Placebo Effect Success Growing Stronger – Pharma Wants to Know Why

<p> Why are placebos gaining ground?  This is a really good question and is it sometimes mind over matter?  Granted bringing a new drug to market today is far more complicated and expensive that perhaps what it has been in years past.  With placebos, I’m sure there’s a lot of open area for discussion as an example with “psyche drugs”.  <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SqaZS7gNI9I/AAAAAAAAZ1E/sSODcx46S3k/s1600-h/image%5B4%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="172" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SqaZThSiw4I/AAAAAAAAZ1I/rpQiQvWgkXQ/image_thumb%5B2%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="129" /></a></p> <p><strong>Genomics has also entered the picture</strong> and thus altering the way a protein functions in our body is a bit different compared to just a chemistry structure too, and both areas of course are also combined with research.   Are we finding out the human mind is much stronger even than what we originally thought?  This also leaves a lot of development companies in the cold when clinical trials show the placebo effect is ahead, and so when entering into the areas where placebos are used, it’s a big unknown. <strong> Not all clinical trials use placebos,</strong> so if you are participating in one, be sure to read all the provisions, as cancer treatments normally are not included with placebo studies for obvious reasons.   </p> <p>Interesting comment at the end about how clinical trials in the past were run with patients being dosed at a level to overcome side effects?  We don’t ignore those today.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>The upshot is fewer new medicines available to ailing patients and more financial woes for the beleaguered pharmaceutical industry. Last November, a new type of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, championed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, was abruptly withdrawn from Phase II trials after unexpectedly tanking against placebo. <strong>A stem-cell startup called Osiris Therapeutics got a drubbing on Wall Street in March, when it suspended trials of its pill for Crohn's disease, an intestinal ailment, citing an "unusually high" response to placebo. </strong>Two days later, Eli Lilly broke off testing of a much-touted new drug for schizophrenia<strong> when volunteers showed double the expected level of placebo response.</strong></p> <p>It's not only trials of new drugs that are crossing the futility boundary. Some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests. In many cases, these are the compounds that, in the late '90s, made Big Pharma more profitable than Big Oil. But if these same drugs were vetted now, the FDA might not approve some of them. Two comprehensive analyses of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response since the 1980s. One estimated that the so-called effect size (a measure of statistical significance) in placebo groups had nearly doubled over that time.</p> <p>It's not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger.</p> <p><strong>The roots of the</strong> placebo problem can be traced to a lie told by an Army nurse during World War II as Allied forces stormed the beaches of southern Italy. The nurse was assisting an anesthetist named Henry Beecher, who was tending to US troops under heavy German bombardment. When the morphine supply ran low, the nurse assured a wounded soldier that he was getting a shot of potent painkiller, though her syringe contained only salt water. Amazingly, the bogus injection relieved the soldier's agony and prevented the onset of shock.</p> <p><strong>Pharmaceutical companies would simply dose volunteers with an experimental agent until the side effects swamped</strong> the presumed benefits. Beecher proposed that if test subjects could be compared to a group that received a placebo, health officials would finally have an impartial way to determine whether a medicine was actually responsible for making a patient better.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect">Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why.</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:67e3d29c-26a1-491a-ace8-30b5c0c6e0a2" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Placebos" rel="tag">Placebos</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharma" rel="tag">pharma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medications" rel="tag">medications</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/profits" rel="tag">profits</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/clinical+trials" rel="tag">clinical trials</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tests" rel="tag">tests</a></div>

Placebo Effect Success Growing Stronger – Pharma Wants to Know Why

Why are placebos gaining ground?  This is a really good question and is it sometimes mind over matter?  Granted bringing a new drug to mark...

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Doctoring is “An Algorithmic Job”–Dr. Doug Farrago of Placebo Journal Giving Reality TV A Shot

<p>This is a nice write up in the New York Times and somehow I got away from his features here and perhaps it was due to the fact that he probably got busy as a doctor and didn’t have enough time to keep up a rigorous schedule of creating these<a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/placebo-journal-blog-mrsa-shirt-video.html"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="62" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/Sbbz_xLH14I/AAAAAAAAOmQ/15A7bXs9D24/image%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="146" /></a> funny videos we all love.  If you do a search on the Medical Quack, most of them are here in the archives.  One of the funniest antics was the MRSA shirt one could order.  </p> <h6><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/placebo-journal-blog-mrsa-shirt-video.html"><font size="2">Placebo Journal Blog: MRSA SHIRT VIDEO</font></a></h6> <p align="center"><em>“I went to the hospital and all I got was this lousy shirt, and MRSA”</em></p> <p>If the TV show works, it will be nice Dr. Farrago says, but if not, he said he will survive.  This looks to be an interesting show with the doctor traveling around to various doctor offices across the US and doing some helping out and showing what family practice looks like all across the US, and it’s different all over for sure.  </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 377px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:119d7dff-6580-4c01-a562-94e79dadc128" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="8622fc0f-b3b0-4b7a-aeb8-e5a4959314bc" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEUl-Iqqlag&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('8622fc0f-b3b0-4b7a-aeb8-e5a4959314bc'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"377\" height=\"282\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/IEUl-Iqqlag&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/IEUl-Iqqlag&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"377\" height=\"282\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJfXrd-t5CI/AAAAAAAAhgA/lU6LsqKuO44/video07e2b82f1ca0%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none"></a></div></div><div style="width:377px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Dr. Doug Talks and Clowns Around A Bit</div></div> <p>He also has a site where he can be hired as a <a href="http://medicalspeaker.com/">guest speaker here.</a></p> <p>The <a href="http://placebojournal.blogspot.com/">Placebo Journal Blog</a> is here.  <a href="http://www.placebotelevision.com/">Placebo Television</a> with all those great hilarious videos is here.  The video below is a preview of the up and coming show for television.  I guess we may be seeing more of the good doctor in California soon too and will be watching for the program.  I hope he keeps his theme song or something close as Doc Holiday as the Disrupted Physician theme song.  BD   </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 373px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:7878c076-44aa-4e90-8495-21693dfbdc90" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="b8dcf1b8-03ac-4f22-8cc6-7aaecb766584" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ecjUCkP0Dg&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('b8dcf1b8-03ac-4f22-8cc6-7aaecb766584'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"373\" height=\"224\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-ecjUCkP0Dg&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-ecjUCkP0Dg&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"373\" height=\"224\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TJfVWLAwIxI/AAAAAAAAhgE/wZtsNsvMkFM/videoea440a8c9dcd%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none"></a></div></div><div style="width:373px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Placebo Television</div></div> <blockquote> <p>For 10 years, Dr. Farrago, a <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/choosing-a-primary-care-provider/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier">family doctor</a> here, has been the majordomo of said publication: an irreverent, intentionally sophomoric, sometimes scatological medical magazine called Placebo Journal. And though he is not a “House” fan, the product placement was just one example of Dr. Farrago’s enterprising streak. </p> <p>Doctoring is “an algorithmic job,” said Dr. Farrago, 45. “You can’t just make up things in medicine: ‘Let’s just try Jell-O.’ So I want to do something creative.” </p> <p>Ten thousand subscribers, he says, pay $28 a year for Placebo Journal, which is published every two months and skewers the health care system’s half-baked mistakes, pokes fun at doctors, patients, insurers and drug companies, or just goes for the gross-out. </p> <p>“My audiences are physicians,” Dr. Farrago said. “They see all this stuff. They don’t want to do differential diagnosis and read through complex cases. They just want to take this on the toilet bowl and laugh.” </p> <p>But if Dr. Farrago and two television producers succeed with their latest project, people could be seeing a different side of him. The producers are pitching a reality show in which Dr. Farrago would parachute into communities around the country and help overstretched family doctors care for patients for several days: sort of a medical “Supernanny.” </p> <p>Fancying itself the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/mad_magazine/index.html?inline=nyt-org">Mad Magazine</a> of the medical world, Placebo Journal features “True Stories of Medicine” and odd-looking X-rays submitted by doctors, as well as sections like “My Favorite Munchausen,” about patients who invent or exaggerate medical problems. It loves jabbing Big Pharma and insurers; in 2005 Cigna HealthCare complained to Dr. Farrago’s then-employer, a health system, when he printed a physician survey from the fictitious SickNa HealthCare, its logo like Cigna’s tree, but full of dead leaves. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/health/21placebo.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimeshealth">Scientist at Work - Dr. Doug Farrago - A Physician-Provocateur With Reality TV Dreams - NYTimes.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:959e64c9-bd1b-44a3-8a6a-aecfad82ea28" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Placebo+Journal" rel="tag">Placebo Journal</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/reality+TV" rel="tag">reality TV</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctor" rel="tag">doctor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/family+practice" rel="tag">family practice</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Dr.+Doug+Farrago" rel="tag">Dr. Doug Farrago</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/humor" rel="tag">humor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+humor" rel="tag">medical humor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medicine" rel="tag">medicine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Placebo+TV" rel="tag">Placebo TV</a></div>

