for the robert downey jr fans December 17, 2008

a man who has been through it all and survived. i deeply admire him and still love this Elton John video he made in 2001.

“I Want Love”

(after you click play, you will have to click on the youtube logo as this video does not allow embedding)

Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin

I want love, but it’s impossible
A man like me, so irresponsible
A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated

I can’t love, shot full of holes
Don’t feel nothing, I just feel cold
Don’t feel nothing, just old scars
Toughening up around my heart

But I want love, just a different kind
I want love, won’t break me down
Won’t brick me up, won’t fence me in
I want a love, that don’t mean a thing
That’s the love I want, I want love

I want love on my own terms
After everything I’ve ever learned
Me, I carry too much baggage
Oh man I’ve seen so much traffic

So bring it on, I’ve been bruised
Don’t give me love that’s clean and smooth
I’m ready for the rougher stuff
No sweet romance, I’ve had enough

jim carrey slams long-term use of prozac

Full disclosure: I love Jim Carrey. I admire his honesty about his life, his mental illness and I think he’s a great actor especially in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Truman Show and Man on The Moon.

He was on Larry King Live and actually slammed long-term use of Prozac. There are a few bloggers out there comparing him to Tom Cruise (Scientology) but Jim’s message is right. In my opinion, it’s the others who need to educate themselves. I do not believe Jim is anti-meds like Scientologists, I think he’s simply anti-meds that do not work, have horrific side effects, make us sicker or those we know nothing about the long-term side effects and risks. and he’s not afraid to talk about all of this with the host of a popular show. Kudos to you, Jim!

Here’s a clip, although the entire interview is worth watching:
(2:06 minutes into clip)

Here is part of the transcript with the Prozac conversation:

Obama to clean house at FDA

From the New York Times:

The Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, said Tuesday that he would resign on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, part of a parade of expected departures at the nation’s crucial public health agencies.

Leaders of these agencies have sometimes straddled administrations, but the Obama administration is expected to make a clean sweep in part because of repeated assertions that the Bush administration allowed politics to play an unusually forceful role in science policy, and because each of the current leaders has fierce critics on Capitol Hill and in the public health community.

The Obama administration’s choice for each slot will signal how it plans to deal with issues like stem cell policy and the safety of imported drugs and foods; how it might take advantage of advances in genomic research; its approach to pandemic flu planning; and whether huge investments in bioterrorism prevention will continue.

The incoming administration’s vetting process at each agency has been unusually thorough, with transition officials speaking to current officials as well as a broad range of outside interest groups, according to people who have been through previous transitions.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni has already left his post as director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote in a November e-mail message to her staff that she expects to leave “after the administration changes.” And Dr. John E. Niederhuber, director of the National Cancer Institute, is expected to surrender his leadership job, although he may remain at the institute.

Tommy Vietor, an Obama transition spokesman, declined to comment on any of these positions.

The most difficult of the transitions will be at the F.D.A.

FDA suicidal warning on epilepsy drugs

From Tuesday’s Reuters

so much for my thoughts on Lamictal being one of the only decent meds for bipolar….

Makers of epilepsy drugs must add a warning that the medicines carry a risk of suicidal thoughts or actions, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.

The companies also must develop a patient-friendly guide explaining risks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

Analysis of 199 clinical trials of 11 anti-epileptic drugs found twice the risk of suicidal behavior or thoughts with the drugs compared to a placebo, the FDA said.

The increase represented about one additional case of suicidal thinking or behavior for every 530 patients treated with one of the medicines, the FDA said.

“The risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior was generally consistent among the eleven drugs analyzed and was observed in patients who were treated for epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, and other conditions,” the agency said.

Epilepsy drugs include Pfizer Inc’s Lyrica and Neurontin, GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s Lamictal and Johnson & Johnson’s Topamax.

Glaxo believes the findings of the FDA analysis should be added to the labels of epilepsy drugs, company spokeswoman Sarah Alspach said, adding Glaxo would review the FDA action.

Topamax already includes information about suicidal behavior in its prescribing instructions, said Tricia Geoghegan, a spokeswoman for J&J unit Ortho-McNeil Neurologics Inc. “We will continue to work with the FDA to make sure any changes they request are in there,” she said.

A Pfizer spokesman had no immediate comment.