Researchers said a popular antidepressant was safe for teens. It was actually deadly.

[villager]

For years, the drug company GlaxoSmithKline was illegally persuading doctors to prescribe paroxetine, sold under the brand name Paxil, as an antidepressant for children and teenagers. They did so by citing what's known as Study 329 — research that was funded by the drug company and published in 2001, claiming to show that Paxil is "well tolerated and effective" for kids.

That marketing effort worked. In 2002 alone, doctors wrote two million Paxil prescriptions for children and adolescents.

But now here's the horrifying news: A major new analysis of the raw data behind Study 329, published in BMJ, suggests that the original conclusions were wildly wrong. Not only is Paxil ineffective, working no better than placebo, but it can actually cause serious side effects, including self-injury and suicide.

Unlike the original study, this follow-up research isn't funded by the drug manufacturer. And the researchers found that GSK had manipulated their data and selectively downplayed the harms of the drug in their analysis.

<snip>

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/19/9355121/paxil-research-fraud

[olddots]

1. 60 years ago M.D.s told patients to smoke

to calm their nerves .

[WinkyDink]

24. Really?

[arikara]

48. Yes that's true

The father of my best school chum, who was a heavy smoker had an early heart attack. He quit smoking and of course had problems with his nerves so the doctor told him to start smoking again. He lived for another 20 or so years and never quit.

This would have been back in the mid 60's.

[cpompilo]

2. How many kids must a company have to kill for its management to be prosecuted and put in jail?

[nationalize the fed]

3. k/r Johnson & Johnson "created a powerful drug, promoted it illegally, covered up side effects"

America's Most Admired Lawbreaker: Johnson & Johnson

Huffington Post: Over the course of 20 years, Johnson & Johnson created a powerful drug, promoted it illegally to children and the elderly, covered up the side effects and made billions of dollars. This is the inside story

A 15 Chapter expose by Steven Brill

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/miracleindustry/americas-most-admired-lawbreaker/

How much of this stuff is going on that we haven't heard about?

[mercuryblues]

6. A lot

It is not always suicide. A SC teen shot his grandparents, while they slept at the age of 12. He was on Paxil, But it was not available in his G-parents area. So a DR substituted it with Zoloft. Despite complaining of terrible side effects the DR doubled his dose and received some pain medication. Two days later, he shot and killed his grandparents. He was tried as an adult. The defense was the sudden withdrawal from paxil to Zoloft created a manic state. The prosecution and jury did not believe it and found him guilty.

I hope the fuckers read this story

http://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/pittmanchristopher.htm

[Octafish]

4. When science depends on getting paid...

...there will be conflicts of interest. Add in billions in sales and profits at stake, corruption is almost a certainty.

[malaise]

5. That simple

As Castro said this evening - the market says there are no citizens just consumers so buy and die...'cause the money keeps rolling in.

[Rex]

8. I've always been fascinated how supposedly intelligent people have that simple concept

go right over their head. Of course the reality is more than likely they let it, because they have a pro-corporate agenda and don't care about the victims.

[pnwmom]

12. I doubt it goes over the head of otherwise intelligent people. I think something else

is going into their pockets.

[Rex]

13. On this we agree 100%.

I am always wary of altruistic people that come out of nowhere with all the answers until you start asking questions. Then they ignore you and hide behind data and a lawyer.

[pnwmom]

16. +1000. n/t

[sulphurdunn]

20. Corruption is a certainty.

[LeftOfWest]

43. well said.

thanks.

[arikara]

49. I see this happening with vaccines

hopefully there won't be too much permanent damage done before it happens.

Maybe some of the old ones are worthwhile, but I don't trust them anymore with all the fake hype and knowing people who get sick as soon as they get a flu shot. And kids who get measles as soon as they have a vaccine, then spread it around. I even know one mother who took her measled kid on an airplane across the country and justified it by saying "its ok, he had his vaccination so its just a mild case." Somebody like this spreads it around and they turn around and blame unvaccinated kids.

Its nothing more than a money maker for the drug companies, aided and abetted by their stooges in the governments.

[MisterP]

7. this just shows we need MORE blind faith! MORE! ~~Dr DWS

[ananda]

9. Once again, self-injury and suicide are the EFFECTS ..

.. not the side-effects of the drug.

