HADCORP NEWS: July 17, 2008

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---- Forwarded Message ----From: "humanadjuvantdisease@..." humanadjuvantdisease@...HADCORP NEWS: July 17, 2008 Depressed 10-Year-Olds Have Plastic Surgery in Mind RedOrbit Dallas, TX, USA Posted on: Tuesday, 15 July 2008, 00:00 CDT GIRLS as young as 10 are thinking about plastic surgery and dieting, and feeling depressed if they don't own the latest mobile phones and iPods. The modern world has left many youngsters suffering stress, anxiety and unhappiness because they aspire to the model looks of celebrities, and feel they have to have top-of-the-range gadgets to fit in with their school friends. The

findings, published in a study by Girlguilding UK today, paint a depressing picture of a generation of confused young girls growing up obsessed with looks and possessions, and becoming prematurely interested in sex when they should be enjoying carefree childhoods. Girls of all ages who took part in the study said the pressure to grow up before they felt ready was among the greatest influences on their mental wellbeing. Feeling compelled to wear clothes that made them look older, sexual advances from boys, and magazines and websites directly targeting young girls with messages they should lose weight, wear make-up and even consider plastic surgery were all identified as damaging. One of the girls who filled in the questionnaire said: "When I was 11 I read a teenage magazine for the first time and that is when it kind of clicked, 'I should be like this'." One of the most disturbing findings was that self-harm is now

perceived as normal teenage behaviour for girls. Pressure to own material goods like clothes, iPods and mobile phones left one in five girls feeling angry or sad, according to the report A Generation Under Stress? Source: Yorkshire Post

Plastic surgeon's perfect life marred Doctor, who faced numerous disciplinary actions and tax evasion conviction, charged with fraud in U. S. National Post Toronto, Ontario, Canada Tom Blackwell, National Post Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 His plastic-surgery training in hand, Lawrence Saks left the Canadian winters he hated in the early 1980s and headed for what may be the world's most welcoming market for such medical specialists: esthetically obsessed southern California. It was a profitable move. The product of a hardscrabble Quebec City upbringing, Dr. Saks built a fortune in the millions of dollars and forged a reputation as a generous philanthropist. But that enviable life is suddenly on the brink of collapse. The 56-year-old doctor has been charged with US$4-million in

insurance fraud and other crimes, allegedly for claiming handsome disability benefits for himself while continuing to do tummy tucks, facelifts and other surgery. As it turns out, the fraud case is only the latest and most damning in a string of brushes with the law and medical regulators. Dr. Saks was earlier convicted of tax evasion, has twice had his licence suspended for medical and other infractions and faces a third potential rebuke by the California Medical Board related to the death of a 29-year-old liposuction patient. Two years ago, the Orange County superior court awarded another patient US$620,000 over a liposuction incision that became horribly infected. A pair of hospitals, meanwhile, yanked his admitting privileges for disciplinary offences. "I'm not a psychologist. I don't know why people who have everything sometimes do stupid things," said Moshe Reiss, a cousin in Mont-real. "I'm sure that you will find somebody

who will say bad things about even the best plastic surgeons. These guys work with people who want to take imperfect and make it into perfect, and obviously not everybody is happy with the results." It was alleged economic crime, though, that led to Dr. Saks' arrest last month. He was charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in an indictment that states he received about US$18,000 a month in disability payments under three insurance policies, based on false claims that he was prevented from working by a neck injury. In fact, the U. S. Attorney's Office alleges, he was still performing operations the whole time, sometimes billing for those procedures under another doctor's name, and depositing the money under an identity stolen from a Filipino-American who died in 1990. When an insurance investigator posed as a patient and visited his practice in Torrance, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles, Dr. Saks told the

undercover operative he was tired because "I sucked out a lot of fat today," according to an FBI affidavit. , the assistant U. S. attorney handling the prosecution, said he was unable to comment on the case. Dr. Saks' lawyer, Steingard, could not be reached. But in a document filed in court, the defence attorney refutes the federal government's allegations, saying that Dr. Saks' insurance claims were justified under his policies, and endorsed by a respected disability-insurance attorney. The social insurance number he used for some of his deposits was not stolen from a dead person: It was his old Canadian S. I. N., the document said. But the new case is among numerous stumbles -- and some more noble episodes -- on the physician's colourful journey from Quebec City to L. A.'s Metropolitan Detention Centre. His parents were survivors of the Holocaust, his father considered a "hero" for helping fellow

