NEWS - JAMA says it was misled by doctors with industry ties

[Guest guest]

Medical journal says it was misled by doctors with industry ties

By Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer | July 18, 2006

CHICAGO --Just days after announcing a crackdown on researchers who do not

disclose drug company ties, the editor of a prestigious medical journal says

she was misled again -- this time by the authors of a study linking severe

migraines to heart attacks in women.

All six of the study's authors have done consulting work or received

research funding from makers of treatments for migraines or heart-related

problems. Their research appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American

Medical Association, a week after the crackdown was announced.

The authors said they did not report their financial ties because they did

not believe they were relevant to the study.

Dr. DeAngelis, JAMA's editor in chief, said journal editors did

not know about the ties until The Associated Press brought them to her

attention late last week.

" We'll get killed, " she said, referring to the potential damage to the

journal's reputation.

She said she would have published the authors' associations with drug makers

had she known about them. " Let me decide what's pertinent or not, " DeAngelis

said. " The issue is not what can those companies possibly gain; it is the

issue of perception. "

Last week, JAMA disclosed that the authors of a depression study failed to

report ties to makers of antidepressants. And two months ago, the journal

reported similar omissions from authors of a study linking certain arthritis

drugs to cancer.

JAMA has long required researchers whose articles it will publish to sign

statements disclosing all potential financial conflicts. An editorial last

week said JAMA was getting tougher as a result of the recent breaches.

JAMA's new policy, effective in January, requires disclosures even before

articles are accepted for publication.

Other leading medical journals, including the New England Journal of

Medicine, JAMA's main competitor, have disclosure requirements, but

DeAngelis said hers are the toughest. Editors say disclosures are necessary

to help readers judge the reliability of research.

JAMA posted a letter online Tuesday from the authors explaining the

omissions, DeAngelis' response and a correction. DeAngelis said they would

also be published in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

" Authors should always err on the side of full disclosure, " she wrote in her

response.

Dr. Tobias Kurth, a scientist at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital and

the study's lead author, said the researchers were not trying to mislead the

journal. He said they believed their financial ties were irrelevant because

the study does not promote drug treatment, but rather reports a potential

link between women with severe migraines and an increased risk of heart

attacks.

" They do not represent a conflict of interest, " he said in a telephone

interview.

Kurth said he has received research funding from the makers of Bayer

aspirin, Tylenol and Advil -- pain relievers sometimes used to treat

migraines.

Co-author Cook said in an e-mail that she received " minor

compensation " for a one-time consulting stint for Bayer, but that she did

not think it was relevant to her work on the migraine study.

" I do believe that conflicts sometimes exist and should be disclosed, but I

hope this issue does not get overblown by the media, " Cook said. " I think

that could harm the reputations of honest and well-meaning researchers and

lead to public mistrust where none is warranted. "

Dr. Frederick Freitag, a Chicago migraine specialist not involved in the

study, said the ties should have been reported, even if they had no effect

on the research.

" You still owe it as a matter of appropriate disclosure to lay your cards on

the table " or risk having somebody ask, " What are you hiding? " he said.

Freitag said he has ties with numerous drug companies because they fund

important research.

Dr. Jerome Kassirer, a former New England Journal editor and outspoken

critic of drug company influence over doctors, said JAMA editors appear not

to have done their homework. " It sounds like they're being sloppy, " he said.

DeAngelis said that the criticism is unfair, and that JAMA lacks the

manpower to check every researcher's background. " I'm not God and I'm not

the FBI, " she said.

She said the publicity probably will make others who haven't disclosed

potential conflicts reconsider.

" I suspect we are going to have a whole bunch of disclosures over the next

few weeks because authors are going to see how dead serious we are, "

DeAngelis said.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/18/medical_journ\

al_says_it_was_misled_by_doctors_with_industry_ties/

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[Guest guest]

, So happy that you posted this. It makes me wonder about the integrity of

these studies. How can we believe the findings, when the studies are paid for

by the drug companies and the researchers fail to disclose this. What else are

they failing to disclose? Hugs

<Matsumura_Clan@...> wrote: Medical journal says it

was misled by doctors with industry ties

By Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer | July 18, 2006

CHICAGO --Just days after announcing a crackdown on researchers who do not

disclose drug company ties, the editor of a prestigious medical journal says

she was misled again -- this time by the authors of a study linking severe

migraines to heart attacks in women.

