it had been marketed intensively to surgeons on the basis of ''compelling'' but misleading claims

MICHELE STEGER is one of thousands of Australians whose ordeal with failing and poisonous hip implants was described by a Senate committee this week as ''intolerable and unacceptable''.

Not only had the product failed at rate several times higher than normal, the ill-functioning metal joint had spread toxic levels of chromium and cobalt into the tissue of her hip.
The Senate community affairs references committee said it believed ''insufficient information has been provided to consumers regarding concerns with the device. This is regrettable''.
Regret understates Mrs Steger's reaction when she learned in October 2010 that a previous implant that had caused her so much grief officially had been withdrawn from use 10 months previously.
The first hint she got that her DePuy ASR implant had been recalled in December 2009 came neither from her surgeon nor even health authorities.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/senate-finding-little-consolation-for-years-of-hip-pain-20111125-1nz64.html#ixzz1elw9TPyB

The practice of sympathectomy for treating neuropathic pain is based on very weak evidence. Furthermore, complications of the procedure may be significant.

Cochrane Summaries^beta

Independent high-quality evidence for health care decision making

http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD002918/cervico-thoracic-or-lumbar-sympathectomy-for-neuropathic-pain

Questions about safety and effectiveness of risperidone

Although it has been established that risperidone has good efficacy for reducing symptoms of DBD in the short term, its effectiveness over longer periods has not been determined and there are now significant questions in relation to safety.

In light of this, clinicians need to inform their patients (and parents) of the limitations of the evidence and the potential risks of using risperidone in the treatment of children with DBD.

Urgent investment is needed to make non-pharmacological interventions with established efficacy available to Australian families to prevent the onset and to reduce symptoms of disruptive behavioural disorder.
http://www.mjainsight.com.au/view?post=james-scott-michael-duhig-take-drugs-out-of-disorders&post_id=7141&cat=comment

multibillion-dollar cancer drug ineffective, harmful

THE Therapeutic Goods Administration will review the latest information available on a drug for advanced breast cancer but will not take it off the shelves following a ban on its use in the United States.
The US Food and Drug Administration revoked approval for Avastin on the grounds that it did not help patients with metastatic breast cancer to live longer, but exposed them to serious side effects such as high blood pressure and haemorrhaging.
The multibillion-dollar drug will remain on the market in the US as a treatment for other types of cancer.

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Avastin was approved in Australia by the TGA in 2008 for use in eligible women with advanced breast cancer in combination with the drug Paclitaxel.
But it is not subsidised through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for this use.

Avastin is also approved in Australia to treat a range of other cancers including metastatic colon cancer, renal cancer, small lung cell cancer and grade 4 glioma.
It is an antibody that binds to and blocks the action of a substance that helps tumours spread, called vascular endothelial growth factor.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/patients-continue-to-get-access-to-cancer-drug-banned-in-us-20111120-1npdf.html#ixzz1eHnpWWDE