Friday, November 13, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Psychiatrist Received Nearly $500,000 to Push Drugs
On one hand, Chicago psychiatrist Dr. Michael Reinstein was bringing the company a small fortune in sales and was conducting research that made one of its most promising drugs look spectacular.
On the other, some worried that his research findings might be too good to be true.
As Reinstein grew irritated with what he perceived as the company's slights, a top executive outlined the scenario in an e-mail to colleagues.
"If he is in fact worth half a billion dollars to (AstraZeneca)," the company's U.S. sales chief wrote in 2001, "we need to put him in a different category." To avoid scaring Reinstein away, he said, the firm should answer "his every query and satisfy any of his quirky behaviors."
Putting aside its concerns, AstraZeneca would continue its relationship with Reinstein, paying him $490,000 over a decade to travel the nation promoting its best-selling antipsychotic drug, Seroquel. In return, Reinstein provided the company a vast customer base: thousands of mentally ill residents in Chicago-area nursing homes.
During that period, Reinstein also faced accusations that he overmedicated and neglected patients who took a variety of drugs. But his research and promotional work went on, including studies and presentations examining many of the antipsychotics he prescribed on his daily rounds.
The AstraZeneca payments, filed as exhibits in a federal lawsuit, highlight the extent to which a leading drug company helped sustain one of the busiest psychiatrists working in local nursing facilities.
In an interview and in response to written questions, Reinstein said industry payments he has received for speeches and other engagements have had no bearing on his research results or patient care. He said he does not "accept any money from corporations to study their medications. This eliminates any possible conflicts of interest."
But he does receive money from the Uptown Research Institute, a for-profit business that conducts industry- and government-funded studies on psychotropic drugs to help mentally ill patients.
Reinstein's office in Uptown is adjacent to the research institute, which is owned by John Sonnenberg, a clinical psychologist who describes Reinstein as "a mentor of mine" and "brilliant."
Sonnenberg said drugmakers and others pay his institute to do research, and the group, in turn, pays Reinstein a consulting fee of "under $2,000 a month" and has for many years. A decade ago, Sonnenberg said, Reinstein was an active researcher for the institute but since then has served only as an adviser.
"My research organization is separate from him, financially and organizationally," Sonnenberg said.
While payments from drugmakers to researchers are legal, critics have long argued that they should be publicly disclosed. Legislation to make Illinois one of a handful of states to require disclosure died in Springfield this year but is included in the U.S. House and Senate versions of health care reform proposals.
"We need to know that we can fully trust the relationship we have with our doctor and that another, more lucrative relationship with industry does not outweigh it," Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., who is pushing for such reform, said in an interview.
Health professionals who have encountered Reinstein have had similar concerns. When he gave promotional presentations about various medications at Grasmere Place nursing home in Chicago, case manager Staci Burton recalled that she was pleased to get free lunches. But she said she wondered why Reinstein put his patients on twice as many drugs as other psychiatrists who treated residents.
"I was thinking, 'Why are you using so many medications?' " Burton, who worked at the facility from 2004 to 2006, said in an interview. "(His patients) would have symptoms, they'd have all these side effects, and their doctor was not listening."
Psychotropics to lose weight?Chanile Hayes, a South Side resident, says she came under Reinstein's care at a psychiatric hospital after she suffered a nervous breakdown nearly 10 years ago. She found it odd, she said, when Reinstein told her that taking Seroquel would help her lose weight.
"I couldn't understand why he wasn't taking it because he was a plus-sized man himself," said Hayes, now 37. She is one of thousands of people nationwide suing AstraZeneca on allegations it concealed Seroquel's links to weight gain and diabetes.
While she is a plaintiff in New York state, a federal suit is playing out in Orlando, Fla. Reinstein is not a defendant in either case, but Orlando plaintiffs have cast him as a key figure: an influential promoter of Seroquel who was financially backed by AstraZeneca. They allege that Reinstein has claimed that the antipsychotic drug helps patients lose weight.
New brain findings on dyslexic children
But for children with developmental dyslexia, the teacher's voice may get lost in the background noise of banging lockers, whispering children, playground screams and scraping chairs, the researchers say. Their study appears in the Nov. 12 issue of Neuron.
