Memory Hole (8 November): Mostly about lawyers

Scientific Misconduct Blog Memory Hole: Events of November 8th

Definitions of the day

LAWFUL, adj. : Compatible with the will of a judge having jurisdiction.
LAWYER, n. : One skilled in circumvention of the law.
LITIGANT, n. : A person about to give up his skin for the hope of retaining his bones.
LITIGATION, n. : A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.
(The Devil's dictionary)

23 years ago today: Arthur Rudolph: US hides Nazi crimes

On 8 November 1984 it was reported that Arthur Rudolph imported from Nazi Germany to head the NASA Saturn Program (which led to the moon landing) was known to be an "Ardent Nazi" and a war criminal. He was operator of a slave camp. More importantly, the US knowingly provided cover for him. This is directly relevant to the more specific concerns on this blog - it concerns the role of government in a democracy.
"Papers Show Saturn Rocket Chief Was Called 'Ardent Nazi by U. S.": New York Times, 8 Nov 1984.

14 years ago today: Inventing scientific findings is not fraud say lawyers

On 8 November 1993 the muddle of Scientific Misconduct "rules" reached the outer limits of farce
(Hilts, Philip J. "Science and Law Clash Over Fraud-Case Appeals," New York Times, 8 November 1993).

Procedures of science are designed to ensure the integrity of the scientific record, just as court procedures are designed to make sure that the legal game is played. This is an article about attempts to alter the procedures for deciding whether a scientist is operating within the rules of science. This was the midst of the Baltimore and Gallo "investigations". New rules were put in place by Bernadine Healy when director of the NIH to make lawyers the judge of appropriate science, radically altering the game in retrospect, and leading to these two cases being "lost" (at least legally).

"In the first case before the hearing board under the new rules, Rameshwar Sharma, a scientist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, was charged with making false statements in an application to the National Institutes of Health. He wrote that he had done a series of experiments and described the results, when in fact he had not done the work."

By any definition that would constitute research misconduct and a major offense against science, the public, and patients. This is not a game, and it is exactly how patients die.

In his defense, he said that he no intent to deceive but that his statements were 'anticipator writing' because he expected to do the work later. The hearing said this was not misconduct because the Office of Research Integrity could not prove the deliberately false statements were intended to be false. The need to prove intent is part of the new definition. Falsifying results does not constitute intent.

This is lawyers and the "big boys" of science saying that saying that science and honesty don't matter. The muddle began here.

Source: Hilts, Philip J. "Science and Law Clash Over Fraud-Case Appeals" New York Times, 8 Nov 1993

10 years ago today: UK "initiatives" to tackle scientific misconduct

The Journal Science published a bit of reality-free gobbledegook about a November 8th 1997 meeting concerning UK initiatives to "tackle scientific misconduct and fraudulent publication in a more systematic way". There is a disconnect between what folk say and what they fear to do.

Williams, Nigel. "Editors Seek Ways to Cope With Fraud" Science 278 (14 November 1997), p. 1221 [Full report].

Some quotes from the article:

• A new committee, set up by the editors of nine prominent medical journals called last week for governments to tackle scientific misconduct and fraudulent publication in a more systematic way.
• Cases are still exposed mostly by chance, and we worry about the scale of the problem
• "Normal peer review can sometimes identify problems, but sorting through raw data to investigate them can be a miserable business".
• These incidents were described without revealing names because of worries about libel laws [describing scientific deviations is libel]
• The meeting backed calls by one of the legal experts on the committee, Ian Kennedy of University College London, for the development of a protocol for editors to help protect genuine whistle blowers.
• COPE's efforts are being matched by other initiatives in Europe.
• And at the most recent meeting of the European heads of research councils in Dublin last month, the problem of scientific misconduct was at the top of the agenda.
• The council heads are looking in particular at Danish efforts that have culminated in a new national committee on scientific dishonesty. Unlike the U.S. Office of Research Integrity, which can investigate misconduct claims only when they involve government funds, the Danish committee can work across the scientific spectrum.
• Editors can only go so far," says Kennedy. "Eventually you need an independent body to investigate claims fairly.

