Man’s best friend has been used to find illegal drugs, missing persons, fugitives, even bed bugs. Now, a Florida Atlantic University professor wants to put dogs to work in detecting the defective drywall that’s been destroying homes in Florida and around the country.
The Chinese drywall that’s so adversely impacted the construction industry since 2000 emits sulfuric fumes that corrode electronic equipment and metal components in the home. However, the fumes can be difficult to detect and pinpoint.
“It seems to me that here is a way to detect the presence of reactive drywall in a non-destructive and more cost-effective way,” said Gene Ouellette, associate director of FAU’s Institute for Design and Construction, who came up with the idea to investigate whether dogs could be trained to spot bad drywall.
Why not try it? It’s probably cheaper and more effective than ripping apart homes to find the defective drywall. It’s also quite possible a trained canine could detect the defective drywall before the signs of its damage begin manifesting themselves. Once the signs of defective Chinese drywall are present (corroded electrical components, etc) the damage has been done and thorough remediation is most likely the only solution.
At least one company involved in canine training is eager to pitch in. American K-9 Detection Services of Lake Mary, Florida is looking into training canines for the task.
“The more I read about Chinese drywall, the more I’m committed to getting some dogs trained and get them out there to help,” said Mark Mahler, American K-9’s president. He said that training of the dogs could begin in a matter of weeks.

Hydroxycut lawsuits continue to mount after the weight loss/diet supplement was removed from the market after reports associated the popular product with liver damage. Later this month, a hearing will determine whether the hydroxycut lawsuits should be consolidated before one judge in an MDL (multidistrict litigation). Such an MDL has been used before in other drug lawsuits such as fen-phen and vioxx. An MDL, if approved, allows for centralization and consolidation of pre-trial discovery and motions. The MDL proposal has petitioned that the cases be heard before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has passed a request from the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport on to the full Supreme Court. The case involves sealed church documents concerning priest abuse lawsuits. Last week, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg denied Bridgeport’s request to keep the documents sealed and out of the public view.
The Diocese of Bridgeport maintains that the documents are protected by the First Amendment because they concern the church’s personnel files and the Diocese’s handling of priest transfers and determinations about priests’ fitness for ministry.
In 2001, the Diocese of Bridgeport secretly settled 23 priest abuse lawsuits for an undisclosed sum. In all likelihood, the sealed documents contain information about former Bishop Edward Egan’s role in the transfers and handling of priests accused of sexual abuse.
The Connecticut Supreme Court has already ruled that the documents are public record and should be unsealed. The US Supreme Court will make a decision by September 29.
Justice Antonin Scalia, a devout Catholic whose son is a Catholic priest, did not comment on the documents before submitting them to the full Court.

It’s not just any Chinese drywall lawsuit either. This time it’s the Lieutenant Governor of Florida.
It been public knowledge for quite some time now that Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp’s North Fort Myers’ residence has been contaminated with the rotten drywall.
Kottkamp and his wife Cynthia have filed a federal lawsuit against Knauf Gips KG and Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. LTD. for using the contaminated drywall material in their home. The Kottkamps are perhaps the most famous of the Chinese drywall victims but they share in the suffering of hundreds of families across the United States who’ve been affected by the contamination.
The drywall lawsuits have affected another Florida public official-Gary Aubuchon, a state representative and owner of Aubuchon Homes. Some of the homes built by Aubuchon have had the defective drywall and Aubuchon may become involved in the lawsuits. Presently, the victims are focusing their efforts on the manufacturers and distributors of the Chinese drywall.

Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.3 billion penalty to settle a civil suit over the drug company’s illegal promotional practices. The settlement is the largest ever for violations of federal law concerning a drug company’s promotion of a product for off-label use.
While it’s common and accepted practice for doctors to prescribe drugs for off-label use, it’s illegal for drug companies to promote their products for uses other than those approved by the FDA.
The $2.3 billion settlement concerns Pfizer’s promotion of Bextra as well as other Pfizer products.
The US Justice Deparment, along with the Department of Health and Human Services plan a news conference for later today to announce the historic settlement.

