From the monthly archives: March 2009

Bird Flu Drugs are [Still] For Bird Brains

By On March 23, 2009 · 4 Comments

the number of flu strains resistant to the bird flu drug Tamiflu (oseltamavir) is growing.

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Time to Die! (Oops I Mean Time to Quit (Smoking)!)

By On March 20, 2009 · 7 Comments

The news about the stop smoking drug Chantix just keeps getting worse. When my sister emailed a while back and said she was thinking of taking the drug to get off the weed, I said make sure you have your suicide hotline number handy…

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Prostate Cancer Screening Found to be Useless

By On March 19, 2009 · 15 Comments

This just in from the New England Journal of Medicine, two large studies adding futher evidence that much of our medical screening and interventions are doing more harm than good

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Should I Take Aspirin or Put a Gun To My Head?

By On March 18, 2009 · 10 Comments

A recent report from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) shows that daily aspirin in people without a history of heart disease will prevent heart attacks in men, and strokes in women.

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More Evidence that Clinical Practice Guidelines are Bulllshit

By On March 17, 2009 · 1 Comment

I’ve blogged previously about how clinical practice guidelines are bullshit and that about half of them are based on little or no evidence whatsoever…

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LOLCats Invite Obama to Dance in Honor of Whistleblowers

By On March 17, 2009 · 4 Comments

He always kind of reminded me of a cat, anyway.

But this just in, the always mischievous Senator Charles Grassley (kind of like out lolcats!) has written a letter to President Barack Obama that says:

One thing I’ve asked every president since Ronald Reagan to do is to hold a Rose Garden ceremony honoring whistleblowers.

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Doctors From Different Backgrounds Put Their Heads Together For An Interesting Case

By On March 17, 2009 · 3 Comments

Today we have an interesting Alt CME (Alternative Continuing Medication Education, always free of interferenece from drug companies) case that was approached by doctors of different disciplines.
A 33 year old white female developed the sudden onset of nausea, vomiting, and changes in mental status.

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Salt and Health: Live Blogging from AHA Epidemiology

By On March 16, 2009 · 13 Comments

Mrs. Bremner is in Tampa FL this week attending the American Heart Association (AHA) Epidemiology meeting. And having a good time too as she has texted me (don’t have TOO good a time, Mrs. Bremner!). The most inspiring talk she has seen is about salt and health…

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Somewhat Lame Editorial on Conflicts from American Journal of Psychiatry

By On March 11, 2009 · 5 Comments

This month’s American Journal of Psychiatry has a somewhat lame article on conflicts of interest regarding the pharmaceutical industry and psychiatry. Before I delve into this piece I must provide some background information, however. Psychiatry is divided into two sections, maybe three.

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My Views on Warfare

By On March 10, 2009 · 13 Comments

Some people don’t know cuz I mainly write about drug safety here but the bulk of my research has been on posttraumatic stress disorder which I consider to be my “main squeeze”. Another thing people don’t know is that I am work part time as a psychiatrist for…

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