Doctoring is “An Algorithmic Job”–Dr. Doug Farrago of Placebo Journal Giving Reality TV A Shot

This is a nice write up in the New York Times and somehow I got away from his features here and perhaps it was due to the fact that he proba...

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Spider Venom as a New ED Treatment-Placebo Television Minute Discusses Banana Spider Futures…(Humor)

<p>It looks like Dr. Doug is back with us for some new updates for Placebo Television.  It’s been a while but here today he talks about an item in the news of late, this <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TXvxxm5rDcI/AAAAAAAAtWw/eI3C9BXEM1w/s1600-h/image%5B5%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="155" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TXvxyILjlzI/AAAAAAAAtW0/8RExFHfXn20/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="183" /></a>banana spider than can bite a man and create an erection, but it’s not exactly like the blue does and one that may need attention.  Scientists are looking at it though to see if a new serum/drug could be developed for ED since this is a different pathway than the one used by Viagra.  For those who want other alternatives, you can check out the ED work of regenerative medicine and see what’s growing.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/11/regenerative-medicine-news-fully.html"><font size="2">Regenerative Medicine News – Fully Functional Rabbit Penis Created That Works</font></a></h4> <p>The <a href="http://placebojournal.blogspot.com/">Placebo Journal Blog</a> is here.  <a href="http://www.placebotelevision.com/">Placebo Television</a> with all those great hilarious videos is here. BD</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 357px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:d361c349-1e31-49e4-8eb6-c8a4f48ccf53" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="306eb502-cc66-414e-9afb-c18bb80e95cc" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGBmJ7apgLQ" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('306eb502-cc66-414e-9afb-c18bb80e95cc'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"357\" height=\"217\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/sGBmJ7apgLQ?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/sGBmJ7apgLQ?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"357\" height=\"217\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TXvxyh-iRoI/AAAAAAAAtW4/pfYrASLRd6k/video64574ad4e9b7%5B15%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none"></a></div></div></div> <blockquote>Here is our latest webisode that discusses a new study relating the venom of the banana spider and its ability to cause erections. <a href="http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/22/6080691-spider-venom-better-than-viagra">http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/22/6080691-spider-venom-better-tha...</a></blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGBmJ7apgLQ">YouTube - Placebo Television's Medical Minute #2 (3/9/11)</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:42176518-c905-4a01-b0eb-ccb02129537c" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Placebo+Television" rel="tag">Placebo Television</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Doug+Farrago" rel="tag">Doug Farrago</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical" rel="tag">medical</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/humor" rel="tag">humor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/banana+spider" rel="tag">banana spider</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Viagra" rel="tag">Viagra</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctor" rel="tag">doctor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/erection" rel="tag">erection</a></div>

Spider Venom as a New ED Treatment-Placebo Television Minute Discusses Banana Spider Futures…(Humor)

It looks like Dr. Doug is back with us for some new updates for Placebo Television.  It’s been a while but here today he talks about an item...

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Placebo Television #14

<p> Dr. Doug with the latest in <a href="http://placebojournal.blogspot.com/">Placebo Television.</a>  To see more, I pretty much have most of them in archive here, so do a simple search for Placebo Television, they are good, and each with their own message, presented with a bit of humor, do we need that today, you bet!  Today it's drugs ads and PSA tests up for discussion.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AcyGW4upDQ" width="400" height="300" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /> </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://placebojournal.blogspot.com/2008/09/placebo-television-14.html">Placebo Journal Blog: Medical Humor With A Purpose: Placebo Television #14</a></p>

Placebo Television #14

Dr. Doug with the latest in Placebo Television.   To see more, I pretty much have most of them in archive here, so do a simple search for P...

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Medical Humor With A Purpose: Placebo Television #16 – Dr. Doug

<p> Dr. Doug is once more speaking out, one of the best and be sure and take heed of the warning, this is a disruptive video from the disruptive doctor, funny!  The website has an entire history of all the Placebo Television videos.  BD   </p> <blockquote> <ul> <li><strong>A look at the study between masturbation and the risk of prostate cancer </strong></li> <li><strong>Anyone want a peanut butter and salmonella sandwich? </strong></li> <li><strong>Godasil Vaccine</strong></li> </ul> <br />This video is not for those under age 16, those with weak stomachs or those without a sophomoric sense of humor. Lighten up people.</blockquote> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:6e6a592e-ac79-4e37-a171-e80ff1dcd69a" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="5e4adc74-b8e4-4603-9ff9-69b081f11564" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrvqMgrurAQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" target="_new"><img alt="" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('5e4adc74-b8e4-4603-9ff9-69b081f11564'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"280\" height=\"210\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/IrvqMgrurAQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/IrvqMgrurAQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SblNrw71JMI/AAAAAAAAOp0/IeQAqXBzdaM/video4d6827741f72%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none"></a></div></div></div> <p><a href="http://placebojournal.blogspot.com/2009/03/placebo-television-16.html">Placebo Journal Blog: Medical Humor With A Purpose: Placebo Television #16</a></p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:fef1c079-5555-4b88-b1c9-6bc9db353236" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Placebo+Television" rel="tag">Placebo Television</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Medical+Humor" rel="tag">Medical Humor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Disruptive+Physician" rel="tag">Disruptive Physician</a></div>

Medical Humor With A Purpose: Placebo Television #16 – Dr. Doug

Dr. Doug is once more speaking out, one of the best and be sure and take heed of the warning, this is a disruptive video from the disruptiv...