Recent scientific studies suggest that children with developmental dyslexia -- a neurological disorder affecting reading and spelling skills in 5 to 10 percent of school aged children -- have difficulties separating relevant auditory information from competing noise.
The research from Northwestern University's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory not only confirms those findings but presents biological evidence that children who report problems hearing speech in noise also suffer from a measurable neural impairment that adversely affects their ability to make use of regularities in the sound environment.
"The ability to sharpen or fine-tune repeating elements is crucial to hearing speech in noise because it allows for superior 'tagging' of voice pitch, an important cue in picking out a particular voice within background noise," said Nina Kraus, Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences and Neurobiology and director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory.
In the article "Context-dependent encoding in the human auditory brainstem relates to hearing speech-in-noise: Implications for developmental dyslexia," Kraus and co-investigators Bharath Chandrasekaran, Jane Hornickel, Erika Skoe and Trent Nicol demonstrate that the remarkable ability of the brain to tune into relevant aspects in the soundscape is carried out by an adaptive auditory system that continuously changes its activity based on the demands of context.
Good and poor readers were asked to watch a video while the speech sound "da" was presented to them through an earphone in two different sessions during which the brain's response to these sounds was continuously measured.
In the first session, "da" was repeated over and over and over again (in what the researchers call a repetitive context). In the second, "da" was presented randomly amid other speech sounds (in what the researchers call a variable context). In an additional session, the researchers performed behavioral tests in which the children were asked to repeat sentences that were presented to them amid increasing degrees of noise."Even though the children's attention was focused on a movie, the auditory system of the good readers 'tuned in' to the repeatedly presented speech sound context and sharpened the sound's encoding. In contrast, poor readers did not show an improvement in encoding with repetition," said Chandrasekaran, lead author of the study. "We also found that children who had an adaptive auditory system performed better on the behavioral tests that required them to perceive speech in noisy backgrounds."
The study suggests that in addition to conventional reading and spelling based interventions, poor readers who have difficulties processing information in noisy backgrounds could benefit from the employment of relatively simple strategies, such as placing the child in front of the teacher or using wireless technologies to enhance the sound of a teacher's voice for an individual student.
Interestingly, the researchers found that dyslexic children showed enhanced brain activity in the variable condition. This may enable dyslexic children to represent their sensory environment in a broader and arguably more creative manner, although at the cost of the ability to exclude irrelevant signals (e.g. noise).
"The study brings us closer to understanding sensory processing in children who experience difficulty excluding irrelevant noise. It provides an objective index that can help in the assessment of children with reading problems," Kraus says.
For nearly two decades, Kraus has been trying to determine why some children with good hearing have difficulties learning to read and spell while others do not. Early in her work, because the deficits she was exploring related to the complex processes of reading and writing, Kraus studied how the cortex -- the part of the brain responsible for thinking --encoded sounds. She and her colleagues now understand that problems associated with the encoding of sound also can occur in lower perceptual structures.
Tim James
That's about half of what he makes an entire month now as a solder in Tikrit, Iraq. A former first-round NBA draft pick, James shares a 500-square foot living space with another soldier and eats plastic-wrapped MREs (ready-to-eat meals) Instead of an SUV he rides in a Humvee. Instead of pregame fireworks, he deals with mortar fire.
"I do get a lot of, 'What are you doing here?' " James said by phone this week.
James, 32, is a member of the Army's Task Force ODIN, which is short for Observe, Detect, Identify, Neutralize. He's part of a unit that tries to stifle the enemy's use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
"I could understand him playing with the All-Army basketball team," Capt. Curtis Byron said via e-mail. "But a situation like this is somewhat unheard of. He's set a great example as a former NBA player representing those in his former profession through his transition to a soldier and leader of others. We're all very proud of him as well as every single one of our soldiers for their personal and family sacrifices."
The Heat's first pick in the 1999 draft (25th overall), James played from 2000-02 for three teams: Miami, Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers. He also played five seasons overseas in Japan, Turkey and Israel. But he always had an interest in the military; his uncle, Sam McDonald, spent 22 years in the Marines. He enlisted on Sept. 12, 2008 and was deployed to Iraq on July 27 with the goal of becoming an officer.
