November 8, 2009
Category: Academia • Alternative medicine • The Old North State
Yesterday, the real-life mailbox brought the Pharmboy household the Fall 2009 issue of DukeMedicine connect, a biannual publication on current news from the Duke University Health System. Produced by DUHS Marketing and Creative Services, it "strives to offer current news about health topics of interest" to its readers. This issue is not yet online but you can see the Spring 2009 issue here.
What caught my eye was a cover teaser titled "Detox Delusion" and an article on detoxification diets focusing on an interview with Beth Reardon a nutritionist with Duke Integrative Medicine.(The articles sadly don't have bylines so I can only give credit to the editor, Kathleen Yount.)
The article focuses on the fallacy of detoxification diets, extreme and sometimes dangerous regimens of purges, enemas, supplements, herbs, with the misguided goal of clearing one's body of "toxins." These amorphous toxins are never named, much less denoted with an IUPAC chemical name, but prey upon the fears of our "chemical" environment.
The article refers to the current "Master Cleanse" craze, known also as the Lemon Cleanse or Maple Syrup Diet. Not mentioned in the article is that the diet was developed in 1941 by an unlicensed practitioner named Stanley Burroughs and popularized most recently in the 2005 Peter Glickman book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy and Be Happier in 10 Days and his MasterCleanse/Raw Food website.
So, I was very pleased to see this:
Read on »
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:33 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 6, 2009
Category: Academia • Psychology
Father Joe Vetter, director of Duke University's Catholic Center, is protesting trial participant accrual for a study being conducted on campus directed by Dr Dan Ariely, the James B Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics in the Fuqua School of Business (story and video). Ariely is also the author of the best-selling book, Predictably Irrational, an engaging, science-based examination of the rational and not-so-rational influences that contribute to decision-making. The new and expanded version of the book ranks #442 on Amazon.com book sales in the United States.
Look for that number to improve after the attention to Professor Ariely this weekend.
So, to what is Father Vetter objecting?
Ariely and his postdoctoral fellow, Dr Janet Schwartz, received IRB approval to recruit female study participants from the Duke campus community to examine the influence of Tupperware-like sex toy parties on sexual attitudes. A recruitment advert had been posted on the university website, as is commonly done for any clinical or social science study, but was pulled yesterday following the objection of Rev Vetter. Correction: Duke VP of Public Affairs Michael Schoenfeld notes in the comments below that the ads were removed after accrual was complete. Indeed, going to http://tinyurl.com/toyparty reveals that enrollment is closed.
However, here is one of the four ads:
Read on »
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 5:02 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Botanical/Herbal Medicines • Pharmaceutical Law • Quackery
I should probably create a new blogpost category just for erectile dysfunction dietary supplements adulterated with authentic or synthetic analogs of prescription phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitors (e.g., Viagra, Cialis).
However, FDA has already created a page for this earlier this year after dozens of companies have been identified as putting real drugs into their erectile dysfunction products.
Do the brains behind these companies not realize that FDA is now monitoring every erectile dysfunction supplement for all manner of PDE5 inhibitors?
Apparently not:
For Immediate Release: Nov. 5, 2009
Media Inquiries: Christopher Kelly, 301-796-4676, christopher.kelly@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
FDA Warns Consumers on Sexual Enhancement Products
Another dietary supplement is found to be contaminated with potentially dangerous ingredient
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that Stiff Nights, a product marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement, contains an ingredient that can dangerously lower blood pressure and is illegal.
Over the past several years, the FDA has found many products marketed as "dietary supplements" for sexual enhancement that contain undeclared active ingredients of FDA-approved drugs, analogs of approved drugs and other compounds that do not qualify as "dietary ingredients." The FDA has issued multiple alerts about these contaminated dietary supplements.
Consumers and health care professionals should be aware of this problem and the health hazard it presents. Sexual enhancement products that claim to work as well as prescription products are likely to contain a contaminant. Use of such products exposes consumers to unpredictable risk and the potential for injury or even death.
In the case of Stiff Nights, following a consumer complaint, the FDA determined that the product contains sulfoaildenafil. This is a chemical similar to sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. Sulfoaildenafil may interact with prescription drugs known as nitrates, including nitroglycerin, and cause dangerously low blood pressure.
The product is distributed on Internet sites and at retail stores by Impulsaria LLC of Grand Rapids, Mich. It is sold in bottles containing 6, 12, or 30 red capsules or in blister packs containing one or two capsules.
