6 May
The cerivastatin fatal rhabdomyolysis affair should be use as an example to stimulate reconsideration of the whole process of drug approval, marketing and use, as occurred after thalidomide was found to cause adverse effects to the foetus. It is not just a safety issue. Cerivastatin and fatal rhabdomyolysis: not just a safety issue. Gérvas, J., [...]
24 Mar
Prevention without limits creates monsters. Prevention has week foundations, as diagnostic methods with no scientific base. Good example are the problems with the interpretation of mammography in the screening of breast cancer and with the diagnosis of melanoma. Screening for serious illness. Limits to the power of medicine. Gérvas, J. European Journal of General Practice, [...]
2 Mar
New health challenges because social, technical and epidemiological changes need new types of medicalinterventions. Old-style prevention is not more justifiedthan old-style treatment. More money spent on preventivecare for the rich people, who are in a better position todemand it, takes time away from the poor people, whohave greater needs for their health problems. We propose [...]
2 Mar
Over time, the definition of prevention has expanded so that its meaning in the context of health services is now unclear. As risk factors are increasingly considered to be the equivalent of ‘‘diseases’’ for purposes of intervention, the concept of pr evention has lost all practical meaning. This paper reviews the inconsistencies in its utility, [...]
2 Mar
There are doubts about the effectiveness of the HPV vaccines. For that, we can accept the vaccines if (and only if) 1/ Pharmaceutical industries will donate one vaccine to under-developed countries per each vaccination done in developed countries, 2/ In case of need of re-vaccination (because less than 30 years protection) pharmaceutical industries will cover [...]