So what happened ten years later?:

See:
http://scientific-misconduct.blogspot.com/2007/10/memory-hole-15-october-uk-research.html
UK research misconduct Hit-Squad announced (UK-PRI)

Self quotation: You should treat any offer of support from UK-PRI in the same way you would treat the offer of fellatio from a crocodile.

8 years ago today: German Professor fakes 80 clinical studies - not a crime

On 8 November 1999 German investigators report that dozens of bogus scientific papers were published by a cancer research professor over 15 years.

The Professor was Friedhelm Herrmann, a leading cancer research specialist. The report states that "at least 80 of his published papers were faked", and "they developed an aversion to using genuine data."

The last sentence of the news report states: "Faking scientific research, however, is not a criminal offence under German law".

Source: German scientist 'faked cancer research', The Guardian, Nov 8, 1999

4 years ago today: Medical journal editors colluding with fraud

On 8 November 2003 there were some choice quotes from a BMJ article: Have editors got their priorities right? (BMJ 327:1113; 8 Nov 2003):

"Journal editors are much more frightened of being sued for libel by academics or drug companies than they are of publishing fraudulent research" Peter Wilmshurst claimed last week.

He said that every time that he submitted an article highlighting research fraud, every word was scrutinised by an army of libel lawyers and the article was frequently rejected.

"I have submitted many scientific articles for publication and many had implications for survival of patients, but no journal has ever asked me to prove that I got the results claimed. This might suggest that medical journal editors are more concerned with the reputations of academics and their institutions than the lives of patients.

"The simple truth is that editors are most concerned with money. Journals are never sued for publishing false results no matter how many patients died. In scientific research they can have the best of both worlds. They are absolved from blame if a study is wrong and gain an improved impact rating if the research is an important advance..."

"I would like to see whether the policies at journals changed if some were sued by patients harmed by implementation of treatments based on their publications."

"I believe that there should be random checks of raw data of work in progress and of submitted work. We know that the use of performance enhancing drugs is common in competitive sports because of enforced drug checks without warning at sporting events and between events. If we did not have these checks we might mistakenly conclude that doping was not common in sport."

"Failure to produce the raw data should be considered the equivalent of failing the inspection and should result in a ban on future research for a specified period and a review of previous research published.

"The code of silence that pervades the medical profession and the research establishment: There is still considerable reluctance to shop another doctor, no matter how dishonest".

2 years ago today: SSRI advertisements not exactly science-based

On 8 November 2005 PLoS medicine published as article titled: "Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect between the Advertisements and the Scientific Literature" (Lacasse JR, Leo J 2005 PLoS Med 2(12): e392).

Apparently direct to consumer advertisements for drugs are not exactly truthful. What a surprise. Next episode - the disconnect between the scientific literature and the underlying raw data. Hat tip HCR.

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Memory Hole (21 October): What else happened?

Scientific Misconduct Blog Memory Hole: Events of October the 21st

48 years ago today: Operation Paperclip and government expediency

On 21 October 1959 President Eisenhower signed an order transferring Wernher von Braun and other ex-Nazi German scientists from the US Army to NASA. Operation Paperclip was the secret project to extract Nazi German scientists out of prosecution for warcrimes and into the US military. von Braun was key in the production of 6000 V-2 rockets 500 of which hit London. 20,000 slaves died during V-2 production - "you could see piles of prisoners every day who had not survived the workload" - during his frequent attendance "Prof. Wernher von Braun never once protested against this cruelty and brutality" [ref]. This entry is here because it relates to the wartime operation of scientists and the role of government in a democracy.
Source: Hunt,L "U.S. Coverup of Nazi Scientists" Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. April, 1985

9 years ago today: Anonymous letters feature in a key scandal

On 21 October 1998 a senior academic in Toronto wrote this anonymous letter. It was one of several. Who was he and what did this have to do with a key academic freedom scandal?