His new career offers new sets of challenges. Sandstorms, for one. Didn't have those in the NBA. And the heat, which gets up to 135 degrees, 120 in the shade
"That heat's at a different level," James says. "And we're working in our combat boots and long sleeve ACUs (Army Combat Uniforms). You just try to stay hydrated the best you can. At least it's finally cooling down now. That's one thing I didn't know; it does get cool in Iraq."
But the worst thing — other than being away from his 5-year-old son, Tim Jr. — is the constant dread of never knowing what might happen each day. The Contingency Operating Base Speicher where he's stationed, 105 miles north of Baghdad, is often the target of enemy mortar rounds.
"They're shot aimlessly at our base," he says. "The rounds don't have eyes; they could land anywhere. You have to be 100% vigilant.
"Most of the time we hear explosions but don't know where it landed. You just hear a loud 'boom.' It's a fact of life here; you just have to keep going about your daily job."
And sometimes the danger comes from within. In September a U.S. soldier, Spc. Beyshee Velez, shot and killed a civilian contractor, 27-year old Lucas Vinson on the base. The soldier has been charged with murder.
The deadly shooting spree at Fort Hood also "deeply saddened" James. "We went through that (Soldier Readiness Processing) unit before we deployed," he says. "Our hearts go out to them. We're trying to keep out of harm's way here, and we couldn't believe that something like that happened on American soil."
Heat president Pat Riley coached James and understands the danger. "While we work in this toy department of human affairs on a day-to-day basis there are those standing on that wall looking after us and making our everyday existence possible," Riley says. "I am honored to have coached Tim James and wish that God will forever hold him and his family in the palm of his hand with the protection needed until he returns safely."
James, who is 6-7, didn't want special treatment so he didn't announce his NBA past. "Corporal James is treated no different than any other soldier," Capt. Byron says. "When he messes up, he gets the same admonishment, and his fellow soldiers treat him no differently than any other. He's one of us. That's the great thing about the Army; you can leave your life behind and get a fresh start. From there, it's up to you to accept that challenge. Corporal James has done just that."
But if his fellow soldiers ask about his NBA career, he'll tell them about it. And he's found it's had a positive effect.
"It gives them a sense of pride," James says. "They see someone who played in the NBA and now I'm here with them. It makes them feel like what they're doing is worthwhile."
Air Jordan 2010
I’m sure most sneaker heads look forward to these kinds of leaks for what’s coming down the road especially in the Air Jordan category. Uptempo Air just posted some scans of the Air Jordan Spring 2010 releases for us to see. Some majors include news of the next sneaker in the Air Jordan legacy, the Air Jordan 2010, there was only a blacked out silhouette so no images for now. Above are our picks for the upcoming year, from the top left: Air Jordan Force VIII [AJF 8] in two colors; a new model based on the Air Jordan 1, the Air Jordan Alpha AJ1; and the last on the first row is another new model, the Air Jordan Classic 91. Row two include a number of regional releases for the Air Jordan 16.5. On the third row include the best news of all the Air Jordan Retro VI Black/Red, followed by an Air Jordan Retro VI in White/Black and the last two are Air Jordan Spiz’ikes in classic Air Jordan colorways.
CMA Awards 2009
Pop & Hiss brings you instant reviews, typos and all, of all 19 performances at the Country Music Assn. Awards.
Taylor Swift, "Forever & Always." Nashville is going straight to its A-list star, opening the show with pop music's most popular living singer at the moment. She'll have two songs tonight, and first up is "Forever & Always." To sum it up: The 2009 CMA Awards are off and running with a train wreck. The energy and excitement of Swift's MTV Video Music Awards performance, in which she was running through a subway, is completely lost. Beginning with a fake interview with Nancy O'Dell was cute, especially when Swift noted that "If guys don't want me to write bad songs about them, they shouldn't do bad things." But turning her "Forever & Always" into a chair-throwing angsty performance, complete with a stripper -- or fireman’s pole (depending on your level of innocence) -- was ill-advised. She looked strained in trying to capture the anger of the song, awkwardly rolling on the floor and yanking at her hair. This is a D. But she has another performance in which to redeem herself.
