NIMH's Stimulus Plans
Few federal agencies have yet decided or said what they will do with the cash infusion from the recently passed stimulus package. But the National Institute of Mental Health has already made plans. The agency said that it will use the $350 million it is receiving to support basic and clinical R01 grants, supplements to existing grants, and grants funded through a new 2-year R01 program, the National Institutes of Health Challenge Grants in Health and Science. According to the agency, the Challenge Grants fund studies that will rapidly generate outcomes. The money has to be spent within 2 years, “requiring NIH and NIMH to establish an unusually quick turnaround for high-impact, short-term projects,” an agency statement said.
Meth Costs Staggering
In the first study to assess the methamphetamine problem in the United States, the RAND Corp. estimates use of the drug cost the nation $23.4 billion in 2005. That figure includes the burden of addiction, premature death, and drug treatment, among other costs. Two-thirds of the costs were attributable to the burden of addiction, which RAND measured by quantifying the impact of a lower quality of life. The second-largest expense category was crime and criminal justice expenses. RAND cautions that the estimates are preliminary, since they are based on “an emerging understanding” of meth and the harm it causes. Use may not be common nationally, but some localities are particularly hard-hit, said RAND. In 2004, meth was the primary drug of abuse in 59% of treatment admissions in Hawaii, for instance. The study was sponsored by the Meth Project Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse and can be found online at
www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG829/
Abbott Warned on Depakote
The Food and Drug Administration warned Abbott Laboratories that a promotional campaign for its products Depakote and Depakote ER was false and misleading and omitted important safety information. The campaign consisted of a flashcard sent to health care providers. The card was misleading because it did not include the risks–including a boxed warning about hepatotoxicity–in the main body, FDAsaid. It also implied that the ER formulation was indicated for use in a broader group of patients than the conventional formulation, but that is not the case. The agency asked Abbott to immediately cease distribution of the card. The drugs are prescribed for seizure disorders, migraine, and bipolar disorder.
'Truth' Campaign Effective
The American Legacy Foundation's “truth” campaign about youth smoking has not only been very effective in stopping teens from starting, it also has been cost effective, according to three new studies. The campaign was started in 2000 by ALF, which was created out of the tobacco industry settlement in 1998. A study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that from 2000 to 2004, the campaign prevented 450,000 youths from starting to smoke. Another study in the same issue reported that the program paid for itself in the first 2 years and has saved $2-$5 billion in health expenditures. A third study, published in the February issue of Ethnicity and Health, found that the “truth” campaign has led to increased antitobacco beliefs and attitudes among youths of all ethnicities.
Veterans Sue Over Experiments
The Vietnam Veterans of America and six individual veterans are suing the Defense Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Army for failing to care for them after they helped test toxic chemical and biologic substances starting in the 1950s. The lawsuit, which was filed last month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that until at least 1976, the government used troops to test nerve gas, psychoactive chemicals such as LSD, and toxic substances without proper informed consent. The plaintiffs are not seeking monetary damages but want medical treatment for such veterans in the future. The lawsuit also calls on the government to disclose all medical information about tests performed on the plaintiffs. The complaint is available in full online at
Court Shields Billing Records
An appeals court has ruled against the release of Medicare billing records, which was sought by the group Consumers' Checkbook so that it could grade physicians on quality. The nonprofit had filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all 2004 Medicare claims from physicians in several locations, and the group won in a lower court in 2007. But the Department of Health and Human Services, joined by the American Medical Association, appealed, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that HHS does not have to release the information. Disclosure of the requested data would constitute an invasion of physicians' privacy, the appeals court said. The AMA praised the decision. “The court clearly found that the release of personal physician payment data does not meet the standard of the Freedom of Information Act, which is to provide the public with information on how the government operates,” Dr. Jeremy A. Lazarus, AMA board member, said in a statement.