Read on here: Anonymous threats in Toronto

2 years ago today: The Karasik conspiracy

On 21 October 2005 the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the discredited American Pharmaceutical trade lobby group, admitted that they paid a publisher to have a thriller written about Croatian terrorists using Canadian pharmacy websites to slaughter millions of Americans. Jayson Blair working for Phoenix Books, was tasked with editing this book, called "The Karasik Conspiracy."

The goal was supposedly "to scare Americans into opposing any amendment to existing legislation" that formally bans the import of low-cost prescriptions from Canada.

PHRMA also made several editorial suggestions. "They said they wanted it somewhat dumbed down for women, with a lot more fluff in it, and more about the wife of the head Croatian terrorist, who is a former Miss Mexico," one of the authors told the newspaper. Apparently, women are among the most loyal buyers of Canadian drugs.

When the project fell through, PhRMA apparently offered $100,000 to the co-authors and publisher in a vain effort to shut it down. The authors went ahead anyway, writing a book of the same name about a drug company that funds a terrorist attack.

And PhRMA expect to get taken seriously. They also feature as apologists by proxy in the little saga of a bone drug, in which PhRMA was cited as stating that according to their guidelines scientific authors should never never ever have access to the data about which they are writing. Well that's OK then.

See:

• "U.S. drug group paid to support novel idea" Globe and Mail Oct 21, 2005
• The Karasik Conspiracy : http://www.thekarasikconspiracy.com/
• Washington post: Stranger Than Fiction?
• Slate: Truth Is Stranger Than Phiction

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Memory Hole (11 October): Who will guard the guards?

Scientific Misconduct Blog Memory Hole: Events of October the 11th

Quote of the day

Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (But who will guard the guards?)
Juvenal

70 years ago today: The Sulfanilamine disaster and regulation

11 October 1937 was a landmark day in the history of drug safety. On that day, the American Medical Association received reports from doctors in Tulsa suggesting that a formulation of sulfanilamide was responsible for the deaths of patients deaths. It was discovered that the Elixer contained large amounts of the toxin diethylene glycol. Elixir of Sulfanilamide eventually killed 107 patients. One doctor who had six patient deaths resulting from his prescribing of the Elixir stated "I have spent hours on my knees . . . I have known hours when death for me would be a welcome relief from this agony." Other doctors tried to avoid responsibility by denying they had prescribed the drug.

In fact, the company that produced the Elixer had not broken any laws and there was no basis for prosecution. The only charge that was possible was an obscure "mis labeling" charge (that the word "elixir" implied alcohol content, but that the Elixer contained no alcohol). In 2007, I am not sure that anything has changed, even when science is deliberately misrepresented. The chemist who had compounded the Elixer committed suicide. He had made a mistake.

Public outrage led to the signing of the USA Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act on June 25 1938. There is a counter view that this connection between a crisis and regulation is overly simplistic. "Industry capture" explanations propose that established drug firms supported new regulation as a way of driving away competition and gaining control of the rules of regulation. There may be some merit in that view.

Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (But who will guard the guards?)
Juvenal

Read more: FDA view of the incident, and another view

40 years ago today: Harold Wilson and the nude postcard

On 11 October 1967 the British Prime Minister won a libel case against the pop group The Move after they published a promotional postcard featuring a cartoon of the Prime Minister in the nude with his female assistant Marcia Falkender. Wilson also sued journalists for libel and Lady Falkender sued the BBC over other matters.

The only reason for including this here is that legal threats and UK libel law have a chilling effect on science. Prime Ministers should not sue for libel. After all, Wilson's election campaign was aided by another nude.

