Pulse Beat

PROF DR BM Hegde 26 October 2016

Cancer ‘Research’

Sometime back, the ‘famous’ journal Science published an article which upset the players in the field. The study clearly showed that ‘bad luck’ alone determined how unexplained gene mutations occurred in the stem-cell lines to start a cancer. In short, it did say that all our theories so far have no basis!

The year 2016 is important for the so-called cancer research. In the October issue, the other ‘famous’ journal Nature published a paper from Stony Brook Cancer Center in New York which makes a complete U-turn and shows that cancer is purely environmental (90%) and chance has a role. Six months, and the Atlantic Ocean, separate these two studies, which are statistical and done by people who have not cared for any cancer patient and have no hands-on experience!

Cancer has been killing mankind from eons and we, who boast of our great science, have no clue about how one gets the disease. Neither have we won the battle against cancer, so far. A lucky few who did survive have done so because of their own immune system and not due to our empirical treatment modalities.

If the public has still some faith in our science it is, again, only due to chance. I was reading a blog showing how cancer is not a disease but a trillion-dollar industry and most research in the area, funded by the vested interests in the industry, is only a fraud. Take your pick.

Law Suits against Cholesterol-lowering Drugs

The $100 billion dollar cholesterol-lowering statin drug industry is under attack, as thousands of Americans are filing lawsuits against the manufacturers of cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins. Research continues to confirm just how dangerous these drugs are, with yet another study published recently linking increased statin drug use to type-2 diabetes.

Since the study was published by the American Diabetes Association, these known risks to cholesterol-lowering drugs can no longer be denied or defended, and the lawsuits are pouring in, at a rapid pace. Most lawsuits, at this point, are from women who have suffered from diabetes as a result of taking cholesterol-lowering drugs; but lawsuits over breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, liver damage, and others may soon follow, now that it is generally known how dangerous these drugs are.

This information, regarding a tsunami of lawsuits against cholesterol drug manufacturers, has yet to be widely published by the mainstream media, however. To find out the magnitude of the lawsuits being filed against statin manufacturers, we turn to law firms who are reaping the fruit of litigation against ‘Big Pharma’.

According to statistics supplied by various law firms, there were 464 claims filed against statins as of 15 April 2014, which increased to 703 by 15th May and then to 846 by 16th June. By mid-July 2014, over 959 claims have been filed for damages due to statins alone, and those increased in August to 1,162. There are also many claims currently filed against statins. These lawsuits now number well over 1,200 and are increasing at a rapid pace.

Let us see how the Big Pharma is trying to fight the truth. Alberto Donzelli, head of education, appropriateness, and evidence-based medicine at Milan’s public health authority in Italy, has issued warnings about the dangers of this drug, and advised doctors in Italy not to prescribe it. Merck responded with two cease-and-desist orders and the threat of suing Donzelli. Donzelli backed down, but Merck is under a lot of public pressure in Europe since the story was picked up by the British Medical Journal.

It was also reported in the Wall Street Journal in the US. When doctors and medical professionals oppose Big Pharma, they put their careers and, sometimes, their lives on the line. This is the latest story on statins! I have been saying this for decades.

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