Darius Rucker, "Alright." Performing after Carrie Underwood praised his ability to switch from rock ’n’ roll to country, Rucker unveiled a good-time pop-rock tune that wasn’t all that different from his Hootie and the Blowfish days. Although perhaps the reference to Patsy Cline was more of a nod to Nashville. Rucker, like Swift, sounded a bit off. But if Swift’s performance was oddly bad, this was just predictably bland. Rucker worked the crowd like he’d be selling records in the lobby after the show, running through the audience and high-fiving those in the expensive seats (the CMAs are open to the public). Pop & Hiss would say more about the song, but we’ve forgotten the performance while writing this summary. So a C.
Miranda Lambert, "White Liar." Here we go. Nashville should take note: All country award shows should be opened by Lambert. Though "White Liar" isn't the most fiery song on her recent "Revolution" (Pop & Hiss was pulling for "Sin for a Sin"), there's plenty to like here. Lambert is just the right mix of sweetness and grit, pulling the song to a mischievous stop in its final moments to reveal its lyrical twist. Her band is kickin', and she's on point. A
Brad Paisley, "Welcome to the Future." Songs about nostalgia have become a modern Nashville staple, and Paisley reveals his cute and relatable charm with this tune. Kids and parents unite as Paisley looks back on his days when he longed for a giant coin-op machine and tells us that now he has Pac-Man on his phone. References to video chats and homecoming queens stand side by side. As Paisley wields a sparkly blue guitar, he's a safe and modern star, coming across as the kind of rock 'n' roll heartthrob who isn't afraid to accessorize. B
Zac Brown Band, "Devil Went Down to Georgia." Faithful and crowd-pleasing, Zac Brown Band had the chops and the sharp violins to pull off the cover. But it’s an odd choice, considering this is one of country's most popular young acts and a group that will surely be in contention for best new artist at the Grammy Awards. An original would have been a better choice. We've heard this tune before, but the smokey D&D-like effects were kinda cool. Still: D+
George Strait, "Twang." Country, straight-up. Sandwiched in the middle of three performances, Strait didn't get a prime showcase, but there's nothing to dislike here. This is lean-back, kick-up-your boots country, and Strait does it as well as anyone. A-
Lady Antebellum, "Need You Now." With the barren trees of fall and strands of Christmas lights, this backdrop was all elegant holiday loneliness. Hillary Scott isn't the world's most charismatic vocalist, but this ballad suits her just right. It's a gracefully easy melody line, and Lady Antebellum is better when not trying to rock out. Charles Kelley trades off with her, sounding like the completely uninteresting dude next door, but this single belongs to Scott. B
Lou Dobbs Leaving Cnn
New York (CNN) -- CNN's Lou Dobbs stepped down from his controversial role as an advocacy anchor at the network at the end of his show Wednesday night after announcing plans to seek a more activist role.
"Over the past six months, it has become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us, and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem-solving as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day and to continue to do so in the most honest and direct language possible," Dobbs said during his 7 p.m. broadcast.
Dobbs, 64, said he had discussed the issue with CNN President Jonathan Klein, who had agreed to a release from his contract "that will enable me to pursue new opportunities."
In a written statement, Klein called Dobbs "a valued founding member of the CNN family."
"For decades, Lou fearlessly and tirelessly pursued some of the most important and complex stories of our time, often well ahead of the pack," Klein said. "All of us will miss his appetite for big ideas, the megawatt smile and larger-than-life presence he brought to our newsroom, and we're grateful to have known and worked with him over the years.
"With characteristic forthrightness, Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere. We respect his decision and wish him, Debi [Dobbs' wife], and his family the very best."
Dobbs, who is the last of the 29-year-old network's original anchors, said he was considering "a number of options and directions."
He cited the growth of the middle class, the creation of jobs, health care, immigration policy, the environment, climate change and the U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as "the major issues of our time."