"Because this product is labeled as an 'all natural dietary supplement,' consumers may assume it is harmless and poses no health risk," said Deborah M. Autor, director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Office of Compliance. "In fact, this product is illegally marketed and can cause serious complications."
The FDA advises consumers who have experienced any adverse events from sexual enhancement products to consult a health care professional. Consumers and health care professionals should report adverse events to the FDA's MedWatch program at 800-FDA-1088 or online at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm
The FDA remains committed to stopping the illegal marketing of unapproved drugs and will continue to protect the public with vigorous law enforcement and criminal prosecution of violators.
I'll be very serious about this for a moment because, in this particular case, it appears that FDA was acting on a consumer complaint that I suspect arose from an adverse health reaction to the product. Taking a PDE5 inhibitor on top of prescription vasodilators can cause a very frightening drop in blood pressure that, at the very least, could cause one to briefly lose consciousness and fall.
Read on »
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 7:02 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 5, 2009
Category: Books • Cancer • Journalists, Awesome • Medical education • The American South
Some readers may be aware that Rebecca Skloot is about to release her much-anticipated book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, a story that is about much more than the black Southern woman whose cervical cancer gave rise to the most famous human cancer cell line. (Crown, 2 Feb 2010, preorder here).
HeLa cells, as they are known, have played a role in the development of vaccines for polio and cervical cancer, the part of last year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Harald zur Hausen, and the PhD thesis 20 years ago of a certain natural products pharmacology blogger.
Having been invited to serve as a scientific reviewer of the manuscript, I can tell you that Skloot's book is a wonderfully engaging tale that is about much more than the history of the establishment and propagation of a cell line. Indeed, this is unquestionably and foremost a painstakingly-researched narrative of the science behind the cells and the personalities at the center of their popularization. But the true power of this work is that it is woven with a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking tale of the Lacks family and the evolution of bioethics in medicine.
What I least expected, perhaps, was to be so deeply touched by Skloot's rich account of African-American medical history and life in the South for blacks from pre-slavery times through the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. I could almost feel the oppressive humidity and smell the sun-bleached wood of long-abandoned tobacco drying houses. Since joining ScienceBlogs over three years ago, I've received a large number of free books to review. None have ever touched the scientist and the soul like this book.
Skloot's book is already drawing acclaim, having been named a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" pick for Spring 2010 and this starred review by Publishers Weekly:
Science journalist Skloot makes a remarkable debut with this multilayered story about "faith, science, journalism, and grace." It is also a tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty and the bond that grows, sometimes painfully, between two very different women--Skloot and Deborah Lacks--sharing an obsession to learn about Deborah's mother, Henrietta, and her magical, immortal cells. Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old black mother of five in Baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951. Without her knowledge, doctors treating her at Johns Hopkins took tissue samples from her cervix for research. They spawned the first viable, indeed miraculously productive, cell line--known as HeLa. These cells have aided in medical discoveries from the polio vaccine to AIDS treatments. What Skloot so poignantly portrays is the devastating impact Henrietta's death and the eventual importance of her cells had on her husband and children. Skloot's portraits of Deborah, her father and brothers are so vibrant and immediate they recall Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's Random Family. Writing in plain, clear prose, Skloot avoids melodrama and makes no judgments. Letting people and events speak for themselves, Skloot tells a rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society's most vulnerable people. (Feb.) [tagline emphasis mine -APB]
I wanted to share an idea on how readers can support Rebecca (and other writers like her) who have books from major publishing houses that increasingly do not provide support for book tours (no offense intended to the publishing house since I had a book with them in 1997 and did not get a book tour either).
For such an academically-minded book that appeals to both scholars and the lay public interested in science, ethics, race, culture, and medicine, I've been working on funding Ms. Skloot's visit to PharmboyLand by soliciting support from various university lecture series programs.
How can you do the same?
If you're at a medical or pharmacy school, hit up your cancer center or medical humanities program. If you are at a minority institution, you can hit up your programs that address health disparities or medical mistrust/racism issues. If you are in an arts & humanities department, you can hit up the folks who bring in speakers on Southern culture and history.
For you undergraduate, graduate and medical students, I know that you have student activities fund pools that would give you hundreds of bucks to a grand or two to bring in a speaker and that those funds sometimes go unspent because you really don't know who would be a good choice.