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High Anxiety - Marijuana in Pill form?

<p> Study comparing current anti-depressants to a pill form of marijuana..and states that THC (contains the same active ingredient found in marijuana) could be a fruitful target for new anti-anxiety drugs...BD  </p> <blockquote> <p>Right now, about half of all people who take medicine for an anxiety disorder don't get much help from it. <strong>And doctors have no definitive way to predict who will, and who won't, benefit from each anti anxiety prescription they write. </strong></p> <p>In a placebo controlled design, they made the findings after giving the volunteers <strong>delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana</strong>, and exposing them to photographs of emotional faces, which served as signals of social communication. The <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SAuBTrK8GEI/AAAAAAAAFak/JS8_5TzF93U/s1600-h/image%5B8%5D.png"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="117" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SAuBUrK8GFI/AAAAAAAAFas/8nyy0oxbqqc/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" width="147"></a> study results, which showed that THC reduces the response to threat in a brain region called the amygdala, allowed the researchers to zero in on an area of the brain that might serve as a good target for new anti-anxiety drugs.</p> <p>The researchers chose fMRI because it allows them to see in real time which areas of the brain are most active while a volunteer is performing a certain task for example, viewing a picture of a human face that is expressing anger or fear, or performing a decision-making exercise.  The cannabis study used THC, and a placebo caplet that looked exactly like the THC caplet. The researchers found that when the<strong> marijuana users received THC, their brain's response to "threatening" faces was less than it was when they received a placebo.</strong>  But there were no differences between THC and placebo in the areas of the brain that process non-emotional visual signals or govern body movement suggesting that THC had a specific effect on a specific brain region and on a specific task of processing fear<strong>.</strong></p> <p>Serotonin has long been known to be involved in depression and anxiety, and indeed most modern antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs (such as SSRIs) work on this transporter.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104670.php">High Anxiety?</a></p>

High Anxiety - Marijuana in Pill form?

Study comparing current anti-depressants to a pill form of marijuana..and states that THC (contains the same active ingredient found in mar...

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Amgen Gets FDA Approval for Prolia – Treatment for Post Menopausal Women With Osteoporosis High Risk

<p> During the clinical trials one injection was administered as a 60mg every six months, and with the price quoted in the press release of $850.00 per injection it’s not an inexpensive item and hopefully insurance may cover some or all of this.  If I want to be tacky this cost compares with the average cost of what men pay for an ED drug cost for a year, so in those terms it’s not out of the cost arena.  <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TAWYfgfddSI/AAAAAAAAegY/H0QHZlq0y-4/s1600-h/image%5B10%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="90" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TAWYgRAPqzI/AAAAAAAAegc/EH-2OeJbOu0/image_thumb%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="176" /></a> </p> <p>Being an injection you get twice a year, this also makes it easier than taking pills too and trying to remember.  The press release also stated the product should be out within a week.  </p> <blockquote> <p>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., June 1, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --Amgen Inc.today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Prolia(TM) (denosumab) for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, defined as a history of osteoporotic fracture, or multiple risk factors for fracture; or patients who have failed or are intolerant to other available osteoporosis therapy.<strong> Prolia, the first and only FDA-approved RANK Ligand inhibitor, is an every six month 60 mg subcutaneous injection administered by a health care professional.</strong> </p> <p>"Today's FDA approval of Prolia is the culmination of a scientific journey that started more than 15 years ago with Amgen's discovery of an essential pathway that regulates bone metabolism," said Kevin Sharer, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Amgen. "Prolia is the result of this discovery and offers an important new medicine for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture. Amgen is proud to make this new treatment option available to physicians and patients."  </p> <p>Prolia's approval is based on a pivotal three-year Phase 3 study involving 7,808 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Treatment with Prolia resulted in greater bone density, stronger bones, and reduced risk for vertebral, hip and non-vertebral fractures measured at three years.(i) </p> <p><b>Prolia Clinical Data</b></p> <p>The pivotal three-year Phase 3 <u>F</u>racture <u>RE</u>duction <u>E</u>valuation of <u>D</u>enosumab in <u>O</u>steoporosis every six <u>M</u>onths (FREEDOM) study in 7,808 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis demonstrated that Prolia, administered as a 60mg subcutaneous injection every six months, compared with placebo at three years resulted in: (ii) </p> <ul> <li><b>A 68 percent reduction in vertebral fractures</b> (4.8 percent absolute risk reduction). The incidence of new spine fractures was 2.3 percent with Prolia vs. 7.2 percent with placebo; </li> <li><b>A 40 percent reduction in hip fractures</b> (0.3 percent absolute risk reduction). The incidence of hip fractures was 0.7 percent with Prolia vs. 1.2 <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TAWYgkxcYcI/AAAAAAAAegg/cIBEod0XNJg/s1600-h/image%5B9%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="200" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TAWYhGkvPoI/AAAAAAAAegk/uxUH4E0SAAo/image_thumb%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="246" /></a>percent with placebo; </li> <li><b>A 20 percent reduction in non-vertebral fractures</b> (1.5 percent absolute risk reduction). The incidence of non-spine fractures was 6.5 percent with Prolia vs. 8 percent with placebo; </li> <li><b>Significant bone density increases at all key sites measured</b> (8.8 percent at the lumbar spine, 6.4 percent at the total hip, and 5.2 percent at the </li> <li>femoral neck).</li> </ul> <p>ProliaPlus is a multi-faceted product support program designed to provide comprehensive assistance to healthcare providers, patients, and their caregivers to help facilitate access to Prolia for appropriate patients. </p> <p>ProliaPlus provides information and assistance on issues related to product insurance coverage to physician offices.<strong> Additionally, upon request, ProliaPlus will remind patients and providers about when the patient's next dose is due, thus helping to support patient adherence to therapy.</strong> ProliaPlus will also have information on the availability of potential financial assistance programs. </p> <p>Prolia will cost $825 per 60 mg injection (based on "wholesale acquisition cost" or WAC). Prolia's price is competitive with other branded osteoporosis therapies while reflecting its positive clinical profile for patients at high risk for fracture.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://wwwext.amgen.com/media/media_pr_detail.jsp?year=2010&releaseID=1433162">Amgen - Media - Press Release</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:1bd28d83-bea8-44a8-8528-f751851a65b1" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.example.com/Amgen" rel="tag">Amgen</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/Prolia" rel="tag">Prolia</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/osteoporosis" rel="tag">osteoporosis</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/women" rel="tag">women</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/bone" rel="tag">bone</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/calcium" rel="tag">calcium</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/fracture" rel="tag">fracture</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/bone+density" rel="tag">bone density</a></div>

Amgen Gets FDA Approval for Prolia – Treatment for Post Menopausal Women With Osteoporosis High Risk

During the clinical trials one injection was administered as a 60mg every six months, and with the price quoted in the press release of $85...

