Why would a blog on
sex be interested in a possible senate investigation of the primary investigator for an NIH study of Paxil? It seems that this university psychiatrist might have forgotten to disclose the $500,000 he received from the company that makes the drug to the university he works for.
People who are taking this particular class of antidepressants sometimes send me emails asking what to do about the sexual side effects. One of the first things I think is "Do you really need to be taking these anti-depressants?" but I learned long ago not to be so bold and insensitive as to express this kind of blasphemy to someone from the Prozac generation. It's almost guaranteed I'll get back a vicious rant about how the antidepressant saved them from slicing their wrists wide open.
As for slicing my own wrists, that's exactly what I'd be doing if I were one of the investigators of these drugs whose job it is to make the research findings support the kind of efficacy that's implied in the TV ads. But I digress.
A fascinating look at this situation in today's Pharmalot makes me wonder why a drug company might have given $500,000 to a professor of psychiatry who was the primary governmental investigator of their drugs. Is it possible that without such generosity on the part of the parent company, people might be looking more closely into how effective these drugs really are, for whom, and under what conditions?
And for those of you who are thinking, "But the latest research shows that Viagra can help decrease the sexual side effects of women who are taking SSRI antidepressants"--don't even get me started on the methodology, sample size and how they interpreted the findings of that one.
I, like many of you, want and need a pharmaceutical industry that is effective and innovative. But I'd rather see the $500,000 hand outs given to the people who are doing the R&D, rather than to someone who is trying to sell regulators and consumers on something that we might not really need.
Relevant Links:
Ed Silverman's fascinating Pharmalot is easily the best blog on the pharmaceutical business.
Dr. Petra Boynton takes a closer look at the Viagra & Your Depressed Vagina study here.