[Shandris]

10. The Science* was Settled*.

*Patent pending, trademark pending, all rights reserved, anti-GMO is ANTI-SCIENCE trust us!

[NuclearDem]

26. One obviously flawed study versus hundreds and hundreds of solid studies.

Minor difference between this case and GM foods.

[laundry_queen]

30. Whatever helps your cognitive dissonance. nt

[NuclearDem]

32. No cognitive dissonance.

GM foods have been tested for decades and gone through many hundreds of studies.

This drug went through two: the one J&J used, and the one that determined it harmful for adolescents. It should have gone through more.

There's no comparison between the two.

[ryan_cats]

36. Are you forgetting the third test Paxil went through?

Are you forgetting the third test Paxil went through?

GlaxoSmithKline undertook a rigorous, highly controlled test where the only people on it went through the arduous process of getting a Doctor to prescribe it with the last high hurdle to use was getting it filled at a pharmacy. What more could they possibly do?

[villager]

37. Lots and lots of cognitive dissonance.

Would love to see you in a room with parents of one of the teen suicide victims, explaining how "wrong" they are.

[NuclearDem]

38. Now you're just not even bothering to read my posts, lovely.

Paxil should never have been prescribed for adolescents. In fact, no drug intended for adults should be prescribed for children without very vigorous safety tests.

If you had bothered to read the post you were responding to, you would have noticed that I specifically said the drug should have gone through far more tests than it had.

Want to try again? Or are you just going to suggest I like kicking puppies now?

[villager]

40. Actually, you never said that as explicitly as you stated it just now

But always glad to see you on the side of light, occasionally



As for puppy-kicking, as long as no corporation dispatches studies insisting that it's an entirely harmless procedure, and animal rights are just progress-shitting "woo" sentiments, we appear to be on the same side of that issue.

[Dont call me Shirley]

52. BS.

[NuclearDem]

54. ...

[Dont call me Shirley]

55. Trying to argue with pro-gmo is like trying to argue with pro-paxil.

[NuclearDem]

56. Trying to argue with woo-woos is like trying to argue with bananas.

But at least I can bananas.

[Dont call me Shirley]

57. Science is woo-woo. Corporate "scientific research" is untrue.

[NuclearDem]

58. I'm actually legitimately dumbfounded by this statement.

There's no point in continuing this.

[Dont call me Shirley]

59. ...

[NuclearDem]

60. Just further proof of America's declining standards of science education.

[Dont call me Shirley]

61. Yes, especially when some are so quick to believe the oligarchs lies.

[LeftOfWest]

44. Or their lack of conscience.

fuck big pharma, their shills, transparent, 1% at all costs...literally.

[truebluegreen]

31. How many of the hundreds and hundreds of studies

on drugs, pesticides, GMOs (or whatever) study long-term effects? How about combinations of things?

Trust away; I won't. Not when the profit motive is involved and no long-term data exists (which btw still allows me to "believe" that vaccines work and climate change is real).

[NuclearDem]

33. This information has been presented many countless times here.

And every time it gets brought up, the person requesting it simply moves the goalposts and declares that GMOs "haven't been tested enough."

If the point being made has been ignored one billion times with the exact same evidence, bothering to make it a billion and one times won't change any minds.

[truebluegreen]

34. Really?

Please provide links to tests showing the effects of eating GMOs for 30 years. Oh, that's funny: they don't exist and won't exist for decades, will they?

How many years did people smoke before the effects were known? How about pesticides, let's say DDT--how long was that in use before wider impacts were known, and who discovered them? The company that produced it? The government that approved it? At least the government in those days was not wholly corrupt and something could be done; we are in a much worse position now.

You want to insist the jury is in and the science is settled: fine for you. I'll pass.

[NuclearDem]

35. There's a slight difference in the scientific community's capabilities

in the early 20th century and those of the present day.

[truebluegreen]

46. True. I'd also say there's a difference

in the nature of the scientific community between then and now: how much is industry-funded and/or driven? You're arguing that the story referenced in the OP involved one skewed test out of hundreds of solid ones, and yet there is a big story just this week about another company--Johnson & Johnson--falsifying test results for profit. Another anomaly or the tip of the iceberg?

I'll most likely be dead in 30 years, but it won't be because I ate GMOs.

