Summary
This new technology is interesting, but the problem with the FDA and the Vioxx scandal wasn't that the FDA didn't know the drug was toxic to the heart,
the problem was that the FDA knew and didn't tell. I'm not sure how new technology is going to make any difference unless it also manages to conduct an
ethics transplant operation that somehow puts honesty into the minds and hearts of FDA bureaucrats. That is, if they even have hearts.
It's difficult to assign any positive attributes to a group of people who knew about the deadly dangers of anti-inflammatory drugs, and the suicidal side effects of antidepressant drugs, and yet did absolutely nothing to warn the American public. Even worse, they buried the evidence, censored their own scientists and attacked dissenting views in the medical community.
New technology isn't the answer here. What the FDA needs is new ethics. And I don't think you can buy those.
Original source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041108025356.htm
Details
-
The University of Rochester Medical Center has a new tool to assess whether a medication might be harmful to the heart.
- The technology addresses a major health issue -- drug toxicity -- illustrated most recently by Merck's voluntary withdrawal of Vioxx from the market after concerns that it may cause heart attacks and strokes.
- FDA Issues Public Health Advisory On Vioxx As Its Manufacturer Voluntarily Withdraws The Product (October 6, 2004) -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today acknowledged the voluntary withdrawal from the market of Vioxx (chemical name rofecoxib), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) manufactured by ...
- Vanderbilt Research Shows High Doses Of Popular Pain Reliever Prescribed Despite Heart Risk (July 13, 2004) -- The evidence is growing: chronic, high-dose consumption of the arthritis pain reliever Vioxx can raise blood pressure and the risk of serious heart problems.
- Jean-Philippe Couderc, a biomedical engineer, developed a software program that provides a simpler, more accurate way to analyze the electrocardiograms (EKGs) of people who volunteer for clinical trials to test new drugs.
- The Food and Drug Administration purchased a copy of the technology, called COMPAS, which stands for Comprehensive Analysis of Repolarization Signal.
- More comprehensive testing of the heart's reaction to medications is not only important for the success of any new drug, but it became an FDA requirement two years ago.
- To meet this standard, most companies that design Phase I and II clinical trials require thousands of volunteer subjects to undergo an extensive physical examination, which includes a review of a patient's 24-hour EKG.
- Therefore, the goal among those who are developing and testing new treatments is to identify the cardiovascular risks to patients at the earliest possible stage.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he is well known as the creator of popular downloadable preparedness programs on financial collapse, emergency food storage, wilderness survival and home defense skills. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In mid 2010, Adams produced TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
Have comments on this article? Post them here:
people have commented on this article.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Email this article to a friend
Share
this article on: 
