The agent who represents me, Joy Tutela at the David Black Agency, has moved to Brooklyn. I lived in Brooklyn as a kid,. I climbed trees in Prospect Park, played army in the hills with my brother and friends, and I LOVE Brooklyn. Plus I have aunts, uncles and cousins in Brooklyn who are some of the best people who ever lived so for me, this is a good omen as my memoir, Stealing Norman Mailer’s Dog, is being circulated to publishers around town right now.

“Experts” are actually arguing that patients should have increased access to drugs not yet tested and that this should be done on compassionate grounds. This article, by the way, came out a few days before the FDA decided to restrict Avandia, a drug that HAD ALREADY BEEN APPROVED because it increased the likelihood of heart attack

The NYT is live blogging the debate on whether to pull the diabetes drug Avandia from the shelves. A federal advisory panel is hearing testimoney about how safe it is, how safe it isn’t, what the problems may be… when did science becaome so much about opinion? When did clinical trials have so much wiggle room? Makes one wonder. But, enough, now to the blogging …

… this trend where patients increasingly drive the focus of research and the availability of unproven treatments is absurd, insane, and potentially life-threatening … No matter how heart wrenching these personal stories, anecdote and desperation should neer be a significant factor in conducting effective clinical trials. It makes for bad research and produces bad medicine.

Some really fascinating stories get us going into the weekend. Interesting and heartfelt responses to NYT article about cancer trials and why people don’t volunteer for trials… although I’m not convinced of their necessity at all, very cool story about iphone and Windows apps for clinical trials … and an update on efforts in the U.S. and abroad about progress on trials for a swine flu vaccine…

Why Patients Turn Down Clinical Trials – New York Times – I read with interest your article about the chilling effect that low recruitment for clinical trials has had on the search for meaningful treatments.

The New York Times has a story about cancer trials that subtly urges patients to enroll as subjects. There is also a sidebar about how to make the decision to enroll. Al in all, a pro-trials approach, which is becoming all too common in most media coverage of trials at the same time that corporate interests assert themselves … Also, a story from a recent Parade magazine urging people to, you guessed, it, enroll in trials. This one is done is such a strenuously blatantly fashion that the subhead is: “Sometimes it take an experiment to make you well.”

Forty Years’ War Lack of Study Participants Said to Hobble Fight … New York Times – Of course, there have been highly successful clinical trials…

An excellent article in the New York Times by the always astute and well-informed medical and health writer Gina Kolata sheds light on how cancer research is driven by a grant system that rewards cautious thinking more than promoting bold ideas of how to cure and treat cancer. The article is a nice look at a portion of the “medical industrial complex” that appears to be a self-sustaining enterprise and an embedded part of how health care and research are conducted in the United States.

In a related story …

A fascinating article, video, and reader comment board at the New York Times online is must-read material for anyone curious about clinical trials. Written by reporter Pam Belluck, the article, “Test Subjects Who Call the Scientist Mom or Dad,” examines the ethical implications and potential impact on children and clinical trials when parents use their [...]