Tag: Food and Drug Administration

With Rise Of Painkiller Abuse, A Closer Look At Heroin

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

  The number of people who had used heroin in the previous year increased between 2007 and 2012, from 373,000 to 669,000. Meanwhile, federal data from 2011 finds that nearly 80 percent of people who had used heroin in the past year had also previously abused prescription painkillers classified as opioids.   via With Rise … Continue reading With Rise Of Painkiller Abuse, A Closer Look At Heroin

A drug to treat cocaine addiction?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 4 Comments

A recent study on the use of topiramate for cocaine addiction has been getting a lot of attention. Most of the coverage draws only from the researchers press release. “Using an intent-to-treat analysis, the researchers found that topiramate was more efficacious than placebo at increasing the participants’ weekly proportion of cocaine nonuse days and in … Continue reading A drug to treat cocaine addiction?

What should we think about e-cigarettes?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 4 Comments

Motherlode notes a trend in e-cigarettes and is concerned: I was standing outside our neighborhood ice cream shop one recent evening when I noticed a plume of smoke rise above a gaggle of teenagers waiting in line ahead of me. “Wow,” I thought, “that takes some serious chutzpah.” These kids were smoking in public without … Continue reading What should we think about e-cigarettes?

Suboxone Strategy: Protecting Patients Or Profits?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

I'm a little late on posting this one, but it still seems worth sharing. Reckitt Benckiser has decided to pull Suboxone tablets from the market. Why? It's an evidence-based decision and an expression of their desire to be a good corporate citizen and their concern for children. Late last month, Reckitt Benckiser created a stir … Continue reading Suboxone Strategy: Protecting Patients Or Profits?

They’ve got hope for something. But, what?

~ Jason Schwartz

Stimulant maintenance therapy did not work 😦 This study did not find a significant main effect of modafinil on the rate or duration of cocaine use among cocaine-dependent patients. Now they decide to polish the turd: Although these results are disappointing, we did find that modafinil-treated patients had nonsignificantly higher odds of attaining abstinence across … Continue reading They’ve got hope for something. But, what?

Following the evidence

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 5 Comments

Ouch: Abstract: This paper raises the question about whether the data on the medications we call antidepressants justify the label of antidepressant. The authors argue that a true antidepressant should be clearly superior to placebo, should offer a risk/benefit balance that exceeds that of alternative treatments, should not increase suicidality, should not increase anxiety and … Continue reading Following the evidence

GlaxoSmithKline’s corruption

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

The details are simultaneously exactly what you'd expect and shocking. And some people wonder why we're reluctant to embrace the latest and greatest pharmacological fad. Keep all of this in mind next time someone suggests that medicalizing addiction treatment will improve professionalism, ethics and reliance on scientific evidence. Sham advisory boards: Glaxo also used sham … Continue reading GlaxoSmithKline’s corruption