Think the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is here to
protect you?
It isn't.
Think your doctor makes decisions about your health based
on medical science?
Not so fast.
Truth is, half of medical evidence is hidden from your
doctors. And the half that's hidden is the half that shows
drugs don't work.
Today I'd like to tell you about some recent news that
highlights why we need more accurate, more accessible
databases for drug information - and why our government
just can't be trusted to make objective decisions about
your medications.
First, let me explain how our FDA works.
When a drug company designs and performs a study, it has to
submit all of its results to the FDA.
But this often doesn't happen.
Instead, the pharmaceutical companies submit only the data
they want to get published to medical journals - positive
data, of course.
They hide negative studies from the scientific community -
and from you.
The FDA didn't release this information until 2004, when
all the major scientific journals refused to publish any
data from any drug study that did not list the results of
all trials, positive or negative, in a central database.
The problem? This database is hard to find and search.
Your doctor probably doesn't have time to read medical
journals, never mind search a database. So he or she relies
on the bits of information delivered by drug reps - not the
best way to get an objective opinion!
A Bitter Pill to Swallow
These problems were made even more apparent by the recent
news about Zetia.
Zetia is a new drug that lowers cholesterol by a different
mechanism than statin drugs like Lipitor and Zocor.
Most doctors wrongly believe that cholesterol causes heart
attacks - even though half of all people who have heart
attacks have normal cholesterol.
Cholesterol-lowering statins lower cholesterol, and appear
to reduce heart attacks. But I believe - and a study
published in the January 6, 2005, issue of the New England
Journal of Medicine supports this - that they reduce heart
attacks by reducing inflammation, not cholesterol.
Nevertheless, the FDA approved Zetia without any proof that
it lowered heart attacks or reduced the progression of
heart disease. The drug was approved only because it
lowered cholesterol.
And once Zetia was approved, its makers had no incentive to
prove that it actually did what it was thought to do -
lower heart attacks.
And why should they? The drug was making them $14 million a
day in profits.
But the FDA had the negative data on Zetia - and it didn't
speak up.
The data that was withheld proved that Zetia lowered
cholesterol - but led to MORE heart disease!
That suggests that high cholesterol may not be a disease
and may or may not be related to heart attacks.
Another new cholesterol drug, torcetrapib, was pulled from
the pipeline in December 2006 because it caused more heart
attacks and strokes.
A Voice for Change
This recent information shows us that our research and
approval system is flawed in several ways.
First, drug companies fund most of the research in the
world. That means that other therapies that may work better
- including diet and lifestyle or nutritional therapies -
often don't get enough funding.
Second, the FDA helps drug companies by suppressing and
hiding negative studies on drugs.
Finally, doctors, patients, and the media believe they have
the whole truth - but we don't. Often, we don't know the
truth until it is too late - like with Zetia, Premarin, and
Vioxx.
This makes it very difficult for consumers to get the best
treatments for their health and the whole truth about drugs.
But together, we can work to change things for the better.
Here's how.
1. Follow the money. Be suspicious of studies funded by
drug companies.
2. Contact your congressperson or senator and demand better
legislation. We should have an easy-to-navigate database of
all drug trials, with consumer-friendly summaries of both
published AND unpublished data submitted to the FDA so you
can look up the drug you are prescribed and have a balanced
opinion.
3. Don't assume that drugs are the answer to your health
problems. Heart disease is NOT a Lipitor deficiency but the
result of your lifestyle interacting with your genes.
4. Learn to ask the question "why?" - and search for the
answers. Dealing with lifestyle and environmental factors
(the basis of UltraWellness) almost always works better for
chronic illnesses. Drugs are there as a backup only if
needed.
So take a closer look at the information you've been given
about drugs. You might be surprised by what you find.
REFERENCES:
Laine C, Horton R, DeAngelis CD, Drazen JM, Frizelle FA,
Godlee F, Haug C, Hébert PC, Kotzin S, Marusic A,
Sahni P, Schroeder TV, Sox HC, Van der Weyden MB, Verheugt
FW.Clinical trial registration: looking back and moving
ahead. JAMA. 2007 Jul 4;298(1):93-4.
Ridker PM, Cannon CP, Morrow D, Rifai N, Rose LM, McCabe
CH, Pfeffer MA, Braunwald E; Pravastatin or Atorvastatin
Evaluation and Infection Therapy-Thrombolysis in Myocardial
Infarction 22 (PROVE IT-TIMI 22) Investigators. C-reactive
protein levels and outcomes after statin therapy. N Engl J
Med. 2005 Jan 6;352(1):20-8.
Kastelein JJ, van Leuven SI, Burgess L, Evans GW,
Kuivenhoven JA, Barter PJ, Revkin JH, Grobbee DE, Riley WA,
Shear CL, Duggan WT, Bots ML; RADIANCE 1
Investigators.Effect of torcetrapib on carotid
atherosclerosis in familial hypercholesterolemia. N Engl J
Med. 2007 Apr 19;356(16):1620-30.
----------------------------------------------------
Mark Hyman, MD is a pioneer in functional medicine,
practicing physician and best-selling author. A sneak
preview of his book "The UltraSimple Diet" is available.
See The UltraWellness Blog for more on Medical Industrial
Complex: http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/
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