More lawsuits over cat study

Washington-

A physicians' group is suing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for allegedly concealing information about a controversial veterinary experiment on cats to study effects of methamphetamine drug abuse in people.

Dr. Michael Podell, a veterinarian at The Ohio State University, is conducting this research to create an "animal model" documenting brain damage known to occur in people who are both drug abusers and infected with AIDS.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed the lawsuit in an attempt to stop the NIH-funded research. PCRM is suing NIH under the Freedom of Information Act for allegedly withholding details about the research. The group claims they received a copy of Podell's grant application earlier this year, but NIH had removed large portions of pertinent data.

The group argues that the study on the effects of amphetamines and HIV is more properly done in HIV-positive individuals already being treated with amphetamines for depression and in HIV-positive drug abusers.

NIH recently granted the second installment in the five-year $1.68 million study.