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Spring Issue 2005
SOT Organizes Two Congressional Science Briefings
Two Congressional Science Briefing (CSB) luncheons were
held recently on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. On
January 31, a briefing sponsored by Senator Richard
Durbin (D-IL) was held in the Dirksen Senate
Office Building, and on February 1, a briefing sponsored
by Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA)
and Representative Susan Davis (D-CA)
was held in the Rayburn House Office Building. Both briefings
titled “Botanical Dietary Supplements: Scientific
Perspectives and Public Health Pitfalls” were co-organized
by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental
Therapeutics (ASPET), the American Society for Clinical
Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT), and the Society
of Toxicology. Attendance at the briefings approached
40 on January 31 and 61 on February 1, with most attendees
coming from Congressional offices.
Current issues surrounding dietary supplements served as a context for a discussion
of how the disciplines of pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, and toxicology
can be utilized to promote the use of sound science for improved decision-making.
SOT Vice-President Ken Wallace briefly introduced the three societies, goals
of the briefings, and the speakers. The first speaker, George Burdock,
Ph.D., DABT, Burdock Group, Washington, DC, and SOT member, presented “Dietary
Supplements and a Method for Determining Safety and Efficacy.” He discussed
the concept of “dose makes the poison” and his recommendation for
the use of independent expert panels to augment regulatory decisions regarding
safety and efficacy of dietary supplements. The second speaker, Steven
Kliewer, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas,
Texas, and ASPET member, discussed his basic research findings in “How
Do Interactions Between Prescription Drugs and Botanical Dietary Supplements
Have Potential to Harm Us?” He described how some popular botanical supplements
up-regulate drug metabolism genes lead to altered metabolism of prescription
drugs and adverse responses. The final speaker, Jason Morrow,
M.D., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, an ASCPT
member, presented “Safety of Dietary Supplements from a Clinical Pharmacology
Perspective and What It Means to the U.S. Public.” He discussed dietary
supplement use in the U.S., and how clinical pharmacologists play a role in
evaluating safety of dietary supplements. He, shared several recommendations
to improve safety of these substances.
The primary goal of the Congressional Science Briefings is to provide an educational
resource for members of Congress and their staff and to enhance and promote
the visibility of the SOT and its members as credible and authoritative sources
for toxicological science and risk assessment in regulatory and legislative
issues, including environmental protection, human health, and nutrition.
The PowerPoint presentations from the Congressional
briefings are available on the SOT Web site.
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