Re: cache of story removed from the coast - re StanKutcher

[Guest guest]

Twitter and blogs have been full of attacks on anyone who links this politician to Study 329. Typical attacks: foreigners interfering w/Canadian election; we're all Scientologists, etc.Paper issued retraction, apology.Powerful man, from what I hear.T.Sent via BlackBerry by AT&TFrom: Jim <mofunnow@...>Sender: SSRI medications Date: Sun, 01 May 2011 15:22:43 -0500<SSRI medications >Reply SSRI medications Subject: Re: cache of story removed from the coast - re StanKutcher Damn good article, shame they pulled it. I wonderwhy they did pull it? Slamming politicians is open season in theUSA at least.On 4/30/2011 4:51 AM, jeremy9282 wrote:Stan Kutcherinvolved in controversial drug test http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:dOdQCF35WccJ:www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archives/2011/04/28/stan-kutcher-involved-in-controversial-drug-study+Dr.+Stan+Kutcher+paxil+329 & cd=1 & hl=en & ct=clnk & gl=uk & source=www.google.co.uk Lberal candidate for Halifax co-authoredproblematic Paxil studyPosted by TimBousquet on Thu, Apr 28, 2011at 8:23 AM Stan Kutcher, the Liberalcandidate for Halifax in Monday's federal election, is runningon his expertise as a doctor."I have a lot of experience in the health field," says Kutcher,"in multiple areas: as a clinician, as a researcher, asassociate dean of our medical school and in my work globallyin my work with the World Health Organization, as someone whohas worked to establish a number of national healthinstitutions." But Kutcher's experience as a clinician and researcherincludes his involvement in a controversial drug test known asthe Paxil 329 study, which was the subject ofmultiple lawsuits and explosive allegations of wrongdoing byresearchers, and which ultimately changed the way medicalresearch is conducted. That study started in 1992, when Keller, then thechair of the Psychiatry department at Brown University,proposed to the drug company Kline Beechman a study ofthe use of Paxil for the treatment of adolescentdepression. In 2000, Kline Beechman merged with GlaxoWellcome to become GlaxoKline. The drug trials took place between 1994 and 1997 at 12research centres across North America, including the DalhousieMedical School, where Kutcher oversaw the trials. Itwas a typical "double blind" study, with half the participantstaking Paxil, and half taking a placebo. The resultswere published in 2001, with Kutcher as co-author.But as documents later made public through the lawsuitsdemonstrate, the initial outcome measures in the study showedthat there was no difference in therapeutic benefits between Paxiland the placebo, but those measures were changed to give Paxila more favourable result. "They essentially distorted the outcome measures, andessentially lied," says Alison Bass, a former science reporterwith the Boston *Globe* who broke the story and went on towrite *Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and aBestselling Antidepressant on Trial*, which examines the Paxil329study. "They also omitted information about adolescents whobecame suicidal on Paxil and withdrew from the study.And they miscoded those teenagers---they said they werenon-compliant when in fact they had been withdrawn from thestudy because they became suicidal." Only in 2003, when a secretary at Brown leaked information toBass, did the problems with the study became public.Afterwards, New York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer suedGlaxoKline for fraud; that suit was settled out of court,but together with separate suits filed in Canada andCalifornia, hundreds of internal GSK documents were released.In Britain, the Committee on the Safety of Medicine found that the incidence of suicidal thoughts in the Paxilgroup was double that of the placebo group.Bass reported that in addition to his university salary,Keller, the lead author of the Paxil 329study, was paid over a half-million dollars annually by drugcompanies, including GSK. Keller has since lost his job---"inlarge part I think because of the allegations in the book,"says Bass. Two other of the Paxil 329authors have likewise lost their positions, but there's noevidence any of the other co-authors, including Kutcher,have suffered professionally. Kutcher was in the past paid by GlaxoKlineand other drug companies, but has not made the dollar amountof those payments public. Kutcher says he stands by the Paxil329study. "I don't think that study caused any particularcontroversy," he says. "There certainly is a group of peoplewho would like to cause a controversy around it, but scienceis nasty, brutish and long." Indeed, as co-author of a 2008 Canadian Academy of Child andAdolescent Psychiatry "Position Paper on Using SSRIs inChildren and Adolescents," Kutcher refers to"positive" results in the problematic Paxil329study and completely ignores negative results published in2006 from further GSK-sponsored research on Paxilin treating depression in adolescents in which he was alsoinvolved. Regardless, the Paxil 329 controversy hasfundamentally changed the way drug research is conducted. Now,medical journals require all drug study protocols to beregistered before the study begins, so that measures can'tlater be changed. Also, American medical schools---but notCanadian---require that researchers enter all outside incomefrom drug companies on a public database. As well, typically,although not always, published articles on drug trials now saywhat pharmaceutical firm paid for the study.

[Guest guest]

His f**cking name is ON the study! DOH!

Anyone associated with study 329 does not need to be in elected to

anything but maybe the electric chair. That study killed a lot of

children.