Well, choose Skloot. Rebecca is the kind of writer and speaker you want to bring to town. I know about 300 folks who would tell you the same after we all packed a lecture hall last year at ScienceOnline'09 to hear her talk about the book and read excerpts. "Moving and engaging of both the heart and mind" is what my tasting notes read from last year.
Then, when Skloot is at your university, you'll bring her around to all the indy bookstores in your area that host readings and signings. Organize dinners with local media, bloggers, women in STEM groups, local authors. Get her on your local radio station. Help her make interview contacts for your local paper. People will thank you for bringing Rebecca's work to your community. I've done this kind of thing for others before and it's great fun, especially when you're promoting someone who you admire.
And to think that you don't even have to take ten years out of your life to write a book to have such a satisfying experience.!
Here is her tour map below and you can click on this link to go to Google and get the embed code for your own blog to produce this annotated map.
View The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Book Tour in a larger map
Note that if you are in the Northeastern US, you will have the double pleasure of being joined by Skloot's father, creative nonfiction, writer, poet, and novelist, Floyd Skloot. Here is a lovely article, Tales of a Literary Dynasty, by John Calderazzo from the alumni mag of Colorado State University about the father and daughter team (Rebecca is a 1997 BS biological sciences grad of CSU).
To contact Rebecca Skloot regarding a book tour stop in your town, email her and get more details from this post on her blog, Culture Dish.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:02 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 4, 2009
Category: Advertising • Blogging community • Humor • Love for Terra Sig readers • Pharmaceuticals
Lookie what came in to my e-mail box overnight after yesterday's post about the hypotrichosis treatment, Latisse® brand of bimatoprost.
Hmm...I have a few ideas who might have sent this (no profanity, so it wasn't Comrade PhysioProf). And very interesting that this comes just a week before FDA holds an opening hearing entitled, "Promotion of FDA-Regulated Medical Products Using the Internet and Social Media Tools. For your information, here's the PDF schedule courtesy of colleague John Mack - Pharma Marketing Blog and @pharmaguy. John is currently running a survey in his masthead to solicit reader input as to what topics might interest them most - John is scheduled to speak early on the first day.
Just an aside: does the fact the hearing is being held at the National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center in DC mean it's going to be a trainwreck? (sorry, couldn't resist)
Read on »
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:02 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 3, 2009
Category: Advertising • Pharmacology
I am running out of eyelash puns having written at least six posts since the summer of 2007 on a class of anti-glaucoma drugs that have been harnessed for their cosmetic side effect: promotion of eyelash growth. Bimatoprost (Lumigan®) and latanoprost (Xalatan®) are members of the prostamide class of drugs that can manage some forms of glaucoma by reducing intraocular pressure. When administered as eye drops, the drugs mimic the effect of endogenous prostaglandin PGF2α, acting as a local hypotensive to promote outflow of aqueous humor from the eye through the trabecular meshwork.
Invoking the tagline of one of my pharmacology profs, "today's side effects are tomorrow's therapy." From the prescribing information for Lumigan® brand of bimatoprost (PDF):
Lumigan® may gradually change eyelashes and vellus hair in the treated eye; these changes include increased length, thickness, and number of lashes. Eyelash changes are usually reversible upon discontinuation of treatment.
This effect was picked up first by cosmeceutical companies that began marketing chemical relatives of the prescription drugs as eyelash rejuvenators, only to have action brought against them by the US FDA. FDA does not recognize "cosmeceuticals" as a product class but stepped in because cosmetics companies were selling unapproved drugs.
About the same time, Allergan, manufacturer of the Lumigan brand of bimatoprost, sought approval for a product called Latisse, comprised of the same compound but applied to the eyelash line with a sterile brush rather than into the eyes as ophthalmic drops. FDA regulates this latter product because it was approved to treat hypotrichosis, the lack or paucity of eyelashes. Nevertheless, it is clearly being sold as a cosmetic judging from their website's "Eye Candy" tab and video advertisement with Brooke Shields.
I can't watch the time-lapse segment of the advert without thinking of a Saturday Night Live parody where the lashes would continue growing incessantly.
Today, several medium-circulation national newspapers picked up on a 27 October blogpost by Julie Deardorff (Julie's Health Club) of the Chicago Tribune where she pointed out that Allergan has had some difficulty with FDA regarding their incomplete disclosure of potential side effects in commercial advertising materials.
