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Just before Thanksgiving, the nonprofit Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix issued a press release trumpeting a “significant breakthrough” in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, a rare but deadly type of tumor that affects the brain and central nervous system. Even better, TGen reported, the drug, called propentofylline, has already been approved by the FDA.
So imagine how thrilled Richard Sarti, who suffers from glioblastoma, was to hear that news. His sister-in-law, Vicki Smith, told Health News Review that the family grew excited when she shared the news with him, which Sarti took to his oncologist in the hopes of being treated.
Turns out, however, that the press release’s claims weren’t quite true, a TGen marketer sheepishly admitted in an email to Smith. Propentofylline has been approved — for use in dogs, not people. And while it has been used in experimental studies of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and certain other illnesses, it hasn’t been tested in people with glioblastoma. Sarti broke into tears when he learned that, Smith told Health News Review.
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And let’s not forget the University of Maryland, which recently went all in on a study by one of its researchers about the wonders of a souped-up chocolate milk that purportedly improved cognitive performance in high school football players. Turns out the institution issued the release before the study was 1. Finished; 2. Peer-reviewed; 3. Published.
Read full, original post: Press releases stink. Here’s why that matters