On 5/1/2011 3:34 PM, nandtbearden@... wrote:

Twitter and blogs have been full of attacks on anyone who links

this politician to Study 329. Typical attacks: foreigners

interfering w/Canadian election; we're all Scientologists, etc.

Paper issued retraction, apology.

Powerful man, from what I hear.

T.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

From: Jim <mofunnow@...>

Sender: SSRI medications

Date: Sun, 01 May 2011 15:22:43 -0500

<SSRI medications >

Reply SSRI medications

Subject: Re: cache of story removed

from the coast - re Stan Kutcher

 

Damn good article, shame they pulled it. I

wonder why they did pull it? Slamming politicians is open

season in the USA at least.

On 4/30/2011 4:51 AM, jeremy9282 wrote:

Stan Kutcher involved in

controversial drug test

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:dOdQCF35WccJ:www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archives/2011/04/28/stan-kutcher-involved-in-controversial-drug-study+Dr.+Stan+Kutcher+paxil+329 & cd=1 & hl=en & ct=clnk & gl=uk & source=www.google.co.uk

 

Lberal candidate for Halifax

co-authored problematic Paxil study

Posted by Tim

Bousquet on Thu, Apr 28, 2011

at 8:23 AM

Stan Kutcher, the Liberal candidate for Halifax in

Monday's federal election, is running on his expertise as a

doctor.

"I have a lot of experience in the health field," says Kutcher, "in multiple areas: as a clinician,

as a researcher, as associate dean of our medical school

and in my work globally in my work with the World Health

Organization, as someone who has worked to establish a

number of national health institutions."

But Kutcher's experience as a clinician and researcher

includes his involvement in a controversial drug test

known as the Paxil 329 study, which was the subject of multiple

lawsuits and explosive allegations of wrongdoing by

researchers, and which ultimately changed the way medical

research is conducted.

That study started in 1992, when Keller, then the

chair of the Psychiatry department at Brown University,

proposed to the drug company Kline Beechman a study

of the use of Paxil for the treatment of

adolescent depression. In 2000, Kline Beechman merged

with Glaxo Wellcome to become GlaxoKline.

The drug trials took place between 1994 and 1997 at 12

research centres across North America, including the

Dalhousie Medical School, where Kutcher oversaw the trials. It was a typical

"double blind" study, with half the participants taking Paxil, and half taking a placebo. The

results were published in 2001, with Kutcher as co-author.

But as documents later made public through the lawsuits

demonstrate, the initial outcome measures in the study

showed that there was no difference in therapeutic

benefits between Paxil and the placebo, but

those measures were changed to give Paxil a more favourable result.

"They essentially distorted the outcome measures, and

essentially lied," says Alison Bass, a former science

reporter with the Boston *Globe* who broke the story and

went on to write *Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a

Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial*,

which examines the Paxil 329 study. "They also omitted information

about adolescents who became suicidal on Paxil and withdrew from the study. And they

miscoded those teenagers---they said they were

non-compliant when in fact they had been withdrawn from

the study because they became suicidal."

Only in 2003, when a secretary at Brown leaked

information to Bass, did the problems with the study

became public. Afterwards, New York state attorney general

Eliot Spitzer sued GlaxoKline for fraud; that suit

was settled out of court, but together with separate suits

filed in Canada and California, hundreds of internal GSK

documents were released. In Britain, the Committee on the

Safety of

Medicine found that the incidence of suicidal thoughts in

the Paxil group was double that of the placebo

group.

Bass reported that in addition to his university salary,

Keller, the lead author of the Paxil 329 study, was paid over a

half-million dollars annually by drug companies, including

GSK. Keller has since lost his job---"in large part I

think because of the allegations in the book," says Bass.

Two other of the Paxil 329 authors have likewise lost their

positions, but there's no evidence any of the other

co-authors, including Kutcher, have

suffered professionally.

Kutcher was in the past paid by

GlaxoKline and other drug companies, but has not made

the dollar amount of those payments public.

Kutcher says he stands by the Paxil 329 study. "I don't think

that study caused any particular controversy," he says.

"There certainly is a group of people who would like to

cause a controversy around it, but science is nasty,

brutish and long."

Indeed, as co-author of a 2008 Canadian Academy of Child

and Adolescent Psychiatry "Position Paper on Using SSRIs

in Children and Adolescents," Kutcher refers to

"positive" results in the problematic Paxil 329 study and completely

ignores negative results published in 2006 from further

GSK-sponsored research on Paxil in treating

depression in adolescents in which he was also involved.  

Regardless, the Paxil 329 controversy has fundamentally changed

the way drug research is conducted. Now, medical journals

require all drug study protocols to be registered before

the study begins, so that measures can't later be changed.

Also, American medical schools---but not

Canadian---require that researchers enter all outside

income from drug companies on a public database. As well,

typically, although not always, published articles on drug

trials now say what pharmaceutical firm paid for the

study.