JAMA Sets New Policy in Wake of Disclosure Flap - Health Blog - WSJ

There seems to be a conflicts of interest fight brewing between JAMA, a professor of neuro-anatomy and BMJ.  According to WSJ Health Blog, "Leo, a professor of neuro-anatomy at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., faced criticism from editors at the Journal of the American Medical Association when he published a letter in another medical journal, BMJ, that highlighted an unreported conflict of interest in a study published by JAMA...The editorial... scolds Leo for publishing his letter in the BMJ before JAMA weighed in on the matter. In addition, the editorial says JAMA contacted the dean at Leo’s medical school in an attempt to apply pressure from above...As a result of the flap, JAMA says it is adopting a new policy under which anyone asserting that study authors have failed to disclose conflicts of interest should keep the matter confidential until JAMA investigates... That move is already generating controversy."  What I find interesting is (1) apparently, the discovery of the potential conflict arose when Dr. Leo questioned material omissions in the study; (2) JAMA apparently contends that it is inappropriate for a third party to write about an apparent undisclosed conflict until JAMA has done its own thorough investigation and reported back; (3) apparently all this disagreement devolved into some name calling.   Interesting reading.

Read the JAMA editorial at http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/jed90012pap_E1_E3.pdf

Read the Dr. Leo's WSJ statement at http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/leo_statement_for_WSJ.htm

Read the BMJ letter at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/338/feb05_1/b463#208503

via JAMA Sets New Policy in Wake of Disclosure Flap - Health Blog - WSJ.

UPDATE.  In the March 30, 2009 WSJ, WSJ reports that the American Medical Association (which controls JAMA) has appointed an oversight committee to investigate charges that the top editors threatened a researcher who publicly faulted a study in the publication. via Medical Group Seeks Probe of Its Journal - WSJ.com.