An article in the NY Times highlights how the pharmaceutical industry has gone to great lengths to maintain its profit margins by continuing to market brand name drugs over their generic counterparts.
The article points to Lexapro as an example of this practice. Lexapro, sold by Forest Laboratories, was developed as a way to continue to market a brand name psychiatric drug after its Celexa brand’s patent expired. Forest Laboratories did this by slightly adjusting the molecular structure found in Celexa so that it could introduce a new drug (Lexapro) to the market. In their marketing materials, Forest Lab officials touted Lexapro as superior to Celexa in fighting depression even though no such evidence is available to make such a claim. In fact, the FDA quickly approved Lexapro because it considered the new brand name drug as practically interchangeable with the older version Celexa.
So, what’s the difference? It’s price and profits. According to the NY Times article, a month’s supply of Lexapro sells for $87.99 while a generic version of Prozac goes for $14,99 That’s quite a difference in price and profit.
Drug companies make huge profits on their brand name drugs. Once the patent expires and the drug becomes available as a generic, the profit margin is lost. So, the marketing plan seems to be to continue to churn out “newer, superior” forms of the same drug to keep the profit margins. In order to do this, doctors must be convinced that the brand drug is superior. This requires a substantial marketing effort for the pharmaceutical companies.
While it’s not illegal to educate healthcare professionals about the benefits of a drug, it is illegal to pay doctors to prescribe a particular drug. In recent years, prosecutors have been arguing that some companies have crossed the line. The Times cites a recent lawsuit as a case in point.
“In February, federal prosecutors in Boston announced a civil lawsuit against Forest claiming that the company illegally marketed both Lexapro and a closely related antidepressant, Celexa, for use in children and paid kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe the medicines to children.”
One could argue that the fine line is crossed when doctors are inundated with free lunches provided by drug companies as well as huge consulting fees for promoting the industry’s products. In politics, there are stringent rules concerning what lobbyists can provide elected officials. Such rules are much looser or non-existent when it comes to the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and doctors.
The NY Times notes the following, “t is impossible to unpack all of the reasons for these prescriptions, but some industry critics say one reason could be the money doctors make from Forest. Psychiatrists make more money from drug makers than any other medical specialty, according to analyses of payment data. And Forest gives more money and food to doctors than many of its far larger rivals. Vermont officials found that Forest’s payments to doctors in 2008 were surpassed only by those of Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis and Merck — companies with annual sales that are five to 10 times larger than Forest’s.
Forest’s 2004 plan for marketing Lexapro offers detailed information about how the company planned to direct this money to doctors.
Under “Rep Promotional Programs,” the document said the company planned to spend $34.7 million to pay 2,000 psychiatrists and primary care doctors to deliver 15,000 marketing lectures to their peers in one year.”
Isn’t it time these relationships are regulated? Isn’t it time doctors’ prescription decisions are based solely on sound science rather than a paycheck or other forms of remuneration?

Reglan Lawsuit
Reglan Side Effects
Reglan Lawsuit Side Effects Information

When the Chinese drywall problem first surfaced earlier this year, officials believed it to be a problem isolated in the state of Florida, or at the very least affecting only the southeast United States. But the problem has grown as homeowners from 24 different states have filed more than 1,500 complaints with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Part of the problem’s size is directly related to the housing booming 4-5 years ago when housing manufacturers imported tons of the Chinese drywall in order to keep up with construction demands. During that time, enough of the Chinese drywall was imported into Florida to build 30,000 homes.
Now these homes built with the defective drywall are unlivable and have plummeted in value. Besides the horrific odor caused by the drywall, household electrical appliances have been corroded to the point they’re no longer capable of functioning. Noxious gases emitted from the Chinese drywall have affected HVAC systems, smoke detectors, and metal plumbing appliances as well.
Remediation efforts are underway in some states, particularly Virginia which has the third highest number of complaints filed. Homeowners have been uprooted from their primary residences, children have been forced to make longer commutes to school or switch schools altogether because of the problem, and some have complained that the Chinese drywall has affected their health. At this point, there’s no link between the contaminated drywall and health but the investigation is ongoing.
Consumer advocates have warned homeowners not to hastily agree to remediation agreements since no protocols for the cleanup have been established. Another problem concerns the exact composition of the Chinese drywall remains unclear. The drywall was used in the first place because it was plentiful and cheap. It was inexpensive precisely because it was manufactured with discarded materials of an unknown composition.
At this point, there’s no positive news to report concerning the Chinese drywall debacle.

Bishop Joseph Martino, head of the Catholic Diocese of Scranton has resigned abruptly. His resignation has reportedly been accepted by Pope Benedict XVI. Martino, 62, was appointed bishop of Scranton in 2003, and is a full 13 years away from the mandatory retirement age of bishops in this country.
Martino’s tenure as head of the Scranton diocese has been filled with controversy over his staunchly conservative views including his refusal of communion to pro-choice politicians, parish closings, and his handling of the priest abuse scandal.
In the news reports concerning his resignation, media outlets have mentioned his statement that “No USCCB document is relevant in this diocese. The USCCB doesn’t speak for me. The only relevant document,’ he said, was his letter on politics, which he had ordered read at all parishes.”
I wonder if that includes the so-called Dallas Charter approved by the US Bishops as a response to the priest abuse crisis.
Martino’s hard-line stance on issues such as abortion have carried over to his handling of priest sex abuse in his diocese. While we can only speculate about the reasons spurring his resignation, we can hope that the next bishop handles pastoral concerns such as the treatment of sexual abuse survivors in a different fashion.

It’s no secret that pharmaceutical companies pay huge sums of money to doctors. The practice has been going on for years. Some of the payments come in the form of gifts such as expensive dinners, parties, vacations, and golf outings. Other forms of payment come as fees for consulting and speaking appointments during which the doctors are paid to promote the companies’ products.
This year alone, drug giant Eli Lilly has paid $22 million to 3,400 healthcare professionals in the first three months. In Florida, the pharmaceutical company has paid $350,000 to a dozen doctors.
How do we know this? As part of settlement with the federal government, Eli Lilly was forced to disclose these payments. Yet, drug makers are willing to continue to make these payments to influence doctors because of the handsome return on investment. Drug companies such as Lilly target doctors and lavish attention on them in order to secure their endorsements as well as their use of their products.
Congress is aware of the problem and has been pushing the companies to disclose such payments. Aware of the potential for a conflict of interest, federal lawmakers want the public and other healthcare providers and institutions to be aware of the tremendous influence such payments have over patient care. Even academic institutions haven’t been immune to the influence peddling.
This behavior isn’t restricted to drug companies either. Major medical device companies pay researchers and doctors huge sums to promote their devices such as artificial hips, knees, and other medical devices. It’s a concern that has warranted the attention and perhaps regulation of Congress.