Scientific Literacy – Critical in a Capitalistic, Free Society.

Mike Magee This week the FDA announced that they are finally banning Trans Fats though food companies have three years to comply, which means three years to lobby for delay or repeal of the ruling. Fundamental to the ineffectual delayed response has been purposeful confusion sown by the very organizations that invented these “foods” and […]

Cholesterol: Never Having To Say You’re Sorry – Authors, Reviewers and RWI’s.

Mike Magee Tough week for the Cholesterol Franchise. When the major heart associations (American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology) put out new guidelines in the journal Circulation(1), and instantaneously the Cleveland Clinic’s Steven Nissen and Brigham and Women’s Peter Libby trash the recommendations, and Harvard’s Paul M. Ridker and Nancy Cook let […]

Eliminating Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Guideline Development—Is it Possible?

Judy Salerno A variety of professions offer ripe environments for conflict of interest, and most every field these days is considering conflict of interest policies to mitigate the appearance or actuality of a problem. In the medical profession, there is a critical need for conflict of interest policies, and rigorous standards generally, around the development […]