[pnwmom]

11. And the science on GMOs has been settled and ANY GMO EVER produced will be safe. n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

14. That stuff is poison

Years ago, I had trouble sleeping more than a few hours. My GP prescribed Paxil for anxiety. It didn't help, but had some bad side effects, so I stopped it. Withdrawal was incredible - I had bizarre neurological sensations (not uncommon, apparently) and bad gastrointestinal distress. I ended up tapering down over weeks, and it sucked.

Immediately switched to a new GP!

BTW, BMJ is an excellent medical journal, my favorite.

[killbotfactory]

15. I agree.

I had to wean myself off paxil nearly ten years ago.

Brain zaps! wtf. that should not happen.

[MannyGoldstein]

17. It was crazier than hallucinogenics

Just crazy!

And the hallucinogenics wore off in hours, not weeks.

[LiberalArkie]

18. I thought getting off Paxil was bad until I started trying to get off of Nexium.

After 15 years of Nexium it was bad. But it only took 5 months and I still have a problem telling heartburn from angina. Oh well.

[MannyGoldstein]

19. Ow. That sucks too!

Hard to tell them apart; in fact, the Chief of a cardiology group I used to work with was sure he had heartburn for days when it was actually an MI.

[LiberalArkie]

22. I used to run to my md and get a ECG, she would loot at it and toss me a bottle of Nexium. My

cardiologist told me to first take a Zantac and if it doesn't go away, can an ambulance. Hell of a way to run a railroad. I am due for a heart cath in a month or so, he wants to check and make sure all the plumbing is good. He thinks I have a little blockage on the backside that the nuclear stress test indicated. I never felt any pain from it though. I was born with piss poor genetics and I know it as a kid before anyone knew what genetics was. Bad stomach, bad eyes from birth, mitral valve problems, asthma, and bad ears and piss poor balance. If someone offers to extend my life (I am 67) I will probably shoot them. ;>

[Stevepol]

28. Try meditation.

If it doesn't work, withdrawal is a piece of cake.

[Dont call me Shirley]

53. And lots of other "woo" therapies work well such as emdr, eft, chanting, art therapy, etc....

[SusanCalvin]

21. Not just kids.

I took that stuff for a while, and stopped when my own thoughts started scaring me.

[gcomeau]

23. Can we correct the headline?

To "Paid shills said..." perhaps, in the interests of accuracy? As written it carries the implication people were actually seriously trying to research the effects rather than trying to manufacture an outcome for their employer. Those people were not "researchers".

[bbgrunt]

25. is it any wonder that many don't believe the "science" from climate change to vaccines? nt

[Warren DeMontague]

27. I'm shocked, shocked I say!

[truebluegreen]

29. Who could have guessed

that research funded and/or conducted by industry yields the results that industry desires?

Remember that the next time you hear the GMOs are safe.

[davidpdx]

39. I was on Paxil for quite a long time

After awhile I felt like it lost its effectiveness and I switched to another medication. It wasn't cheap either.

[villager]

41. Why, cheap medication is for suckers! Certainly not for corporations!

Next you're gonna tell me you're voting for a socialist!

[davidpdx]

42. Your post had nothing to do with my reply

Purely stupid snark.

[villager]

45. Um, I wasn't snarking, but agreeing with your observation about the expense

Sorry you mis-read and felt obliged to reply thusly.

Nonetheless, the hazards of a discussion board.

Onward, be well, etc..

[davidpdx]

62. Sorry about that

My snark detector was broken. I'll go kick it a few times

[villager]

63. Ah, this has happened to me once or twice

Part of the problem is this "discussion" board is a complete minefield of snark right now, so it's still kind of a shock to click on "replies" to find people agreeing with you, not in attack mode, etc...

[LWolf]

47. This is good to know.

I was prescribed Paxil for a very short time (2 months) after my last divorce, which was pretty devastating. I was a 41 yo adult, though.

[bananas]

50. LBN: 'Mischief' in old study claiming drug is safe.

"New analysis shows suicide link for teens on Paxil. 'Mischief' in old study claiming drug is safe."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141209302

[villager]

65. "Mischief," eh?

"Sorry your child is dead due to 'mischief!'"

[Dont call me Shirley]

51. And can cause seizures.

[Blue_Tires]

64. I remember that...I was prescribed it in grad school...