Hi sicko,



 BL> GPs are being swamped by lunatic information telling them that

 BL> *every* drug has side effects, as pharmaceutical companies

 BL> cover their arse particularly in America. They've lost the

 BL> plot.



 JT> The truth is, all drugs have side effects.



 BL>   Bullshit. Define side-effect. Aspirin has a side effect of being the

 BL> most effective way to control blood coagulation known to man. It also

 BL> cures headaches. Which is the side-effect? Salicylic acid is what it

 BL> is and clearly understood rather imperfectly even after 50 years.



Picky bit - Hippocrates used it (infusion of willow bark) in 400

BC, and it was identified and purified in 1899.



There's an article in a recent New Scientist (30 Nov 96) on aspirin

(and its rellies) and side effects. When used in large quantities

for extended periods, for example to relieve inflammation caused by

rheumatoid arthritis, it can cause stomach ulcers, and it sometimes

masks the pain long enough for the ulcers to kill. This is not a

direct contact effect, it happens even if the drug is injected

rather than ingested. Recent research (1991) has found out that the

enzyme in the bod that it inhibits is actually two slightly

different enzymes, and the second one is needed to keep stomach and

intestine mucous flowing. Various patches are already in the animal

and human testing stage.



One of the patches mentions nitroglycerine - in the blood, it

releases nitric oxide, which can dilate blood vessels, and is used

to reduce the pain of angina. (NO is produced and used by the body,

so it's not all that artificial.) NO can also help protect the

tummy against ulcers, so work is being done on slow release NO

drugs. The article notes that too fast a release of NO can cause a

fatal drop in blood pressure...



 BL>   One of the pills I'm taking now has the unfortunate side-effect of

 BL> destroying white cells which can kill me in a month.



One of the drugs that might be needed to fight our baby James's

budding asthma has the side effect of stopping growth. Fun.



 BL>  My surgeon has

 BL> balanced this against the risk of the stent blocking and killing me in

 BL> 7 minutes... by ordering a weekly blood leucocyte count. To me, this

 BL> is Medicine. To the Politically Correct, the drug is dangerous and

 BL> should be off the "free" list - so it is. I had to pay
$150 for the

 BL> bloody things.



 BL>   Life is all about risks and knowledge. Political correctness

 BL> maximises the risk and minimises the knowledge.



I think they're more into trading dollars for lives, but that's

life. Here - have some white cells:































Enough?



Cheers



--- PPoint 1.88