But, he said, "Each of those issues is, in my opinion, informed by our capacity to demonstrate strong resilience of our now weakened capitalist economy and demonstrate the political will to overcome the lack of true representation in Washington, D.C. I believe these to be profoundly, critically important issues and I will continue to strive to deal honestly and straightforwardly with those issues in the future." Read Dobbs' full statement about his departure from CNN
Those issues, he added, are defined in the public arena "by partisanship and ideology rather than by rigorous, empirical forethought, analysis and discussion," and he vowed to work to change that.
In an e-mail to CNN staff members, Klein described the parting as "extremely amicable," and said Dobbs' replacement would be announced soon.
Dobbs was with Cable News Network from its initial broadcasts in 1980, acting as chief economics correspondent and host of the business program "Moneyline."
His coverage of the 1987 stock market crash won him the George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. That was one of many awards he received while at CNN, including an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement that he received from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2005.
Dobbs left the network in 1999 to found SPACE.com, a Web site devoted to space-related subjects. He returned to the network in 2001 as anchor and managing editor of CNN's Moneyline News Hour, which became Lou Dobbs Tonight. He also acted as lead business news anchor for CNN/U.S. and CNNfn, the forerunner of CNNMoney.
During his second stint at CNN, Dobbs positioned himself as "tough, relentless, independent," lashing out at what he described as the deficiencies and "partisan nonsense" of both major political parties, and injecting advocacy journalism into his coverage of topics ranging from free trade to immigration.
His no-holds-barred, sometimes acerbic style brought him a loyal following, but also attracted controversy both to him and to the network, especially over the subject of illegal immigrants.
Dobbs will continue as anchor of The Lou Dobbs Show, a daily radio show that began in March 2008 and is distributed to more than 160 stations nationwide by United Stations Radio Networks Inc.
Anne Pressly Autopsy Photos
Anne Pressly, 26, died at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center on Saturday evening shortly after 7:00 p.m., six days after being attacked by an unknown assailant at her home in Little Rock, Arkansas. Doctors had remained hopeful but Pressly took a turn late in the week and her condition quickly deteriorated.
She was discovered by her mother on Monday morning when she did not answer her morning wake up call, just a half-hour before she was to appear on ABC affiliate KATV’s Daybreak program.
Police continue to investigate and have found evidence of DNA in the anchorwoman’s home and are also reporting that Pressly’s credit card was used Monday at a gas station a few miles from her home. Sgt. Cassandra Davis, a police spokeswoman, said that investigators believe she was the victim of a random attack.
Presley recently appeared in the new Oliver Stone movie W. She had a small role as a conservative commentator.
KATV opened their Saturday evening news program with a seven minute segment devoted to Pressly. Her mother reported that her daughter expressed a desire to be an organ donor and her wishes were carried out. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Oprah Chimp Woman
CHICAGO — A Connecticut woman who was attacked by a 200-pound chimpanzee has revealed her face and says she's ready to heal and move forward.
On Wednesday's episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Charla Nash says she's starting to get stronger.
The animal ripped off Nash's hands, nose, lips and eyelids during the February attack. She's being treated at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Nash says she no longer has eyes, eats everything through a straw and can't breathe through her nose. But she says she isn't in pain and often goes for walks.
Nash also says it feels like "patches of tape or gauze" are covering her face and she doesn't remember anything from the attack.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
$328,707 system for you for under $25
Today is the day!
Mack Michaels, mastermind behind MaverickMoneyMakers
has just released his newest, most exciting course to date.
Over the last 7 months over 13,000 people have used
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Go to the page below and find out all the details
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Reach into your pocket. What do you find?
I'll bet you've got a cell phone in there don't you?
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Imagine being able to reach all 4.3 billion of those
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How incredibly powerful would that be?
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There may be millions of people on Google everyday,
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do you get?
Over 103 Billion times that people around the World
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P.S. This info has never been released. It's completely brand new and the ONLY place you can learn how to use the massive, rabid cell phone for immediate results market is with Mack's course.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Update!
I've been doing some things that are more important & I just started college.
I don't know if I'll be back or not. If I do I'll make very little posts.
If you need to contact me hit me up via e-mail, thanks!
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