"Informed consent can be effectively exercised only if the patient possesses enough information to enable an intelligent choice (AMA, 1999)." 
"The most unique, objective, informative medication website in the world."
" The information the others don't give you."      No drug company funding or influence!

DR. COHEN'S NEW BOOK: WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT STATIN DRUGS AND THEIR NATURAL ALTERNATIVES: The Precision-Prescribing Method For Reducing Cholesterol and C-Reactive Protein Safely


The MedicationSense E-Newsletter 2008   

TIM RUSSERT: WOULD FISH OILS HAVE SAVED HIS LIFE?
When Russert, the political commentator, died suddenly at the age of 58 earlier this month, people were surprised. Unfortunately, there is nothing surprising about sudden cardiac death.
   

WHY SOME GENERIC DRUGS DO NOT WORK.   A Rare Interview  with Joe and Teresa  Graedon of The People’s Pharmacy.

STATIN SIDE EFFECTS: DO DOCTORS TAKE PATIENTS' COMPLAINTS SERIOUSLY?  A New Study Reveals What Happens When Patients Complain of Statin Side Effects to Doctors.

The MedicationSense E-Newsletter 2007      

STATIN DRUGS, LIVER INJURY, AND CANCER: IS THERE A CONNECTION? 
A New Study Provides Additional Reasons to Avoid High Doses of Statin Medications.

LARIAM: WHY IS THIS HIGH-RISK DRUG STILL PRESCRIBED TO CONSUMERS NOW THAT SAFER ANTI-MALARIA DRUGS EXIST?

MORE DOCTORS AND MEDICAL CENTERS ARE GOING "PHARM-FREE".    Choosing Ethics over Drug-Company Enticements.  Medical Students a Force.  Will Others Follow?

PUSHING HIGH-DOSE LIPITOR: MEDICAL SCIENCE OR SLICK MARKETING?  Thousands of Drug Sales Reps Are Influencing Doctors to Prescribe High-Dose Lipitor despite Ongoing Concerns about Efficacy and Safety.  Does the Pharmaceutical Industry Place Sales over Safety?

The MedicationSense E-Newsletter July - December, 2006

HIGH-DOSE LIPITOR FOR STROKES: HOW EFFECTIVE, HOW SAFE?  
A new study of high-dose Lipitor for people with strokes reveals minimal benefit and unanswered questions about safety.  Yet doctors are prescribing high-dose Lipitor to more patients.

HIGH-DOSE LIPITOR FOR HEART ATTACKS: HOW EFFECTIVE, HOW SAFE?
A New Study Shows the Maximum-Dose Lipitor Reduces Heart Attacks, but Other Findings Raise Serious Safety Concerns. Dr. Cohen Explains Who Should Use High-Dose Lipitor -- and Who Should Not.
 

A PREVENTIVE FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE? - October, 2006
Another Powerful Study Shows A Markedly Reduced Risk of Alzheimer's with Fish Oils (Omega-3 Oils).  Natural Substances or Prescription Drugs for Alzheimer's Disease?

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION AND THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION, PART 2:
From Lancet: "Just How Tainted Has Medicine Become?"
Another top Medical Journal asks a tough question about doctors-drug industry conflicts of interest.

The MedicationSense E-Newsletter January -June, 2006

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION AND THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION, PART 1:
Respected Physicians Call for End of Conflicts of Interest with Drug Industry.

LOW-FAT DIETS DON'T WORK? DON'T BELIEVE IT! Sensationalistic Newspaper Headlines Misrepresent Three Major, Yet Flawed Studies. Here is What the Studies Actually Found.   

The MedicationSense E-Newsletter July - December, 2005

CRESTOR SIDE EFFECTS MAKE MORE HEADLINES -- BUT UNDERLYING CAUSES AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES ARE AGAIN IGNORED. A New Study Shows Higher Rates of Adverse Reactions with Crestor Than with Other Statins. Here's the Real Story on Super-Strong Crestor and What to Do About It.