inmates of a concentration camp, said Mr. Reiss, the cousin. Like many survivors, though, they immigrated to Canada with much emotional baggage and little financial means. "He grew up in a very, very difficult environment," the relative said. He said Dr. Saks was a highly motivated medical student at McGill, where he later also did a residency in plastic surgery, after his initial brief sojourn in the United States. In California, the home of Cher, Pamela and other icons of surgical enhancement, Dr. Saks lived the American dream. The Canadian owns several properties, including an apartment building with more than US$3.2-million in equity, and a bank account with "millions" in cash, according to court documents and hearing transcripts. As far back as 1990, though, Dr. Saks was convicted of evading taxes on $660,000 in patient fees and sentenced to six months in a prison camp and halfway house, while the medical board put

him on probation for five years. Then in 2003, the board suspended him for four months and ordered another seven years of probation, partly because of his treatment of a 70-year-old patient with heart disease, who died about two weeks after he performed liposuction and other procedures on her. Dr. Saks admitted to improperly assessing the high-risk patient before embarking on the surgery, and failing to adequately monitor her after the operation. In late 2005, a judge awarded US$620,000 to Pattiann and her husband, finding that the surgeon had for two months played down a surgical infection in the liposuction patient. It spread to her heart and led to a lengthy hospital stay, massive scarring and "excruciating" pain when she finally had a series of operations to clear out the bacteria. The most serious accusations against Dr. Saks, however, come in a 2006 California Medical Board disciplinary case that focuses on a

29-year-old female patient. Half an hour into a liposuction operation at his out-patient clinic, the young woman started going into cardiac arrest and later died in hospital. An adjudicator concluded Dr. Saks had breached medical standards in various ways, including by performing some of the liposuction himself, instead of focusing on his assigned duty that day as anaesthetist. The adjudicator recommended an eight-month suspension, but Dr. Saks' punishment is under review. At the same time, Dr. Saks has given generously to local synagogues, paying for buildings in honour of his parents, and donating $1-million to a Jewish education centre, according to a court document his lawyer filed. He came to Canada repeatedly to look after his parents before their deaths, and provided considerable support to his mentally challenged brother, according to his cousin. "As far as I am concerned, he was always a good guy and always had a

good heart on him," said Mr. Reiss. "Obviously ... he got sidetracked over certain issues over the years."

MEDICAL DEVICE NEWS

Workers who blew the whistle on their employers split millions Buffalo News NY, United States By Dan Herbeck Updated: 07/06/08 8:28 AM It all started with an honest citizen finding out about a scam and making a phone call. When Craig raised questions about some of the sales practices at Kyphon Inc., the medical device company where he worked, some of his co-workers called him a complainer and a squealer. is now a multimillionaire, and the insults don’t bother him so much anymore. His concerns about the company led to a “whistle-blower” lawsuit in Buffalo’s federal court. The suit, which accused Kyphon of inflating the cost of spinal procedures in Buffalo and throughout the nation, was recently settled when the corporate successor to Kyphon agreed to pay $75 million.

As part of that settlement, and Chuck Bates, another former Kyphon executive, are splitting more than $15 million that was awarded to them in the case. The whistle-blower lawsuit is a little-publicized, little-understood procedure that allows citizens to sue businesses that cheat the federal government. In recent years, companies have paid billions of dollars to settle such lawsuits, and many whistle-blowers have received millions. In another Buffalo whistle-blower case, National Air Cargo of Orchard Park paid $28 million to settle allegations that it overcharged the U. S. military for air deliveries. In that case, a former NAC employee, Mark Oehm of Cheektowaga, received $3.3 million for alerting the feds. Oehm was guided through the complicated lawsuit process by two Buffalo attorneys, C. Oliverio, a former federal prosecutor, and ph V. Sedita. “It’s a win-win situation when one of these

cases is successful,” said U. S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn. “The whistle-blower receives some money, the taxpayer benefits because the company reimburses the government for millions of dollars, and we are able to bring an end to a pattern of fraud.” According to Louise Cohen, a Washington, D. C., attorney who represented in his case, federal prosecutors in Buffalo have built up a national reputation for their willingness to pursue such cases. While and Bates work in California, the company does business in Buffalo. But Cohen warns that anyone who expects to make easy money by filing a whistle-blower case should think again. Only about 25 percent of cases filed wind up being successful. “If you’re going to file a case, steel yourself for a three-or four-year ride that can be very uncomfortable at times,” Cohen said. “After they file a complaint, some people get fired. I’ve had clients who had

