Organics, Shoddy Science and Monsanto's GM War - NewsGrabs 9 December 2007

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NewsGrabs

Health Supreme's NewsGrabs are a selection of alternative health and other underprivileged news. Find what you may have missed in your everyday reading - watch out for these NewsGrabs on weekends.

Here is another week's worth of interesting stories and links collected for you:

European Commission Accused Of Pushing Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals -

China's Anti-Aging Revolution -

Honey seems to calm coughs in kids -

USDA Proposes Rule Undermining Organics And Small Farms -

How to talk to a doctor -

Scandal of the Alzheimer’s victims given 'zombie' drugs -

Diabetes drug Avandia may raise risk of osteoporosis -

Mystery encephalitis strain in India has killed 484 kids in '07 -

Suicide Data Regarding Prozac Buried -

Omaha Shooter Robert Hawkins Had Been "Treated" For ADHD, Depression -

Prescription Abuse In U.S. Nursing Homes -

FDA's Shoddy Science Puts Public Health at Risk -

YouTube is "Full Of One-Sided Anti-Vaccination Videos" -

The Many Faces of Big Pharma’s Disease Mongering -

Big Pharma Faces Grim Prognosis -

Aids: Gurus in White Coats -

Noteworthy Successes Against Aids in Africa -

Woman misdiagnosed with HIV sues Doctor -

Video: Brave New World Aldous Huxley on Population Control -

Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeks Non-Regulated Status for GM Soybean -

Is Monsanto Winning the War for GM? -

Fear of Chavez is Fear of Democracy -

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch -

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European Commission Accused Of Pushing DTC
Several associations have accused the European Commission of supporting pharma companies in trying to make direct-to-consumer advertising for medicinal products legal. Four groups representing complementary health insurers, independent medical bulletins and patient advocates have issued a joint press release claiming: “The European Commission is supportive of the industry’s moves: its ‘consultations’ are little more than an attempt to sway public opinion.”

The International Society of Drug Bulletins (ISDB), the Medicines in Europe Forum, Health Action International (HAI) and the Association internationale de la mutualité (AIM) charge that the EC is trying to overlook the “underlying risks to health” and ignore “the likely impact on the financial sustainability of Member states’ public health systems.”

A note to the European Commission: Look at the abominable health statistics of the USA and their expenditures per capita for achieving these "results", and ask yourselves whether the profits of the pharmaceutical industry are worth ruining people's health all over Europe.

China's Anti-Aging Revolution
One of the most ancient medical systems on Earth is embracing the most modern and advanced, as China rushes to adopt the anti-aging medical paradigm. The dramatic thrust is being driven by the Chicago-based American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, and culminated just weeks ago in a huge medical show, as Shanghai hosted over 20,000 physicians and medical industry specialists at the World Anti-Aging Congress and China Pharma Exposition. Chinese investors expect in the next five years to build over 10,000 anti-aging hospitals, elite medical spas, Olympic-level sports medicine facilities, and anti-aging out-patient health check clinics.

Honey seems to calm coughs in kids
A teaspoon of honey before bed seems to calm children's coughs and help them sleep better, according to a new study that relied on parents' reports of their children's symptoms. The folk remedy did better than cough medicine or no treatment in a three-way comparison. Honey may work by coating and soothing an irritated throat, the study authors said. "Many families are going to relate to these findings and say that grandma was right," said lead author Dr. Ian Paul of Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine.

Contrast that with: "There is limited evidence that new formulations of over-the-counter cold medications actually relieve nasal congestion, according to FDA medical reviewers," in this post of Pharmalot.

USDA PROPOSES RULE UNDERMINING ORGANICS AND SMALL FARMS
The USDA is accepting public comments until December 3 on a new proposed rule that would force small farms growing green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and lettuce, to put into place industrial-style sterilization measures that reduce biodiversity and soil fertility. The proposal follows in the wake of the USDA's recent controversial crackdown on raw almonds, continued interference with raw milk production, and bans on the sale of locally produced organic meat directly to consumers.

The proposed rules basically cover up the fact that e-coli contamination in lettuce and spinach crops comes from feedlot or industrial livestock-contaminated irrigation waters or contamination in large processing plants.

A comment on this new rule: Speak Your Piece: Let's Toss Green Leafy Laws

How to talk to a doctor
"The old technique of having a conversation is 99% of what a successful doctor's visit is about," says Peter Salgo, a professor of medicine and anesthesiology at Columbia University in New York and host of the PBS medical series Second Opinion. We hear a lot, of course, about doctors who don't listen, don't answer questions or don't remember their manners. But communication is a two-way endeavor. And sometimes it's patients who fail Communication 101...

Scandal of the Alzheimer’s victims given 'zombie' drugs
More than 100,000 people in Britain suffering from dementia are being prescribed drugs by doctors and care homes that at best offer few benefits and at worst are lethal, according to shocking new research.

Professor Clive Ballard from King's College, London, investigated the effects of anti-psychotic medication, which is given to nearly half of dementia patients in care homes at an annual cost of £80million.

Professor Ballard said: "People who weren't taking the anti-psychotic drugs had a 62 per cent chance of being alive by the end of the study while the people who were taking the drugs had only a 36 per cent chance of being alive.

Diabetes drug Avandia may raise risk of osteoporosis
Avandia recently was labeled with warnings about the risk of heart failure in some patients. GlaxoSmithKline, which markets the drug, already has acknowledged that a study found a higher risk of fractures among women who take the drug. But this report is the first to attempt to explain the link between the drug and fractures. The finding "has led to a better understanding of the challenges associated with long-term treatment of patients with Type II diabetes," said Ronald M. Evans of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., lead author of the report.

Mystery encephalitis strain in India has killed 484 kids in '07

I suppose no one is seriously looking at the vaccines these kids received just before developing this "mysterious" encephalitis. Couldn't be the vaccine - Noooooo!

Suicide Data Regarding Prozac Buried
"I couldn’t talk about it because it was proprietary."