NEW WARNINGS FOR CIPRO, LEVAQUIN, AND OTHER QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS. Serious Reactions Continue to Be Reported. This article is an updated version of my original article on reactions with fluoroquinolone antibiotics that I posted in the July-Sept. 2003 newsletter

The MedicationSense E-Newsletter January - June, 2005


CREDO
Medication side effects are the #4 leading cause of death in the U.S. annually (JAMA 1998). Yet, few people receive informed consent about prescription drugs. This website is dedicated to providing objective information to help you and your doctor make informed, intelligent choices about medications and effective alternatives to enable you to maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks of treatment.
Jay S. Cohen, M.D.

BEXTRA: DESIGNED BY PFIZER TO FAIL. 
An Open Letter to Pfizer Inc. on the Underlying Reasons That Bextra Failed, on Why Pfizer Made Bextra Unnecessarily Risky -- and on How Pfizer Might Still Save Celebrex.

Celebrex and Bextra: A better way to make these drugs safer.
FDA Advisory Committee Finds COX-2 Drugs Increase Risks of Heart Attacks and Strokes, Advises Stronger Warnings -- But Does Not Require Manufacturer to Market Lower, Safer, Proven-Effective Doses.


The MedicationSense E-Newsletter  Oct. - Dec., 2004

What Now for Users of Vioxx, Celebrex, and Bextra?
How to Use Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) More Safely -- and Natural Alternatives That Work.


The MedicationSense E-Newsletter July - Sept., 2004

FLASH! Available in the new, October issue of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, Dr. Cohen's new article: Antidepressants--An Avoidable and Solvable Controversy. Click Here to Read.

Why Antidepressant Black-Box Warnings Aren't Enough -- What Doctors and Patients Can Do to Use Antidepressants Safely. A FDA Advisory Committee Recommendation for Stronger Warnings Is a Step Forward, but Not a Solution.  What We Must Do.

Workplace Stress, Depression, And The Overuse of Antidepressant Drugs In The Workplace:
An Interview with Dr. Richard Lippin, an Expert on Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The Truth About Crestor: Is Crestor Dangerous And If So, Why?
The intensive marketing of this new, super-strong, cholesterol-lowering statin drug raises questions and concerns. Are Crestor users in jeopardy? is Crestor especially dangerous for Asians? Who should take Crestor and when? A lower, safer approach that most doctors and patients don't know about.


The MedicationSense E-Newsletter Apr. - Jun., 2004

Patients Regain the Right to Control Their Own Medications.
Your Consent Is Now Required before Your Medications Can Be Switched. The Nation's Largest Pharmacy-Benefit Manager Agrees to Settle.


The Underlying Cause of Suicides and Homicides with SSRI Antidepressants:  Is It the Drugs, the Doctors, or the Drug Companies?
How a dysfunctional medical-pharmaceutical complex causes and perpetuates unnecessary harm.

The New Antidepressant Warnings: Not Enough to Prevent Further Harm.
After Finally Issuing Warnings 16 Years Late, British and U.S. Authorities Fail to Tell Doctors and Patients How to Actually Prevent Serious Side Effects, Leaving Millions at Further Risk. What Should Be Done?
DR. Cohen Debates The FDA: March 26, 2004
In their fourth debate in two years, Dr. Cohen and Dr. Robert Temple, the FDA's top medication expert and its Assistant Director for the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, squared off at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

INTERVIEW: Duane Graveline Medical Doctor, Astronaut, and Critic of Lipitor and Other Cholesterol-Lowering Statin Drugs.
Interview with Bill Faloon of the Life Extension Foundation:
A Recent Clash with the FDA Places the Spotlight on the Largest Anti-Aging, Research and Supplement Organization in the U.S. Is Life Extension Possible? Where Does Anti-Aging Stand Today?
The MedicationSense E-Newsletter January - March, 2004

An Open Letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Serotonin-Enhancing Antidepressants in Youngsters: A 6-Point Solution That Makes Sense Scientifically.
There is a reason that serotonin-enhancing antidepressants are repeatedly linked to suicides and homicides, and there is a solution to this problem.

Antidepressant Side Effects:  In a New York Times Exposé, A Doctor Describes Her Own Reaction to an Antidepressant Drug. But She Doesn't Explain Why Antidepressant Side Effects Occur and How to Prevent Them. This Article Does.

