Dear Doctor... Regarding Calcium Channel Blockers
- Daniel B. Stryer, MD
- Peter Lurie, MD, MPH
- Lisa A. Bero, PhD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
To the Editor. —In response to the article by Dr Psaty and colleagues,1 thousands of physicians across the country received a "Dear Doctor" letter from an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of hypertension. The letter's author offered a number of criticisms of the study and suggested that the results do not apply to nifedipine, one of the calcium channel blockers (CCBs) discussed in the study. The letter, which was printed on the author's university stationery and postmarked on the day the article was published, did not acknowledge any drug company sponsorship.
In a conversation with the author of the letter on September 11, 1995, he informed one of us (P.L.) that the letter and its distribution had been funded by Bayer Corporation, one of the two US makers of nifedipine. He stated that he had been contacted by a public relations company representing Bayer and had been asked