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Does Chocolate Cut the Risk of Heart Disease – Study in the UK Looking for Women to Eat Chocolate Every Day for a Year

<p> Some will get the real thing with super charged chocolate while others get a placebo, regular chocolate!  Well the real thing should be as tasty as the<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SmlVqg2vA2I/AAAAAAAAZEE/R8d6yhxm0cc/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="125" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/SmlVrhkRJqI/AAAAAAAAZEI/lbGCdh-sDk0/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" width="142" /></a> placebo by all means.  Diabetes 2 is also a pre-requisite but I didn't see weight listed here and age is someone who has been through the change of life and less than 75 years old.  BD  </p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Scientists in Britain are looking for women willing to eat chocolate every day for a year -- all in the name of medical science.</strong></p> <p>Researchers at the University of East Anglia and a hospital in Norwich, eastern England are trying to find out whether <a href="http://www.physorg.com/tags/chocolate/">chocolate</a> can cut the risk of heart disease and need 40 women to step forward and help. </p> <p>Most of the <a href="http://www.physorg.com/tags/women/">women</a> will have to eat two bars of "super-strength chocolate specially formulated by Belgian chocolatiers" daily for one year and undergo several tests to measure how healthy their hearts are.</p> <p><strong>The others will have to eat regular chocolate as a placebo.</strong></p> <p>One possible catch, for chocolate fans spotting an opportunity: volunteers for the research should be menopausal but aged under 75 and have type two diabetes.</p> <p>Study coordinator Peter Curtis said: "A successful outcome could be the first step in developing new ways to improve the lives of people at increased risk of heart disease."</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news167569508.html">Wanted: British women to eat chocolate for a year</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b96e3414-8797-46ee-84c5-a2645fe40673" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Chocolate" rel="tag">Chocolate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Heart+Disease" rel="tag">Heart Disease</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/study" rel="tag">study</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/placebo" rel="tag">placebo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a></div>

Does Chocolate Cut the Risk of Heart Disease – Study in the UK Looking for Women to Eat Chocolate Every Day for a Year

Some will get the real thing with super charged chocolate while others get a placebo, regular chocolate!  Well the real thing should be as ...

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FDA Approves Another Drug to Help People Lose Weight–Combination of Drug To Treat Addiction And One That Treats Depression–Will It Really Work?

<p>When you look at the reported clinical trials it doesn’t speak too loud as far as being effective.  People had moderate loss but the placebo did pretty good too so it is kind of hard to tell.  The FDA says to stop the drug if there’s no results in 12 weeks. <img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="91" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-nCh8tBi82Ec/VFW9eNbGJJI/AAAAAAABLsQ/qBbASLendzY/image%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="284" /> This is the third drug approved for weight loss in 2 years.  </p> <p>Contrave, the drug provides a treatment option for chronic weight management but again I think the key is lifestyle that has to go along with the therapy.  So far the other two drugs approved have not set the world on fire with selling very well either.  BD  </p> <p> <hr /><strong>For the third time in two years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to help people lose weight. The new drug, Contrave, combines two generic drugs, naltrexone and bupropion.</strong></p> <p>Naltrexone is used to help kick an addiction to alcohol or narcotics. Bupropion is used to treat depression and seasonal affective disorder. Many people also take bupropion to stop smoking. Neither naltrexone nor bupropion by itself has been approved for weight loss.</p> <p>“When used as directed in combination with a healthy lifestyle that includes a reduced-calorie diet and exercise, Contrave provides another treatment option for chronic weight management,” said Dr. Jean-Marc Guettier, director of the division of metabolism and endocrinology products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a news release.</p> <p>In one trial of people without diabetes, 42 percent of those who took Contrave lost at least 5 percent of their body weight, compared with 17 percent of those who took a placebo. In a trial of people with diabetes, 36 percent of those taking Contrave lost at least 5 percent of their body weight, compared with 18 percent of those taking a placebo.</p> <p>Across the studies, some people lost much more than 5 percent of their body weight. But it’s important to note that more than 50 percent had minimal or no weight loss.</p> <p>Why should the combination of a drug for addiction and one for depression help with weight loss? It’s likely that the drugs act on impulse, reward, and/or hunger centers in the brain to decrease appetite and dampen the reflex to seek food for comfort.</p> <p><a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/nutrition/fda-approves-weight-loss-drug-contrave-20141101">http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/nutrition/fda-approves-weight-loss-drug-contrave-20141101</a></p>

FDA Approves Another Drug to Help People Lose Weight–Combination of Drug To Treat Addiction And One That Treats Depression–Will It Really Work?

When you look at the reported clinical trials it doesn’t speak too loud as far as being effective.  People had moderate loss but the placebo...

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Half of U.S. doctors often prescribe placebos

<p>This is very interesting and do the placebos cost as much?  When filling a prescription, it would almost be difficult I might guess, but an injection given in the office could be easily enough done.  </p> <p>Why do we have placebos anyway?  For clinical trials I can see the point for clinical information and data, this is needed, but in the every day treatment of patients?  Perhaps in some areas such as the psyche drugs this could be more appropriate.  As a patient myself though, I <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SQEOFMHOoEI/AAAAAAAAJoI/my0crvlaAVo/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="118" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SQEOGQvhIgI/AAAAAAAAJoM/H0dVpWW833w/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" title="image" width="156" /></a>would rather have the physician just say “no”, or tell me that my body needs to heal itself rather than take a pill that would be a sugar pill.  The question with actual medications as placebos is a bit different though and I wouldn’t even know where to begin commenting there from a patient’s standpoint.  BD </p> <p>LONDON - About half of American doctors in a new survey say they regularly give patients placebo treatments — usually drugs or vitamins that won't really help their condition.</p> <p><strong>And many of these doctors are not honest with their patients about what they are doing, the survey found.</strong> </p> <p>That contradicts advice from the American Medical Association, which recommends doctors use treatments with the full knowledge of their patients.</p> <p>Most doctors used actual medicines as a placebo treatment: 41 percent used painkillers, 38 percent used vitamins, 13 percent used antibiotics, 13 percent used sedatives, 3 percent used saline injections, and 2 percent used sugar pills.</p> <p>Brown said that while he hasn't prescribed sugar pills, he has given people with anxiety problems pills that had extremely low doses of medication. "The dose was so low that whatever effect the patients were getting was probably a placebo effect," he said.</p> <p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27342269/">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27342269/</a></p> <div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:32e9985e-0cdb-4e21-b676-98ee84792b80" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Placebos" rel="tag">Placebos</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medicaitons" rel="tag">medicaitons</a></div>

Half of U.S. doctors often prescribe placebos

This is very interesting and do the placebos cost as much?  When filling a prescription, it would almost be difficult I might guess, but an ...

