Medical Papers By Ghostwriters Pushed Hormone Therapy 289
krou writes "The New York Times reports on newly released court documents that show how pharmaceutical company Wyeth paid a medical communications firm to use ghost writers in drafting and publishing 26 papers between 1998 and 2005 backing the usage of hormone replacement therapy in women. The articles appeared in 18 journals, such as The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and The International Journal of Cardiology. The papers 'emphasized the benefits and de-emphasized the risks of taking hormones to protect against maladies like aging skin, heart disease and dementia,' and the apparent 'medical consensus benefited Wyeth ... as sales of its hormone drugs, called Premarin and Prempro, soared to nearly $2 billion in 2001.' The apparent consensus crumbled after a federal study in 2002 'found that menopausal women who took certain hormones had an increased risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.'"
Who ya gonna call? (Score:3, Funny)
When there's something weird
In your study results
Who you gonna call?
Ghostwriters!
Ghost writers.... (Score:2, Funny)
Ya know, the unemployment rate is bad enough right now without ghosts taking jobs from living writers.
But, how would they feel if the living started haunting each other? Turnabout is fair play. Oh wait, we do... it's called stalking.
Re:Perhaps now people will isten? (Score:2, Funny)
Don't you mean, "[not] eat butter"???