Risperdal (Risperidone) – A Brief History
Risperdal is a type of drug that’s technically known as a “dopamine agonist.” This means the medication chemically stops up receptors in the brain where dopamine would normally bond. This biochemical action can be useful in treating a variety of conditions, including schizophrenia and ADHD, which some research scientists believe are dopamine related disorders. In […]
Why Did Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Push Risperdal on People?
In her February 23, 2014 piece for Time Magazine, “Small Science, Big Diseases,” author Nathalia Holt argued that “Big pharma … is risk-averse. They have good reasons for this. Bringing a new drug into the marketplace is incredibly expensive. By some estimates, it costs $350 million from the rough experiments to final clinical trials. If […]
Risperdal and Prolactin Levels in Men: What the Science Tells Us
Does Risperdal really elevate prolactin to pathological levels in some men? Here are several examples from recent science that suggests that it does. This blog series will address additional research later. A study by Vitiello et al in 2009 concluded that: “an analysis [that] combined the data from five clinical trials in 5 to 15 […]
FAQs about Gynecomastia
What treatment options are available for gynecomastia? Liposuction can be used in certain cases, as can be surgery. Dr. Hamed Khan published a letter recently in the British Medical Journal that suggested that 80% of gynecomastia patients can be helped when their estrogen levels are lowered with a drug called Tamoxifen, which is a drug […]
Gynecomastia 101
Gynecomastia cases can be subdivided into different classes, depending on the nature and severity of the growth of breast tissue. Grade one. The patient experiences some growth of breast without additional skin produced in excess. Grade two. The breast growth is more moderate, but there is still no excess skin. Grade three. Breast growth is […]
A Shift in Thinking about Lipitor’s Side Effects
Writing in an editorial piece for the New York Times on March 4, 2012, Dr. Eric J. Topol assessed the situation bluntly: “we are overdosing on cholesterol lowering statins, and the consequences could be a sharp increase in the incidence of Type 2 diabetes.” Dr. Topol is a cardiologist at the Scripps Clinic who teaches […]
A Company Too Obtuse to Even Listen to Itself
Internal company documents show that Fresenius’s doctors grew concerned about GranuFlo’s impact on bicarbonate levels as far back as 2001. Dr. Michael Lazarus, Fresenius’s Chief Medical Officer, relayed a message to the company’s technical team on March 23, 2001 about the “[apparent] confusion regarding bicarbonate delivery in the labeling on bicarbonate and acid concentrate products.” […]
Johnson & Johnson and Janssen: What Did They Know? What Did They Do?
In December 13, 1993, the FDA approved Risperdal for treating psychiatric problems in adults. Nearly 10 years later — in April 2002 — FDA revised its recommendations and said that Risperdal could be used for “treatment of schizophrenia” in adults. A year and a half later, in December 2003, FDA approved Risperdal for use in […]
A Deeper Look at the Science of Gynecomastia and Risperdal
The next few posts will explore in depth the research that has been conducted on the relationship between gynecomastia, prolactin levels and Risperdal. The language quoted in these studies can get quite technical. However, the goal is not to demonstrate that any single study is “world changing” but rather to show how many diverse studies […]
Lipitor Side Effects
What, Exactly, Are They? Where’s the Proof? Do drugs like Lipitor have side effects? If so, what are they? How severe are they? How common are they? Dr. Richard Milani, the Head of Preventive Cardiology at Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, who serves on Pfizer’s Speakers’ Bureau, told the popular medical site, WebMD the […]