Here's a good example why drugs -- especially new ones merely pumped out to keep the coffers of the mega-drug manufacturers flush with cash -- so often cause harm: Medications used to treat elderly patients greatly raise their risk of death.
Based on an analysis of 15 studies encompassing more than 5,000 elderly dementia patients, those who took an atypical psychotic drug -- Zyprexa, Risperdal, Seroquel and Abilify -- increased their chances of death by 54 percent within 12 weeks of first taking it! Three times as many patients died after taking those atypical psychotic drugs versus the placebo group.
These needless deaths merely add to the body of evidence that shows more off-label use and abuse allowed by the FDA (as so vividly described by Dr. David Graham in a lengthy interview).
And, if you thought this kind of abuse was confined to the elderly, guess again: A study I posted last year found Risperdal to be a safe and effective long-term solution for below-average children with disruptive behaviors.
Nonsense like this makes my blood boil, and fuels my passion to transform the existing conventional medical paradigm from one addicted to pharmaceuticals, surgeries and other methods that only conceal or remove specific symptoms to one focused on treating and preventing the underlying causes.
MSNBC October 18, 2005
Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 294, No. 15, October 19, 2005: 1934-1943