The REAL Top Medical Stories of 2006

At year’s end we are “treated” to articles about the “top stories” of the year.

For medicine, these are usually “feel good” reports about alleged successes in sick care.

Well, just wait until next year when the so-called successes are proven to be failures.

Here are some of the real top medical stories of 2006 – and these are from January 2006 only.

Each month for the rest of 2006 was similar.

Doctors Debate Safety of Obesity Surgeries

“The most common method in the United States — gastric bypass, or stomach-stapling surgery — may be riskier than once thought.”

Dietary supplement may harm heart patients: study

“Heart attack patients should avoid the dietary supplement L-arginine based on a study that was scuttled after six volunteers taking the over-the-counter supplement died, researchers said on Tuesday”


FDA Warns Consumers on Brazilian Diet Pills

“The FDA warned consumers Friday not to use two unapproved Brazilian diet pills because testing has revealed they may contain tranquilizers, antidepressants and stimulants.”

Drug firms eye fat profits from new obesity pills

“Slimming pills have had a chequered history, due to modest effectiveness and adverse side effects -- most notoriously with the diet drug combination "fen-phen," which was linked to heart-valve problems and has cost Wyeth more than $21 billion in provisions related to patient claims.”

Nickelodeon, Kellogg Targets of Lawsuit

“The plaintiffs are citing a recent report documenting the influence of marketing on what children eat. Ads aimed at kids are mostly for high-calorie, low-nutrition food and drinks, according to the government-chartered Institute of Medicine.”

Anti-diabetes drugs may have a down side

“People with type 2 diabetes are often prescribed drugs to boost their production of insulin. The controversial belief that these so-called sulfonylurea drugs increase mortality in patients with diabetes now gets support from a new study by researchers in Canada.”

US FDA staff questions Glaxo's weight-loss drug

“Early evidence shows labeling proposed to sell GlaxoSmithKline's weight-loss drug Xenical over-the-counter may not lead to safe use, U.S. regulatory staff said in documents released on Friday.”


Review Casts Doubt on Soy Health Benefits

“An American Heart Association committee reviewed a decade of studies on soy's benefits and came up with results that are now casting doubt on the health claim that soy-based foods and supplements significantly lower cholesterol.”

Fish Oil May Not Help Prevent Cancer

“Fish oil, seen as beneficial for reducing heart disease risks, probably doesn't help prevent cancer, according to a review of studies involving more than 700,000 patients.”

Panel: Teflon Chemical a Likely Carcinogen

“A chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant products should be considered a "likely" carcinogen, according to an independent scientific review panel advising the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Primary care about to collapse, physicians warn

“’Primary care is on the verge of collapse,’ said the organization, a professional group which certifies internists, in a statement. ‘Very few young physicians are going into primary care and those already in practice are under such stress that they are looking for an exit strategy.’”