfast and, although hilarious, also a little bit terrifying. When I visited my aunt I'd invariably find these weird agglomerations of stuff, all organized after a fashion, but in arrays that made no sense: a plastic bag containing three rubber bands; several used fabric softener sheets, each folded with naval precision; a plastic bag containing another several plastic bags, nested matryoshka-style; a handful of foreign change; a shower cap from a hotel; and several tiny tubs of non-dairy creamer, like: what? And I'd ask my aunt what th... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921786 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4921786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872507&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FDSTX9h0Xy6k%2Fblame-canada.html A few weeks ago a note came home from school, coolly informing us that current kindergarteners would be out of school for two days in May, to allow the upcoming class to visit and familiarize themselves with the school. Nowhere on the official calendar did this interlude appear, so I was surprised, and I confess it: I get a little squirrelly when the school starts throwing around official-sounding phrases like, "Jesus, would it kill you to care for your own kid for a couple of days, lady?" Therefore I did the obvious thing and overreacted. I planned a trip to Montreal. A couple of years ago Charlie and I took a trip together, a quick flight over to Ohio to pick up some furniture from my parents' house and then a much longer slog home in a U-Haul. My time with Charlie was fant... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872507 Wed, 25 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4872507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852942&cid=t_107430_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F21%2Fthe-link-between-creativity-and-eccentricity%2F It’s common knowledge that creatives can be eccentric. We’ve seen this throughout history. Even Plato and Aristotle observed odd behaviors among playwrights and poets, writes Harvard University researcher Shelley Carson, author of Your Creative Brain: Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity and Innovation in Your Life, in the May/June 2011 issue of Scientific American. She gave several examples of creatives’ strange behaviors: “Albert Einstein picked up cigarette butts off the street to get tobacco for his pipe; Howard Hughes spent entire days on a chair in the middle of the supposedly germ-free zone of his Beverly Hills Hotel suite; the composer Robert Schumann believed that his musical compositions were dictated to him by Beethoven and other deceased luminaries fro... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852942 Sat, 21 May 2011 16:30:10 +0100 4852942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841485&cid=t_107430_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FgebRDS6VN2s%2F Patients are often a source of inspiration and hope. One such stand out individual is Nathan Charles. (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841485 Thu, 19 May 2011 01:47:55 +0100 4841485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841930&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fdan-markingson-files-now-online.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841930 Wed, 18 May 2011 14:44:00 +0100 4841930 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813241&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdnA5cikAZoM%2F By David Boaz His Royal Highness Prince Charles, who lives, well, like a king, off wealth that his ancestors stole, appears at a Washington Post conference to tell his still-recalcitrant former subjects to change their economic system. As befitting a hereditary aristocrat, coming from a long line of people used to issuing orders, with little interest in spontaneous order or actual economic growth, he finds an urgent need for . . . the willingness of all aspects of society — the public, private and NGO [non-governmental organizations] sectors, large corporations and small organizations — to work together to build an economic model built upon resilience and diversity. Sure thing, guv’nor, we’ll get right on that. The King’s Speech is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato I... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813241 Wed, 11 May 2011 20:33:34 +0100 4813241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813650&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Funiversity-of-minnesota-guilty-of.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813650 Wed, 11 May 2011 17:50:00 +0100 4813650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789223&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fj0oEcTlXCrY%2F By George Scoville Osama bin Laden’s death gives us a chance to end what might have become an era of permanent emergency and perpetual war. The Cold War ended–what are we doing in Korea? Two cheers for President Obama for ending eight (well, three) tax breaks to oil companies. Does Osama bin Laden’s death mean an end to U.S.-Pakistan relations? Please join us next Tuesday, May 10 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern for a Cato Book Forum on America’s Allies and War: Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, by University of Mary Washington political scientist Jason W. Davidson. Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow and Georgetown University international relations professor Charles Kupchan will join Professor Davidson in a discussion of the book and its themes, particularly U.S. relation... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789223 Wed, 04 May 2011 14:52:52 +0100 4789223 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758941&cid=t_107430_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2FEUWKYiXoccU%2F Image by Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Archives via Flickr I never have only one book going. The more or less current ones: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett [I'm finally reading what everyone else already has] A House For Mr. Biswas, by V. S. Naipaul The Trinity Six, by Charles Cumming [everyone needs a spy thriller now and then] The Hakawati, by Rabih Alameddine A Savage Peace, by Ann Hagedorn [President Wilson was definitely not the idealistic architect of world peace that Mrs. Liebich, the US History teacher, wanted us to believe in.] The Forsyte Saga, by John Galsworthy. Filed under: books Tagged: Ann Hagedorn, Charles Cumming, Forsyte Saga, Hakawati, Help, John Galsworthy, Kathryn Stockett, Peace, Rabih Alameddine, V. S. Naipaul, VS Naipaul, Woodrow Wilson (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758941 Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:12:29 +0100 4758941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753662&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FinGdljgrPLk%2F By David BoazTalking about royal weddings on NPR, Tina Brown says that there’s high unemployment in Britain, as there was in 1981, because of Conservative governments’ budget cuts (transcript edited to match broadcast): Of course, the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana occurred three decades ago, but Brown points out that there are plenty of similarities between the two eras. “2.5 million are out of work right now with the budget slashes and all the economic austerity that’s happening in England,” Brown says. “There were actually the same amount of people exactly out of work at the time of Charles and Diana, when Mrs. Thatcher came in and began her draconian moves.” I know that Tina Brown is a journalist, not an economist, but surely she’s h... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753662 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:29:32 +0100 4753662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734205&cid=t_107430_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F21%2Fa-snippet-of-psychologys-scientific-roots%2F Throughout the years, sometimes it seems that the public has been iffy about psychology and psychologists. Part of the problem is a lack of knowledge. Past surveys have shown that many people have no idea what psychologists even do. More recent research has found that the public largely views psychology in a positive light. But people still have a limited understanding of the discipline and don’t view it as a hard science. A 1998 survey revealed that both adults and college faculty viewed the physical sciences more favorably. They believed that psychology — along with sociology — led to fewer critical contributions to society and had less expertise than the physical sciences. How did psychology get this bad reputation? PsyBlog’s Jeremy Dean (which, by the way, is an aweso... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734205 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:01:13 +0100 4734205 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4720091&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FbJQE2cx8w58%2Fa-crowbar.html This week we signed the papers to initiate an evaluation.  "For autism," said the special educator, making an X near the signature line on one particular form.  As we signed I wondered how many parents hear that word so baldly stated and want to correct him.  No, no, I think you made a mistake.  You don't mean autism.  You mean Asperger's.  Or "something on the spectrum."  Or...I know what: quirky.  How about you just write quirky? And put in "delightfully" if there's room. This is not a new idea, that something's going on with Charlie more complex than "doesn't feel like listening" or "harmless goofballing" or "overindulgent parents, Jesus, did you hear them?" ev... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4720091 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4720091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704956&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FPhLfP23_6gY%2F File this under The Case of The Missing Book. When last seen, Scientific Therapeutics Information was at the center of an ongoing controversy over an allegedly ghostwritten book - yes, an entire book - that was published in 1999 by the American Psychiatric Association. Funding came from a grant provided by SmithKline Beecham, which is now part of GlaxoSmithKline (back story). The listed co-authors were Charles Nemeroff, who chairs the psychiatry department at the University of Miami medical school, and Alan Schatzberg, who until recently chaired the psychiatry department at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Both men were at the center of a long-running probe by the US Senate Finance Committee into undisclosed conflicts of interest among academic researchers. They were also regul... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704956 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:13:27 +0100 4704956 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704589&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fthem-or-your-lying-eyes.html …THEM OR YOUR LYING EYES? A few days ago I discussed stonewalling by the American Psychiatric Association over charges that they were partners in a ghostwritten textbook. The issue resonated with many people, including Daniel Carlat, John Nardo, the POGO blog, Alison Bass, Ed Silverman, and others. The APA has not seen its way clear to releasing key documents that might clear up the charges. By stonewalling, the APA just does more damage to its image and credibility. They come across as uninterested in transparency, and they appear to be fighting a rearguard action to defend the indefensible. What kind of key documents could the APA have released? In our letter last January we suggested several, including the contract involving the American Psychiatric Press, the medical communications c... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704589 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:18:00 +0100 4704589 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684788&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2Fce1_y1hGRes%2Fan-update-as-quick-as-the-call-was.html I saw the principal again at pickup yesterday. From down the block he saw me coming and made that "telephone" hand gesture.  I shrugged extravagantly, palms up, in the universal signal for, "Dude. WHAT."  As I got nearer he nodded ruefully, the very picture of regret.  I widened my eyes all crazy-like, and may have bared a fang.  "I'll call you," he said, as I moved into earshot.  "Please," I said, and passed. And he called, beginning with a litany of reasons he hadn't called sooner.  I listened, hoping any of those reasons would seem relevant, pertaining directly to my child, or urgent, involving a hungry live tiger on the loose during school hours.  But no; I think he was trying to placate me. In fa... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684788 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4684788 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684789&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FzZAH4qUXAJg%2Fthe-bus.html I've been perseverating on this for what feels like a week now but has only been two days, wearing away at it like the metal-gnawing rodents we discussed at breakfast this morning.  (Rodents came after monkeys; monkeys came after horses.  "I like to eat horses," Ben cheerfully said.  Hush and finish your Wilbur.) I've told everyone I normally talk to, and when I ran out of people I unloaded on the cat.  (He eyed the flecks of spittle in the corners of my mouth, judged my mood to a nicety, and backed away slowly from my crazy-eyed self.)  Having talked all my friends into catatonia, I still need to say it some more.  It's all I can think about so I'll post it here: Charlie's been banned from the school bus. About three ... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684789 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4684789 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676731&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fwho-you-gonna-believe.html WHO YOU GONNA BELIEVE? Ghostwriting Charges and Stonewalling at the American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association came under a searchlight this past December over allegations of ghostwriting. The story originated with a public letter from Project on Government Oversight (POGO) to the Director of NIH, and it was picked up by Duff Wilson writing in the New York Times. The book was Recognition and Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Psychopharmacology Handbook for Primary Care. The named authors were Charles Nemeroff, now chairman of psychiatry at the University of Miami, and Alan Schatzberg, formerly chairman of psychiatry at Stanford University. Both are well known for ethical controversy – see here and here. Soon, these allegations were being dissected in the bl... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676731 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:44:00 +0100 4676731 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642786&cid=t_107430_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2Fv5ts6KjHKBk%2F These are my links for March 28th from 09:30 to 13:45: Did the left blow its cover on the war on the Kochs? – As I have reported, the left has mounted a full-throated attack on David and Charles Koch, the billionaire libertarian brothers who give to pro-free-market causes that the left abhors. As odd as it may seem, the left imagines that it can discredit the Tea Party movement or dissuade the Kochs from participating in the political process by making them into the newest bogeymen (Rush Limbaugh is apparently so 2009 in the left playbook.) But you have to wonder whether,aside from the screwy notion that voters care about the left’s conspiracy theories ( how well did the slams on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce work in the 2010 midterms?), the war on the Koch brothers is backfiri... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642786 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:00:12 +0100 4642786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642789&cid=t_107430_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2Fl48sZo5xdWo%2F These are my links for March 28th from 09:23 to 09:27: Bioenergy Crop Company Plants Its Flag in India – Super Green Biofuels Inc., which aims to make fuel from the inedible seed of the Jatropha plant, says it is expanding its operation into India. Better known as SG Biofuels, the company has amassed a huge library of DNA and genome information about Jatropha, so it can design hybrid seeds to best fit the land, sun and growing patterns of different areas. “Our expansion into India marks a significant milestone for the company as we continue to expand our commercialization efforts,” SG Biofuels Chief Executive Officer Kirk Haney said. “Our ability to quickly develop and scale productive Jatropha plantations using elite, high performing material will play a significa... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642789 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:00:04 +0100 4642789 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653619&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FdYAmxmHurlM%2Ftwo-minutes-self-indulgence.html Happens every time: I can take bad news with great aplomb, as long as no one is kind.  Tell me hard facts, and I sit up straighter, but use that tone and I crumple.  That was me on Thursday, sitting in a meeting about Charlie — not the hitting meeting, which was five minutes in the principal's office, only long enough for me to think, I wore my Confederate flag bikini for this? but another, an hour and a half, all about our boy and the trouble he's having in school. I was fine as long as we stuck to plans and procedures.  I nodded intelligently through percentiles and programs.  I remained detached during a recitation of Charlie's less amusing idiosyncrasies.  (I won't reduce him to a list of behaviors, so let's just say he has some.)&#01... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653619 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4653619 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4627036&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FvliP22iShOE%2Fwhat-not-to-wear.html ...to a meeting concerning your kindergarten son's hitting at school: Two words: Catholic schoolgirl. Two other words: Beer hat. (Via Twitter.) Arm in a sling, heavy eye makeup -- I favor Urban Decay eyeshadow in the Weeping Bruise palette -- and a few fake teeth to spit out casually during conversation. "The answer is nun. Nun more black." "I'm with Stupid --->" shirt, no matter how strategically you seat yourself in the principal's office. (What I did wear: a matronly sweater and a shellshocked look, because oh em effing gee.) (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4627036 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4627036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600794&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FbOAeC2w3-i8%2F There are two ways to look at the 2010 compensation package given Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon. On one hand, the J&J board cut his overall take home by 7 percent, to $28.7 million from $30.8 million, since his performance bonus was slashed - by 45 percent to $1.9 8 million - thanks to all those product recalls and subsequent fallout among some consumers, investors and industry watchers. In other words, he suffered. On the other hand, Bill received a 3 percent merit raise, as noted previously (see here). Whatever your view, the payout reflected a rather dismal year - by most standards - for the venerable health care giant. In addition to congressional hearings; a manufacturing plant that is still closed for retooling; an erosion of consumer trust; $900 million in lost sales; ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600794 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:54:20 +0100 4600794 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560591&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FBT-5WE3EYXc%2F Citing a dramatic rise in pharmaceutical thefts, five US Senate Democrats have introduced a bill to increase penalties for stealing drugs and other medical products by relying on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law. Better known as RICO, the proposal to use this law reflects reports of brazen robberies and organized crime involvement. In particular, the move is an attempt to crack down on a growing number of reports that stolen drugs - such as OxyContin and insulin - are diverted and relabeled, but often resold on the black market without proper storage before winding up in legitimate pharmacies or sold online. The bill would formally criminalize storing, transporting or changing labels on stolen medical products (read statements from New York’s Chuck Schumer and Oh... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560591 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:47:33 +0100 4560591 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560241&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPdOTf538DxI%2F By Christopher PrebleMy Cato colleagues have written on the current goings on in Libya (especially here and here), and I concur with their recommendations that the U.S. government should avoid intervening militarily in the conflict. For my part, I have hesitated to weigh in, convinced that I couldn't offer much to the discussion. But just when I thought I had seen enough regarding what the United States should do in Libya, I stumbled upon two posts over at the National Interest blog that deserve a closer look. Paul Pillar on Friday pointed out that the same people who were such strong proponents of war with Iraq -- Charles Krauthammer, in this case -- are back in the game, apparently unfazed by their disastrous predictions of the past. Pillar is particularly devastating in his critiq... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560241 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:55:07 +0100 4560241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549940&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fb1ZPBPi-rZM%2F And so another work week will soon draw to a close. This means, of course, that the time has come to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda includes watching our shortest person in a martial arts tournament, dancing with Mrs. Pharmalot to cajun music, promenading with the official Pharmalot mascots and, as usual, catching up on sundry chores. What about you? Perhaps there will be time to see a picture show? Update your Facebook page? Get a jump on spring cleaning? Whatever you do, have fun. Meanwhile, here is the news of the world. See you soon… FDA Strengthens Birth Defect Warning For Topamax (Associated Press) Organon Workers Protest Merck Plan To Shut Plant (DutchNews) High-Profile Lawyer Sentenced For Running Internet Pharmacy (Miami Herald) Pfizer To Help Aurobindo With FDA Pr... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549940 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:07:31 +0100 4549940 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540550&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F26-13WvS_fA%2F By Alan ReynoldsIn my recent Wall Street Journal article, "The Myth of Corporate Cash Hoarding," I quoted Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s Hardball asking Politico's Charles Mahtesian an apoplectic question about businesses “sitting on their money” just to keep the economy weak and hurt Obama’s reelection chance in 2012.   Then I carelessly added an erroneous superfluity −writing that “Mr. Mahtesian concurred.” My apologies to Charles Mahtesian (and congratulations for having had the good sense to disagree with Chris Matthews). In reality, Mahtesian wisely dodged Chris Matthews’ bizarre interrogation about corporations willfully refusing to spend idle cash until after 2012 election.  Mahtesian instead switched to talking about business going "whole hog" during the 2010 congr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540550 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:41:00 +0100 4540550 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540731&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fseroquel-trial-suicide-victim-dan.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540731 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:18:00 +0100 4540731 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536273&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fseroquel-trial-suicide-victim-dan.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536273 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:18:00 +0100 4536273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532207&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fyou-are-the-biggest-wasted-resource-in-health-care%2F2011.03.01 ABCNews.com has posted a great new piece by Dr. Roni Zeiger entitled, “The Biggest Wasted Resource in Health Care? You.” Subtitle: “How Your Internet Research Can Help Your Relationship With Your Doctor.” It’s well reasoned and clearly written, and continues the trend we cited a month ago, when Time posted Dr. Zack Meisel’s article saying that patients who Google can help doctors. Related notes: – Dr. Zeiger’s article title parallels what Dr. Charles Safran told the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health in 2004: Patients are “the most under-utilitized resource.” He was talking about health IT, quoting his colleague Dr. Warner Slack, who had said it many years earlier. I often quote it in my speeches for the Society for Participatory Medicine, assert... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532207 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:00:16 +0100 4532207 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4525157&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fdrug-trials-scct-doctor-in-propublica.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4525157 Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:17:00 +0100 4525157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495432&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FhzVMM9bdJ8U%2F A handful of Senate Democrats have revived a bill that would restrict brand-name drugmakers from being able to market an authorized generic during the 180-day exclusivity period that follows the first successful challenge to a patent by a generic rival. Known as the Fair Prescription Drug Competition Act, the bill was first introduced by US Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, in 2007. Authorized generics, as you know, may be sold by brand-name drugmakers after a patent expires, although marketed differently. However, a 2009 report by the US Federal Trade Commission found that consumers are harmed by deals between brand-name and generic drugmakers in which a generic entry is delayed. The FTC noted that the arrival of an authorized generic during that 180-day exclusivity perio... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495432 Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:10:06 +0100 4495432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489949&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fdr-charles-schulz-wins-release-of-guilt.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489949 Fri, 18 Feb 2011 02:54:00 +0100 4489949 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4490002&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2Faub4H9e7sBA%2Fsecond-person-singular.html The thing is, you feel like an asshole.  Your kid has spent the last six years sliding bonelessly out of his chair at mealtimes, and while you're generally mild about it, you remind him at every meal, interrupting the conversation with an unremitting punctuation of murmurs: Slide your bottom back, kiddo.  You need to sit up. And If you don't get your shoulder back under your seat belt, I'll have to stop the car.  And If he doesn't get off the mud room floor I am going to run amok. No matter how mild you've managed to sound, you're annoyed every time.  Okay, not every time — but the fifth time you say it at dinner, the third time you say it in the crowded back hall, which has become a confusion of hats, coats, a toddler, and a six-year-old b... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4490002 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4490002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450518&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FSxHKLul2w-s%2F Nearly seven years ago, 26-year-old Dan Markingson killed himself while participating in a clinical trial at the University of Minnesota, where researchers were studying the Seroquel antipsychotic. And the circumstances surrounding his participation and subsequent death led to widely publicized allegations that the university put its own interests ahead of the patient. How so? One reason - an academic researcher also consulted for AstraZeneca, which markets the pill and sponsored the study. And the researchers were allegedly under pressure to bolster enrollment. These details emerged following a lawsuit filed by Markingson’s mother, who objected to her son’s participation because he was already mentally ill and possibly incompetent, but was enrolled anyway (background here). H... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450518 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:21:42 +0100 4450518 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4436942&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FFoD7p_TQbwc%2F Hired someone new and exciting? Promoted a rising star? Finally solved that hard-to-fill spot? Share the news with us and we’ll share with it others. That’s right. Send us your announcements and we’ll find a home for them. Don’t be shy. Everyone wants to know who is coming and going, especially with all the layoffs. Despite the downsizing, there is movement. Here are some of the latest changes. Recognize anyone? And here is our regular feature. Send us a photo and we will spotlight a different person each week. This time around, we note that Qforma hired Ted Pine as vice president of business development. He was previously vice president of sales at openQ, which markets programs for key opinion leader management and compliance, and was senior director of strategic accounts at Leade... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4436942 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:11:44 +0100 4436942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4429191&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fdrcharles-schulz-under-scrutiny-for.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4429191 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:03:00 +0100 4429191 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4424216&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fvkx4wny6XWE%2F By Tad DeHavenThat’s what the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s recently retired inspector general had to say in response to rampant malfeasance and mismanagement at public housing authorities uncovered by a joint investigation by ABC News and The Center for Public Integrity. From the report: The problems are widespread, from an executive in New Orleans convicted of embezzling more than $900,000 in housing money around the time he bought a lavish Florida mansion to federal funds wrongly being spent to provide housing for sex offenders or to pay vouchers to residents long since dead. Despite red flags from its own internal watchdog, HUD has continued to plow fresh federal dollars into these troubled agencies, including $218 million in stimulus funds since 2009, the joint inv... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4424216 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:02:30 +0100 4424216 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399685&cid=t_107430_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FcdF4NAdYPY4%2F Charles and David Koch of Koch Industries MIT-trained brothers turned family oil refining firm into America’s second largest private company. Koch Industries has stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, fibers and polymers, forest and consumer products, chemical technology. Sales in 2008: $110 billion. Brothers each own 42% of company. Employs 80,000 people and operates in 60 countries. Looks like the LEFT Counter-Movement has returned to Southern California to Saul Alinsky protest conservative/libertarian activists Charles and David Koch. A broad coalition of consumer, community, labor, environmental, student, civil liberties, and faith-based groups are sponsoring a rally in Rancho Mirage (near Palm Springs, California) next Sunday, January 30 to protest and draw attention to a ... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399685 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:31:27 +0100 4399685 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399826&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FTU6O6Hd_s60%2F Another day, another letter to the FDA commish from a group of bipartisan US senators over the biologics debate. The latest missive comes from health committee chair Tom Harkin, John McCain, Chuck Schumer and Sherrod Brown, who are “extremely concerned about possible misinterpretations” of the biosimilars statute “that could further delay the availability of generic biologic drugs.” They are referring to a provision in the healthcare reform law that says generics can enter the market after a brand-name biologic has had exclusivity for 12 years. But earlier this month, a different group of senators - Orrin Hatch, Kay Hagan, Michael Enzi and John Kerry - wrote FDA commish Margaret Hamburg to urge a different interpretation that would favor brand-name drugmakers and biotechs. At issue... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399826 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:57:23 +0100 4399826 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4389185&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=39261&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvactruth.com%2F2011%2F01%2F23%2Fthe-saga-of-andy-wakefield-continues%2F The recent attacks against Dr. Andrew Wakefield for undisclosed business dealings are the latest battles in an apparent collusion by some segments of Big Pharma, orthodox or allopathic medicine, and governments to take down Andy Wakefield in what will become a failed attempt to preserve the current international vaccine agenda. As the January 13, 2011, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)Perspective article entitled “The Age-old Struggle against the Antivaccinationists” by authors Dr. Gregory Poland and Dr. Robert Jacobson points out, opposition to vaccination is a long-standing battle. Nothing shows this more clearly and effectively than the book, Horrors Of Vaccination Exposed And Illustrated: Petition To The President To Abolish Compulsory Vaccination In Army And Navy, written in ... vactruth.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4389185 Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:21:02 +0100 4389185 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4360957&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fd1GVFt5gY6c%2F By Daniel GriswoldChina’s President Hu Jintau arrives in Washington today for a state visit, turning the spotlight once again on U.S.-China trade and China’s allegedly undervalued currency, the yuan. Not one to let such an opportunity go to waste, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is introducing legislation that would threaten to impose duties on imports from China if the yuan does not appreciate quickly. Count me skeptical that a more expensive yuan relative to the U.S. dollar would make much of a dent in our bilateral trade deficit with China, or that it would have any positive effect on U.S. economic growth and employment. But even if those assumptions were true, the big story is how much the yuan as already appreciated against the dollar. It has been a mantra of Sen. Schumer and other ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4360957 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:37:52 +0100 4360957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4349496&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-ayb1xioRpc%2F By David BoazAdvocates of limited government often worry about how to maintain republican government and freedom if a substantial portion of the population don’t pay taxes and are net beneficiaries of government largesse. Lately, it seems like a lot of the advocates of bigger government and higher taxes don’t pay their own taxes — like Tom Daschle, Timothy Geithner, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Charles Rangel, Al Franken, Governor David Paterson’s top aide, Democratic National Convention staffers, Al Sharpton, and so on. Now the Washington Post has found another one: Since joining the D.C. Council two years ago, Michael A. Brown has become the chief advocate for raising taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents, arguing that those who earn at least $250,000 a year ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4349496 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:02:46 +0100 4349496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343112&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9tQhjWMDZi0%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: Post-Tucson will campaign trail rhetoric change in any discernible way? Should it change? What phrases or words should be considered out of bounds? Or is that approach a way of silencing legitimate criticism of political candidates? My response: Post-Tucson campaign trail rhetoric won’t change because, as Charles Krauthammer put it brilliantly in yesterday’s Washington Post, fighting and warfare are routine political metaphors for obvious reasons: “Historically speaking, all democratic politics is a sublimation of the ancient route to power — military conquest. That’s why the language persists,” why we speak of “battleground states” or “targeting” opponents. That doesn’t mean that no charge is “out of bounds.” It�... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343112 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:42:55 +0100 4343112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343331&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FMzN0NGIvnh4%2F In 2008, the US Senate Finance Committee charged that Stanford University failed to properly monitor alleged conflicts of interest involving Alan Schatzberg, the former chair of its psychiatry department, who owned a substantive amount of stock in Corcept Therapeutics, which was studying the development of mifepristone, or RU-486, for treating psychiatric depression. Beyond his stock holdings, Schatzberg was also listed as a co-patent holder for the drug, which is best known for inducing abortion, and he received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to oversee the research. The allegation was part of a lengthy probe into the wider issue of taxpayer-funded research and undisclosed and unmonitored conflicts involving universities, academic researchers and the pharmaceutical industr... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343331 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:26:00 +0100 4343331 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4326901&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-musicians-brain-on-mri%2F2011.01.09 Dr. Charles Limb is an otolaryngologist, and he’s also on the faculty at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Wanting to study creativity on the neurological level, he used fMRI to scan the brains of musicians while improvising along with them. Here he describes the experiment, including the building of an MRI-compatible electronic keyboard: Link @ TED… *This blog post was originally published at Medgadget* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4326901 Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:00:26 +0100 4326901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4298589&cid=t_107430_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fnejm-editorial-proposes-surgeons-disclose-sleepwork-hours-patients%2F An editorial published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine is proposing that surgeons not be allowed to perform elective cases if they are sleep-deprived or, at minimum, they must disclose to their patient that they are such. Lead author Dr. Charles A. Czeisler comments. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4298589 Thu, 30 Dec 2010 01:39:41 +0100 4298589 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4298620&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fabout-patient-autonomy%2F2010.12.29 Recently, I was involved in a discussion on an email list serve and decided to takes some of my comments on patient autonomy and blog about them. This arose following a debate about whether the term “patient” engendered a sense of passivity and, therefore, whether the term should be dropped in favor of something else, like “client” or something similar. Having participated in the preparation and dissemination of the white paper on e-patients, I don’t see the need for “factions” or disagreements in the service of advancing Participatory Medicine. As Alan Greene aptly stated: “This is a big tent, with room for all.” I want all of my patients to be as autonomous as possible. In my view, their autonomy is independent of the doctor-patient r... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4298620 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 22:00:00 +0100 4298620 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294637&cid=t_107430_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FS1YEIDycgxc%2F The LITFL team hopes a new movie about the life of Charles Darwin will help raise the profile of evolutionary medicine. (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294637 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 06:10:04 +0100 4294637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4251108&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fvideo-the-too-informed-patient%2F2010.12.11 This video, “The Too-Informed Patient,” came my way lately. It’s featured on NPR’s Mar­ket­place website: The Too Informed Patient from Marketplace on Vimeo. —– The pup­peteer skit fea­tures the inter­ac­tion between a young man with a rash and his older physi­cian. The patient is an informed kind of guy: He’s checked his own med­ical record on the doctor’s web­site, read up on rashes in the Boston Globe, checked pix on WebMD, seen an episode of “Gray’s Anatomy” about a rash and, most inven­tively, checked iDiagnose, a hypo­thet­i­cal app (I hope) that led him to the con­clu­sion that he might have epi­der­mal necro­sis. “Not to worry,” the patient informs Dr. Matthews, who mean­while has been try­ing to ex... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4251108 Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:00:28 +0100 4251108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241687&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fimpeachment-its-about-institution-not.html IMPEACHMENT: IT’S ABOUT THE INSTITUTION, NOT THE PERSONThe impeachment trial of Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana this week was a lesson in civic ethics. The lessons of the Porteous trial apply to academic medical centers, professional medical societies, medical journals, and granting agencies like NIH. The Porteous trial is a straightforward case of bribes, kickbacks and corruption involving a Federal judge. The most enlightening arguments came from prosecutor Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, laying out the case for impeachment in the Senate. He gave a lucid presentation of the logic and the historical origins of the impeachment process. The key points are these: impeachment serves to protect the dignity, honor, and credibility of the office more than to punish the wayward office hol... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241687 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:21:00 +0100 4241687 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4238115&cid=t_107430_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2F8-university-of-minnesota-bioethicists.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4238115 Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:58:00 +0100 4238115 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233162&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYqpydtfq8zc%2F By Randal O'TooleTea party victories in November likely signal the beginning of the end for President Obama’s ambitious and expensive high-speed rail plans. Republican governors-elect of both Ohio and Wisconsin have vowed to return federal high-speed rail funds that had been granted to those states. The governor-elect of Florida is also a rail skeptic, and more and more obstacles are being thrown in front of California’s rail plans. Obama Replaces Costly High-Speed Rail Plan With High-Speed Bus Plan The prospects for high-speed rail are so dire that the Onion recently suggested that President Obama would shift his support to high-speed buses instead. Even the Washington Post has sounded caution about spending much more money on this obsolete form of travel. The California High ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233162 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:03:19 +0100 4233162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225260&cid=t_107430_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FJNPmhBuhvkQ%2F On a day of historic destruction we look to provide some more light-hearted medical trivia to ease you into the weekend...with questions on Ayahuasca, Charles Darwin, identical twins and CVS (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225260 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 06:12:48 +0100 4225260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219747&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fnarcissism-no-longer-a-personality-disorder%2F2010.12.01 Via an article in The New York Times entitled “Narcissism No Longer a Psychiatric Disorder”: Narcissistic personality disorder, characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and the need for constant attention, has been eliminated from the upcoming manual of mental disorders, which psychiatrists use to diagnose mental illness. As Charles Zanor reports in today’s Science Times, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — due out in 2013 and known as D.S.M.-5 — has eliminated five of the 10 personality disorders that are listed in the current edition. The best known of these is narcissistic personality disorder. So, blogging is normal then? Kinda takes the fun out of it… *This blog post was originally published at Gr... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219747 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:00:18 +0100 4219747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219791&cid=t_107430_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2Fnemeroff-schatzberg-lend-names-to-ghostwritten-textbook%2F According to the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) and The New York Times, Dr. Charles B. Nemeroff, chairman of psychiatry at the University of Miami medical school since 2009 and Emory University before that, and Dr. Alan F. Schatzberg, the chairman of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine from 1991 until 2009 co-wrote a psychiatric textbook intended for primary care physicians — or did they? The book, Recognition and Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Psychopharmacology Handbook for Primary Care, has their names on it. But according to documents unearthed by the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington advocacy group, it was allegedly actually ghostwritten — at least in part — by a company called Scientific Therapeutics Information, Inc. ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219791 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:23:58 +0100 4219791 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214484&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FKbQkUHfA3xs%2F When is a book written independently by an author and when might it be a marketing message under the guise of an unrestricted grant? Take the example of “Recognition and Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Psychopharmacology Handbook for Primary Care,” which was published in 1999 with a grant provided by SmithKline Beecham, now part of GlaxoSmithKline. However, the grant paid for Scientific Therapeutics Information, which is based in Springfield, NJ, to develop an entire content outline and text for the authors. STI, which has been targeted previously by the US Senate Finance Committee over ghostwriting activities (see here). STI also provided drafts directly to the drugmaker for comments and sign-off, as well as status reports and page proofs to the credited authors. John Romankiewi... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214484 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:12:42 +0100 4214484 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4207521&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FF_nusLnWJqg%2Fsix.html   (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4207521 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4207521 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4197027&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0GgZvvfEk2s%2F By David BoazLibertarians often debate whether conservatives or liberals are more friendly to liberty. We often fall back on the idea that conservatives tend to support economic liberties but not civil liberties, while liberals support civil liberties but not economic liberties — though this old bromide hardly accounts for the economic policies of President Bush or the war-on-drugs-and-terror-and-Iraq policies of President Obama. Score one for the conservatives in the surging outrage over the Transportation Security Administration’s new policy of body scanners and intimate pat-downs. You gotta figure you’ve gone too far in the violation of civil liberties when you’ve lost Rick Santorum, George Will, Kathleen Parker, and Charles Krauthammer. (Gene Healy points out th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4197027 Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:16:09 +0100 4197027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175995&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FKlatbVksNBo%2Fsticks.html I just want you to know that after reading the comments on my last post, I soaked my desk in diesel fuel, dropped a lighted match on my computer, and watched in grim satisfaction as the purifying fire consumed every trace of what you had written, and any larvae it might have harbored.  I'm not sorry.  I could not live in a world where a moth infestation follows people around.  From Jody, who still had moths after two household moves: "They traveled in the minivan. They'd been living on the disintegrated Cheerios in the little indentations under the benches."  I mean, my God, the call...is coming...from insiiiide the houuuuuse.  DD's story -- "Last time I had them, it took me several weeks (and 2 pantry cleanings) to realize the sourc... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175995 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4175995 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4152318&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2F99VyAbcWC7Q%2Fgrimoire.html When I was a kid we had this great set of books, square little paperbacks that retold the classics of modern literature.  One page of dumbed-down story alternated with one crude illustration for about 200 pages.  What the stories lost in complexity they gained in accessibility.  Mutiny on the Bounty is still a ripping good yarn even without quite so much sodomy, and if Little Women loses some of its bite without the bungled government raid that ultimately takes down gentle Beth in a deafening hail of bullets -- doubly tragic considering that it was actually Marmee who mailed all that anthrax -- well, it's a small price to pay for being able to say at age six, "Oh, I've already read Das Kapital."  Snottily. Goddamn, does the bourgeoisie piss me off... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4152318 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4152318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4134254&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F2uq0Jc0HgDQ%2F Here is an odd disconnect. Late yesterday, Charles River Laboratories reported disappointing third-quarter earnings and disclosed, among other things, that 4 percent of its workforce, or 300 jobs, would be eliminated. This follows the elimination of 300 positions earlier this year. Ironically, the main page does offer this oddity: the featured careers tab reports that “Charles River is expanding our team.” True, select positions are always being filled even during a period of retrenchment, but this comes off as a bit misguided. Perhaps, Charles River execs are hoping no one will notice the incongruity. There is no hiding from investors, however. As of this writing, the stock is down about 5 percent. Hat tip to CEN’s Lisa Jarvis (Source: Pharmalot) Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4134254 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:19:10 +0100 4134254 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118955&cid=t_107430_90_f&fid=36413&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dcscience.net%2F%3Fp%3D3632 Jump to follow-up The Prince of Wales’ Foundation for Integrated Health shut down amidst scandal in April 2010. In July, we heard that a new “College of Medicine” was to arise from its ashes. It seemed clear from the people involved that the name “College of Medicine” would be deceptive. Now the College of Medicine has materialised, and it is clear that one’s worst fears were well justified. At first sight, it looks entirely plausible and well-meaning. Below the logo one reads “There is a new force in medicine. A force that brings patients, doctors, nurses and other health professionals together, instead of separating them into tribes.” "That force is the new College of Medicine. Uniquely, it brings doctors and other health professiona... DC's goodscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118955 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:41:37 +0100 4118955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118759&cid=t_107430_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fstudy-shows-long-work-hours-contribute-surgeon-burnout%2F A new study just out by Dr. Charles Balch of Johns Hopkins Hospital is suggesting (not surprisingly) that long work hours contribute to burnout on both a professional and personal level for many surgeons, but that there is no data supporting that work hour restrictions results in improved patient outcomes. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118759 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:18:39 +0100 4118759 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097899&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FrhPfL2XcVjA%2F By Jim HarperIn his Washington Post op-ed this morning, “Obama Underappreciation Syndrome,” Charles Krauthammer mocks President Obama’s latest explanation for his, and his party’s, low popularity. “[W]e’re hard-wired not to always think clearly when we’re scared. And the country is scared,” explains the president. This is rich loam for derision. “Opening a whole new branch of cognitive science — liberal psychology — Obama has discovered a new principle: The fearful brain is hard-wired to act befuddled, i.e., vote Republican.” Krauthammer rightly takes the campaigning president to task. But he scopes his critique a bit broadly. It’s pretty close to uncontroversial that the logic centers of the brain shut down when... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097899 Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:02:38 +0100 4097899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074477&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FmmZYu_0Kp8A%2Fgallimaufry.html Melody_NC and MamaChristy, check your e-mail!  You're both winners of a signed copy of Phoebe Potts' Good Eggs! One was kindly sent to me by HarperCollins, and the other I bought out of the back of Phoebe's car. (I would have bought it from the bookstore, but they had only two copies remaining.  Both of those were in the graphic novels section.  They were in excellent company there, but I felt at least one of them should be shelved in biography/memoir, so I carried one over and put it there.  Faced out.  Blocking Sarah Palin's book.  Oh, like you wouldn't have done the same.) But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I met Phoebe last week after an event she'd done at a bookstore not far from here.  I didn't make it to... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074477 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4074477 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4061077&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FpsGHxoA_0cE%2F File this under a touch of irony. Early last year, Stephen Ondra headed spine surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and was successfully touted by Medtronic for a position in the Obama administration. Among his attributes: consulting for the device maker, previous efforts on behalf of the Obama team and his work on physician-industry relationships and transparency, according to various emails between Medtronic execs (look here). Within a few days, however, Ondra objected to the proposed nomination of another spine surgeon, Charles Rosen, as US Surgeon General. Why? As founder of the Association of Medical Ethics, Rosen publicly questioned consulting ties between doctors and device makers and, for his trouble, allegedly suffered retaliation by members of the American Academy... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4061077 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:23:05 +0100 4061077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031185&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fpay-for-what-redux-surrealistic-pay-for.html Pay-for-performance has been a persistently fashionable mantra for health care business leaders and policy advocates, particularly as applied to physicians to control costs and perhaps even improve quality.  We have been highly critical of current methods proposed to measure performance and tie pay to it (e.g., here), and other bloggers, notably Dr Robert Centor at DB's Medical Rants, have vigorously pursued this issue (e.g., here).It is beyond ironic that meanwhile, the pay of health care organizations' leaders seems less and less related to their performance.  For example, in a recent series on local executive pay in the Boston Globe there were these examples:HologicHologic Inc. gave its chief executive, John W. Cumming, a $1.5 million “retention payment’’ ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031185 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:51:00 +0100 4031185 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4022901&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6bnm4276xTw%2F By David BoazCharles Krauthammer calls same-sex marriage “the most radical redefinition of marriage in human history.” Really? Some might say that ending “till death do us part” was more radical. And maybe ending the requirement that the bride promise to “love, honor, and obey.” And how about the end of polygamy? Polygamy was probably the most common marital system in the broad sweep of human history, but now it is virtually unknown in the Western world; indeed, ahistorical conservatives warn that allowing two people of the same sex to make a vow of marriage could lead to polygamy. More currently, I would suggest that the truly radical redefinition of marriage is the revolution over the past generation in the idea that people should marry before they c... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4022901 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:34:08 +0100 4022901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4013086&cid=t_107430_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fsurgeon-dr-charles-njoku-pleads-guilty-fraud-charges%2F Columbus, Ohio surgeon Dr. Charles C. Njoku has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in federal court and faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine. His office assistant Veronica Scott-Guiler has also pleaded guilty on lesser charges. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4013086 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:56:22 +0100 4013086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987234&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FaWze7AH3p9A%2F For the past three years, Paul Thacker was an investigator on the US Senate Finance Committee, working for Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley, who is the ranking minority member. During his tenure, Thacker was central to probes into the pharmaceutical industry, specifically, investigations into the disclosure of clinical trial data for GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia diabetes pill and undisclosed financial conflicts of interest among academic researchers. Earlier this month, the former US Army specialist left to join a non-profit watchdog, the Project on Government Oversight. We caught him as we walked out the door to ask about his efforts and whether he thought the probes created any change. Pharmalot: Why leave now? Thacker: I’ve been on the committee for three years and two years is cons... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987234 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:37:49 +0100 3987234 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3980810&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fs8ZZRckSL7Y%2F By Daniel GriswoldThis week’s congressional hearings on China’s currency generated a lot of heat but almost no light. Winning the prize among tough competition for the most irresponsible sound bite was Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. At a Senate hearing Thursday that featured Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Schumer tossed out this grenade: At a time when the U.S. economy is trying to pick itself up off the ground, China’s currency manipulation is like a boot to the throat of our recovery. This administration refuses to try and take that boot off our neck. The implication of the senator’s remark is that Americans would be enjoying a robust economic recovery right now if only China were to allow its currency to appreciate by 20 to 40 percent. But is that a reasonable charge? Grante... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3980810 Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:33:10 +0100 3980810 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040816&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FOJ47ecY0RcM%2Floose-ends-ii-the-catchuppening.html Please enjoy this master class in subtle journalistic snark:A right-leaning health think tank has condemned the NHS for spending £700 a year on porn to assist male visitors to fertility clinics to produce samples.Apart from the deleterious effects on female staff, [think tank chief executive Julia] Manning says that "For the NHS to unnecessarily introduce addictive material ... to patients during their treatment beggars belief. And to do this at a time when men are feeling particularly vulnerable, already facing the emotional and physical pressures of possible infertility, is inexcusable."She also worries that donation by porn barons raises the prospect of it being manipulated by porn barons keen to capture a new market.Heh heh heh.  "Manipulated."...A while back... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040816 Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4040816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040817&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FI9QU68BKWqo%2Floose-ends-and-other-matters-not-pertaining-to-my-gyn-exam.html There's just so much I want to tell you.  I sit down to write with fifty things I mean to say, and then realize I don't have the wit, the energy, or the sharpness of mind to say even one of them well.  It discourages me, so I let a day pass, and then another, and before long I feel like I can never keep up.But this is not some mopey lament about how over blogging I am.  Having a blog isn't getting me down; I am getting me down.  I miss my blog.  I miss here.  I miss you!  I miss keeping up.  So consider this a bit of a catch-up, today and tomorrow, to clear out some of the backlog.  I want to get back in the habit of communicating and connecting, instead of dicking around for days as I search for le goddamn poste juste....Th... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040817 Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4040817 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3943028&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fgy2YlHI1sNw%2F The ongoing probe of undisclosed conflicts of interest by the US Senate Finance Committee uncovered numerous instances involving academics, who simultaneously had ties to drugmakers while also conducting research that was funded by the National Institutes of Health. And a common thread among many of those who were probed was their work concerning psychiatric drugs, such as antidepressants and antipychotics (look here). So it probably should not come as a surprise that some of these people continue to pop up in various settings where they can hob-knob if they so choose. For those wishing to keep track of such things, Alan Schatzberg, who last week retired as chair of the psychiatry department at Stanford University (see the goodbye note here), is scheduled to appear during the Grand Rounds ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3943028 Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:01:05 +0100 3943028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040818&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FMT72lM4pR0w%2Fa-little-knowledge.html (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040818 Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4040818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040819&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FNjMljIOCZKw%2Fi-just-want-you-to-know-that-i-thought-twice-before-mentioning-the-larvae.html This morning at breakfast Charlie was telling us about going to the school library, and he offhandedly mentioned "getting into our quiet caterpillar."And I was nonplussed.  Because AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.Once I'd finished screaming and clawing at my thorax, all panicky and GET IT OUT!  GET IT OUUUUUUT!, I slowed down my hyperventilation long enough to ascertain that he was talking about lining up with his classmates and progressing silently through the halls, a many-legged file of docile locomotion.Oh.  That.And then he dove to the floor to illustrate what he meant by "criss-cross double applesauce," and contorted into a fractal.  Kindergarten is kind of awesome.Charlie's having fun.  He talks only about the minor things... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040819 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4040819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040820&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FpjPjAdTy_14%2Fwell-thats-all-sorted-then.html (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040820 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4040820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3902897&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edocamerica.com%2Faudio%2FBecome_A_More_Effective_ePatient-Pt4.mp3 Well, here’s a treat: Dr. Charles Smith, a founder of the Society for Participatory Medicine, recently gave a lecture at Duke entitled, “How to Become a More Effective e-Patient.” Here it is, in four video segments. “Charlie” (as we all call him) is a wonderful guy. He’s co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Participatory Medicine and was Doc Tom Ferguson’s physician. He’s been walking this walk for many years, and here he shares his personal advice –- not just for patients, but for health professionals who want to learn this participatory thing. (The “Joe & Terry” he mentions are our founders Joe and Terry Graedon of People’s Pharmacy, longtime Duke associates.) PART 1 An audio-only version is also available (see below). (more…) *This blog post w... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3902897 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:07:03 +0100 3902897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040821&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FOmRE3VSGFDQ%2Fflew-scare.html Oh, God, your stories!  If you haven't read the comments on my last post yet, do.  You will probably never travel again, but you'll laugh.  You'll cry.  You'll stand in awe at the resilience of the indomitable human spirit.  You'll want to kick an airline or two squarely in the nuts.  And you will probably never travel again. Did I say that twice?  Well, it bears repeating, with swears. There was sweetcoalminer's kid running off through security.  There was KCC's trip, so bad that "at one point, I think I would have licked someone with ebola to make it end."  Jen's stomach-turning crab cakes, reminded me of a trip my aunt took, which included an immediate neighbor unwrapping ... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040821 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4040821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040822&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Falittlepregnant%2F%7E3%2FbzMxA9kRwOY%2Fcome-fly-with-me.html I was standing in a convenience store in front of the racks of single-serving snacks, trying to decide between a cereal bar boasting 30% More Juicy Floor Sweepin's and a granola bar promising High Fructastic Flavorgasms in Every Bite.  The clerk noticed my indecision, I guess, because in a surprisingly courtly fashion he asked if he could help me find anything."No, thanks," I told him.  "I'm picking out snacks to take on an airplane with my kids.""In that case," he said, "may I recommend horse tranquilizers?"Tomorrow Charlie, Ben, and I are flying to Louisiana to visit my family.  I am terrified.  I flew with Charlie when he was this age, but by then he'd flown several times already, enough to be used to it. ... a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040822 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4040822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3858166&cid=t_107430_90_f&fid=36413&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dcscience.net%2F%3Fp%3D3311 Yesterday I was fired from the Conduct and Competence Committee of the CNHC. That is the organisation that was very quickly dubbed Ofquack in the blogosphere.  So now I am free to write what I like about about it. It has now become clear that voluntary self-regulation can not work. Recent events at the CNHC show how it has become a victim of its own rules [skip the background]. Background | Complaints | Why CNHC won’t work | Background The CNHC was the product of the late unlamented Prince of Wales’ Foundation for Integrated Health. The Prince’s Foundation was paid a large amount of taxpayers’ money, £900,000, by the Department of Health to come up with a scheme for voluntary self-regulation of various sorts of alternative medicine. There i... DC's goodscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3858166 Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:03:34 +0100 3858166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854747&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fda1v_H59wrU%2F Pharma lobbyists on Capitol Hill and academics at major universities may be rejoicing tonight at the news that Paul Thacker, an investigator for US Senator Chuck Grassley, is leaving to join the Project on Government Oversight, a non-profit watchdog, next month. No formal announcement was made, but his departure was disclosed in an email he distributed. During his three-year tenure, the former US Army specialist played a central role in the numerous investigations that examined prescription-drug safety and the undisclosed financial conflicts of interest involving academic researchers who simultaneously receive federal grants while doing work for drugmakers. In the process, Thacker and his colleagues prompted the National Institutes of Health and various universities to begin altering their... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854747 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:56:49 +0100 3854747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3858440&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F08%2Fantipescatarianism.html God, it's just so funny, the way a two-year-old rages. There were three separate tantrums today, the most notable just after dinner. Ben had pronounced himself all finished, shoving his plate away resolutely, fish uneaten and asparagus ignored. The rest... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3858440 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3858440 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854784&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F08%2Fantipescatarianism.html God, it's just so funny, the way a two-year-old rages. There were three separate tantrums today, the most notable just after dinner. Ben had pronounced himself all finished, shoving his plate away resolutely, fish uneaten and asparagus ignored. The rest... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854784 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3854784 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3823160&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FtzsBy8SMXoI%2F Early last year, a stink arose at Tufts University when top university officials refused to allow other administrators to be panelists at a conference on conflicts of interest in medicine and research because Paul Thacker, an aide to US Senator Chuck Grassley, was due to give the keynote speech. Why? They were uncomfortable that Grassley was investigating ties between a Tufts professor and drugmakers (back story here and here). In the same time period, however, one subject of the ongoing Grassley probe did speak at Tufts. According to disclosure forms filed with his employer, Charles Nemeroff, who is now psychiatry chair at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, gave a lecture at Tufts sometime between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010. He was paid between $1,000 and $5,500, but th... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3823160 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:09:54 +0100 3823160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3807381&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fethics-turnaround-sort-of-by-nih.html What a difference a month makes. When I went on vacation in June the Director of NIMH, Thomas Insel, was stonewalling about his relationship with Charles Nemeroff. Insel wanted to put distance between himself and the poster boy for conflict of interest in academic medicine. The heat was on Insel because of revelations that he helped Nemeroff get a new position at Miami after his fall from grace at Emory. Insel also gave a green light for Nemeroff to reapply for NIMH grant funding, and he appointed Nemeroff to new research review committees. These actions were widely seen as efforts to help Nemeroff get back into circulation. It didn’t help that people called attention to past favors and lobbying by Nemeroff on behalf of Insel.Things continued to unravel, and on about June 29 Insel placed... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3807381 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:27:00 +0100 3807381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3805777&cid=t_107430_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fsenator-charles-grassley-investigating-maker-artificial-hips-knees%2F Iowa senatory Charles E. Grassley has contacted Zimmer Holdings of Warsaw, Indiana regarding their policy for handling complaints about the performance and safety of their artificial knees and hips. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3805777 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:53:23 +0100 3805777 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3806026&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fg72jSWkDSpc%2F Hello, everyone, and top of the morning to you. ‘Tis a shiny day here on the Pharmalot corporate campus, where we look forward to a relaxing weekend of reading, walking our official Pharmalot mascots and frolicking with the shortest of short people. What about you? Any special plans? An afternoon at the beach? A night out with someone special? How about a good movie? Whatever you do, have a great time. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. Stay in touch and see you soon… Charles River Abandons Plan To Buy WuXi (Outsourcing Pharma) Sanofi’s Viehbacher Tries To Cope (Associated Press) Obese Patients Lose Weight On Orexigen Drug (Reuters) Merck’s Dutch Employees Go To Court Over Job Cuts (Dow Jones) Test Designed To Screen Resistance To Gleevec (Reuters) FDA Finds Problems... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3806026 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:57:04 +0100 3806026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767316&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FxlFc75cttOY%2F Hello, everyone, and welcome back. We hope your weekend was relaxing, despite the heat. Now, of course, the time has come to return to the routine as meetings and deadlines beckon. So please join us for the mandatory cup of stimulation as we scan the news of the world. Hope your day goes well and do stay in touch… AIDS Drug Cocktails Halve New Cases (Reuters) A J&J/Merck Plant Gets Flagged By The FDA (CNN Money) Sigma Pharma Receives Multiple Bids (Reuters) Teva And Sun Losing Patent Ruling On Protonix (PharmaTimes) Genetic Testing, Mix-Ups And Federal Oversight (The Washington Post) Vaginal Sex Gel Test Results To Be Released (Bloomberg News) Charles River Shareholders Says Wuxi Deal Is Inadequate (OutsourcingPharma) Amgen Gets Priority Review For Prolia (Associated Press) (Sou... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767316 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:38:26 +0100 3767316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767345&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F07%2Ftheres-simply-no-way-this-could-possibly-go-wrong.html So, y'all, this morning at breakfast I made a gaffe. Not knowing that there's apparently this new housewide penis code in effect, I did as I always do when pouring drinks and gave Charlie the plastic cup was on the... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767345 Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3767345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3737042&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsummer-food-safety-how-to-keep-your-bbq-guests-alive%2F2010.07.08 Legendary soul chef Charles Gabriel talks with Dr. Jon LaPook about food safety during the summer grilling months. Watch CBS News Videos Online  How To Survive The Summer Barbecue  My mother was very proud of the fact that none of her four children ever became sick from her cooking. While it’s true she may have erred on the side of overcooking the turkey, being spared food poisoning is yet another in the long list of gifts from my mom. Every year, about 76 million Americans develop illness from food, more than 325,000 are hospitalized, and about 5,000 die. The most common cause is contamination with bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella, and E. coli — though other organisms such as viruses and protozoa can also be culprits. As summer begins, I thought it woul... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3737042 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:00:35 +0100 3737042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3737293&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FcDZXteAWacE%2F For the past several weeks, National Institute of Mental Health director Tom Insel has found himself at the center of a furious controversy over conflicts of interest involving academic researchers who simultaneously receive NIH funding and do work for drugmakers. An ongoing probe, meanwhile, by the Senate Finance Committee has made a poster boy of Charles Nemeroff, an old Insel colleague who recently landed a job as the psychiatry chair at the University of Miami med school. Insel was caught up in this affair, because he spoke with the med school dean Pascal Goldschmidt, who asked for a reference before hiring Nemeroff, who was working at Emory University when the Senate committee learned of the large consulting fees he received from GlaxoSmithKline. The query from Goldschmidt was made ju... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3737293 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:14:41 +0100 3737293 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714130&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Finsel-admits-his-statements-may-be.html Dr Bernard Carroll has posted several times, most recently here, about shenanigans by "key opinion leaders" in psychiatry whose apparently academic writing and speeches have conveyed messages in line with the marketing agendas of drug and device companies, while they downplayed or concealed their financial ties to these companies.  Lately, Dr Carroll noted how the current director of the US National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), Dr Thomas Insel, has defended Dr Charles Nemeroff, whose recent move to the University of Miami let him shed sanctions imposed by Emory University for his failure to disclose conflicts of interest while he was there. Dr Carroll wrote, "For the past three months, Insel has been trying to put some distance between himself and Nemeroff, but the pu... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714130 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:20:00 +0100 3714130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3710795&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FYYomDF92Fdo%2F For those tracking the ongoing investigation by the Senate Finance Committee investigation into conflicts of interest among academic researchers and industry funding, Charles Nemeroff was one of the targets. The former Emory University professor, who now works at the University of Miami, came to the committee’s attention because he was accepting sizeable consulting fees from GlaxoSmithKline at the same time he was the primary investigator on an NIH-funded grant for research into a Glaxo drug. The Senate investigation, spearheaded by Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, prompted Emory to suspend Nemeroff’s work on an NIH grant and asked him to step down as chair of psychiatry while it studied his conduct. And the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General began ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3710795 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:00:58 +0100 3710795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695810&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F6eIRDd_IgcA%2F In August, the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association will hold a three-day continuing medical education meeting at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Florida, where the discussions will focus on issues surrounding bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, among other things. One of the featured speakers will be Charles Nemeroff, the recently hired psychiatry chair at the University of Miami medical school, who also has become a sort of poster child for the controversy over undisclosed financial conflicts among academic researchers who accept federal grants while also doing work for drugmakers (see here, here and here). In Nemeroff’s case, his infractions occurred while he worked at as a professor at Emory University in Atlanta. Interestingly, his bio for the upcoming e... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695810 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:20:16 +0100 3695810 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3687090&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fjht5pkLlvvw%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonNick Gillespie drew attention yesterday to an op-ed Charles Murray wrote on school choice. Murray’s thesis was that the dominance of family environment and genetics in determining student achievement is such as to allow little room for schools to affect academic outcomes. That said, Murray goes on to argue for school choice anyway, on the grounds that families differ in their educational preferences, and the best way to match families to schools is to allow the former to choose the latter. This, he says, “should be the beginning and the end of the argument for school choice.” Certainly Murray’s point about the value of choice is true, so far as it goes. But it doesn’t go nearly far enough. First, there are other compelling non-academic ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3687090 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:52:29 +0100 3687090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3665926&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Finsel-and-nemeroff-what-sanctions.html INSEL and NEMEROFF – WHAT SANCTIONS?Thomas Insel, Director of NIMH, has another posting in his own defense on his official blog today. He has been widely criticized lately for the appearance of cronyism in his relationship with Charles Nemeroff. For the past three months, Insel has been trying to put some distance between himself and Nemeroff, but the public isn’t buying it. I have called his statements disingenuous here and here. Dr. Insel’s statements today are equally disingenuous. Negative reactions are already appearing from those familiar with Nemeroff’s history.There is no argument that Nemeroff was instrumental in Insel’s move to Emory in 1994, that Nemeroff was Insel’s department chairman at Emory, that Nemeroff helped Insel again when Insel’s initial term as directo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3665926 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:30:00 +0100 3665926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3662925&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FQAzZBxIUqkY%2F Last month, the National Institues of Health proposed new rules that would require academic researchers who receive agency funding to more thoroughly report financial conflicts of interest and also require universities to do a better job of gathering this info and forwarding it to the NIH (background). One of those leading this effort has been Tom Insel, who heads the National Institute of Mental Health. Lately, though, Insel has been caught up in a bit of a conflicts quagmire himself after a report that, at the same time he was sorting out the proposal, he was allegedly helping one academic - Charles Nemeroff, who has been the target of a US Senate Finance Committee probe - land a new job at another university. The disclosure prompted the committee to widen its ongoing probe into Nemeroff... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3662925 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:29:22 +0100 3662925 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3658937&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fcharles-bukowski-on-being-crazy%2F Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead. –Charles Bukowski Post from: BlissTree Charles Bukowski on Being Crazy (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3658937 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:00:41 +0100 3658937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3652394&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3wSm2wjcR_w%2F By Daniel GriswoldThe drums of a trade war with China are beating more loudly in Congress this week. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is threatening to introduce a bill in the next two weeks that would raise tariffs on imports from China if it does not quickly appreciate the value of its currency, the yuan. The argument behind the bill is that an artificially cheap yuan makes Chinese goods too attractive for struggling American consumers, to the disadvantage of certain U.S. companies that would prefer to charge us higher prices, while it stifles U.S. exports to China. The latest monthly trade report, released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Commerce, should give pause to those who want to punish China for its currency policies. In the first four months of 2010, compared to the same period i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3652394 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:20:21 +0100 3652394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3648800&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fjrz55Ui52oM%2F As the National Institutes of Health grappled last year with an ongoing Senate probe into financial conflicts of interest involving academic researchers who accept federal grants and industry funding, Tom Insel downplayed the need for a “COI shop” devoted to handling the problem. Insel, you may recall, heads the National Institutes of Mental Health, and helped lead the NIH regulatory review process that recently proposed new rules for monitoring conflicts of interest (see this). His view was expressed in a May 6, 2009, e-mail to colleagues who asked about hiring someone to help with COI issues that have been “swamping me,” as one wrote in a different e-mail the same day (you can read them here). Insel wasn’t persuaded. “I think there are more urgent need... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3648800 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:56:10 +0100 3648800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3648422&cid=t_107430_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fspine-surgeons-warn-futility-surgeries%2F Respected spine surgeons Dr. Charles Rosen of University of California, Irvine and Dr. Richard Deyo of the Mayo Clinic warn that many spine surgeries result in little gain or relief for the patient. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3648422 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:00:51 +0100 3648422 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3645051&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fq_WzjKK7fpY%2F How close are Tom Insel, the National Institutes of Mental Health director, and Charles Nemeroff, a former Emory University professor who has been the focus of an ongoing Senate probe into financial conflicts of interest among academic researchers? A recent story in The Chronicle of Higher Education noted that Insel (see photo) “quietly” helped Nemeroff get a new job last fall at the University of Miami School of Medicine, which overlooked a two-year ban Emory imposed on Nemeroff for receiving federal grants (back story). This prompted US Senator Chuck Grassley to extend his probe still more (see this). The ties beween the two men, which reportedly go back a few years, appeared to be on display in a series of emails (see them here). One e-mail from Nemeroff to Insel last Octobe... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3645051 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:49:36 +0100 3645051 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3645056&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FNaS_mp6oKTA%2F Top of the morning to you. Hope you feel refreshed and energetic. And why not? As the Morning Mayor used to say: ‘Every brand new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.’ Nothing like a gentle reminder to look on the sunny side, yes? Meanwhile, here are a few items to keep you moving in the right direction. Have a great day and do stay in touch… FDA To Review New Morning After Pill (USA Today) Regeneron, New Drugs And Big Partners (Bloomberg News) Glaxo Cancer Drug Bounced Again By UK’s NICE (Reuters) Pfizer Halts Sale Of Vaccine Linked To Bleeding Calve Syndrome (Herald Scotland) Charles River Shareholder Opposes WuXi Deal (Outsourcing Pharma) Merck Insomnia Drug Improves Sleep: Study (Reuters) Bayer To Emphasize Sales Growth Over Margins (Reuters) pic courte... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3645056 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:49:24 +0100 3645056 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644725&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fpublic-trust-at-nimh.html The NIMH Director, Thomas Insel, MD, is under siege for his problematic relationship with Charles Nemeroff. In his own defense, Insel placed a remarkable new post today on his official blog. It signals that Insel and NIMH just don’t understand the current controversy. Since the story appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education 2 days ago, it has reverberated on Health Care Renewal, on Pharmalot, on University Diaries, on the Nature blog, on the Science blog, and on Drug Monkey, to name just a few. The authors on these sites have been uniformly critical of Insel and of NIMH, as have almost all the comments.What does Dr. Insel say in his defense today? Mainly, he demonstrates that he doesn’t get it. The very way in which he frames the issue tells us that. First he says it is about fina... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644725 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:01:00 +0100 3644725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3641321&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FrYivhU7sae4%2F The Charles Nemeroff affair encompasses more people all the time. Now, the University of Miami Medical School has become ensnared in the ongoing probe launched by US Senator Chuck Grassley, who investigated Nemeroff as part of an inquiry into undisclosed financial conflicts of intereest among academic researchers who receive federal grants. You may recall Nemeroff, who was recently hired by the University of Miami, had departed Emory University after the Senate probe disclosed he was accepting sizeable consulting fees from GlaxoSmithKline at the same time he was the primary investigator on an NIH-funded grant for research into a Glaxo drug (see this). Before his departure, Emory imposed a two-year ban on grants for on Nemeroff. This week, however, the U of Miami med school head, Pascal Gol... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3641321 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:44:41 +0100 3641321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3636020&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fey5jUPYG6Hs%2F For the past two years, the National Institutes of Health has been pressured by Congress to do a better job of monitoring conflicts of interest in which academic researchers accept funding from the agency and drugmakers. At issue is the concern that key research and subsequent studies will unduly influence treatment, and so the NIH recenty proposed tougher rules (see this). Earlier this year, the US Senate Finance Committee extended its scrutiny to Tom Insel, the director of the National Institutes of Mental Health (see photo), given that many conflicts involved academic psychiatrists and drugmakers that market antidepressants and antipsychotics (see this). Now, The Chronicle of Higher Education peels back an interesting, long-running relationship between Insel and one of the more notoriou... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3636020 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:21:25 +0100 3636020 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3635862&cid=t_107430_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F06%2F07%2Fdsm-5-sleep-disorders-overhaul%2F The DSM-5 Sleep Disorders workgroup has been especially busy. They are calling for a nearly complete overhaul of the sleep disorders category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (“DSM”). According to a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in May, Charles Reynolds, MD, suggested that the reworking of this category will make sleep problems easier for professionals to diagnose and discriminate between different sleep disorders. He stated that the current DSM-IV puts too much emphasis on presumed causes of symptoms, something that the rest of the DSM-IV does not do. Bringing the sleep disorder section more in line with the other sections in the DSM should make it less confusing. Primary and commonly diagnosed sleep diso... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3635862 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:35:07 +0100 3635862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3635706&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fhappy-times-at-nimh-part-iii.html Happy Times at NIMH – PART IIIThe unraveling of Thomas Insel, MD, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health continues. His ties with the poster boy for conflict of interest in psychiatry, Charles Nemeroff, MD, are getting new exposure. The story is notable not only for what it says about Insel and Nemeroff, but also for what it says about the ethical culture within NIMH.The latest exposé is from Paul Basken in yesterday’s Chronicle of Higher Education. Mr. Basken laid out the appearance of hypocrisy within NIH, with Insel leading an NIH initiative for strengthening ethics rules for medical researchers while he was “quietly help(ing) one of the most prominent transgressors get hired by the University of Miami after a decade of undisclosed corporate payments…” That, of c... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3635706 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:49:00 +0100 3635706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3629616&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlKrBVdenXUg%2F By David BoazAyn Rand’s books have been selling strongly for more than 50 years, a constant irritant to the literary and academic establishments. And since the acceleration in government growth about 18 months, they’ve been selling better than ever. In the middle of that surge of interest, two new biographies of Rand were published, whose authors were featured at a Cato Institute Book Forum last fall. Now Charles Murray, the author of such books as Human Accomplishment and What It Means to Be a Libertarian, reflects on Ayn Rand in a review of those books. Murray does a great job of showing what was wrong — and what was very right — with Ayn Rand. To the certain annoyance of her fans, Murray insists that “there is a dismaying discrepancy between the Ayn Rand of... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3629616 Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:50:01 +0100 3629616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3617815&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fcharles-dickens-on-chocolate%2F There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate. –Charles Dickens Post from: BlissTree Charles Dickens on Chocolate (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3617815 Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:00:28 +0100 3617815 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607853&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F05%2Fmuckraking.html I wanted to post last night but I just couldn't. We spent all day at the farm. And here I'm going to set a new record, hammering in a digression only two sentences into a post: Several summers ago, I... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607853 Thu, 27 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3607853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607483&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJZDMtZXK4H8%2F By David BoazMichael Crowley, late of the New Republic and now with Time magazine, writes thoughtfully about Ron Paul, Rand Paul, and libertarianism. Crowley notes that Rand Paul, “more politically flexible than his father,” has plenty of unlibertarian positions. But both of them are tapping into a real strain in contemporary politics: But he, like his father, also knows well that a genuine libertarian impulse is astir in America…. polls show an uptick in both social permissiveness and skepticism of government intervention….[Ron Paul] has already waited a long time — and it appears the country is moving his way. This is a current trend, but it’s also deeply rooted in the American political culture. As David Kirby and I wrote in “The Libertarian Vote&#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607483 Thu, 27 May 2010 16:17:29 +0100 3607483 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3595570&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FA-TnkJ7Qwlk%2F By Ian VasquezCato co-sponsored a successful conference in Bratislava, Slovakia last week with Trend business magazine, “Slovakia at the Crossroads of Reform.” At a time when the crisis in the eurozone is exposing the unsustainable nature of the European welfare state — and one month before general elections in the country — the event brought together international experts and political and opinion leaders from a broad ideological spectrum, including from the newly formed classical liberal party, Freedom and Solidarity, which is now polling at 10-11 percent. Here’s a video of Charles Murray’s timely keynote address on “Freedom in the 21st Century.” (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3595570 Mon, 24 May 2010 19:07:13 +0100 3595570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585835&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Focplmedia.od.nih.gov%2Fnihradio%2FNIHtelebrifing-2010.05.20.mp3 In a bid to restore public trust, the National Institues of Health has proposed new rules that would require academic researchers who receive agency funding to more thoroughly report any financial conflicts of interest, and also require institutions - such as universities - to do a better job of gathering this information and then forwarding it to the NIH. This includes posting info on a web site. The move follows an ongoing probe by the US Senator Chuck Grassley of the Senate Finance Committee, who uncovered several examples in which academic researchers accepted funding from both the NIH and various drugmakers, but failed to fully or properly disclose the extent of their financial ties. At the same time, several universities failed to monitor their faculty for conflicts. At the heart of... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585835 Thu, 20 May 2010 17:05:55 +0100 3585835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577671&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F05%2Fdespite-all-appearances-this-post-is-just-five-words-long.html This afternoon I was gathering up some table scraps for Charlie to take out to the compost barrel. Compost! Black gold! In the last three days I've gotten totally into compost, having spent a great deal of money to acquire... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577671 Mon, 17 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3577671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549601&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F05%2Fi-believe-they-call-itthe-sweet-science.html Hey, can I stop being all beatific for a second and spend a few pixels mocking my beloved elder son? Because I can't keep the hilarity to myself a single moment longer: Charlie plays tee-ball. He looks all serious and... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549601 Sun, 09 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3549601 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538383&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FCFEJG84zyjM%2F Declaring that Genzyme is ‘broken,’ Carl Icahn wants to remove ceo, Henri Termeer, and three others from the biotech’s board, according to a new proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The move comes after months of turmoil, which began last summer when Genzyme shut its Allston Landing, Ma., plant for several weeks to remediate viral contamination. That prompted rationing of two key drugs - Cerezyme, which is used to treat Gaucher disease, and Fabrazyme for treating Fabry disease. Then, bits of trash were found in some products (background). Genzyme has scrambled to hire new execs and consultants, but the FDA is preparing a consent decree that will involve a $175 million fine. For his part, Termeer will attempt to soothe angry investors during ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538383 Thu, 06 May 2010 13:12:17 +0100 3538383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533973&cid=t_107430_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FEMVgEyM-q80%2F We are honored to count on such a distinguished, interdisciplinary and forward-looking Innovation Awards Judging Panel (please judge for yourself!), thanks to the participation of: Baba Shiv, Professor at Stanford Business School, conducts research on consumer decision making and decision neuroscience, with specific emphasis on the neurological underpinnings of emotion and motivation in decision making. His recent work examines the potential for nonconscious placebo effects related to pricing. He is currently the editor of the Journal of Consumer Research and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Consumer Psychology and the Journal of Marketing Research. Bill Tucker, Managing Director at Education Sector, is a social entrepreneur who has founded and led both nonprofit organizations... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533973 Wed, 05 May 2010 04:59:21 +0100 3533973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538411&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F05%2Fsteps.html Okay, one more infertility thing and then I'll move on, at least until the next time I feel inclined to set the Wayback Machine for half-past Oh My God Things Just Keep Sucking. I don't think I mentioned here that... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538411 Tue, 04 May 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3538411 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519468&cid=t_107430_90_f&fid=36413&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dcscience.net%2F%3Fp%3D3023 Hot off the press The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) has been spreading misinformation about medicine since 1993.  It has featured often on this blog. Now it has closed its doors. An announcement has appeared on the FIH website 30 April 2010 The Trustees of The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health have decided to close the charity. The announcment goes on "Whilst the closure has been planned for many months and is part of an agreed strategy, the Trustees have brought forward the closure timetable as a result of a fraud investigation at the charity." "The Trustees feel that The Foundation has achieved its key objective of promoting the use of integrated health. Since The Foundation was set up in 1993, integrate... DC's goodscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519468 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:17:21 +0100 3519468 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3505136&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fvq3oMKtlz6o%2F Industry expansion in China continues unabated as Charles River Laboratories agreed to buy WuXi Pharma Tech, a Chinese outsourcing services firm. The deal would apparently be the largest foreign takeover of a Chinese company and, significantly, would give Charles River testing facilities in Shanghai, Suzhou and Tianjin in China, where labor and laboratory costs are cheaper (see statement). Overall, the CRO market in China is growing up to 30 percent a year, according to Jinsong Du, an analyst in Hong Kong at Credit Suisse. “This is a vote of confidence that China will be the main location for drug R&D outsourcing in the future,” he tells Bloomberg News, adding that Charles River gets to eliminate a potential competitor in the process. Du also notes Charles River gets a “very... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3505136 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:23:52 +0100 3505136 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3501730&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F04%2Fwow-thank-you-for-all-your-book-suggestions-i-absolutely-loved-reading-through-them-it-was-wonderful-to-be-reminded-of-boo.html Wow, thank you for all your book suggestions! I absolutely loved reading through them. It was wonderful to be reminded of books I'd forgotten I loved, and to see titles Charlie has already enjoyed alongside books that might be comparable.... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3501730 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3501730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3476109&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F04%2Fmass-general.html Happy Oh My God What Is That Thing That Tried to Kill Me? Day! Wait, you don't celebrate? I do. Today marks the passing, and I do mean the literal passing, of the embryo that implanted in my right Fallopian... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3476109 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3476109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3460129&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fquote-of-the-day-schultz-on-chocolate%2F All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. – Charles M. Schultz Post from: BlissTree Quote of the Day: Schultz on Chocolate (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3460129 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:00:48 +0100 3460129 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3453870&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fread-it-like-a-man-conspiracy-theory-books%2F photo: Thinkstock Patrick Sauer is funny. This is his second “Read It Like a Man” weekly column for Blisstree. Read the first installment here. Chapter 2: Conspiracy Theories The Overton Window is a political theory that goes something like this: Previously unaccepted theories become more mainstream when ideas from the fringe are thrown out, thus making the previously stated ideas seem less radical and extreme. (It’s also the title of Glenn Beck’s upcoming novel, natch.) The Overton Window explains why conspiracy theories are no longer the provenance of loons and how they root themselves in mainstream thought. In a word, the Internet. Remember a year ago when everyone believed in global warming? HOAX! So, conspiracy theories are everywhere, but they’re losing... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3453870 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:02:52 +0100 3453870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3440741&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fquis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes.html HAPPY TIMES AT NIMHTwo weeks ago I discussed a Commentary in JAMA by Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health. Over on Danny Carlat’s blog, Dr. Insel took exception to my linking him with Charles Nemeroff, and appeared to be putting distance between himself and Dr. Nemeroff. So, I did some checking, and a correction to one of my statements is in order.I had said, “ … that Insel appointed Nemeroff as an advisor soon after he (Insel) moved to NIMH.” That was my recollection. It turns out what I recalled was instead Insel showcasing Nemeroff in the NIMH Director’s 7th Annual Research Roundtable June 10, 2003, a few months after Insel moved from Emory University to NIMH. Let the record stand corrected.At that gala meeting, held at the National Press Club ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3440741 Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:52:00 +0100 3440741 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429197&cid=t_107430_90_f&fid=36413&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dcscience.net%2F%3Fp%3D2881 Conclusions I’ll confess to feeling almost a little guilty for having appeared to persecute the particular individuals involved in thie episode. But patients are involved and so is the law, and both of these are more important than individuals,  The only unfair aspect is that, while it seems that even the Prince of Wales’ Foundation for Integrated Health has rejected Daniel and Atkinson, that Foundation embraces plenty of people who are just as deluded, and potentially dangerous, as those two.  The answer to that problem is for the Prince to stop endorsing treatments that don’t work. As for the University of Buckingham. Well, despite the right wing maverick Kealey and the ‘anti-evidence’ Miles, I really think they’ve done the right thing. They’ve li... DC's goodscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429197 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 06:37:46 +0100 3429197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3420753&cid=t_107430_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FObN8CO51qgA%2F For those tracking the ongoing investigation by the Senate Finance Committee investigation into conflicts of interest among academic researchers and industry funding, Charles Nemeroff was one of the targets. The former Emory University professor, who now works at the University of Miami, came to the committee’s attention because he was accepting sizeable consulting fees from GlaxoSmithKline at the same time he was the primary investigator on an NIH-funded grant for research into a Glaxo drug. The Senate investigation, spearheaded by Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, prompted Emory to suspend Nemeroff’s work on an NIH grant and asked him to step down as chair of psychiatry while it studied his conduct. And the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General be... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3420753 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:26:41 +0100 3420753 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3412623&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F03%2Fstrife-of-the-party.html If ever an event moves me to such extreme protest that I show up, sit my ass down, and set myself on fire, it's going to be some poor kid's birthday party. Friday afternoon preschool pickup found me listening to... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3412623 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3412623 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3408684&cid=t_107430_177_f&fid=38135&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alittlepregnant.com%2Falittlepregnant%2F2010%2F03%2Ffrom-the-desk-of-charlie.html Happy birthday! ...I got you some diabetes! Mickey Mouse ...and Mickey Murderer. Aw. Sweet kid, right? Absolutely. "I'll take this out of my pocket and show it to my friends so they'll know how I feel!" And then, upon the... (Source: a little pregnant) a little pregnant blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3408684 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3408684 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3398863&cid=t_107430_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fdr-pangloss-as-nih-institute-director.html DR. PANGLOSS AS NIH INSTITUTE DIRECTORJAMA is out today with a Commentary by Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health. Using indirection, Dr. Insel has risen to the defense of seven academic psychiatrists on whom an ethical searchlight has been trained for the past several years by Senator Grassley and others. With ludicrous optimism and a series of straw man discussions, Dr. Insel makes the case that things are not really as bad as they seemed to be or, if they were, then other specialty physicians were doing much the same things. Dr. Insel needs to recalibrate his ethical compass.Why is an NIH Institute Director issuing this apologia for the corruption of academic psychiatry? Does he not have better things to do, such as ensuring that longstanding NIH regulat... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3398863 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:42:00 +0100 3398863