Oh what have you done cried Christine,
You've wrecked the whole party machine!
To lie in the nude may be terribly rude
But to lie in the House is obscene
Anon
Source: Harold Wilson and the nude postcard

19 years ago today: AIDS activists challenge regulation

On 11 October 1988, the group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) held a public demonstration to voice "their concern about the availability of drugs and other therapies to combat AIDS". The FDA and clinical trials were perceived to be the roadblock in the way of access to AIDS drugs. Protesters held mock tombstones with inscriptions: "I got the placebo - R.I.P."

While there may have been merit in these concerns, the crisis was used by industry to create an argument that science should be abandoned, denying patients and doctors critical information that can only be obtained through properly conducted trials. The debate about sulfanilamide (above) applies here.

Read: FDA view of demonstration. This August 2007 court decision is also of relevance.

4 years ago: 200 000 euthanasia files from the Nazi regime made available

Around 11 October 2003 documents pertaining to Nazi euthanasia (medically approved murder) were made available. These had been concealed for half a century by the former German Democratic Republic. Victims were mostly mentally and physically disabled adults and children.

"Eighty eight year old Rosemarie Albrecht, former director of the Ear Nose and Throat Hospital and former dean of the medical faculty in Jena is accused of taking part in the killing of at least 159 women and 11 children when in 1940 she worked as a junior doctor in a psychiatric hospital in Stadtroda, Thuringia."

Sources: British Medical Journal 2003;327:832 (11 Oct), The central databank of the German Federal Archives

2 years ago today: Arrest of 4 Israeli doctors for research violations

On 11 October 2006 four Israeli doctors were arrested for carrying out illegal, non-consensual medical experiments on their patients.

"the hospitals in Gedera and Rehovot conducted illegal and unethical testing on thousands of elderly patients for years." "During one of the incidents described, twelve patients died either during the experiments or shortly after they took place, but these incidents were not reported".

Source: AHRP

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Memory Hole (10 October): A society of sheep

Scientific Misconduct Blog Memory Hole: Events of October the 10th

Quote of the day

A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.
Juvenal

63 years ago today: 800 Gypsy children gassed at Auschwitz

On 10 October 1944 800 Gypsy children were gassed to death at Auschwitz. Many children were subjected to medical experiments before they were exterminated. Some Gypsies used in experiments by Mengele at Auschwitz were twins (two pairs of twins at right). Approximately 300,000 Gypsies were murdered in all. Almost all German and Austrian Gypsies (about 30,000) were murdered. The rationale for murder was based in part on the academic "research" of racial scientists Dr. Robert Ritter (a psychiatrist), Dr. Adolf Wurth and Dr. Sophie Ehrhardt (anthropologists) and Eva Justin (a nurse). At the end of the research projects most of their subjects were killed.
Sources: The Nazi Doctors, O Porrajmos - the Gypsy Holocaust, Sinti and Roma Victims of the Nazi era

50 years ago today: Coverup of a UK Nuclear disaster at Windscale

On 10 October 1957 Britain suffered its worst nuclear accident. On that night, a fire began to spread throughout the core of the Windscale nuclear reactor (now Sellafield), sending radioactive dust across Britain."

"Radioactive leaks were found and the core of the reactor began dangerously overheating. Some scientists warned that radioactive materials inside could catch fire. But the leaks were hushed up and the warnings ignored. Instead, Windscale was ordered to achieve even greater increases in output to meet a political deadline to explode Britain's first H-bomb. The result was potential disaster - the core of the reactor caught fire and radioactive dust began spreading over the country. Windscale workers faced a terrible dilemma - if they tried to put the fire out with water they risked turning the reactor into a gigantic nuclear bomb, and if they let the fire burn, it could contaminate people across a huge area. Risking death from explosion and radioactive poisoning, the Windscale men averted a major tragedy. The inquiry revealed that the warnings about the risks had been hushed up or ignored. But the government kept its findings secret, and instead blamed the fire on an "error of judgement" by the very workers who had first warned of the potential problems and then battled so heroically to prevent tragedy." A new BBC broadcast discusses the disaster and the coverup: (Read more). See also here and here.

