ScienceDebate2008

If you strongly believe that voters do not need to be subjected to another inane presidential candidate debate like the one arranged by ABC news last Wednesday night, please urge the three candidates left standing to accept the May 2008 invitation from the leading scientists in this country to ScienceDebate2008, which will be covered by the science channel "Nova."

Voters have the right to know, and a vital need to know, where the three presidential candidates stand on science policy issues. We also have the right to know who they are considering as advisors in this important arena. Frankly, a huge number of votes depend on their willingness to participate in this debate, and the numbers are growing every day.

Protecting our future starts with understanding that much of the wealth and the wellbeing in this country comes from scientific research and technological innovation, which has suffered from inadequate government funding for way to many years.

It seems that the public is generally unaware of the vital role of Federal funding agencies (NIH and NSF) in driving biomedical and technology research, which in the minds of many of us is the heart of the ScienceDebate problem; all three candidates feel they can blow off this request from millions of people because the general public is ignorant of the issues.

Use the following link to add your support for this proposed debate:

http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/www/index.php?id=23

Vitamin D, Calcium & Colon Cancer

A clinical study on 92 patients suggests that supplementing diet with calcium and vitamin D appear to increase the levels of a protein called Bax that controls programmed cell death in the colon. More Bax might be pushing pre-cancerous cells into programmed cell death.

The studies of colorectal biopsy samples are part of a ten-year multi-center study of the effects of increased vitamin D and calcium and biomarker-guided treatment of colon cancer recurrence. This effort is to identify a portfilio of measurments that together can gauge someone's risk of getting color cancer. The study involves almost 2,500 people nationwide who have regular colonscopies.

Botox in My Face? Probably Not!

The April Journal of Neuroscience reported that scientists injected rats' whisker muscles with botulism toxin. Tests of the rodents' brain tissue found that botulism had been transported to the brain stems.

Botox is Allergan's (the largest ophthalmic pharmaceutical company) biggest product, with $1.21 billion in sales last year. The drug, approved in 1989, became fashionable among aging celebrities, and many of my friends, who were seeking to smooth facial wrinkles. It it is now used to treat some neurological disorders with fairly good success.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether patients contracted botulism, a muscle-weakening illness, from Botox. Wouldn't you think they would have investigated this, admitedly small, possibility before it was approved.

I must ask you, didn't the idea of injecting botulism into ones face seem beyond reasonable the first time you heard that Hollywood was doing this to preserve the illusion of youth?

Black Labels for ED Supplements

The FDA released a warning to consumers not to purchase or use "Blue Steel" or "Hero" dietary supplements promoted and sold online for erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment.

The chemicals similar to sildenafil, Viagra's active ingredient, which aren't noted on the Blue Steel and Hero product labels, "may dangerously affect a person's blood pressure level," an FDA news release states.

People with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates. ED is a common problem in men with these medical conditions. Because they may have been advised against taking ED drugs, these men may seek products like Blue Steel and Hero because the products are marketed as "all natural" or as not containing the active ingredients in approved ED drugs, the FDA notes.

The FDA advises people who have used either of these products to discontinue use and consult their health care professional if they have experienced any adverse events that they feel are related to the use of these products.

Consumers or health care professionals can report adverse events to the FDA's MedWatch program by phone at 800-FDA-1088 or on the FDA's web site.

Time to Rethink Free Samples

A broken healthcare system needs to rethink a lot of areas that could save patients, government and insurance companies money. Free samples of prescription drugs and dietary supplements is one of those areas.

University of Chicago researchers recently found that, on average, patients spend 30% more for therapies that come with free samples, than on equal or better therapies that don't offer free samples.

So, leaving your doctor's office with a bagful of free samples may seem like a good way to save money, but folks banking on the freebies need to think again.

Samples cost companies a ton of money, and the cost of those samples is simply added into the price you pay for the product. In the supplement world, you are far better off to purchase from companies who don't sample, but who guarantee to return your money if you are not satisifed with the product within a reasonable amount of time.

Food Stamps & Vitamins

Food stamp recipients can use their benefits to purchase “any food or food product intended for human consumption,” regardless of nutritional value, yet USDA policy prohibits the use of food stamps to purchase vitamin and mineral supplements whose specific function is to improve nutritional status.

Does anyone else but me object to a government policy that allows our food stamp tax dollars to be spent on sodas, potato chips, Twinkies and Oreos, but not on a basic multiple vitamin that can help prevent disease?

Airborne settles lawsuit for $23.3 million

It took 6 years for them to stop claiming their product cures the common cold, but who cared, sales of the product soared after the product was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Even after the company stopped making such a claim, sales rose in the last 4 years to over $100 million a year. Yesterday Airborne agreed to compensate duped consumers $23 million.

The Moral: It's not wise for teachers to make outrageous health claims for micronutrients they know little about and to blantly ignore FDA label laws. This sort of nonsense gives the entire supplement industry an undeserved bad reputation.