Pills and pillows pernicious

[Guest guest]

" WC Douglass " <realhealth

Daily Dose - Pills and pillows pernicious

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 07:30:00 -0500

 

 

 

Daily Dose

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December 13, 2005

 

 

 

Trials and fibulations

 

As I mentioned in the last Daily Dose (and in a Daily Dose article a

few weeks ago), the second Vioxx trial to have gone the distance in

court ended with a decision holding Merck not responsible in any way

for a New Jersey plaintiff's heart attack.

 

Yes, this is bad news, from a Big Pharma accountability standpoint.

However, in accounts of those proceedings, I noticed something that

points directly to the flawed (more like fraud) nature of drug research...

 

According to a Reuters story on this latest case, Merck's lawyers

claimed that the reason a 1999 Vioxx study which clearly showed a

five-fold increase in heart attacks didn't raise any red flags about

the drug's risks is because the research in question was a comparison

study between Vioxx and common pain reliever naproxen

(over-the-counter Aleve). Let me explain how this is significant:

 

Supposedly (and oh so conveniently, as you'll discover in a minute),

it was " assumed " by Merck's researchers that the difference in

coronary risk between the two study groups was due to some miraculous,

heretofore unknown heart-protective property of naproxen, NOT any

ticker-terrorizing effects of Vioxx. As I said, convenient. Fishy,

too. Here's why...

 

For one thing, if common, cheap, garden-variety naproxen were a heart

tonic capable of slashing the risk of coronary events to ONE-FIFTH of

the normal rate - which is, in essence, exactly what Merck's lawyers

are claiming - don't you think we'd already know about it? Don't you

think the makers of Aleve (Bayer) would be trumpeting this fact 24/7?

Don't you think doctors would be doling out naproxen to anyone with a

heart?

 

Of course.

 

So I ask you: How is it that the high-tech research department at one

of the world's biggest drug companies didn't know that naproxen not

only isn't a heart tonic, but may in fact be implicated in heart risks

of its own (one naproxen Alzheimer's study was even halted by the Feds

because of an increased stroke and heart attack risk)?

 

The answer: It ISN'T possible, by any stretch of reason. Merck is

simply maintaining this ridiculous notion because it has been caught

red-handed in a purposeful distortion of facts to promote a killer

drug, and they're manipulating their interpretation of incriminating

studies to absolve themselves of liability in the 7,000 or so

remaining Vioxx cases...

 

Which begs the question: If Merck isn't ultimately found guilty of

mass gross negligence, aren't they at least guilty of fraud for

intentionally misinterpreting research? Honestly, I don't know how

they sleep at night. It's sickening.

 

And speaking of sleeping and getting sick...

 

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Snoring up spores?

 

I've written before about allergens, toxins, parasites, microorganisms

and killer bacteria in the home before. But a new study from the

University of Manchester shows how these kinds of hazards might

literally be right under our noses - as we sleep...

 

In our pillows.

 

The research found that once used for 1.5 years or more, both feather

and synthetic pillows contained several thousands fungal spores per

gram of weight - adding up to well over a million per pillow.

Published in the journal Allergy, the team's findings also pinpointed

as many as 16 different varieties of spores per sample, with

consistently higher numbers coming from synthetic pillows.

 

Especially disturbing is the prevalence of the aspergillus fumigatus

fungus (it was the most common species found), one of the leading

causes of death in leukemia patients and those who have undergone bone

marrow transplants. According to the UK's Fungal Research Trust, 1 in

25 of those who die in European teaching hospitals have been infected

by invasive aspergillosis. The spore can also worsen asthma and

trigger allergic sinusitis...

 

Actions to take: For best pulmonary health, replace your old pillow

with a new feather (or buckwheat husk) pillow - and contact a pharmacy

or hospital supply store for a stock of plastic pillow covers. You can

install these under the pillow case (the thicker the case, the

better), so it won't feel all hospital-ish when you sleep on it.

 

Speaking free and breathing freer,

 

William Campbell Douglass II, MD