August 17, 2006

Restlessness over restless leg syndrome drug promotion

The Sunday Times of Great Britain reports:

"The pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) has been reprimanded by an industry watchdog for promoting an unlicensed drug to treat the disputed condition of restless legs syndrome. ... Some doctors claim the condition ... has been concocted or at least exaggerated to help sell drugs. While patients had previously complained to doctors of leg cramp at night, few had heard of restless legs syndrome before drugs became available to treat the illness."

It's interesting to see how another country deals with drug ads. Of course, the U.S. is only of only two industrialized countries in the world to allow direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads. And, of course, restless drug ads have filled American media for a long time.

Dartmouth and VA Outcomes Group researchers Woloshin and Schwartz recently published "Giving Legs to Restless Legs: A Case Study of How the Media Helps Make People Sick" in PLoS Medicine. Their analysis of news coverage of "restless legs" led to this conclusion: "The news coverage of restless legs syndrome is disturbing. It exaggerated the prevalence of disease and the need for treatment, and failed to consider the problems of overdiagnosis. In essence, the media seemed to have been co-opted into the disease-mongering process. ... The stories are full of drama: a huge but unrecognized public health crisis, compelling personal anecdotes, uncaring or ignorant doctors, and miracle cures.

The problem lies in presenting just one side of the story. There may be no public health crisis, the compelling stories may not represent the typical experience of people with the condition, the doctors may be wise not to invoke a new diagnosis for vague symptoms that may have a more plausible explanation, the cures are far from miraculous, and healthy people may be getting hurt.

We think the media could report medical news without reinforcing disease promotion efforts by approaching stories like 'restless legs' with a greater degree of skepticism. After all, their job is to inform readers, not to make them sick."

Posted by schwitz at August 17, 2006 06:56 AM | TrackBack
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