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FDA Approves Viibryd to Treat Major Depression

<p>Vilazodone is a modulator of serotonin neurotransmission to be used for treatment of Major Depression Disorders.  Now there’s one more choice for depression, it’s amazing if you look how many of these are out there.  BD  <a href="http://www.pgxhealth.com/development/vilazodone.cfm"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="73" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TToY9Mht6dI/AAAAAAAApE0/gEhaPdQGXgg/image%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="240" /></a></p> <p><strong><u>From the website:</u></strong></p> <p><em>“Nearly 2,900 patients have been exposed to vilazodone in the clinical development program. The efficacy of vilazodone in the treatment of MDD was shown to be superior to placebo in two randomized, double-blind, Phase III clinical trials. Results of an uncontrolled long-term safety study were consistent with the findings of the placebo-controlled studies. Discontinuation rates due to adverse events were low. The most common adverse events associated with vilazodone treatment were diarrhea, nausea and insomnia and considered mild to moderate in intensity. In addition, vilazodone’s impact on sexual function was shown to be similar to placebo when measured by quantitative, validated scales.”</em></p> <blockquote> <p>SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Viibryd tablets (vilazodone hydrochloride) to treat major depressive disorder in adults.  </p> <p>Major depressive disorder, also called major depression, is characterized by symptoms that interfere with a person's ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once-pleasurable activities. Episodes of major depression often recur throughout a person's lifetime, although some may experience only a single occurrence.</p> <p>Signs and symptoms of major depression include: depressed mood, loss of interest in usual activities, significant change in weight or appetite, insomnia or excessive sleeping (hypersomnia), restlessness/pacing (psychomotor agitation), increased fatigue, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, slowed thinking or impaired concentration, and suicide attempts or thoughts of suicide. All people with major depression do not experience the same symptoms.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-approves-viibryd-to-treat-major-depressive-disorder-114389994.html">FDA Approves Viibryd to Treat Major Depressive Disorder -- SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:ef1f3e77-a300-4778-ba8b-fad66dca89e7" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Viibryd" rel="tag">Viibryd</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PGx+Health" rel="tag">PGx Health</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/depression" rel="tag">depression</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharma" rel="tag">pharma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a></div>

FDA Approves Viibryd to Treat Major Depression

Vilazodone is a modulator of serotonin neurotransmission to be used for treatment of Major Depression Disorders.  Now there’s one more choic...

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The Placebo Drug Effects–Clinical Studies, Trials and Research With Anti-Depressant Drugs and the Degree of Effectiveness

<p>Women running through daisy fields as the commercials indicate with advertising.  This is perplexing to see where the placebo effect lies.  Severely depression <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-lLNv8VtapFM/T0G328i1nCI/AAAAAAAA5W8/ouz7dXld89I/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="170" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-WXEwRnB-Fw4/T0G33cHoKzI/AAAAAAAA5XE/HS0iubUfunU/image_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="216" /></a>doesn’t seem to be of question but more so moderate depression is questioned.  It’s interesting the way the comments are made on how the FDA approves the anti-depressant pills.  Are the negatives being thrown out with studies?  </p> <p>The degree of effectiveness is a big area of discussion, so if there’s only a very small improvement there may be no need for the durg to be prescribed.  None of the drug companies wanted to go on camera to talk about it.  Lily said that patients on placebos are more likely to relapse (huh), that is an odd statement.  </p> <p><embed src="http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf" scale="noscale" salign="lt" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" background="#333333" width="425" height="279" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" FlashVars="si=254&&contentValue=50120238&shareUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399362n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox" /></embed></p> <p>If you want to hear someone in the US who’s looks at the math with clinical trials, use the link below as he discusses he same issues with the numbers without all the data being included when looking at the data.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/01/context-is-everythingmore-about-dark.html"><font size="2">Context is Everything–More About the Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception–Professor Siefe Lecture Given at Google’s New York Office–Big Healthcare Focus</font></a></h4> <p>Maybe there is more Asymptomatic Depression, in other words depression that is better treated with human intervention, exercise and other methodologies?  Shoot even if you are not diagnosed depressed none of this can hurt you anyway.    </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/02/asymptomatic-depression-hidden-epidemic.html"><font size="2">Asymptomatic Depression: Hidden Epidemic and Huge Untapped Market (Reality Check)</font></a></h4> <p>Back in 2008 a study showed that half of US doctors often prescribe placebos too.  BD</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/10/half-of-us-doctors-often-prescribe.html"><font size="2">Half of U.S. doctors often prescribe placebos</font></a></h4> <p><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399362n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox">http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399362n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3179544f-8447-4285-9140-30c5b5af4176" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/studies" rel="tag">studies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doctors" rel="tag">doctors</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/placebo" rel="tag">placebo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pshychology" rel="tag">pshychology</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drugs" rel="tag">drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/depression" rel="tag">depression</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/severe+depression" rel="tag">severe depression</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/clinical+trials" rel="tag">clinical trials</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/moderate" rel="tag">moderate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/anti-depressant+drugs" rel="tag">anti-depressant drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pharma" rel="tag">pharma</a></div>

The Placebo Drug Effects–Clinical Studies, Trials and Research With Anti-Depressant Drugs and the Degree of Effectiveness

Women running through daisy fields as the commercials indicate with advertising.  This is perplexing to see where the placebo effect lies.  ...

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Celladon Mydicar Treatment Gets FDA Approval - Breakthrough Treatment for Patients With Heart Failure Due to Systolic Dysfunction, Process Uses Single Injection Genetic Enzyme Replacement Therapy

