Wisdom of Age

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that "age effects on wisdom hold at every level of social class, education and IQ." In other words, age really does bring wisdom. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that older people were more likely to recognize that values differ, they were better able to acknowledge uncertainties, to accept that things change over time, and to respect others' points of views than younger or middle-aged folks.

The old adage to respect our elders has a basis in fact after all.

Human Guinea Pigs

More fun and games at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as they continue to allow the pharmaceutical industry to use the population of America as human guinea pigs. This installment is about how the FDA finally got around to putting a "black box warning" on Bristol-Myers' best-selling drug Plavix. It seems that up to 14% of the population may have a genetic variation that makes it difficult for them to metabolize the drug, or as the FDA says they "may not respond well" to the drug. Plavix is also marketed by Sanofi Aventis and is the second-best selling drug in the world with $8.6 Billion in sales in 2008.

The FDA also recently announced it's conducting a review of a class of bone-building drugs featuring products like Boniva to see if they actually increase the risk of femur fractures as has been reported in the media. Bisphosphonate drugs have also been reported to have severe side effects like jaw necrosis, heart rhythm disturbances and severe bone and joint pain. How many years will this review take and how many people will be injured in the meantime?

People simply don't understand and appreciate that they're being used as human guinea pigs, they think the FDA is protecting them.

And the medical industry wonders why consumers are turning to complementary and alternative medicine?

National Geographic

If you happen to run across National Geographic magazine from last month (January 2010) be sure to look at the article on health care. It has a great graphic comparing several countries on health costs, life expectancy, even frequency of doctor visits. I must confess I had a hard time locating the United States when I first looked at the graph. Our costs are so high that it was above the text, far removed from the rest of the world. It presents a very clear picture of America's health care problem.

More FDA Troubles

Has anyone missed the news reports in the past week about the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and Avandia? It's just the latest chapter in the FDA's troubled attempts to regulate safety in prescription drugs.

This episode involves the diabetes medication Avandia from GlaxoSmithKline. The flap was ignited by reports linking it to 304 deaths in the 3rd quarter of 2009. The New York Times reported that if every patient taking Avandia were to switch to a similar drug called Actos about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure would be averted every month. Naturally the manufacturer continues to claim that the drug is safe since sales were $3.2 billion in 2006.

Meanwhile more trials are underway while the FDA continues to abdicate its responsibility to protect the health of Americans. The current TIDE study isn't even scheduled to be completed until 2020. How many thousands will die as a result of this bureaucratic ineffectiveness?

Happiness Is Healthy

A new study from Columbia University shows that happiness contributes to better health. In 1995 they measured the happiness of 1,700 adults in Canada with no heart problems using a 5-point scale. Ten years later they discovered that for every point on their happiness scale people were 22% less likely to have a heart problem.

Experts say that happiness results in a healthier heart because it avoids the negative health effects of other conditions like stress and depression. Research has shown that stress releases hormones that can damage heart muscle and depression has long been associated with heart problems.

So BE HAPPY!

Remember, it's not what happens to you in life, it's how you react to it.

Government by the Checkbook

How much was spent on lobbying during the past session of Congress? Would you believe about $3.5 billion? To put it in perspective that's about half of what the government will spend on the entire federal court system.

It's no surprise that health care reform was the hot topic. Pharmaceutical companies and other health care manufacturers spent $267 million, the most ever spent by a single industry in a year. Business associations were next spending $183 million.

Remember when it was government by the people and for the people?

Health Costs Rising

Last year 17.3% of our nation's economy involved health care, about $2.5 trillion. The jump in health care's share of GDP was the largest one-year increase since the government began keeping records on it 50 years ago.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also predicted that for the first time government programs will account for more than half of all U.S. health care spending next year, or 50.4% The weak economy is slowing the growth of private insurance and sending more folks into Medicaid. Just last year they predicted that this wouldn't happen until 2016.

Baby Boomers begin turning 65 next year, a sign that America's aging population will continue to require more medical care even as they live longer. Meanwhile health care reform efforts in Congress are stalled as partisan bickering continues to delay any real change in the current situation.