Links from the last few days:
- Glaxo, Diet Drug Maker, to Pay for Film on Eating – NYTimes.com — GlaxoSmithKline is getting into the movie business, pursuing an unusual and most likely controversial strategy to increase interest in a weight-loss drug. Glaxo, the pharmaceutical giant behind Alli, an over-the-counter weight-loss product, has decided that a good way to educate Americans about obesity — and increase sales of Alli — is to finance a “hard-hitting” documentary about eating. Although a budget has not been set, an Academy Award-winning director will be named on Jan. 25 at the Sundance Film Festival, a spokesman for Glaxo said.
- Abuse in childhood linked to migraine and other pain disorders Researchers from the American Headache Society’s Women’s Issues Section Research Consortium found that incidence of childhood maltreatment, especially emotional abuse and neglect, are prevalent in migraine patients. The study also found that migraineurs reporting childhood emotional or physical abuse and/or neglect had a significantly higher number of comorbid pain conditions compared with those without a history of maltreatment. Full findings of the study appear in the January issue of Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, published on behalf of the American Headache Society by Wiley-Blackwell.
- More Toddlers, Young Children Given Antipsychotics – Yahoo! News The rate of children aged 2 to 5 who are given antipsychotic medications has doubled in recent years, a new study has found. Yet little is known about either the effectiveness or the safety of these powerful psychiatric medications in children this age, said researchers from Columbia University and Rutgers University, who looked at data on more than 1 million children with private health insurance. “It is a worrisome trend, partly because very little is known about the short-term, let alone the long-term, safety of these drugs in this age group,” said study author Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City.