<p>This is major news when it comes to genetic breakthroughs and personalized medicine.<img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="239" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-kWvtvYBKrNs/U0qsulFJO7I/AAAAAAABJ4g/nDYST07tUJg/image%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" title="image" width="264" />  The product is still actively in a clinical trial and has 250 patients enrolled.  This is considered a “breakthrough” technology at the FDA.  The process has a target using gene therapies to transfer the SERCA2a gene directing into the heart muscle cells and thus there’s a healing effect that takes place allowing the heart to do a better job pumping blood.</p> <p>In trials the treatment helped reduced re-hospitalizations and improved patient quality of life.  There were no safety concerns with the treatment.  The video below shows how this works and this was a lot of genetic research work.  </p> <p><a href="http://www.celladon.com/mydicar/">From the website:</a></p> <p><em>“MYDICAR treatment involves a one-time outpatient infusion in a cardiac catheterization laboratory, similar to undergoing an angiogram. MYDICAR is designed to restore levels of an enzyme known to play a key role in the progression of heart failure. Repairing this molecular defect in preclinical studies reversed the disease and restored cardiac function. In the Phase 2 CUPID clinical trial in 39 patients, the frequency of death, worsening heart failure, heart failure-related hospitalizations, heart transplant, and need for a mechanical heart pump was dramatically lower and sustained for patients on high-dose MYDICAR compared with placebo. Furthermore, patients’ ability to exercise, symptoms of heart failure and quality of life improved.</em></p> <p><em>MYDICAR’s molecular target is an enzyme found in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) that is critical to the contraction of the cardiac muscle cell. The SR is a specialized part of a cell (cellular organelle) that regulates the contraction and relaxation of cardiac muscle cells by coordinating the outflow (contraction) and inflow (relaxation) of calcium ions (Ca2+). The heart muscle’s ability to contract, and thus to pump blood and maintain oxygenation of the body, is determined by a continual re-loading of the SR with Ca2+ to “stage” for the next cycle of contraction. The key factor that enables the re-loading of the SR with Ca2+ is the enzyme SERCA2a. Numerous human studies have established a clear association between depleted SERCA2a enzyme in cardiac cells and the progression of end-stage heart failure.”</em></p> <p><iframe style="height: 249px; width: 420px" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Z1kHtxnXD4s" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>In the first clinical trial patients who had a single infusion treatment had an 88% risk reduction for major cardiovascular events to include death, so this is a good thing.  The trials actually separated patients into 2 different groups where one group had higher dosage than the other and both benefited with survival.  BD  </p> <p> <hr />Celladon Corporation, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies for patients with heart failure and other diseases characterized by SERCA enzyme deficiencies, announced that its lead product candidate, MYDICAR, has been granted breakthrough therapy designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for reducing hospitalizations for heart failure in NYHA class III or IV chronic heart failure patients who are NAb negative. <br />This designation is intended to expedite the development and review of drugs for serious or life-threatening conditions and where preliminary clinical evidence suggests it provides a substantial improvement over existing therapies.</p> <p>Celladon is developing MYDICAR as a novel, first-in-class therapy for patients with chronic heart failure due to systolic dysfunction. MYDICAR uses genetic enzyme replacement therapy to correct the deficiency in the enzyme SERCA2a, which is an enzyme that becomes deficient in heart failure patients and results in inadequate pumping of the heart. Celladon has developed a companion diagnostic to identify the patients who are AAV1 NAb negative and therefore eligible for MYDICAR treatment.</p> <p>Celladon is currently evaluating MYDICAR in the Phase 2b CUPID 2 trial to determine its efficacy in reducing the frequency of and/or delaying heart failure-related hospitalizations. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multinational trial is evaluating a single intracoronary infusion of MYDICAR versus placebo added to a maximal, optimized heart failure regimen in patients with NYHA class III or IV symptoms of chronic heart failure due to systolic dysfunction. Patient enrollment has been completed and 250 patients have been randomized in this trial. The company expects to report results in April 2015.</p> <p><a href="http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=81379&sid=2" title="http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=81379&sid=2">http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=81379&sid=2</a></p>

Celladon Mydicar Treatment Gets FDA Approval - Breakthrough Treatment for Patients With Heart Failure Due to Systolic Dysfunction, Process Uses Single Injection Genetic Enzyme Replacement Therapy

This is major news when it comes to genetic breakthroughs and personalized medicine.   The product is still actively in a clinical trial and...

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Johnson and Johnson News: Participants With Prostate Cancer Trial Will Have Access After Completion and Company Launches Aid Program for Women and Children

<p>Back in May of 2009, Johnson and Johnson purchased Los Angeles based Cougar Biotech who has been conducting the clinical trials for the prostate cancer drug for patients with cancer that has progressed to a serious state. Phase 3 of the studies is due to be released in Europe at a cancer meeting in Milan.<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TImu-WjmkCI/AAAAAAAAhOU/xLspl7BAmM0/s1600-h/image%5B6%5D.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="176" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TImu-meH3-I/AAAAAAAAhOY/VkNPhbc78II/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" width="211" /></a></p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/05/johnson-and-johnson-acquiring-cougar.html">Johnson and Johnson Acquiring Cougar Biotechnology – Cancer Biotech Company Los Angeles</a></h4> <p>This is good news as many times when trials end so does the patient access so in this case J and J is going to give the participants access to the drug. Below is what Cougar currently has in the pipeline and the drug appears to also be testing for breast cancer.  They are also recommending those patients in the trial who received a placebo be given access to the drug as well.  An independent committee is recommending the results come forward as participants improvement in overall survival rates and the safety of the drug has been documented.  Stay tuned for next month when I’m sure there will be lot more information forthcoming.  </p> <p><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/ShZOjXl1O_I/AAAAAAAAP0w/VGETeW-Ouvg/image%5B15%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" /></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6883ID20100909">In other news J and J has pledged a grant</a></strong> to fund new HIV and TB medication  to improve health for up to 120 million women and children in developing nations.  One program is called <u>Mobile Health for Mothers</u> and will use cell phones to send text messages to expe4cting moms for coaching.  I think this is great for other countries where citizens may have not much more than a phone, but here in the US a multi tasking pregnant Mom might go a little nuts with everything else she may have going on with her phone.  </p> <p>There are other parts to the project that involves <u>distributing drugs to fight intestinal worms and to fight the HIV and TB.</u>  Education is included to help women understand how to prevent passing the HIC virus on to their children as well.  We get some good news about J and J this week.  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development, a unit of Cougar Biotechnology, Inc., today announced that it has unblinded the Phase 3 study of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone for the treatment of patients with metastatic advanced prostate cancer (also referred to as castration-resistant prostate cancer) whose disease has progressed following treatment with one or two chemotherapy regimens at least one of which contained docetaxel. </p> <p><strong>Study COU-AA-301 included 1,195 patients who were randomized to receive abiraterone acetate plus prednisone or placebo plus prednisone.</strong> </p> <p>The Independent Data Monitoring Committee's (IDMC) recommendation to unblind the study was based on a pre-specified interim analysis, which demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival and an acceptable safety profile. Based on these results, the IDMC also recommended that patients in the placebo arm be offered treatment with abiraterone acetate. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/press-release/cgrb_study-of-investigational-agent-abiraterone-acetate-for-metastatic-advanced-prostate-cancer-unblinded-1160007.html">Study of Investigational Agent Abiraterone Acetate for Metastatic Advanced Prostate Cancer Unblinded After Meeting Pre-Determine | TradingMarkets.com</a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e8042c37-7e18-4c52-9ceb-62c8983c15ea" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Biotech" rel="tag">Biotech</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Follow+On+Biotech" rel="tag">Follow On Biotech</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drug+manufacturers" rel="tag">drug manufacturers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Drugs" rel="tag">Drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pipeline" rel="tag">pipeline</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Congress" rel="tag">Congress</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cheap+drugs" rel="tag">cheap drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Johnson+and+Johnson.m+HIV" rel="tag">Johnson and Johnson.m HIV</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/prostate+cancer" rel="tag">prostate cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cougar+Biotech" rel="tag">Cougar Biotech</a></div>

Johnson and Johnson News: Participants With Prostate Cancer Trial Will Have Access After Completion and Company Launches Aid Program for Women and Children

Back in May of 2009, Johnson and Johnson purchased Los Angeles based Cougar Biotech who has been conducting the clinical trials for the pros...

