Darin BrownCatastrophe of drug-based mainstream medicine
Posted by Henry Bauer on 2012/09/22
If science, and medical science in particular, were functioning according to the conventional wisdom, then research would be making knowledge self-correcting, in part because of disinterested peer review. In that case, it would be truly incredible that HIV/AIDS theory could have become firmly established and hegemonic. But the HIV/AIDS blunder actually illustrates the calamitous state of modern medicine and of science itself, overwhelmed by conflicts of interest as the universal criterion has come to be money-based, and the money for medical research and medical education and medical practice has become largely concentrated in a small number of pharmaceutical companies that are so large that they act as self-protecting bureaucracies and career-enabling empires.
Over the last decade or so, dozens of books as well as articles have described in documented detail that drug-selling has become snake-oil peddling because of corruption of the whole drug-approval process, including inadequate and biased clinical trials, lack of post-approval monitoring, and illegal as well as such unethical practices by drug companies as pushing off-label uses and lying to the public in direct advertisements.
I said a bit about this in “Evidence-based medicine? Wishful thinking”, 2012/08/25. A short bibliography of critical books and articles is at http://henryhbauer.homestead.com/What_sWrongWithMedicine.pdf.
I was just alerted to an excellent overview of the situation from a British perspective: “The drugs don’t work: a modern medical scandal” by Ben Goldacre, a preview of his forthcoming book (to be released in January in the USA), Bad Pharma: How drug companies mislead doctors and harm patients.
One can hope beyond hope that this will have a more visible influence than the dozens of earlier volumes that have exposed present practices.
HIV/AIDS Skepticism 
Victim of evil denialist conspiracy said
Henry, I was just going to alert you myself! What’s really strange is that this is such an excellent article by Goldacre and yet in previous years he has produced the most abysmally deceiving and really nasty articles mocking the “scare stories” about mercury fillings, and “the doctor will sue you now” about his attacks on Mattias Rath of anti-AIDS fame.
I’m hoping this may signal some sort of change in Mr Goldacre. Anyway I have added a mention of your book in the 7th page of comments!
PS- The Guardian comments are even more censored than your own…. (oops sorry a few surplus words in that sentence).
I should add that the Goldacre article was most of the day prominently highlighted in primest position on the Guardian’s website (one of the most viewed websites notwithstanding all the utter drivel it publishes!). Though I couldn’t find it at all in the printed paper not that I looked very thoroughly as I wouldn’t dream of financing such a pile of lies by actually buying it).
A typically abysmal article in Guardian, of which you can see the hugely overwhelming votes of the commenters against it (despite censorship) is this one: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/21/west-islamic-world-let-live
Henry Bauer said
Victim of evil denialist conspiracy:
My hard-arrived-at view is that it’s a common human characteristic to be apparently insightful on some matters and utterly and absurdly wrong on others. With relatively complex subjects — which most medical questions are — it’s simply not possible for anyone to be aware of all the evidence. Goldacre just hasn’t spent the time and effort on topics where he’s so badly on the wrong track. His book Bad Science illustrates that: very good general points, misapplied or not applied on some topics where, understandably enough, he hasn’t yet questioned what he was taught in med school and which is continually reinforced by mainstream propaganda.
Victim of evil denialist conspiracy said
Maybe you’re right that he has just been following his medical brainwashing “education”. My impression had been that he always sides with big med while bullying the puny alts, and is deeply hypocritical. But even that can be just due to the brainwashing ir intellectual flaws I suppose.
Put your questions to Goldacre here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/sep/22/you-ask-ben-goldacre-questions?commentpage=last#end-of-comments
Carol said
Isn’t Ben Goldacre one of the people who were so vicious when Christine Maggiore died? Imagine if he ends up coming around one day. Wouldn’t that be something?
Henry Bauer said
Carol:
Yes, he was; and it would indeed be something. But what could spur him to spend the time that would be needed to dig into the evidence? His column notes that he was led to recognize the non-effectiveness of anti-depressants through first-hand experience with a patient. How to arouse him about HIV/AIDS?
Still a victim of evil etc....(preparing to sue a certain HBauer...... said
BG “coming around”? While there’s a tendency for people to become more corrupt there’s also a tendency for them to become less naive. BG grew up deeply buried in the Pharma culture, his father being a big wiz therein. He would have then been further reinforced in the cult at med school. The conceit of those who have big money and prestige agreeing with them always outdoes that of mere conceited heretics. They see it all in clearest black/white of good establishment competent and honest versus bad heretic denialist/alt quack deceiving fools. And the latter, seen as very evil, are considered fair game for any amount of nasty words, as seen in BG’s earlier writing (and ditto Brian Deer).
But then BG has emerged into the real world, and not only had direct experience of patients, but more importantly the harsh world of public discussion. He has found his assertions increasingly under attack (not least from myself!), and developed something of a reputation among blog commenters as an alleged “pharma shill”. I’d like to think my own careful critiques have especially rattled him into thinking that maybe the reality…..
Henry Bauer said
Still a victim….:
BG was able to learn from his patient’s experience, so he’s not incapable of learning. But it is much easier to learn from friends than from overt opponents.
mo79uk said
No prizes on what else this article could apply to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9559261/Why-few-dare-tackle-the-psychology-of-ME.html
cfsboston said
The Power Hour – 09/25/12 – HIV-Negative AIDS?
TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 25, 2012:
A medical cover-up? GASP! Surely neither the government nor our trusted doctors and pharmaceutical companies would never cover-up the truth regarding a contagious disease – right? Wrong. Many believe that HIV-Negative AIDS cases falsely reported and treated as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome cases may be one of the biggest cover-ups we have seen. DR. LORRAINE DAY will share her thoughts on this interesting topic.
* Straight Talk about HIV-NEGATIVE AIDS (aka CFS)
TO CALL THE SHOW LIVE: 1-855-995-6923!
http://thepowerhour.com/schedule.htm
cfsboston said
Head of CDC-Retrovirology sent me this link:
“Idiopathic CD4+ T-lymphocytopenia, or ICL, is an immunodeficiency syndrome in which human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, cannot be detected. Because HIV is the causative agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), ICL can be referred to as Non-HIV AIDS. As in AIDS patients, Non-HIV AIDS patients exhibit reduced numbers of CD4+ T-lymphocytes, and many Non-HIV AIDS patients have developed the opportunistic infections or otherwise rare cancers associated with AIDS.
Non-HIV AIDS patients may comprise perhaps one percent of all AIDS patients. While the majority of Non-HIV AIDS patients do not belong to any of the risk groups such as blood transfusion recipients, male homosexuals, and intravenous drug abusers in which AIDS was first identified, some Non-HIV AIDS patients do belong to these groups.
This suggests that Non-HIV AIDS may also be transmissible.”
http://www.autoimmune.com/Non-HIVAIDSGen.html
If you ignore the part about a new fictionious retrovirus, it is quite good.
Join me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/HIV-Negative-AIDS/237370956341176?ref=hl
James said
More mental somersaults will be required. The liberal-left world has got so used to saying “hiv/aids”, I wonder are they really going to be able to be mentally pliable enough to start saying “non-hiv/aids” without recognising their simultaneous belief in “A is the case & not-A is the case”?
Happy HAART-addict said
I think you’ll find much the same in respect of the “illiberal-right”, the “liberal-right” and even the “illiberal left”. The real division of ideology is between the me-too bah sheep and those who think for themselves (approx one living member at the last count).