• The FDA’s new clothes Two new research papers (here and here) and a linked editorial take a detailed look at the FDA’s regulatory process. They present concerns that the FDA has prioritised expedited approvals at the expense of adequately assessing whether new drugs are more effective than existing products or whether they are safe. […]
Samir Dawlatly: Why bother with my cholesterol?
For reasons that I have previously written about, I have to have my blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose checked every year. These measurements have always been normal. Of these, I don’t know a single one of my cholesterol measurements. Not one. In fact, one of my previous GPs asked me if I wanted to […]
Oommen C. Kurian: Dengue in Delhi—fighting an outbreak with the wrong numbers and an unwilling private sector
The current dengue outbreak in Delhi came to international prominence following the unfortunate incident of a young couple who committed suicide after their son was rejected treatment by many prominent private sector hospitals in Delhi. Treatment was denied despite the government saying on 28 August that patients should not be denied admission to hospital on […]
#imajuniordoctor: Junior doctors respond to the new junior doctor contract on social media
An online petition has already collected over 50,000 signatures calling for the BMA to support doctors taking strike action against the planned introduction of new junior doctor contracts. Doctors are concerned that a recent government decision to impose new junior doctor contracts will result in lower pay and increased hours. This has been met with huge […]
Richard Smith: Reading for a long life
At 63 I’m preparing for my capacities and faculties to fall away, and I think about what I hope to preserve. Taking being with those I love as a given, the most important things to me are in order: reading, writing, listening to music, walking, and looking at art. I also love theatre, food, wine, […]
The BMJ Today: Food fights and contract concerns
• The scientific report guiding the US dietary guidelines: is it scientific? For years, Western dietary guidelines have recommended that we follow a low fat diet: eat less meat, less dairy, and more grain, we have been told. But as more research has suggested that saturated fat might not be the great bogeyman it has […]
Carl Heneghan: 329 trial restoration highlights need to restore public trust in trials
Fourteen years after a drug trial had been published, investigators —using multiple sources, including regulatory and legal documents—restored a version of the same trial and came to completely opposite conclusions. The original study of 275 adolescents with depression—Study 329—concluded “paroxetine is generally well tolerated and effective for major depression in adolescents.” Yet the 2015 reanalysis […]
Jane Feinmann: Taking complaints seriously
I’m at my GP surgery on the point of becoming a nuisance patient—it seems I have all the qualifications. Five years ago I was discharged from hospital after a medical mishap, serious enough to have my family gather at my bedside. I’ve tried and failed to get a full explanation of what went wrong. Now, […]
Desmond O’Neill: Nordic insights into the art of ageing and dying well
I hate to miss the opening ceremonies of European geriatric medicine conferences, with the individual interplay between this most complex of medical specialties with the national characteristics of the host nation. Norway is notable for its ability to fuse simplicity and sophistication, typified by the striking new Opera House in Oslo where the sloping roof provides […]
The BMJ Today: No cash in the attic
• Politics of desperation In the latest of his regular column, Nigel Hawkes comments on the impossible situation the NHS finds itself in: as prey to an austerity hungry government convinced that more efficiencies can be squeezed out of the service. Hawkes despairs at various improvement initiatives designed to wring extra savings out of the […]