"How Low Should Cholesterol Lowering Go?"
While New Studies Encourage the Aggressive Use of Statins, Patients Continue to Balk. Why? Does Mainstream Medicine Downplay Statin Side Effect? Is Lipitor Really Better Than Pravachol -- and for Whom?

An Open Letter To Congressman Holt on Severe, Disabling Reactions Linked to Cipro, Levaquin, and Other Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics.
Why hasn't the FDA acted on the hundreds, perhaps thousands of serious, disabling reactions linked to these drugs? Most cases involve young, previously healthy people with minor sinus, bladder, or prostate infections, for which doctors could prescribe other, safer, cheaper drugs.

PRILOSEC OTC -- How Does It Compare to Zantac 75, Pepcid AC, and Other Over-The-Counter Heartburn Remedies? When To Use Prilosec OTC. What the Product Label Doesn't Tell You. Special Risks for Seniors, Asians, Slow Metabolizers, and the Medication-Sensitive?


The MedicationSense E-Newsletter October - December, 2003

Seniors, Side Effects, and Celebrex: Does This Strong, One-Size-Fits-All Drug Put Seniors, Women, And Others At Unnecessary Risk?
How Marketing Overrides Medical Science Once Again.

Suicides and Homicides in Patients Taking Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft: Why They Keep Happening -- And Why They Will Continue.
Underlying Causes That Continue to Be Ignored by Mainstream Medicine and the Media.


Omega-3 Oils Prevent Sudden Cardiac Death.
The Sudden Deaths of Sports Heroes John Unitas, Dave DeBusschere, and Darryl Kyle Should Have Raised Awareness That Most of the 250,000 Sudden Cardiac Deaths Annually Can Be Prevented with Fish Oils. Why We Keep Missing the Message.

What Now for Women Who Benefit from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)? A New Study and Condescending Headlines May Be Wrong.
How the System Discounts Patients, Especially Women.


The MedicationSense E-Newsletter  July - September, 2003

AMA: Switching Patients' Medication Without Their Consent is Unethical
Switching patients' drugs without their input occurs frequently in health management systems today. But is it ethical? What about your right of informed consent? I raised this issue in a top medical journal, then asked the American Medical Association.

The HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) Debacle and What it Says About Drug Safety in America
New studies link the hormones in Prempro and Premarin with cancer and heart disease, shocking millions of women and their doctors. But why were three generations of women exposed before discovering these risks? Is the problem the drugs or excessive doses? So many questions haven't been answered, especially this one: What does the HRT debacle say about drug safety today?

Serious Reactions Associated with Cipro, Levaquin, and Related Antibiotics
Since the publication of my article on Cipro's side effects during the anthrax scare of September 2001, I continue to receive reports of devastating reactions linked to Cipro, Levaquin, and other fluoroquinolone antibiotics. My article prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to alter their guidelines, but it hasn't altered the overuse of these antibiotics and the failure of the healthcare system to prevent these problems.

Cohen, Nader, Rosenfeld, Kelly Address Drug Company Leaders
Fireworks exploded when Ralph Nader squared off against Pfizer President Patrick Kelly, while Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld painted a bleak picture of today's healthcare, and malpractice attorney Stephen Sheller told the drug industry to develop a "greed pill" for itself. In between, I explained how medication side effects can be prevented, benefiting patients, doctors, and drug companies alike.

Prescription Drug Use in America: The Startling Numbers and Their Implications
In 2002, Americans filled 3,340,000,000 outpatient prescriptions -- 12 prescriptions for every man, woman, and child. Is today's American dream 2 kids, 2 cars, and a dozen drugs for everyone? Medications are vital for millions of people, but what is the message: that for every symptom and sensation the solution is a pill?

Chocolate: A Health Food?
Can we believe a recent study revealing the benefits of chocolate? And the enthusiasm of doctors, mainstream and alternative, including Andrew Weil? Or is it too good to be true? And how much chocolate can we enjoy?


Copyright 2008, Jay S. Cohen, M.D. All rights reserved.

Site created and managed by Warwick Graphics.
If you notice any problems with this site please notify webmaster by clicking here.