Predicting Menopause

Doctors in Iran have developed a new blood test to predict when menopause will happen. The Guardian reports.

Surrogacy on the Cheap

The NY Times recently reviewed a documentary entitled "Google Babies" which examined the fertility industry reaching from the United States to India.

Can I have seconds, please?

Most surgeons still love those pharma lunches, says a new survey.  The gifts too.  Any kind of marketing, actually.  Read more at Pharmalot.

What's wrong with medical ghostwriting?

The journal Bioethics has three new articles on the ethics of medical ghostwriting in the most recent issue, which can be found here. Danny Carlat comments on the Carlat Psychiatry Blog.

Going Green = Bad for You?

Despite being environmentally friendly, this article talks about the hazards associated with using reusable bags when shopping.

Industry ties to CME credits under scrutiny

Should CME courses cease to be financially supported by medical industry money? Click here to read about the latest goings on in the tussle between medical schools, drug and device companies and medical associations.

Assisted Suicide in Germany

Germany’s highest court recently ruled that it is not a criminal offense to end life-sustaining treatment for a patient. This ruling is at a time where increased attention is being paid to the assisted suicide debate in Europe. Click here to read the article in the NY Times.

Foreign trials for US drugs

...according to a report by Daniel R. Levinson, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, 80 percent of the drugs approved for sale in 2008 had trials in foreign countries.

Click here to read more about the report that is to be released tomorrow.

Heart Healthy

An article in the NY Times discusses the new wave of heart devices that transmit information to medical providers, and the good and the bad that can come with these gadgets.

ODing on the Purple Pill

Slate Magazine talks about the overuse of the heartburn medicine Nexium, particularly in younger kids.

Socially conscious medicine, or greedy and self-interested?

Which medical schools produce the least socially conscious doctors?  Vanderbilt, UT Southwestern and Northwestern,  according to a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.  Traditionally black medical schools such as Morehhouse, Meharry and Howard have the best scores.  Read about it here

Device Dispute

Who is at fault: the surgeons or the medical device company? The issues of money and influence in medical device surgeries are discussed in the NY Times. Click here for to read the article.

Medical Flops

What was the biggest medical failure of the past decade?  Zelnorm?  Vioxx?  Xigris?  See this Forbes slideshow.

FDA votes down "female Viagra"

Read about it at Pharmalot.

Medtronic shipment of human heads seized by Arkansas officials

Officials in Arkansas are investigating a shipment of 40 to 60 human heads found by Southwest Airlines employees at a cargo facility last week in Little Rock.  Read all about it here.

A new, gay anti-smoking campaign

The CDC has launched a new, highly effective anti-smoking campaign. Click here to learn more.

More on the NIH conflict of interest scandal

Bernard Carroll, Charles Nemeroff's former department chair, comments on the Nemeroff-Insel scandal at Health Care Renewal.

Desperate Measures in Desperate Times

An unemployed and uninsured Michigan woman shot herself in the shoulder with the hopes that she would receive free medical care in the ER for a previous shoulder injury. Unsurprisingly, her plan failed and she may be in a little legal trouble now as well. CBS News reports.

Should the NIH ask Tom Insel to step down from its conflict of interest committee?

Cast your vote at Pharmalot.

POGO says Insel should resign

The Project on Government Oversight says the director of the NIH.should be fired.  Read more here.