Is There Payola In Pharmacology?

Do you remember a child’s saying, “Pishper shame, pishper shame, you ruined your name”, when someone was caught telling a fib? Well, what should we be saying now that it’s revealed that several respected medical researchers have been caught with their ‘disclosure pants’ down?

According to the social causes network site Care2’s recently posted article, “3 Harvard Psychiatrists Disciplined Over Drug Company Ties,” (http://www.care2.com/causes/3-harvard-psychiatrists…),

Drs. Joseph Biederman, Thomas Spencer and Timothy Wilens are said to have accepted more than $4.2 million from drug companies including Johnson & Johnson for psychiatric research and other activities between 2000-2007, and not reporting the income to Harvard, MGH or the federal government.”

“All three doctors have “published extensively” on ADHD in children and adults. Further, Biederman (the most senior in rank as he’s a full professor at Harvard), is a leading voice in using powerful antipsychotic drugs to treat bipolar disorder in children. As NPR says, “his work is widely seen as contributing to an explosive growth in such prescriptions, and much of his support came from companies that benefited from his research.”

The tragedy that probably has occurred is that in a zeal to promote ‘new and exciting’ psychiatric science—the least proven of all medical sciences—some grave miscalculations and misinformation may have been promoted that have caused children and their parents much personal anguish, heartache, and financial hardships.

More than four million dollars—that kind of money gets results, I’d say, wouldn’t you? But what can be said to parents whose children may not be psychotic and are taking heavy-duty drugs that may, in essence, probably turn them into zombies? That’s what the book The Risks of Pharmaceutical Drugs investigates: The marketing of drugs by Big Pharma for the medicalization of Americans. I encourage you to read the book and then you will understand just how much you, a healthcare consumer, are being hoodwinked. The book is available on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field…).

Please read another site, ADHD among American School Children, Evidence of Overdiagnosis and Overuse of Medication at http://www.srmhp.org/0201/adhd.html. You may realize that the 700% increase in psychostimulant use that occurred in the 1990s coincides and parallels with the inordinate number of vaccines promoted and mandated to be given to infants, toddlers, and teens. Are vaccines making kids crazy?

Now here’s the question and a challenge I wish to make in this article:

If the above information about a 700% increase in psychotropic prescription drug use in children may result from what may be a conflict of interest, then what can be found and/or said about the conflict of interest for MDs who promote vaccines?

There are many high-profile MDs who say that vaccines can be given in inordinate numbers along with other apparent scientific poppycock that the medical profession should have enough common sense to censor because it is totally misleading and gives a false sense of security regarding vaccines.

Just as probing questions into the overdiagnosis for ADD and ADHD resulting in the overuse of ‘hardwire’ psychotropic prescription drugs is now in the forefront of the medical profession and parents, that same type of vigorous and detailed questioning and investigation needs to happen with regard to vaccines at all levels starting with the U.S. Congress, then HHS, CDC, NIH, and FDA. Forget Big Pharma; they’re the problem with deep pockets that finance vaccines’ ‘pseudo-science’.

As the Care2 article so adroitly stated:

The “lack of sunshine” from Harvard, MGH and the NIH is disappointing. Many believe that too many children today are being “treated” with medications including antipsychotics and debates are raging about the over-diagnosis of ADHD, ADD and also bipolar disorder in children. You can read about plenty of conspiracy theories about doctors getting payola from “Big Pharma” in return for giving kids diagnoses that then “require” medications made by said drug companies.”

Read more: (http://www.care2.com/causes/3-harvard-psychiatrists…)

I’d just like to add, the same outrage should be voiced about vaccinations.

Photo Credit: DigitalBob8
About the author

Catherine J. Frompovich

Catherine J Frompovich is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting. Catherine is an editor and writing consultant who helps authors get into publication. For numerous semesters she taught several writing courses for a suburban Philadelphia school district’s Adult Evening School. Her passion is assisting and guiding authors into print. Catherine’s latest book, A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, will be available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook sometime in July 2012. Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008).