We need better drugs now-Francis Collins-TedMed talk review
You can watch the entire talk by Francis at TED.Com, by clicking this link
The Speaker starts off his talk by mentioning about Life Expectancy, comparing the life expectancy of 1900 to the ones we have in the 21 century. Attributing such high life expectancy to the advancement of Modern Medicines.
There is just a huge problem with this, you know why? Expectancy is a Statistical quantifier, and when we talk about Statistics the most famous quote that comes to our mind is, “There are three types of lies — lies, damn lies, and statistics.”
Which serves aptly. You know why? Though there may be claims that Modern Medicines have increased life expectancy, but what remains an unchallenged quarter is the fact that the Quality of Life has gone missing.
Plus there is one serious flaw that many make when it comes to comparing the Life expectancy of the by gone ages, they never see the ones who had lived a Good and Long Productive lives.
Like the way Hess did his research, connecting Cholesterol and heart diseases, he only selected those countries which favored his hypothesis testing, and thus the Cholesterol myth was born.
Likewise, most of the life Expectancy myth is often of those stats that give them the significant vantage. In statistical terms we call them as Biases.
Take for example the golden period in American History, 1700’s. The average life expectancy mentioned was around 35 years, but the great Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706, lived to an acceptable good age of 84.
The Christie’s hospital in Manchester, England, one of the oldest hospitals in the world, more older than John Hopkin’s or Mayo Clinic, did an audit with records dating from 1841, found that by merely administering a drug called, TLC [Tenderness, Love and Care], the patient’s health drastically improved. The study was done in 40 year slots.
There is Nothing Normal when it comes to the Human body
Today, under the name of Normal, by following a bell shaped Normal distribution, for every parameter tested, 25% false positive are being sucked in to be as New patients. That was the time when just 2 factors were tested.
The alarming fact now is, if you were to go for a Total Body scan, 750 parameters are checked, and for sure, No one would be spared. No wonder the WHO, has defined Health as “absence of disease”.
No wonder there are 4000 diseases found with only 200 available treatment. Note here, the Speaker mentions, “treatment” and not “cure”
But what we ought to observe here is that Sciences of Medicine has embarked on a bandwagon of fooling the innocent and capitalizing their ignorance.
The Blood Pressure Epidermic
Let us consider the High Blood pressure epidemic. Do you know that the Blood pressure industry is a multi Billion dollar industry.
There was a time when 160/110, was considered a normal blood pressure reading, but today, the scale has come down to 120/80. Just imagine the number of patients added to the list of sufferers, more Billions are subsequently made. Well done Pharma!
The Heart Bypass and Stunts
Take for example the heart bypass and stunt procedures that are carried out under the name to relieve and alleviate Coronary blocks. But there are verified sciences to ascertain that blocks occur naturally in the human heart and hence create a condition called as Intermittent Myocardial Hypoxia which in fact is required to create better Stimulation for the heart to function.
It is also scientifically published that blocks increases the heart health and subsequently the patient’s life expectancy.
Do you know what the heartening fact of heart bypass and stunt procedure is?
Prepare yourself for this, heart Bypass surgery is associated with doubling the risk of heart attacks, quadrupling the risk of strokes there after, augmenting the risk of heart failure and sudden death afterwards.
The patient’s condition will worsens, of course the patient will not complain about pain now which has been removed by Placebo effect. But, the irony is nobody tells you all these.
Cholesterol cure A multi Billion Dollar Industry Pharma
Cholesterol, Cholesterol, Cholesterol, so much so, people run at the very word without even knowing that without Cholesterol, all vital functions of the Human body would simply shutdown and that includes the brain.
But do you know what the Medical fraternity has done? Without clearly understanding the characteristics of HDL and LDL, they have stigmatized and crucified fats and had blamed them for all of the artery blocks that they come across.
When in fact, it is the LDL that patches up the eroded arteries resulting from lifestyle indulgences and foolish medical advice and practices.
The business of combating Cholesterol is now a multi-Billion dollar industry. All of which results from a simple blood work.
“Oh! Your Cholesterol is high, you need to control it, if not something serious will befall?” And what would it be? “I may not be able to say, it can be anything and everything that you can think off” A real joke
The go to drug prescribed to combat cholesterol is Statin, but do you know the profit turn over for this company that manufacturers this drug, close to 14 Billion dollars a year, knowing well that Statin does nothing to alleviate the suffering of the person.
