What do texting, video games, and rock and roll have in common? "They" say they're bad for you.

Great post on Gizmag today about video games and the benefit thereof. They are on to something. The great too-washed They, usually anonymous accusers hiding in the shadows, say that things such as music, whether it be rap or rock, plus texting, plus video or computer games are, somehow "bad," when in fact what all of those things have in common is that "They" don't identify with any of them. They either can't do them or think that these activities are bad for other reasons. The media then hops on board and all of a sudden there's a snowball effect. Time will tell, but it's pretty clear how things will turn out, i.e., against "Them."

Ethics, research, drug companies, and the Crazy Boat

A couple of years ago, I was taking tickets at the door for a diabetes fundraiser and struck up a conversation with the hotel security guard. He asked what the event was and quickly responded that his dad had diabetes and that diabetes researchers and pharmaceutical companies were in cahoots to prevent the finding of a cure. Think about it, he said, they’d all be out of business, wouldn’t they? I was glad when my shift changed and I didn’t have to talk to the crazy man any longer.

These days, I’m in a number of LinkedIn groups concerning health, and, recently, another version of the crazy man started making comments about research and researchers, saying, essentially, that they all have cushy gigs that allow them to sit in the ivy towers, spend foundation and government money, and pronounce that, alas, their recent two-year excursion into Disease X has found that Disease X is still marching along and that, guess what, more research is needed.

I’m not ready to jump into the Crazy Boat yet, but I do have one suggestion.

I just posted an item about the prevalence of hypertension among children, whose conclusion says that more research is needed because not much is being done about the problem. I did a quick search and found that at least one whole book had been written on the topic way back in 1994. Reuters has a story about the study wherein someone points out that there’s someone from Bristol-Myers Squibb among the authors.

Well, of course we’re not trying to just get kids into the pharma loop, says another one of the authors when questioned by Reuters.  They have a lot of data and can be helpful in the investigative process. Probably so.

Here’s the suggestion, before the government jumps in and does it for us.

We need a mechanism, an overseeing group, ideally made up of just plain folks, that holds all of these parties responsible. No academics, no drug company personnel, just regular people, sort of like a jury. I don’t know off the top of my head how it would work, but knowing that something like that was out there would make the temptation to jump into the Crazy Boat less alluring.

Clinical trials needs a PSA campaign

Clinical trials are in tough shape as an industry, so to speak. It's hard to recuit people, they drop out along the way, they don't follow directions, etc.

Here's an idea.

The drug company agencies should pool resources and produce a PSA campaign on why people should volunteer for drug trials.

Bombard the airwaves and the Internet, showcasing the results, benefits, etc. Make it sexy. For crying out loud, it shouldn't be that difficult.

Aren't heart attacks serious?

Wondering out loud if it is OK for MedPage Today to use this headline on a story about drugs that can cause someone to die, specifically, aromase inhibitors that can cause cardiac events in women with breast cancer.

SABCS: Aromatase Inhibitors May Be Heartbreakers 


It is frivolous and irresponsible to use the word heartbreakers in the headline. Do the editors not want their audience, which is presumably those in the medical profession? Do they assume that those in the medical profession, the audience, will know that the fact that it is MedPage Today means that it is a serious and that the use of the word heartbrakers will be known to be an attempt at lightheartedness or humor and that everyone will know what it means?

If the answer to the latter is yes, the question is then, is this the appropriate place to use humor?

Just asking.