down_syndrome : Message: Aricept helped Danny/QUESTIONS?

" I said that it was believed that this study will help to determine if
Aricept, a drug that helps memory and cognition in patients with
Alzheimer's disease will also improve the attention span,
communication, behavior and mood in adults with Down Syndrome. And
it does!!! This also answers your question as to what areas we
hoped to see change. In fact, we found that it helped Danny in more
ways than the study was hoping for. We were very surprised to see
that he rarely talks to himself anymore and when he does, he is not
upset. He is much more alert, far less emotional, uses better
judgement and states that he can think more clearly since taking
Aricept. In fact, every day we are surprised by what comes out of
his mouth and these surprises seldom happened before he began taking
the drug. We can easily tell he is thinking more clearly and he
doesn't seem drugged whatsoever. Additionally, he handles multi-
taskings better. Prior to taking Aricept, you could only give him
one thing to do, otherwise, he would get confused. Now, you can
give him several."

That is much clearer to me. Thank you. I am glad that you are happy with the results.
There is not much I would wish changed about my son. He's always had an extremely long attention span, no behaviour problems, a great sense of humour and his mood is always up. He talks to himself when he's alone in his room... but I figure self-talk is something all of us do and the only difference is that you and I do it silently. He doesn't communicate as clearly as some do, but neither did my former Prime Minister (or your President) and it doesn't seem to have held them back..lol!
"I honestly expected some questions, but, not dozens from just one person."
I was sure that you invited questions, but I'm sincerely sorry that you feel that way. I appreciate the time you took to answer. I trust that you can also appreciate that there are those of us who do not look to drugs as a panacea and a large number of us who are sufficiently wary of both the medical establishment and the pharmaceutical giants to have questions.
Are you aware that your same research facility has also just announced they've done a small study that suggests that low-dose nicotine patches might also help memory, mental focus, attentiveness, etc.? Suffice it to say, I won't be using them on my son either ... LOL!
Let me give you just one recent example that highlights problems in drug research.
Dr. Nancy Olivieri was a Professor of Paediatrics and Medicine and headed the haemoglobinopathy program at an internationally reknowned hospital for children where she treated children who had a hereditary defect that would result in death from heart failure or infections without treatment. Dr. Olivieri is a world expert on thalassimia and sickle cell disease. Her clinical program was a key link in an international chain of research centres focusing on these diseases.
She was involved in researching the drug Deferipone. When this Dr. found negative results that threatened the lives of her patients and published that data, the hospital fired her 4 times (and was forced to rehire her), she was a target of libel from the drug company Apotex and The National Post, she was threatened & harassed and forced into bankruptcy through multiple law suits, gag orders were placed on her, her hospital phone system was cut-off, she was vilified and victimized by a hate campaign from a university and a hospital which were later shown to have been promised atleast 30 million dollars from Apotex to build a biomedical research centre (for a favourable research report, it turns out). For almost six years there was a concerted effort to destroy this woman and all senior clinicians and academics who supported her.. including the head of cystic fibrosis research and the head of blood and cancer research.
The results of the committee of inquiry not only cleared Dr. Olivieri of all accusations but supported both her scientific findings and her actions. They found she had acted in the best interests of her patients and fulfilled her ethical obligations. In the end she and those colleagues who did support her (and weren't scared or motivated by their own desire for grant money and lucrative careers) were granted a settlement which it is against our law to disclose. Legal vindictation and financial settlements could in no way make up for the years of poisoned workplace relations, so we have lost an honest & caring advocate for sick children since Dr. Olivieri no longer works at this country's leading paediatric hospital.
Dr. Olivieri was selected ... as a recipient of the 2001 award by the Civil Justice Foundation in Washington," which noted: "The legal assaults which you have endured in your battle against the drug company, and in your battle against the medical establishment appear to have been fought with the type of uncommon bravery that is rarely seen. It is for this reason that our trustees have unanimously chosen to recognize you for this most prestigious award."
We have long seen that conflicts of interest can contaminate integrity. I make no apologies for supporting the independence of all drug research ... and I thank God for the whistleblowers in our society who have the integrity and courage to put the public good before the almighty dollar. If you believe that all medical experimentation is strictly monitored by competent ethics review boards, or if you're confident that academic freedom is protected in all universities and affiliated hospitals, or if you know anyone with a serious illness, I can only hope that you will not take unnecessary risks. Pharmaceutical trials must be made independent of the companies who own the medications!
We know that in the past there have been grievous things done to the developmentally handicapped and this recent news report (link inserted below) shows that many experts are still concerned about the way in which drugs are tested on children. This is contrary to equal protection and equal security to all as stated by Canada's Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and as to Universal Human Declarations signed by Canada, back in December 1998, and to current times. This reckless disregard of an infant's well being is regardless of an adult's duty to another by no discrimination as to: age, race, color, sex, or mental or physical disadvantage, or by marital status of the family.
Drug licensing policies make children 'sentinel canaries,' experts argue -Nov. 10, 2003
http://www.medbroadcast.com/health_news_details.asp?news_id=2677&news_channel_id=1006

America's Other Drug Problem:
http://www.citizen.org/rxfacts

http://post.queensu.ca/~forsdyke/peerrev5.htm

http://www.cfs-fcee.ca/html/english/research/factsheets/fs-9(3)-whistleblowers.pdf

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s415425.htm

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