What is even shocking is the fact that institutions of acclaimed repute play their part more too in deceiving the innocent Patients.
Take for example Mayo Clinic, on its website, it recommends the following, “Statin side effects can be uncomfortable but rarely dangerous” , a deception in broad day light
They ride on the back of the Sick and make Billions as Profits
Then we see and hear the speaker talk about the condition called Progeria, a genetic disorder which manifest aging.
The Speaker Calls on Sam
The Speaker sees Sam and tells, “Sam why don’t you tell these folks what it is to be affected by a condition called Progeria?”
The alarming as well as the disdainful fact to note here would be the act and notoriety of the Speaker Francis, to ask Sam, as to what he wants to tell the audience about the Research on Progeria and may be on other conditions as well.
Would you believe this? Asking a 15 year old child about Research on a disease which even the so called Medical greats have not figured out in spite of 15 years and billions of taxpayer’s money being pumped in.
The Speaker Francis bites the dust
Though the Speaker expected Sam to portray, Progeria, as a limiting disease and that Francis’s research was simply the only thing that has kept the suffering patients alive, yet, to Francis’s bafflement, Sam did the contrary.
Sam came out with flying colors, clearly telling everybody, that no matter what, he will stand tall and fight this fight out. A real Hero.
Lessons from Stephen Hawking
This reminds us about Prof. Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a muscle wasting disease and was given a mere 2 years to live by the Modern Medical greats.
Yet still Prof. Stephen Hawking, lived on for 40 more years making worthy contributions to the society. This should be the proof, that no matter what, the field of drugs can only adhere to what the great Mr. Benjamin Franklin once said, “More medicines, more ills”
Conclusion
Towards the end, the Speaker shows some animation as to how the human cell can be made in the labs so that new drugs in the pipeline can be experimented on them.
The Animation was convincing, but it is imperative to understand just because, Walt Disney makes a Mouse called Mickey to run and jump and make love, does not mean, Mickey is real. You get what we mean?
But there is just one problem with his idea. The Human body is nonlinear and non-Euclidean, but the flaw here is, the field of Medicine along with its followers apply Euclidean logic to handle issues of the Human body.
That means, you might try the drug on the cells that you claim replicates those of the Human’s organs, but when the drugs hits the patient, the results would be disastrous like most drugs. Have you every wondered, why is that the Field of Medicine has No Cures but mere treatments?
The Power of the Human Mind
The human mind has untapped potentials all laden within it. But apparently we were never taught or trained to use it. Our education system teaches us what to think, instead of How to think.
All of our medical diagnosis cannot answer a simple question as to, “Why did you get the Sickness?”, instead, there will only be answers with, “How you got it?”
This takes us to the most important fact of using the Human mind.
The Research Study-the Power of the Human mind
This study was published in the Scientific Translational Medicine [STM], the participating universities in the study were, Oxford, Cambridge and Munich, the study was led by Prof. Bingel et al.
A study was done to see the effects of the painkiller, Morphine, on seriously suffering patients. The drug was given to patients but were told that the drug will merely improve their condition but will not Alleviate their pain.
Do you know what happened? All of the patients still reported to suffer from high intense pain.
Would you believe this? Morphine, which is considered to be the go to painkiller for its effect on the central nervous system has now been shown to have no effect at all.
Now again the patients were subjected to Cross over study, they were all administered Saline, and were told that they were high end painkillers that would alleviate their pain in minutes.
Guess what happened? All of the patients reported No pain. The power of the human mind and the pathetic part is, Science calls it as Placebo.
About the Talk
In all honesty, The talk by Francis was meant to serve as platform justifying the actions of a certain group at the cost of the Commoner. Though the group claims to pursue Research at the highest level, nothing tangible or for that matter a noteworthy breakthrough was ever made.
This, in spite of the Time and Money that the group had consumed all in the name Research. We came here to see Progress and Fruits, not a mere Simulation of Animated Graphics and Clever Talk that would only suit a Marketing agenda.
We never saw the conditions associated with Progeria patients to improve, either for Sam or for the volunteers who had volition for the Study.
So, this makes us to question the very Title of the Talk, “We need better drugs now”, when to the very fact nothing of a Good drug was ever shown.
