Study Sees a Slant in Articles on Drug

[groovedaddy]

A new analysis of reviews and articles about the controversial diabetes drug Avandia has found that experts who were paid by its manufacturer have been significantly more likely than others to draw positive conclusions about the drug’s safety and efficacy.

Since 2007, scientists have published hundreds of studies, reviews and opinion articles about Avandia in scientific journals and elsewhere, arriving at a range of conclusions, some sharply opposed to one another.

Avandia, or rosiglitazone, is prescribed, along with diet and exercise, to help control blood glucose levels in people with Type 2 diabetes. In 2007, The New England Journal of Medicine published a review of studies and concluded that its use was associated with a significant increase in the risk for heart attack.

After a Congressional investigation, the Food and Drug Administration imposed a “black box” safety warning on the medicine. In February, The New York Times described confidential F.D.A. reports recommending that Avandia be removed from the market.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/health/13diab.html?th&emc=th

[Quantess]

1. Too late to recommend.