Drug Companies control Medical Journals

April 12, 2007

(No surprise there!)

drmikethompson (Dr. T's Health Tips)PHARMA Influenced Medical Journals DRUG COMPANIES CONTROL MEDICAL JOURNALS Will the American public ever get the un-tainted truth from ourcountry's medical profession? According to an August announcement fromthe Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), they'll neverpublish the truth. Catherine DeAngelis, editor-in-chief of JAMA, says that she and othermedical journal editors have decided not to risk being sued by drugcompanies for antitrust by banning authors with financial conflicts ofinterest to those companies. In a nut shell, JAMA will continue to publish half-true and biasedarticles written by authors who hold strong ties to the pharmaceuticalindustry. The general public is simply asking that JAMA disclose the financialties their authors may have to drug companies. These authors can stillpublish their articles, all we want to know is who does that author workfor? Are they an employee of the drug company they're writing about? None-the-less, JAMA refuses to make this information known for fear ofbeing sued. Sued? Is it wrong to tell the truth? Unfortunately, thebiggest "wrong" in the whole equation is that pharmaceutical companieshave gained so much power over the medical profession that they are nowable to control what is and is not being published. Here's an example: JAMA ran an article that talked about a link between migraines and heartdisease, and how to treat these conditions. As it turns out, all of thestudy's six authors had ties to a drug company that makes migraine andheart disease drugs. This means the article may have been slanted infavor of the drugs when, in an honest world, it should not have been. In another incident, JAMA admitted that an article written aboutdepression was actually mostly authored by people who had been paid tobe speakers or consultants for the makers of antidepressant drugs. It's clear; drug companies have an agenda, and it's slowly takingcontrol of our medical journals. The question is can anyone stop them? robert, if you know of anyone who is presently taking toxicpharmaceutical drugs, be sure and ask them if they are aware of theirside effects and if they have discussed with their 'doctor' thepossibilities of alternative methods to resolve their problems incomparison to relying on synthetic chemicals to improve health. That is, if you care for their well being. Until next time, Dr. Mikewww.BioTruth.com [source: Newstarget.com, 8/8/06] "The Doctor of the Future will give NO Medicine, but will interest hispatients in diet and nutrition, exercise and the care of the humanframe. He will teach them about the cause of ALL disease."-Thomas Edison ************************************** Health Solutions, P.O. Box 121271 Arlington, TX. 76012, USA

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