FDA sees 'fraud' in Cancer treatments - NewsGrabs 22 June 2008

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FDA warns about fraudulent cancer treatments
The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on teas, supplements, creams and other products that falsely claim to cure, treat or prevent cancer even though they are not agency-approved drugs. All are available for sale on the Internet.

"FDA is very concerned that consumers will purchase these products on the Internet and use them instead of products that have been proven safe and effective," said Michael Levy, director of the agency's new drugs and labeling compliance division.

Just wondering - can anyone name some of those "safe and effective" cancer treatments? Chemotherapy? Radiation?

Gotta be kidding!

The FDA's crackdown shows how little trust the public has in the toxins advocated by "orthodox" medicine to cure cancer and other ills. They are looking around for alternatives, so the FDA steps in - once more - to protect the business of pharmaceutical disease management.

125 Cancer 'Cures' That the FDA Calls Fake

This article is especially interesting for the comments people left. It seems many are waking up to the fact that pharmaceutical officialdom is leading them down the garden path...

Irish health group welcomes 'no' to Lisbon treaty
Ireland's rejection of the European Union Lisbon Treaty has strengthened the resolve of the country's independent health store retailers as well as food supplement manufacturers and wholesalers in their campaign against EU regulations.

"The overall message to Europe is to back off and that can only help our cause. This adds to the considerable unease that industry and consumers have been registering in regard to some of the laws that have been written. This would have been a significant factor in deciding the vote because our industry's concerns would have added to the mainstream concerns and doubts."

Lack of vitamin D rampant in infants, teens
"Vitamin D deficiency is much more of a health problem than anyone realized," says Catherine Gordon, director of the bone health program at Children's Hospital Boston. In the June issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Gordon and her colleagues found that 40% of infants and toddlers tested below average for vitamin D.

"Vitamin D deficiency was twice as common in teens as we assumed it would be," she says.

Adults still risk vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D also may play a role in preventing diabetes and hypertension, according to the National Institutes of Health. A study in last week's Archives of Internal Medicine found that men 40 to 75 with below-normal vitamin D levels had a higher risk of heart attack.

Study links vitamin D to colon cancer survival
The results showed that individuals with the vitamin D levels in the highest quartile were 48 percent less likely to die (from any cause, including colon cancer) than those with the lowest vitamin D measurements.

"Our data suggest that higher prediagnosis plasma levels of [vitamin D] after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer may significantly improve overall survival," the authors wrote. "Future trials should examine the role of vitamin D supplementation in patients with colorectal cancer."

Study indicates grape seed extract may reduce cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease
Lead study author Giulio Pasinetti, MD, PhD, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and colleagues found that the grape seed extract prevents amyloid beta accumulation in cells, suggesting that it may block the formation of plaques. In Alzheimer's disease, amyloid beta accumulates to form toxic plaques that disrupt normal brain function.

The researchers tested a grape seed polyphenolic extract product sold as MegaNatural-AZ, made by Polyphenolics, which in part supported the study. Polyphenolic compounds are antioxidants naturally found in wine, tea, chocolate, and some fruits and vegetables.

Flawed St. John's Wort Study on ADHD Failed to Use Active Form of Herbal Extract
Recently a study purporting to discredit the time-honored use of the St. Johns Wort herb for pediatric use for kids labeled ADHD was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This paper was heavily influenced by Harvard's Dr. Joseph Biederman. Dr. Biederman made headlines and a New York Times editorial in the past few days because he and his colleagues failed to disclose more than $3,200,000 in drug company money in violation of the universities disclosure policy.

Placebo supplement spawns opposition
The sugar pill, marketed by Efficacy Brands, was introduced on the US market in March this year, and is currently being sold at $6 for a bottle of 50. The product is called Obecalp - or 'placebo' spelt backwards.

"This is not a lawfully marketed product, and it shouldn't be on the shelves at all," said Daniel Fabricant, PhD, science and regulatory affairs vice president at the Washington DC-based Natural Products Association (NPA).

I wonder what the big deal is here. Is big pharma's placebo a sacred object of worship that no one may touch? Are they perhaps afraid someone is going to look into how THEY formulate their placebos?

Bacteria in Pork Showing Resistance to Antibiotics
Scientists are beginning to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria in pork, pigs and some veterinarians, raising the issue of whether these so-called superbugs might find a new route to infect farmworkers or even people who eat pork.

Will Internet Addiction enter into Manual of Mental Disorders?
Like other addicts, users reportedly experience cravings (for better software, faster machines), withdrawal (logging off may cause irritability), a loss of sense of time (wee-hour fixes), and negative social repercussions (it's so much easier to date an avatar). Sound familiar?

Harvard Conflicts of Interest and the 'bipolar epidemic'
The astounding 'bipolar' epidemic among America's children has no scientific-epidemiological explanation. It is generated by financially-compromised child psychiatrists who "diagnose" normal, but irritable children whose behavior may be disruptive. Such children are misdiagnosed as having a severe, chronic, disabling condition--the current diagnosis du jour is bipolar. This "diagnosis" condemns a child to be exposed to the most toxic drugs (antipsychotics and anticonvulsants) whose documented severe adverse effects pose life-threatening risks for children and adults.

Doctor Advised Neurontin Warning But Was Ignored
Trimble described what he said was a “plausible biological pathway” that could lead from the compound gabapentin, or Neurontin, to suicidal behavior, hostility, and aggression, the paper writes He said that in 1995 and 1996, he was hired to write two confidential reports, because the drugmaker “was concerned about psychosis in relation to their drug,” according to the Journal. Trimble testified he was unable to find a link to psychosis, but noted effects of depression and aggression.

Lawyers for Pfizer argued the evidence linking the drug to suicidal side effects wasn’t scientifically sound...

U.S. Ranks Dead Last Among 19 Nations in Preventive Medicine
Researchers tracked how many preventable deaths took place in 19 developed nations between 2002 and 2003. A preventable death was defined as one that would not have occurred if the patient had access to timely and effective health care.

The United States ranked dead last, with 109.7 preventable deaths for every 100,000 people. France came in first, with 64.8, followed by Japan and Australia, with 71.2 and 71.3, respectively.

WESTERN MEDICINE FAILS TIM RUSSERT
The shocking death of Tim Russert last Friday has left an entire nation wondering what happened. He was a model patient, doing everything his doctors asked. All major media have run articles trying to explain the nuances and difficulties in treating coronary artery disease. These articles find little fault in Russert’s care, trying to create the idea that his heart attack was just too hard to predict and that all that could have been done for him was done. I beg to differ. His death represents the failure of standard medical care to produce a positive result – an occurrence that is all too common in today’s world.

UK: Call to regulate 'unorthodox therapy'
But the experts, led by Professor Mike Pittilo, the vice chancellor of Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University, said unregulated treatments were putting patients at risk. They said acupuncture had been known to cause kidney damage when the needles were inserted too deeply, while herbal medicines had been found contaminated with steroids.

It is absolutely amazing to see the professor's passionate concern for our safety. He is suggesting to regulate "unorthodox" therapies that are orders of magnitu