All six of the study's authors have done consulting work or received

research funding from makers of treatments for migraines or heart-related

problems. Their research appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American

Medical Association, a week after the crackdown was announced.

The authors said they did not report their financial ties because they did

not believe they were relevant to the study.

Dr. DeAngelis, JAMA's editor in chief, said journal editors did

not know about the ties until The Associated Press brought them to her

attention late last week.

" We'll get killed, " she said, referring to the potential damage to the

journal's reputation.

She said she would have published the authors' associations with drug makers

had she known about them. " Let me decide what's pertinent or not, " DeAngelis

said. " The issue is not what can those companies possibly gain; it is the

issue of perception. "

Last week, JAMA disclosed that the authors of a depression study failed to

report ties to makers of antidepressants. And two months ago, the journal

reported similar omissions from authors of a study linking certain arthritis

drugs to cancer.

JAMA has long required researchers whose articles it will publish to sign

statements disclosing all potential financial conflicts. An editorial last

week said JAMA was getting tougher as a result of the recent breaches.

JAMA's new policy, effective in January, requires disclosures even before

articles are accepted for publication.

Other leading medical journals, including the New England Journal of

Medicine, JAMA's main competitor, have disclosure requirements, but

DeAngelis said hers are the toughest. Editors say disclosures are necessary

to help readers judge the reliability of research.

JAMA posted a letter online Tuesday from the authors explaining the

omissions, DeAngelis' response and a correction. DeAngelis said they would

also be published in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

" Authors should always err on the side of full disclosure, " she wrote in her

response.

Dr. Tobias Kurth, a scientist at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital and

the study's lead author, said the researchers were not trying to mislead the

journal. He said they believed their financial ties were irrelevant because

the study does not promote drug treatment, but rather reports a potential

link between women with severe migraines and an increased risk of heart

attacks.

" They do not represent a conflict of interest, " he said in a telephone

interview.

Kurth said he has received research funding from the makers of Bayer

aspirin, Tylenol and Advil -- pain relievers sometimes used to treat

migraines.

Co-author Cook said in an e-mail that she received " minor

compensation " for a one-time consulting stint for Bayer, but that she did

not think it was relevant to her work on the migraine study.

" I do believe that conflicts sometimes exist and should be disclosed, but I

hope this issue does not get overblown by the media, " Cook said. " I think

that could harm the reputations of honest and well-meaning researchers and

lead to public mistrust where none is warranted. "

Dr. Frederick Freitag, a Chicago migraine specialist not involved in the

study, said the ties should have been reported, even if they had no effect

on the research.

" You still owe it as a matter of appropriate disclosure to lay your cards on

the table " or risk having somebody ask, " What are you hiding? " he said.

Freitag said he has ties with numerous drug companies because they fund

important research.

Dr. Jerome Kassirer, a former New England Journal editor and outspoken

critic of drug company influence over doctors, said JAMA editors appear not

to have done their homework. " It sounds like they're being sloppy, " he said.

DeAngelis said that the criticism is unfair, and that JAMA lacks the

manpower to check every researcher's background. " I'm not God and I'm not

the FBI, " she said.

She said the publicity probably will make others who haven't disclosed

potential conflicts reconsider.

" I suspect we are going to have a whole bunch of disclosures over the next

few weeks because authors are going to see how dead serious we are, "

DeAngelis said.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/18/medical_journ\

al_says_it_was_misled_by_doctors_with_industry_ties/

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

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[Guest guest]

You know, , full disclosure is not that much to ask of these people.

It's also not a new idea. When stories like this come out, I agree, it does

make one wonder.

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

Re: [ ] NEWS - JAMA says it was misled by doctors with

industry ties

, So happy that you posted this. It makes me wonder about the integrity

of these studies. How can we believe the findings, when the studies are

paid for by the drug companies and the researchers fail to disclose this.

What else are they failing to disclose? Hugs