28 years ago today: Pac-Man is born

On 10 October 1979 Pac-Man was released in Japan. It involved ghosts and all sorts.

Source: Pac-Man

27 years ago today: Philip Felig's loss of the Chair of Medicine at Columbia

On 10 October 1980 the journal Science reported on the ongoing saga of Philip Felig, his rogue co-author Vijay Soman, and the problem at Yale. It is an interesting story and involves the responsibility of coauthors, the reluctance of institutions to investigate themselves, and a lot more. The New York Times has a good summary.

Source: "Imbroglio at Yale (II): A Top Job Lost," Science 210 (10 October 1980), pp. 171-173.

18 years ago today: Dispute over David Baltimore presidency of Rockefeller University

On 10 October 1989 the New York Times reported on the dispute over the invitation to David Baltimore to presidency of Rockefeller University. The New York Times had a "conversation . . . with 15 of the university's 42 full professors . . . All said they opposed the Baltimore candidacy, for various reasons and in varying degrees, and they added that informal polls indicate that perhaps half the full professors oppose him too."

For more on the Baltimore affair see:
Serge Lang QUESTIONS OF SCIENTIFIC RESPONSIBILITY: THE BALTIMORE CASE, Ethics and Behavior Vol. 3 No. 1 (1993) pp. 3-72

Source: New York Times 10 October 1989 (p. 1): "Dispute on New President Shatters Tranquil Study at Rockefeller U."

5 years ago today: Dr. Alastair Benbow of GlaxoSmithKline asserts safety of Seroxat/Paxil

On 10 October 2002 Dr. Alastair Benbow, Head of European Psychiatry for GlaxoSmithKline made the following statement:

The overwhelming view of independent medical experts and regulatory bodies around the world who have seen the data, is that Seroxat has a well established safety profile and is an effective treatment with experience in tens of millions of patients worldwide since launch in the UK over ten years ago.
Dr. Alastair Benbow, Head of European Psychiatry for GlaxoSmithKline, 10/10/2002

He later stated:

"I utterly refute any allegations we are sitting on data, that [we] have withheld data or anything like that. We have provided all the data both relating to safety and efficacy in the pediatric population to the regulatory authorities around the world and have hidden nothing."
Dr. Alastair Benbow, Head of European Psychiatry for GlaxoSmithKline, 6/15/2003

It is not clear that these statements were true, but that is perhaps a matter involving the redefinition of words. It is also not clear what data "independent medical experts" have seen, the independence of those experts, or the definition of "all the data". Perusal of some of the evidence makes very worrying reading. Everything is not OK.

It is said that when your taxi driver starts talking about the stock market, it's time to think again about your finances. The same might apply to medicine. Patients are asking the scientific and ethical questions we should be asking.

For some patient writings see:
Seroxat Secrets
Furious Seasons
It's Quite an Experience
Bob Fiddaman Blog

3 years ago today: Anthrax documents show pentagon lied

On 10 October 2004 US "Government officials have acknowledged that the Department of Defense secretly tested squalene on human beings in Thailand. [Col. Felix] Grieder believes they did the same in Dover."

"A former Dover Air Force Base commander says military officials used his troops as guinea pigs in illegal medical experiments under the government's controversial anthrax vaccination program."

"The Delaware News Journal has uncovered documents and videos that reveal that Pentagon officials lied; that US troops were given an experimental concoction of anthrax vaccine laced with squalene. Many soldiers have suffered permanent harm as a result."

"The military's anthrax Web site claims the vaccine is safe, because "The Food and Drug Administration individually approves each lot before release." But FDA documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that the FDA no longer tests the lots for squalene." "The FDA gave limited approval for the Defense Department to test vaccines boosted with squalene during the 1990s. The results of those tests are confidential."

There seems to be a dispute about the science, but how can science function when there is government sanctioned lying? And why should the results of such research ever be confidential?