to go onto food stamps while their case was working its way through the system.” said that his experience wasn’t easy, either. “It’s a very stressful process, from beginning to end,” said the 43-year-old, now living in Hudson, Wis. “While the lawsuit is pending, you’re not supposed to tell anyone about it. You’re wondering if your work friends will ever speak to you again, and some won’t.” said he brought his suspicions to his bosses before he ever considered filing a lawsuit. “Over a period of months, I reported that fraudulent things were going on,” said. “I was told by [a company official], ‘It’s not your job to police the sales staff.’ ” In ’s case, he and federal prosecutors from Buffalo accused Kyphon executives of vastly inflating the profits for selling medical equipment for a spinal procedure called kyphoplasty. Cohen said the

procedure can be done in about an hour on an outpatient basis, but Kyphon officials persuaded doctors and hospitals — in Buffalo and other cities — to keep patients overnight. That allowed medical providers to charge the Medicare system up to $10,000 per procedure. In May, officials of the corporate successor to Kyphon — Medtronic Spine LLC of Fridley, Minn. — agreed to pay the federal government $75 million to settle the case. But Medtronic officials did not admit to defrauding the government. “I think the admission is inherent in the fact that they’re paying,” said. Flynn said he believes the lawsuit put a stop to fraudulent activity and will save taxpayers millions of dollars annually.

BIG PHARMA

The unhealthy ties that bind FDA to drug firms Boston Globe United States By Chuck Leddy July 5, 2008 Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial By Alison Bass Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill,260 pp., $24.95 In her new book Alison Bass obeys the most important rule of investigative journalism: She follows the money wherever it leads. In "Side Effects," her examination of mammoth pharmaceutical companies and their pursuit of profits at any cost, she exposes the dark web of researchers, doctors, and regulators feeding at the Big Pharma trough and undermining public health in the process. The term for what Bass discovers is "systematic funding bias." As she makes abundantly clear, medical professionals taking

money from Big Pharma tend to give Big Pharma what it wants. The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to be looking out for public health and consumer safety by objectively reviewing drug trials submitted by pharmaceutical companies seeking approval for new drugs. But who pays the FDA for this important watchdog function? Big Pharma does. As Bass, a onetime Globe reporter, writes, "The industry's allocation of $232 million in user fees represented 53 percent of the agency's entire drug review budget" in 2004. Does this funding system, which continues to this day, create the potential for the FDA to become indebted to the very industry it's supposedly regulating? If Bass's investigation into the antidepressant Paxil, a multibillion-dollar cash cow for GlaxoKline, is any indication, the FDA's public-watchdog function seems to need more teeth. She shows that Glaxo's research studies found that Paxil "failed to demonstrate any

separation" between itself and a placebo (a sugar pill) in adolescents. Moreover, she contends Glaxo and its researchers either ignored or suppressed evidence that the pediatric use of Paxil could lead to thoughts of suicide. Glaxo "made no reference to the negative results" from these trials, instead recommending Paxil for pediatric use. Bass illustrates how Glaxo paid huge amounts of money to conduct these research trials, and how medical researchers in the pay of Glaxo worked to give the firm the positive study results it wanted. Bass looks at a Paxil study conducted by a medical researcher whose employee, Donna , came to believe that he "was playing fast and loose with the protocols for the Paxil study" and was suppressing evidence of suicidal thinking in patients by "not accurately coding these adverse events." Eventually she contacted the author. Bass finds that the researcher was receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars

annually from Big Pharma. With evidence of Paxil's problems mounting, the FDA belatedly required that a warning label be placed on the drug. Meanwhile, it took the New York attorney general's office to compel Glaxo to publicly disclose Paxil's link to suicidal thoughts. Bass provides a dramatic account of this lawsuit, following state attorney Rose Firestein as she digs up evidence of Glaxo's deceptive conduct. Firestein pursues a consumer-fraud case against Glaxo, arguing that "the negative study results on Paxil were material to a doctor's judgment in treating patients, and they had been concealed." Glaxo eventually made a cash settlement and disclosed the negative studies. More important, notes Bass, the case "shone a spotlight into the black hole of drug research" and triggered "a growing outcry about the enormous influence the pharmaceutical industry wields over the practice of medicine." As Bass demonstrates, the free market is a

powerful, creative force, but some things should never be put up for sale. Public health is one of them, and with the help of investigative journalism like "Side Effects," maybe "Money talks" will give way to the needs of public health. Stranger things have happened. Chuck Leddy is a freelance writer who lives in Dorchester.

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