I am trying to find an article that appeared in International Health
New. The name of the article is Depo Provera: still controversial.
The exact site is (1988 Feb;9(2):2-3, 8).  I have had no luck ordering
this from pub med ("all possible resources exhausted").  I got a lead
with my last post that failed.  If anyone has any other suggestions on
how to get a back copy of this article (the organazation no longer
exists and i have tried contacting the global health org) I would be
very apprecative.  I have not been able to track down the author, LM
Wren, which any lead on that would also be helpful. Thank you very
much.

April

---

Clarification of Question by aprillee76-ga on 08 Apr 2005 06:51 PDT

I'm sorry typo in the title-- it's 1988.

I agree with commenters from your previous posting, that this article
is not likely available online.  Your best approach may be to go to a
good medical library that has back issues of this journal.  What city
are you close to?  I may be able to suggest some libraries.

           -welte-ga

yes, i was hoping that since the article can't be found online i could
find more info on publisher and or author.  I have exhausted med lib
searches at UCLA, HOPKINS and UAB.  I am in Houston and NYC frequently
if you have any better suggestions.  Any info on the author
appreciated too (maybe the facility he is at now).  Thanks for your
response.  I'm on a mission to get this thing and beginning to think
it's hopeless.

Have you been able to find any papers that cite Wren's article?  I
haven't yet, but if you do then you could try to contact the authors
of the paper that cite Wren's article.
Perhaps try and get in touch with Dr. Thomas J. Vecchio who has done
extensive research on Depo Provera.  He was working for Upjohn
International, Inc in Kalamazoo, Michigan but I am unaware of whether
this is still the case, and even if you do get in touch with him
chances are he probably wasn't acquainted with LM Wren.
Other than that, try and email the librarians of as many medical
libraries as possible to check for the availabity of archives of Int
Health News.
I don't know if this will help, but heres a comprehensive list of
medical libraries around North America:
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/hslibs.html

I appreciate the suggestions, I'm working on tracking down Dr. Vecchio
now.  I have tried some but not all of the papers that cite the
article, i only got two responses back and both authors cited from the
abstract only.  I will keep you posted with my efforts.  Thanks again
for the help.

April

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12179873&dopt=Abstract

1: Int Health News. 1988 Feb;9(2):2-3, 8. Related Articles, Links  

Depo Provera: still controversial.

Wren LM.

PIP: The use of depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), or Depo
Provera, has been debated for the 20 years since it became available
in 1967. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused to approve
Depo Provera on the basis that it caused breast tumors in a controlled
study of Beagle dogs and Rhesus monkeys conducted by Upjohn, the
manufacturer. Depo Provera has been approved in over 60 other
countries and is in use in 30 or 40 others with an estimated total of
almost 5 million users. A natural hormone, progesterone, DMPA is
injected intramuscularly and absorbed slowly. Common dosage is 150 mg
every 3 months and usually is administered during the 1st week of the
menstrual cycle. The pregnancy rate with Depo Provera is .44
pregnancies/100 women years for women receiving 100 mg every 3 months.
No pregnancies were recorded in recent studies for women receiving 150
mg. Possible side effects include amenorrhea, weight gain, dizziness
and headaches. The median time for contraception after the presumed
duration of one's last injection is 5-1/2 months. Some countries only
permit women who already have 1 child to use Depo Provera. The FDA in
the US approves the use of Depo Provera for treatment of endometrial
and renal cancer but accuses it of causing cancer in Beagles and
Rhesus monkeys. The studies were conducted over 7 and 10-year periods,
respectively, with extremely negative results including the death of 3
dogs due to "drug-induced diabetes," atrophication of adrenal glands,
and malignant tumors. There were similar results for the monkey study.
In the UK, the Committee for Safety in Medicine supports Upjohn's view
that Beagles are unsuitable for comparison testing because "all dogs
are acutely sensitive to progesterone." Groups such as the National
Women's Health Network, the institute for Food and Development Policy,
and "Mother Jones" have used the media to generate opposition to Depo
Provera, citing a double standard for rich and poor women, developed
and less developed countries. The proponents of Depo Provera criticize
health activists for imposing their own standards on women in
developing countries. Regarding concerns about greater risk of
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Depo Provera can be
injected with disposable needles. In response to the controversy,
Upjohn withdrew its application to the FDA in September 1986 but
intends to resubmit with new information from a World Health
Organization report, which showed no evidence of an increased risk of
cancers of the endometrium, liver, or breast.

PMID: 12179873 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 

Related Articles:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=12179873&tool=ExternalSearch

Hope this helps.
JMac222

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=Thomas+Vecchio+Depo+Provera

This is a doozy and I'm a medical librarian. The author's only got one
citation in PubMed. Usually, their institutional information is listed
in the record (in PubMed, under display, you select "MEDLINE") but not
in LM Wren's case.

This journal is not widely held (only 2 libraries in the US, neither
of which appears to have the pertinent years). If you have access to a
good medical librarian who does interlibrary loan, all I can suggest
is appealing to his or her sense of a challenge. Not all libraries
have their records on WorldCat and sometimes ILL people have access to
other resources.

Best of luck.

Regards,
luciaphile-ga

Dear luciaphile-- I'm appealing to your sense of a challenge :).....
I'm located in Houston which is a pretty large medical town and have
had no luck with the medical libaries (or librarians) here.  I really
appreciate your comments, I'm still looking....

Unfortunately, I'm not an interlibrary loan librarian. Dr. Vecchio
seems to be an elusive fellow too. I don't think he's been actively
publishing in years and I can't find where he's located currently.

Have you tried contacting the publisher of International Health News? 

luciaphile-ga

I have, they no longer exist and the company that they turned into has
nothing before 1990.

ps-- thanks for trying!  I appreciate your suggestions.