The old antipsychotic drugs are just as dangerous as the new ones when given to elderly patients with Dementia. In this study of 890 patients over the age of 65, 18% of those given a conventional drug were dead, compared with 15% of those given an the new drugs after 180 days. New England Journal Medicine

Payment to Doctors for patient recruitment to clinical trials has not been studied well despite millions of dollars paid to physicians who conduct such trials by the pharmaceutical companies. Knowing that pharmaceutical companies do not usually spend money unless they know they will get something in return, and physician bias that can occur when they are paid thousands of dollars per each patients, more studies are needed to make sure these trials are conducted well and that these influences would not affect the outcome. Etanica Medical Review

Marijuana use appears to increase the risk of fatal car crash in a study of 10 748 drivers, with known drug and alcohol concentrations, who were involved in fatal crashes in France from October 2001 to September 2003. This increased risk was independent of alcohol although alcohol certainly has a greater risk. British Medical Journal

Morphine, Neurontin, and Their Combination for Neuropathic Pain  In a randomized trial, the combination of morphine and gabapentin led to better pain control than either agent alone in patients with diabetic neuropathy or postherpetic neuralgia. The dose of each agent was lower when used in combination than when used alone. Adverse effects were not more severe with the combined formulation. These findings suggest that treatment with the combined formulation of morphine and gabapentin for neuropathic pain is superior to treatment with either agent alone.