Peer Reviewed aspartame studies. Studies of aspartame in the peer reviewed medical literature were surveyed for funding source and study outcome.
Of the 166 studies felt to have relevance for questions of human safety, 74 had Nutrasweet® industry related funding and 92 were independently funded. One hundred percent of the industry funded research attested to aspartame's safety, whereas 92% of the independently funded research identified a problem. A bibliography supplied by the Nutrasweet® Company included many studies of questionable validity and relevance, with multiple instances of the same study being cited up to 6 times.
Questions are raised both about aspartame's safety and the broader issue of the appropriateness of industry sponsorship of medical research. Hallucinogens Have Doctors Tuning In Again. Nothing had any lasting effect until, at the age of 65, he had his first psychedelic experience.
He left his home in Vancouver, Wash., to take part in an experiment at Johns Hopkins medical school involving psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found in certain mushrooms. Scientists are taking a new look at hallucinogens, which became taboo among regulators after enthusiasts like Timothy Leary promoted them in the 1960s with the slogan “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” Now, using rigorous protocols and safeguards, scientists have won permission to study once again the drugs’ potential for treating mental problems and illuminating the nature of consciousness. After taking the hallucinogen, Dr. Martin put on an eye mask and headphones, and lay on a couch listening to classical music as he contemplated the universe.
“All of a sudden, everything familiar started evaporating,” he recalled. Today, more than a year later, Dr. In one of Dr. Researchers take a fresh look at hallucinogens. For decades the study of the therapeutic potential of hallucinogens had been badly discredited by the outsized claims made by researchers back in the 1960s.
But now a new generation of scientific inquiry has sprung up to pursue promising leads. And many of the top researchers in the field will be meeting this week in San Jose, CA for the biggest scientific gathering on the subject in four decades. New research has highlighted the potential therapeutic value of hallucinogens like the mushroom psilocybin for treating depression in cancer victims, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addiction, end-of-life stress and more. Subjects have described intense spiritual experiences similar to religious mystics. "It was a whole personality shift for me," one subject that had suffered from depression told the . Scientists believe "magic" mushrooms could effectively treat depression.
After a brief spurt of interest in the late '60s, scientists in the drug development field abandoned research work on illicit drugs like LSD and "magic" mushrooms.
But over the past few years a few bold investigators have been stepping back up to the plate, convinced that some outlawed active ingredients could offer new pathways to treating some common ailments. Enter Professor David Nutt, a prominent and controversial researcher in the U.K. who has just published a new paper asserting that psilocybin--the active ingredient in magic mushrooms--could help treat major depression. And he believes that LSD, ecstasy, mephedrone and cannabis are also worthy of legitimate scientific research, advocating that the time has come for the government to lift restrictions placed on the field. "I feel quite passionately that these drugs are profound drugs; they change the brain in a way that no other drugs do. Sign up for our FREE newsletter for more news like this sent to your inbox! Association of low plasma concentrations of antio... [Magnes Res. 1998. Marijuana doesn't appear to harm lung function, study finds. Smoking a joint once a week or a bit more apparently doesn't harm the lungs, suggests a 20-year study that bolsters evidence that marijuana doesn't do the kind of damage tobacco does.
The results, from one of the largest and longest studies on the health effects of marijuana, are hazier for heavy users - those who smoke two or more joints daily for several years. The data suggest that using marijuana that often might cause a decline in lung function, but there weren't enough heavy users among the 5,000 young adults in the study to draw firm conclusions. Smoking marijuana as often as one joint daily for seven years, or one joint weekly for 20 years was not linked with worse lung function Still, the authors recommended "caution and moderation when marijuana use is considered.
" Marijuana is an illegal drug under federal law although some states allow its use for medical purposes. Study co-author Dr. The analyses showed pot didn't appear to harm lung function, but cigarettes did.