Fwd: WDDTY e-News Service - 26 June 2003

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WDDTY e-News Service - 26 June 2003

Thu, 26 Jun 2003 12:04:31 +0100

 

 

WHAT DOCTORS DON’T TELL YOU - E-NEWS BROADCAST No.41 - 26 June 03

 

Please feel free to email this broadcast to any friends you feel would

appreciate receiving it.

 

 

 

 

 

IT'S BETTER THAN THE LOTTERY, FOLKS: How to blow the whistle on a drug company

and clean up

 

Our man of the week is Douglas Durand who's just walked away with $46.5 (£29.7m)

after he blew the whistle on UK drugs giant AstraZeneca over one of their

prostate cancer drugs.

 

The company has been found guilty in the United States of a felony charge of

health fraud, and has agreed to pay $355m to settle criminal and civil

accusations that it illegally marketed the drug Zoladex.

 

The company had given illegal financial inducements to up to 400 doctors to try

the new drug on their patients. The inducements included free samples of

Zoladex, which the physicians then billed to Medicare, financial grants, and

free travel and entertainment.

 

It is the second largest fine for health fraud in the United States. The

largest was against TAP Pharmaceutical Products, which coughed up $875m in 2001

following similar charges.

 

AstraZeneca and TAP were both aggressively marketing a new prostate drug (TAP's

was Lupron), and Mr Durand, a former vice president at TAP, blew the whistle on

both companies. Under American law, the whistle-blower is entitled to a share

of the fine-and Mr Durand really cleaned up. He receives $46.5m for the

AstraZeneca case, and $77m for the TAP discovery.

 

There are plenty more similar cases in the wings. AstraZeneca is also being

investigated over the sale of its anti-ulcer drug Prilosec and its heartburn

treatment Nexium.

 

Speaking to the press after the AstraZeneca case, Richard Andrews, first

assistant United States attorney for the District of Delaware, said: " We want

doctors to prescribe what is best for their patients and not what is best for

the doctor's bank account. "

 

This is an outrageous statement, and one that displays the man's ignorance.

Such a view would turn on its head all the marketing efforts of every

pharmaceutical company.

 

Nonetheless, you might wonder how you can join in this smorgasbord of whistle

blowing. After all, Mr Durand was privy to insider knowledge, you might

protest, but we say to you: you're missing the point-because EVERY drug company

is doing it!

 

Now, you need to do yourself a favour (and here we must make a blatant

advertisement). Instead of wasting your money on the lottery this week, save

your pennies and buy a copy of our book, The Secrets of the Drugs Industry. At

just £13.75 including post and packing (within the UK) it gives the lowdown on

all their dirty tricks. Don't forget-Attorney Richard Andrews is waiting to

hear from you, chequebook at the ready.

 

 

To order your copy of The Secrets of the Drugs Industry,

http://www.wddty.co.uk/shop/details.asp?product=341

 

 

 

REPEATS, REPEATS: They're good news after all

 

Gastro-oesophageal reflux-or repeats to you-is the curse of modern society.

It's an uncomfortable and anti-social condition that affects up to 40 per cent

of the population.

 

You might think there's nothing good to be said for it, but researchers have

discovered that sufferers are far less likely to get the H pylori bug, which can

cause duodenal ulcers.

 

The seeming protection of reflux against H pylori is most marked in the Far

East; aside from dietary differences, researchers were at a loss to explain why

geography would have a part to play.

 

Researchers at Durham University based their conclusions on 20 studies. They

also discovered that the protection works both ways-if you've got the H pylori

bug, you're less likely to suffer reflux or, if you do, your reflux is unlikely

to be so severe.

 

(Source: British Medical Journal, 2003; 326:737-9).

 

 

 

DOWN'S SYNDROME: It's not the age of the mother that counts after all

 

Down's syndrome is something that every expectant mother worries about,

especially if she is over 30 years old.

 

But researchers from Tel Aviv University have discovered that the link is much

more to do with the woman's inability to metabolise folate and methyl. This is

a characteristic of neural-tube defects (NTD), which includes spina bifida. It

is this lack, rather than age, that is the more significant marker.

 

Although a dose of just 0.4 mg of folic acid every day was believed to be enough

to protect against NTD, the researchers say a dose of around 5 mg is needed.

The effect is amplified if the woman also takes cobalamin.

 

Other researchers have suggested that women need only eat food that is fortified

with folic acid, but the Tel Aviv research team argues that supplementation

works far better as a preventative. This last recommendation is significant,

and goes against the general view that fortified food, and especially flour, is

sufficient to raise the nutritional status of most women.

