No way!

He’s definitely not the right choice.

Just wondering.

The black box is a good idea. Parents need to know the facts before drugging their children.

Nissen wants to give us all statins, never mind that they can decrease cognition (and worse). So, then the people with ADHD he wants to protect from stimulants will suffer even more neurocognitive deficits and, no doubt, just as many cardiovascular events.

But he doesn’t have a clue about other dietary factors that contribute to plaque. For example, magnesium deficiency is epidemic in this country, especially among African-Americans. Read research scientist Mildred Seelig’s work in this area (and others). A simple mineral could alleviate many of these cardiovascular risks. B vitamins, too. And Nissen doesn’t have a clue.

Physicians such as Nissen, in their ignorance, completely frighten me.

Gina

Oh. By the way. Steve wants to know if you’ve had your CRP checked. Hurry.

Then I see “Should Steve Nissen be the next FDA commish” and I almost had cardiac arrest!

Sophie wrote: “Of all the FDA hearings I’ve ever attended or spoken before, Steve Nissen was the only person who ever stuck up for patients, urging his committee to recommend black box warnings on all ADHD drugs for children. His committee voted 8-7 for this proposal.”

You think this is “sticking up for children”???? More like sticking it TO children. Ignorant and shameless headline seeking. Nothing more, or less. For those who fail to understand the complexity of this subject, however, not to mention the danger of a cardiologist (for petesake) windbagging his way into neuroscience, well, I hope they are not in a position to to vote on anything official concerning it. Support for Nissen in this area only betrays ignorance about ADHD and the adverse impact of this Black Box warning.

Others have it more accurately here — dangerous, not to be trusted, has an agenda. These all describe Nissen to a T.

Too many physicians are being led around by their noses — by pharma reps with cleavage, by grandstanding politicians like Grassley and egotistically grasping physicians like Nissen. But particularly by reformers who aren’t smart enough to assess where the profession went wrong. You can assail “Big Pharma” all you want, but that’s not coming close to The Problem with Physicians.

While I respect some physicians highly — place them right up there with brilliant scientsts and compassionate humanitarians — I also despair at the widespread physician focus on rote procedures/dogma and the entire lack of critical thinking, not to mention common sense. Like lemmings first lurching to pharma feasts and then lurching the other way, as if their stringent rejection demonstrates they are more virtuous than thou. It’s embarrassing to watch.

When showboating cardiologists like Nissen truly give a damn about the welfare of children and when more hospital physicians start washing their darn hands, that’s when I know the medical field has come of age. Until then, the collective should exercise some self-scrutiny and stop blaming everyone else for their troubles.

Thinking of Grassley and his ilk, along with Nissen, leading the reform charge…frightening. Extremely frightening.

Gina Pera, author
Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?
Winner - ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year for Psychology 2008

Also, FWIW, being anti-”Big Pharma” isn’t a virtue, but rather a career choice.