Doctor launches revolutionary continuing education program not funded by Big Pharma

(NaturalNews) In order to keep their medical licenses, doctors are required to participate in periodic continuing education programs to stay abreast of current medical knowledge. But most of these programs are funded by pharmaceutical companies, which means the curriculum is often little more than disguised marketing for drugs and medical devices. So Dr. Martin Samuels, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School, has decided to launch a new continuing medical education (CME) company that receives no funding from drug companies. After recently being invited to yet another drug company-funded conference at a fancy steakhouse, Dr .Samuels decided that enough was enough. He told reporters at The Boston Globe that the class–and other classes like it–are “subtle marketing” rather than actual education, and that he would not be attending it. “Doctors have lost confidence in [continuing medical education] and the public has lost confidence,” he is quoted as saying in the article. “The feeling is that everything is tainted. We simply must have a new way of doing this.” Dr. Samuels used to work for a CME company and knows first hand how the system works. Drug companies wine and dine doctors and offer courses to them for free, all of which influences the way doctors think about health and medicine and how they go about prescribing drugs. Dr. Samuels’ CME, Lighthouse Learning (LL), on the other hand, will allow only teachers with no connections to the drug industry to teach, and the dean of the program will keep close watch on the curriculum directors’ relationships to make sure that no conflicts of interest arise. LL is set apart from other supposedly independent CMEs in that it will not accept drug industry advertising or exhibits at any of its conferences, either. But getting doctors who are used to receiving free “education” to actually pay for it themselves could be difficult. And much of the burden could end up on hospitals that get stuck footing the bill for their doctors. Sources for this story include: http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/09/14/doctor_looks_to_cut_drug_industrys_sway_on_medicine/

SAMe supplement effective at treating depression, study finds

(NaturalNews) Researchers recently completed a study revealing that the increasingly popular supplement S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAMe) is an effective treatment for people with depression. The substance, which occurs naturally in the body, exerts influence on the brain in ways that improve brain function, alleviate stress and feelings of depression and reduce inflammation. For the study, scientists administered either 1,600 milligrams (mg) of SAMe or a placebo on top of participants’ existing medication regimens for six weeks. Following this period, the team found that those participants taking SAMe experienced better relief from depression that did those simply taking conventional antidepressants. And since SAMe is naturally produced in the body, there are no negative side effects from taking it like there are from taking chemical antidepressant drugs. According to Dr. George Papakostas, author of the study and psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the results are “exciting because [SAMe] works differently than what we have now — it doesn’t seem to be associated with the kind of side effects that FDA-approved treatments for this niche have.” And this is good news for many who have experienced devastating side effects from taking antidepressants. SAMe is not only a viable alternative to these pharmaceutical drugs, but it exerts many other positive changes within the body as well. “SAMe is a naturally occurring molecule present in all living cells, and is made in the body by a reaction between methionine and another compound called adenosyntriphosphate (ATP). It has many incredible benefits, including a positive effect on depression and arthritis pain…it helps the liver to replenish important substances, notably the all-important glutathione,” explains Johny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., in his book The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why . Sources for this story include: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67C30P20100813 http://www.naturalpedia.com/Methionine.html

Harvard Medical School rolls out new rules to stop its faculty from accepting bribes from Big Pharma

(NaturalNews) It is common practice for medical professionals to accept gifts, free travel, meals and other forms of indirect compensation from drug companies and medical device manufacturers for giving speeches that endorse their products. But Harvard Medical School has now made a new rule that prohibits its 11,000 faculty members from engaging in this activity. The school is also requiring that faculty who consult with drug companies, join their boards and work with them in any other ways, report all income over $5,000 publicly. The school is promising to keep a better watch on the relationships that its faculty has with drug and medical device companies as well. “We’re anxious to be viewed publicly as doing what’s in the best interest of our patients,” explained Dr. Robert Mayer, co-chairman of the committee responsible for Harvard’s new policy. According to both Dr. Mayer and Dr. Jeffrey Flier, dean of Harvard’s Medical School, faculty will still be allowed to work with such companies to perform industry-funded research, as well as be paid to sit on scientific advisory boards. The new rules were spurred by Senator Charles Grassley’s (R-IA) recent investigation concerning Harvard physicians who allegedly broke federal and medical school conflict-of-interest rules. Harvard has responded by proposing the new rules which are designed to improve its image in the view of the public. A recent Boston Globe article about the new policy explains that Dr. Mayer’s intent with the new rules is that they “are designed to keep doctors from becoming — or being perceived as — marketing agents for industry.” So it is difficult to ascertain whether anything will actually change, or whether it will simply be perceived as changing. Sources for this story include: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/07/21/harvard_puts_tighter_limits_on_medical_faculty/

Eating chocolate regularly may prevent strokes

(NaturalNews) Stroke takes an enormous toll on health. In fact, it’s the third leading cause of death in the US, according to the American Stroke Association. So imagine how much money Big Pharma could rake in if drug manufacturers came up with a medication that not only reduced the risk of having a stroke but slashed the risk of dying from a stroke in half. It turns out there’s a substance already on the market that does just that. Only, it isn’t an expensive prescription drug but a delicious, natural food — chocolate. A report just released by Canadian scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and the University of Toronto provides evidence that consuming chocolate regularly significantly reduces the odds of having a stroke. What’s more, if a person who eats chocolate does suffer a stroke, their risk of dying afterwards is almost half that of non-chocolate eaters. The research team reached these conclusions after analyzing three studies for any links between chocolate intake and strokes. Although one study didn’t reveal any risk or benefit, two others did. A large study of 44,489 people showed that those who ate at least one serving of chocolate each week were 22 percent less likely to have a stroke than the research participants who didn’t indulge in chocolate. Another study of 1,169 people found that when someone did experience a stroke, if they ate 50 grams of chocolate each week they were about 50 percent less likely to die afterwards than those who had strokes but didn’t eat chocolate. The researchers stated that chocolate’s abundant antioxidant content could be the key to its apparent stroke-protective effect. “More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others,” study author Sarah Sahib, BScCA, of McMaster University, said in a statement to the media. Historically, traditional healers have long contended that chocolate is good for body and spirit. For example, the ancient Aztecs and Mayans are believed to be the first people who drank a chocolate drink to help matters of the heart. And in recent years, scientists have found that some phytochemicals in chocolate can alter a person’s sense of well being, producing a lift similar to the feeling of being in love. As NaturalNews has previously reported (http://www.naturalnews.com/023499_cocoa_diabetes_disease.html), Harvard Medical School scientists have discovered that cocoa, which is the main component of chocolate, may literally be good for the heart — their research shows it could reduce the risk of heart disease and also cancer. For more information: http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=799 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stroke.html

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