 

Interestingly, the Birth Defects Foundation in the UK supports supplementation,

and urged women to continue taking folic acid in the wake of the recent Food

Standards Agency report that seemed to suggest all vitamins and supplements

were, at best, lethal.

 

(Source: The Lancet, 2003; 361: 1331-5).

 

 

 

PRE-ECLAMPSIA? It could increase your chances of heart problems later on.

 

High blood pressure is a common problem for women when they are pregnant, and

sometimes it can lead to pre-eclampsia. It's been reckoned to affect up to one

in three pregnant women, but it was always thought to be a transitory condition,

and one that passes, never to return, once the baby was born.

 

But researchers have discovered that a woman who was hypertensive while pregnant

is at high risk of developing it again in later life. She is also more likely

to suffer a stroke and, to a lesser extent, heart disease.

 

Women who had pre-eclampsia are at greater risk than those who were just

hypertensive during their pregnancy, concluded researchers from Aberdeen

University.

 

Women who suffered pre-eclampsia in particular should be part of a care

programme to reduce their risk of developing more serious heart conditions in

later life, the researchers recommend.

 

(Source: British Medical Journal, 2003; 326: 845-9).

 

 

 

NURSE, NURSE: How about you reporting drug reactions?

 

Now here's a thought. It's generally recognized that reporting of adverse drug

reactions (ADR) is very poor. The Yellow Card system, introduced into the UK

around 30 years ago, records just 10 per cent of all reactions.

 

This failure has been blamed on a range of factors. Sometimes the doctor is too

busy, sometimes he doubts the drug was to blame, and sometimes he's scared of

some legal suit.

 

But, since last October, nurses have been allowed to complete the forms, and

report any suspected ADR themselves.

 

In a 'dry run' that involved 768 nurses over a 21-month period, 177 reports of

possible adverse reactions, including 64 cases of serious reactions, and the

same number of reports of reactions to new drugs, were sent in.

 

Nurses, the adjudicators decided, are just as capable of reporting an ADR as a

doctor, and-who knows?-perhaps we could see the totals soaring above the 10 per

cent mark.

 

(Source: The Lancet, 2003; 361: 1347-8).

 

 

 

 

 

FREEBIES, FREEBIES: Claim yours from WDDTY now!

 

What Doctors Don't Tell You has put together five valuable factsheets on its

website that you can download for FREE! They are in PDF format so you'll need a

program called Adobe Acrobat (which you can also download for free from our

website if you don't already have a copy).

 

The reports include:

 

MMR: the MMR consent form (for a practitioner to sign if you are having your

child vaccinated, and which puts the legal responsibility on him/her should your

child suffer an adverse reaction)

 

The heart: a report on surviving a hospital stay (vital if you're got your

appointment booked)

 

Arthritis: 9 proven alternative remedies to ease pain

Cancer: nutritional therapies that could be making a difference

Prescription drugs: how drugs interact with each other (an important factsheet

if you are on more than one prescription drug).

 

To begin downloading your free factsheets, go to:

http://www.wddty.co.uk/factsheet

 

 

 

HEALTH FREEDOM MOVEMENT: The Summer newsletter is about to come out

 

The Health Freedom Movement is soon to send out its Summer newsletter. If

you're already a member, you'll receive it in the post very shortly. If you're

not, we still need your donations to continue our work. We've produced a

Proclamation that is putting the government on notice that we will not abide by

laws that are unreasonable and draconian, and which take away our basic rights.

You can download a copy by visiting the HFM website:

http://www.healthfreedommovement.com

 

 

Listen to Lynne

 

On the radio: Hear Lynne McTaggart on Passion the new DAB Digital Radio Station

focusing on your health and your environment -

http://www.wddty.co.uk/passion_main.asp

 

On demand: Select and listen to any of Lynne's archived broadcasts on Passion,

there's a new one each week - http://www.wddty.co.uk/passion_archive.asp

 

 

View missed/lost e-News broadcasts: View our e-News broadcast archives, follow

this link - http://www.wddty.co.uk/archive.asp

 

 

Help us spread the word

 

If you can think of a friend or acquaintance who would like a FREE copy of What

Doctors Don't Tell You, please forward their name and address to:

info.

 

Please forward this e-news on to anyone you feel may be interested,they can

free by clicking on the following this link:

http://www.wddty.co.uk/e-news.asp. Thank you.

 

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