Source: "Ex-DAFB commander says troops used as guinea pigs" Delaware News Journal, 10 Oct 2004

2 years ago today: Safety of long-term PPI acid-suppressing drugs

On 10 October 1947 questions over the safety of long-term use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) hit the Wall Street Journal.

The long-term safety of PPIs is not completely known. PPIs include Nexium, Protonix and Prevacid. They account for $13 billion in sales each year, making PPIs the second most popular drug after statins. Stomach acid clearly serves a function. Given widespread use we need to know a bit about long term effects. The reports suggested that preliminary research links PPIs to a rising incidence of esophageal cancer. Concerns are also expressed about "overgrowth of bacteria in the digestive tract" and possible rare cases of life threatening Clostridium difficile colitis. All these things are disputed. PPIs seem to be a risk factor for osteoporosis and fractures.

The fact remains that we really know rather little about the long-term balance of risks and benefits for the most widely used drugs. We may be asking the wrong questions and designing the wrong studies. Watch this space.

Source: "The hidden dangers of heartburn" Oct 10 2005, Wall Street Journal

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Memory Hole (9 October): When white is black and black is white

Scientific Misconduct Blog Memory Hole: Events of October the 9th

Quote of the day

"There was a society of men among us,
bred from their youth in the art of proving,
by word multiplied for the purpose,
that white is black and black is white
according to how they are paid"
Jonathan Swift

20 years ago today: Cornell whitewash is undone

On 9 October 1987 final resolution of a dispute involving Cornell Medical center was announced in the journal Science.

The story began in 1981 when a prominent cardiologist, Dr. Jeffrey Borer was accused of making several misstatements in a scientific paper. the whistleblower was Dr Jerome Jacobstein. Jacobstein said that Borer had falsely declared that there were two observers in the experiment (there had only been one), and that subjects had not been chosen randomly as the paper had stated.

The committee criticised Cornell for not treating Jacobstein's initial charges properly.

Jacobson states that it is hardly surprising that cases of proven scientific misconduct are so rare, that the costs of raising it are too high and that Cornell whitewashed his concerns. "Everybody concerned dragged their feet".

Borer had served on the Cardiorenal Advisory Committee of the FDA.

Source: "NIH Finally Resolves 7-Year Dispute," Science 238 (9 October 1987)

15 years ago today: Public learns of Bristol Heart Scandal through a satirical magazine

On 9 October 1992 the British satirical magazine "Private Eye" revealed that mortality rates for infants undergoing certain cardiac procedures in Bristol was unacceptably high and that operations were still being carried out despite concerns raised by staff.

The article read:

"The sorry state of paediatric cardiac surgery at the United Bristol Healthcare Trust has been confirmed by an internal audit over the last two years' operations. The results of procedures to correct two congenital heart abnormalities (Tetralogy of Fallot and transposition of the arteries) were especially poor.

James Wisheart, chairman of the hospital management committee and medical advisor to the trust board, is required to maintain standards of medical practice at UBHT. Curiously he has not felt it necessary to inform the trust board or the trust's purchasers of these findings. Could it be because he is also associate director of cardiac surgery?"

Thus began the public exposure of what became known as the "Bristol heart scandal" as well as the institutional cover up and the ignoring and bullying of the whistleblower anaesthetist Stephen Bolsin. Between 30 and 50 babies died unnecessarily at the Bristol Royal Infirmary between 1984 and 1995. In 1992 it needed a satirical magazine to take notice. The report into the scandal made more that 200 recommendations but the real problems were not addressed. Raising concerns about patient safety and scientific misconduct is more difficult than it has ever been. The cover up culture has persisted and has been reinforced through legislation such as the Public Interest Disclosure Act. There is an illusion of change.

15 years ago today: Death of Dr Joseph Mengele confirmed

On 9 October 1994 a report confirmed that bones in a grave at Embu near Sao Paolo in 1985 were authenticated by forensic experts as belonging to Mengele. On 1943, he became medical officer of Auschwitz-Birkenau's "Gypsy camp." Mengele supervised many sadistic experiments on Gypsies and Jews.