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BlogTalkRadio - Doctor Anonymous - Dr. A Live 26: Doug Farrago 2-28-2008 at 6:00 PM

<p><a href="http://lh3.google.com/DucknetServices/R78kfmlNFNI/AAAAAAAADLs/WFTWO5I4eWQ/image%5B4%5D?imgmax=800"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="119" src="http://lh3.google.com/DucknetServices/R78kgmlNFOI/AAAAAAAADL0/MOCVQacVxnA/image_thumb%5B2%5D?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" width="204"></a>  The <strong>Disruptive Physician....</strong>If you haven't seen his listing on You Tube...well worth checking out and <a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/search?q=placebo">we have several of his past videos on this site</a>...just do a search for placebo and you'll find him...<strong>he is one funny physician...</strong>BD  </p> <p>Doug Farrago, MD talks about his blog The Placebo Journal and his video podcast called Placebo TV.  Use the link on this site or sign in below....</p> <p><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctoranonymous/2008/02/29/Dr-A-Live-26-22808">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctoranonymous/2008/02/29/Dr-A-Live-26-22808</a></p>

BlogTalkRadio - Doctor Anonymous - Dr. A Live 26: Doug Farrago 2-28-2008 at 6:00 PM

  The Disruptive Physician.... If you haven't seen his listing on You Tube...well worth checking out and we have several of his past vid...

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Novel Lung Cancer Vaccine Trial Launched At Moores UCSD Cancer Center

<p>The new vaccine, Lucanix, is genetically engineered to also trick the cancer into turning off its immune system-suppressing activities, this is a turn in a different direction here where vaccines are normally increase the immune system capabilities.</p> <p>The project is enrolling 700 patients at 90 centers.  More information about the trial can be <strong><a href="http://cancer.ucsd.edu/patientcare/clinicaltrials/study_details.asp?P=NR001-03">found here.</a></strong>  BD</p> <blockquote> <p>Oncologists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla are hoping to stave off the relentless march of advanced lung cancer by treating patients with a novel kind of cancer vaccine. While many vaccines attempt to pump up the immune system to fight off a cancer, the new vaccine, Lucanix, is genetically engineered to also trick the cancer into turning off its immune system-suppressing activities.</p> <p><strong>The trial is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, where neither patients nor doctors know who is getting the vaccine and who may be receiving a placebo.</strong> Patients receive injections once a month for 18 months, after which they receive two quarterly injections and are treated until disease progression. The trial's main goal is to determine if the vaccine can improve patient survival compared to taking a placebo.</p> <p><strong>The current trial is for patients with stage four non-small cell lung cancer who have completed four to six cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy.</strong> Those patients who have had a response to the treatment, meaning either tumor shrinkage or stable disease, may be eligible</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124727.php">Novel Lung Cancer Vaccine Trial Launched At Moores UCSD Cancer Center</a></p> <div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a3a76c82-43b6-4fbe-947f-7e3294be34ca" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cancer" rel="tag">Cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lung+Cancer" rel="tag">Lung Cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Clinical+Trials" rel="tag">Clinical Trials</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Moore+UCSD" rel="tag">Moore UCSD</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Stage+4" rel="tag">Stage 4</a></div>

Novel Lung Cancer Vaccine Trial Launched At Moores UCSD Cancer Center

The new vaccine, Lucanix, is genetically engineered to also trick the cancer into turning off its immune system-suppressing activities, this...

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FDA Grants Extended Use of Crestor For Use With Patients Without High Cholesterol – Watch The Side Effects

<p>The Jupiter study was one that literally shook up healthcare and one of the potential side effects is diabetes and muscles that hurt with the use of statins, but it appears the FDA says it’s ok for our muscles to hurt as you are going to lower your odds of heart disease, so us as patients need to have this discussion now to figure <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/S3cCSFxDzXI/AAAAAAAAcfk/Eq377GocLq8/s1600-h/image3.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="193" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/S3cCSkZS4MI/AAAAAAAAcfo/VkbZz_wMEl4/image_thumb1.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="image" width="192" /></a>out if this is right for us, an individuals.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/fda-committee-agrees-with-wider-use-of.html"><font size="2">FDA Committee Agrees With Wider Use of Crestor – Is The Jupiter Study Data Creeps Up Once Again</font></a></h4> <p>If you are not familiar with the Jupiter report and how this all came about, a fellow blogger, the Happy Hospitalist was kind enough to lay it out for us with his thoughts on how one treatment has the potential to lead to other drug treatments, so again we are back to the patient/doctor conversation about whether or not Crestor and statins are the answer and what the risk of developing diabetes could be.  The muscle pain seems to be pretty well documented all over the web from patients who have experienced this side effect.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/11/jupiter-report-with-crestor-what-side.html"><font size="2">The Jupiter Report with Crestor – What Side effects?</font></a></h4> <p>Many physicians recommend taking an enzyme called COQ10, which is naturally found in our systems and with a supplement as I understand it, this helps the body create additional supplies of the enzyme in our system and offers relief for the muscle pain.  There’s the “Tomato” pill that has been released on the market to help with muscle pain, or I guess you can start eating a lot of tomatoes too to help generate more COQ10 in your system.</p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/06/tomato-pill-for-treatment-of-high.html"><font size="2">The Tomato Pill for the Treatment Of High Cholesterol</font></a></h4> <p>If you want to read up a little further on COQ10, you can use the link below.  It has been discussed in medical journals and has not been discounted, but carries the tone of still being somewhat of a “mystery” according to studies at Brigham and Women's and Harvard Medical.  </p> <h4><a href="http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/07/statin-side-effect-test-worth-price.html"><font size="2">Statin Side Effect Test: Worth the Price?</font></a></h4> <p>So now that Crestor can be prescribed to those who do not have elevated levels of LDL in their system, but have other risk factors, this really makes the use of the drug something you want to evaluate and again talk with your doctor.  Do your risk factors with heart disease merit taking the drug and dealing with the side effects and the possibility of developing diabetes?  Right now there’s an all out war going on with care and prevention of diabetes, so again take a look as it would be a shame to develop diabetes if that is going to be the payoff for lowering odds for heart disease.  If heart disease did occur is it better to go have a stent implanted if that is the determined treatment, or take drugs?  People with diabetes have heart disease too.  Is it best to chuck Crestor and take the natural enzyme COQ10?  </p> <p>This new expanded prescription level for Crestor gives us all a lot more to read up on and to consider as through studies and patient information we are not blindly taking a drug without knowing up front what some of the trade-offs could be.  BD  <img align="right" border="0" height="193" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SIi-gIP3kCI/AAAAAAAAIVQ/wvvEZqPkRZE/image_thumb[2].png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" width="152" /> </p> <blockquote> <p>The FDA has broadened the approved use of <a href="http://www.drugwatch.com/crestor/">Crestor</a>, a cholesterol-lowering medication typically used in patients with elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides. By reducing large amounts of these substances, the statin drug has been proven effective in reducing the increased risk of heart disease associated with high cholesterol. The FDA’s newly approved indication allows Crestor to be used in patients without high LDL cholesterol who illustrate other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. </p> <p>The new approval stems from a clinical trial referred to as the Justification for the Use of statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluation Resuvastatin (JUPITER). In the JUPITER trial, the use of Crestor was examined in 18,000 older patients who did not have high LDL cholesterol levels but illustrated other risk factors for heart disease. Patients in the study who took Crestor experienced a 44 percent reduced rate of non-fatal <a href="http://www.drugwatch.com/heart-attack/">heart attack</a>, <a href="http://www.drugwatch.com/stroke/">stroke</a> and arterial revascularization compared to patients given placebo. All patients examined in the trial were men and women at least 50 and 60 years of age respectively. All lacked clinical evidence of heart disease and high LDL cholesterol levels, but all had levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) above or equal to 2 mg/L, a potential cardiovascular disease risk factor.</p> <p>Side effects associated with Crestor in the JUPITER trial were generally similar to those previously associated with the medication, <strong>with joint pain being one of the most frequently experienced adverse reactions.</strong> In the study, <strong>patients taking Crestor developed diabetes at an unexpectedly greater rate than those taking placebo</strong>. Nevertheless, patients with impaired fasting glucose, which is often a precursor to diabetes, still illustrated a lower risk of experiencing serious cardiovascular complications when taking Crestor in comparison to those taking placebo.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.drugwatch.com/news/2010/02/10/crestor-now-fda-approved-prevent-heart-disease-patients-without-high-cholesterol/">Crestor Now FDA-Approved to Prevent Heart Disease in Patients without High Cholesterol | Drugwatch.com</a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:cacf9f2b-2656-46f6-aa7c-90df9617476b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.example.com/Crestor" rel="tag">Crestor</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/Jupiter+Report" rel="tag">Jupiter Report</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/healthcare" rel="tag">healthcare</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/pharma" rel="tag">pharma</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/LDL" rel="tag">LDL</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/cholesteroal" rel="tag">cholesteroal</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/heart+attack" rel="tag">heart attack</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/cardiovascular+disease" rel="tag">cardiovascular disease</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/stroke" rel="tag">stroke</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/heart+disease" rel="tag">heart disease</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/COQ10" rel="tag">COQ10</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/tomatoes" rel="tag">tomatoes</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/patient" rel="tag">patient</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/physician" rel="tag">physician</a>, <a href="http://www.example.com/prescriptions" rel="tag">prescriptions</a></div>