Read on »
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:24 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 1, 2009
Category: Blogging community
Miss Cellania is the very clever 'nym of a Kentucky-based full-time blogger, radio producer, and more-than-full-time mother. She consistently puts up very imaginative and insightful content at her home blog but in her other gigs at mental_floss and Geeks Are Sexy. I love mental_floss so that's where I first learned of Miss C. (She's also been very kind to link to us on occasion despite her reputation for
During my Sunday morning leisure reading and catch-up on my Twitter feed, I came across her post from Thursday on how small towns are affected when they are the setting for blockbuster movies (think Long Island's Amityville). It can be a blessing or a curse.
The post itself is fascinating as are the comments from readers who provide other cases of their own local experiences. The current baseball World Series got me thinking about one of the more widely-known of such movies.
Terra Sig readers know that I am a proud transplant to Durham (NC, not NH or England) whose legendary historic ballpark was the centerpiece of the classic baseball film, Bull Durham, with Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins. While seemingly quaint, the name Bull Durham comes from a brand of tobacco that was grown and manufactured in the area following the Civil War - many Union and Confederate soldiers were stranded here following the April, 1865 surrender agreement forged at Bennett Place, ending the war in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The relatively mild "brightleaf" tobacco grown in these parts was embraced by the soldiers and brought home, thereby ensuring that the Civil War would lead to many more deaths in both the North and South (my, can you tell I am a cancer researcher?).
(More about tobacco advertising can be found in this library collection from the university-that-tobacco-built, Duke).
Endangered Durham, arguably the finest historical preservation blog in the American South, has the ultimate pictorial history of the Durham Athletic Park. Turns out that baseball has a far longer tradition than ACC basketball in the Research Triangle area: after 50 or so years of organized baseball being played around town, the Durham Athletic Park, then "El Toro Park," was opened in 1926.
For the next few decades, the park was the site for games by community and semi-pro teams, including the legendary players of the Negro Baseball League. The 1960s saw the main team, the Durham Bulls, become a major league farm team for two successive major league baseball expansion teams: the Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets.
Following the 1988 release of Bull Durham, increased interest in minor league ball led to local investment to construct a new stadium for the Bulls rather than renovate the historic structure (a 1990 bond referendum failed). In 1995, when the Durham Bulls AAA ballclub moved to that newly-constructed ballpark in the increasingly gentrified warehouse district of town, the American Tobacco Historic District, the old historic ballpark fell into disrepair.
In 2007, the Durham City Council approved $5.5 million to upgrade the Durham Athletic Park (DAP) to its former glory, including a modern rain collection system to maintain the grounds in a "green" manner. While I don't have any hard data, I hypothesize that the civic pride and connection to the movie contributed significantly to public support of the project.
The PharmKid and I spent a sweltering (even by NC standards) 15 August 2009 afternoon at the re-dedication of the ballpark. WRAL-TV has a somewhat more extensive history of the path to the reopening this past summer.
A month later, the Durham Bulls won the Triple-A National Baseball Championship.
How about you? Has any movie about your neck of the woods influenced your community, positively or negatively?
Photo source: Bulls at the East Durham Ballpark, 1913. Via Endangered Durham
From "Baseball's Hometown Teams: The Story of the Minor Leagues" by Bruce Chadwick
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:02 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 31, 2009
Category: Botanical/Herbal Medicines • History • Pharmacognosy • Pharmacology • REPOST (Classic Terra Sig) • The Awesome Power of Natural Products
This post appeared here originally on 31 October 2007
Have you ever wondered, perhaps on 31 October, why witches are depicted as riding brooms?
The answer is alluded to by Karmen Franklin at Chaotic Utopia in her post as to why witches need to know their plant biology.
The excerpts I'm about to give you come from a superb and accessible pharmacology text entitled, "Murder, Magic, and Medicine," by John Mann, host of the BBC Radio 4 series by the same name.
Read on »
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 12:02 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 29, 2009
Category: Blogging community • Public Health • Science/medical journalism • The Pseudonymity Laboratory
No, this is not the same old beaten horse.
Revere at Effect Measure, one/some of the best public health writers on the web, has written a splendid piece on the difference between the two types of blogging in response to the denial of his registration at the Knight Science Journalism Tracker. Revere has intended to comment on their coverage of the Brownlee and Lenzer cover article on swine flu at The Atlantic.
I was going to pick out some excerpts but the whole post is so clearly written and important in its entire context that I refer you to read it in its entirety.
I don't believe that I have ever read a more insightful treatment of the "pseudonym" issue regarding those blogging about science and medicine.
Science journalists, bloggers and the Brave New World we live in by Revere at Effect Measure
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 7:02 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