Source: "U.S. Report on Mengele Reaffirms His Death," New York Times, 9 Oct 1992

10 years ago today: Delayed release of report into the effect of above-ground nuclear tests

On 9 October 1997 it was reported that the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) admitted they should not have avoided releasing a study of exposure to radioactive iodine from above-ground nuclear tests in the 1950s.

The study reported that up to 75,000 additional cases of thyroid cancers in America were probable given the amount of radioactive iodine to which Americans on average were exposed.

Joseph Lyon, a professor of family medicine at the University of Utah suggested that funding for follow up studies had been blocked by Bruce Wachholz, chief of NCI's Radiation Effects Branch.

(I note in Pubmed a cohort study authored by the above Lyon some 10 years later. Life near a nuclear blast site doesn't sound too bad)

Source: "NCI Apologizes for Fallout Study Delay," Nature (9 October 1997) p534.

10 years ago today: African HIV experiments criticised

On 9 October 1997 the New York Times reported on the ethics of HIV experiments in Africa. It turns out that individuals studied were given placebo and didn't grasp "what exactly a placebo is" or why they "might have been given one instead of a real medicine". It would have been virtually impossible to get approval for placebo controlled studies of HIV in the United States. There is much more to this story.

Source: " AIDS Research in Africa: Juggling Risks and Hopes" New York Times, 9 Oct 1997

5 years ago today: Declassified documents reveal further unethical toxicology experiments on military recruits

On 9 October 2002, The New York Times reports that 16 newly declassified reports from the Pentagon describe experiments conducted on soldiers without consent between 1962 and 1971.

Ships and sailors had been sprayed with sarin gas and other chemical and biological agents. An estimated 5,500 persons were involved.

Tests conducted together with the Canadian government used VX, and tests with Britain used sarin and VX, the documents show.

It took 40 years to disclose these experiments.

Source: "U.S. Troops Were Subjected to a Wider Toxic Testing" New York Times Oct 9 2002

2 years ago today: Secret funding to ADHD patient "support" groups

On 9 October 2005, a newspaper article in the UK Telegraph revealed that UK patient "support" groups for parents of children with ADHD were being secretly funded by pharmaceutical companies with an interest in selling drugs for ADHD.

In particular, the "Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service" (ADDISS), a Department of Health-funded "charity" had been providing details of drugs to parents. Andrea Bilbow, chief executive of ADDISS, admitted that ADDISS had solicited and received funding from Janssen-Cilag, which makes Concerta, UCB Pharma, and Eli Lilly, which makes Strattera (an ADHD drug linked to an increased risk of suicide in children). Bilbow maintains that "not enough children are given the drugs" and that at least 700,000 children in the UK should be taking Ritalin.

Whether that is a reasonable belief or not, the drug firms' financing was not acknowledged on ADDISS website and nor did their names show up on the accounts lodged with the Charity Commission.

Bilbow stated: "If we put the names on the site that would be promoting the companies and I've told them I won't do that" and "That would be advertising and I'm not getting enough money from them for that."

Although such secret funding might not cause surprise outside of the UK, it was a shock. The funding also assumed importance because a psychologist Lisa Blakemore Brown had maintained that ADDISS had been receiving such funding. Furthermore, she maintained ADDISS had coached a patient to place a spurious complaint about her to the British Psychological Society. In leaked transcripts of the case, it appeared that the BPS had then accused Blakemore Brown of being paranoid (and hence not fit to practice). As part evidence for this supposed paranoia, Dr Friedman (a psychiatrist who had not examined her) felt such as idea would be "amazing" and "extremely unlikely". Friedman also works as psychiatric assessor for Doctors facing fitness to practice tribunals with the GMC.

Source: ADHD advice secretly paid for by drugs companies", Telegraph, 9 Oct 2000

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