FDA Grants Extended Use of Crestor For Use With Patients Without High Cholesterol – Watch The Side Effects

The Jupiter study was one that literally shook up healthcare and one of the potential side effects is diabetes and muscles that hurt with th...

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Wyeth Oral Contraceptive Lybrel Available In U.S.

<p> </p> <blockquote>Wyeth on Monday said its oral contraceptive Lybrel, which is designed to eliminate monthly menstrual periods, is now available in U.S. pharmacies. Lybrel, which contains a lower dose of synthetic hormones in a daily dose than traditional oral contraceptives, is taken 365 days a year with no placebo pills. The usual regimen for oral contraceptives is 21 active pills taken consecutively, followed by seven placebo pills. <a href="http://www.fda.gov/">FDA</a> approved the drug in May.</blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/78530.php">Wyeth Oral Contraceptive Lybrel Available In U.S., Company Says</a></p>

Wyeth Oral Contraceptive Lybrel Available In U.S.

  Wyeth on Monday said its oral contraceptive Lybrel, which is designed to eliminate monthly menstrual periods, is now available in U.S. ph...

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Placebo Television #13: Reader's Digest Response

<p><strong> This has to be one of the best Dr. Doug has put out.  This is good watching for both </strong><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SGkcq-TfE9I/AAAAAAAAH8Q/ED02OyQZ7x0/s1600-h/image%5B9%5D.png"><strong><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="138" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SGkcstEL5CI/AAAAAAAAH8U/juqeg3OrD5E/image_thumb%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" title="image" width="195" /></strong></a><strong>health care staff and patients,</strong> with a delicious bit of humor, but he makes his points.  This is a rebuttal of the recent Readers Digest article, whereby he was the poster boy.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SGkcvrvAsrI/AAAAAAAAH8Y/jiuQWkD-JBA/s1600-h/image%5B10%5D.png"><img align="left" alt="image" border="0" height="107" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DucknetServices/SGkcxo9SM8I/AAAAAAAAH8c/2dt5BvLY69o/image_thumb%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" title="image" width="147" /></a>One of the items he discusses is the time allowed for patients with physicians today and how this has evolved and how to deal with it today.  A couple screenshots from the video below.  He asks for no full bags of stool samples, etc.  Very well done and it will make you laugh as well as making his point.  “If HMOs had their way we would have drive through pap smears…..”…funny quote, but hey it could be not too far off base some day…BD  </p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:be29654a-63f9-418f-b40c-0d04fd6dbf6b" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 271px; padding-top: 0px"><div><object height="226" width="271"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kJ5jl6Bg6vY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kJ5jl6Bg6vY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="271" height="226"></embed></object></div></div> <p><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=kJ5jl6Bg6vY">http://youtube.com/watch?v=kJ5jl6Bg6vY</a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e8beb8f7-b26a-4227-8f41-1abb710156f5" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Placebo+Journal" rel="tag">Placebo Journal</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HealthCare" rel="tag">HealthCare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Humor" rel="tag">Humor</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/HMO" rel="tag">HMO</a></div>

Placebo Television #13: Reader's Digest Response

This has to be one of the best Dr. Doug has put out.  This is good watching for both health care staff and patients, with a delicious bit ...

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Improving statins - watching proteins at the same time

<p> Statin drugs are helping many people lower their cholesterol, but a new study in the February <i>Journal of Lipid Research</i> reveals that statins actually increase the production of another protein that limits their benefit.</p> <blockquote> <p>Proprotein convertase type 9 (PCSK9) has recently gained attention as a key regulator of LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol). PCSK9 degrades LDL receptors that remove LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) from the blood; mutations that result in extra PCSK9 activity produce familial hypercholesterolemia, while mutations causing less PCSK9 activity lower LDL-C and cardiovascular risk. <p>Studies in mice have indicated that statins may increase PCSK9 expression, so Robert Konrad and colleagues studied the effect of atorvastatin (Lipitor) or placebo on PCSK9 levels in humans. After 16 weeks of treatment, 40 mg/day atorvastatin increased circulating PCSK9 levels by 34% over placebo, while decreasing LDL-C levels by 42%. In comparison, a 10 mg/day dosage did not increase PCSK9 levels at all, yet still reduced LDL-C by 30%.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.news-medical.net/?id=35070">Improving statins</a></p>

Improving statins - watching proteins at the same time

Statin drugs are helping many people lower their cholesterol, but a new study in the February Journal of Lipid Research reveals that stati...

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