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Saturday, June 10, 2006  
FDA warns of unapproved prescription medications
Thousands of prescription drugs never approved by the Food and Drug Administration are on the market, and some pose clear health risks to patients, the agency said Thursday, as it announced an effort to force the manufacturers either to seek approval or to stop selling their products.

The FDA focused particularly on a group of antihistamines that contain the active ingredient carbinoxamine. Agency officials said the ingredient, which is widely used and advertised under a variety of brand names, has been linked to the deaths of more than 20 young children, although a definite connection has not been established. Makers of the unapproved antihistamines were given 90 days to apply for FDA approval.

"Right now, many unapproved drugs represent a public health threat, because consumers wrongly assume that these widely marketed and available drugs are approved and have been found to be safe and effective by the FDA," said acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach.

Although some unapproved products have been on the market for decades, others are relatively new, FDA officials said. The agency estimated that 2 percent of the prescription drugs now for sale have never been reviewed or formally determined to be safe and effective, as required by law.

Unapproved carbinoxamine products are often labeled for cough and cold treatment in children, the FDA said on its Web site. But the compound's safety has never been studied in young children, and the agency said there is concern that it could be harmful.

FDA officials said the unapproved carbinoxamine medicines include Histex, Rondec and Cardec. Makers of these and other unapproved drugs often advertise their products, and many are listed in the Physicians' Desk Reference, which doctors use as a guide in prescribing drugs.

In documents made public Thursday, the FDA said the labels of unapproved drugs often do not mention that they were never reviewed by the agency.

Two approved drugs contain carbinoxamine, both manufactured by Mikart Inc. The two are not affected by the FDA action.

The agency has been sharply criticized for its handling of numerous drug-safety issues -- notably the sudden withdrawal in 2004 of the blockbuster painkiller Viol because of evidence it was causing heart problems -- and the agency has since been beefing up its safety oversight.

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Prescription drugs over the phone

doha • Patients of chronic ailments requiring prescription drugs from pharmacies of the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) will no longer have to wait in long queues: They can avail of their prescriptions by telephone, under a new service offered by the corporation.

Patients who are on long-term medication can contact 4391153 or 4391154 and give their case number to the operator, who will in turn, find the prescription drugs they are on. After three hours, the patient can visit the nearest HMC pharmacy and collect these medicines. The move has been hailed by several Qatari nationals who believe, the step will help reduce queues at HMC pharmacies and offer some comfort to patients.

Emad Al Shamri, a Qatari national, hailed the measure as a pioneering one that would help all those on long treatment.

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Is Your Prescription Medicine Working Correctly?
Your medications may not be working right if you're mixing them with certain products. That's the warning from ENCARE at Atlantic General Hospital. Herbal remedies, alcohol and even other medications can interfere with your prescriptions making them less effective. In today's age when we all have several doctors taking care of us, they say it's important to be a good health care consumer.

"Learning to know your medications. Carry them with you or a list of them with you, so that all your doctors know what everyone else is prescribing," said ENCARE trainer Candy Gebhart.

Gebhart also says you need to know why you're taking the medications. ENCARE educates groups on a variety of subjects aimed to keep people out of the ER.

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Lose the weight you hate with Phentermine

All of us want to lose weight to not only look good, but to live a healthy lifestyle, but with fast food getting cheaper, increasingly weight loss is becoming harder. There is no secret to the formula for losing weight. But if you consume fewer calories than you burn, you can lose weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. But in real life , that's difficult as there are lot of tempting delicacies that can seduce you without the slightest hint of mentioning the fat intake.

Excess fat is a health hazard. It overworks the heart and makes the overweight person susceptible to diabetes, lower energy levels, heart disease, and cancer. The more overweight we are, the less likely we are to have other healthy life style habits like daily exercise, and positive eating patterns.

Sometimes, sedentary lifestyle, stress and processed foods, are other factors that contribute to improper eating and under exercising. It is a challenge to keep our weight at ideal levels. However, we should never stop trying. One should never give up hope that they will somehow find a way to loose their excess pounds, regardless of the cause of the excessive weight viz heredity, environment, or a combination of the two.

Often, the psychological effects of <a href=http://www.noprescriptiondrugstore.com>weight loss</a> is a big nightmare. This coupled with depression can be fatal to count on our "will power" to lose weight. Unless you want to go for expensive laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery, there are diet pills available in the market that can reduce your craving for food that would otherwise seem tempting or seductive. One of the best appetite suppressant available in the market is Phentermine, an oral appetite suppresser and metabolic rate enhancer. Because of its proven history, short term use is beneficial as it is less addictive. Consumers across the world buy cheap phentermine diet pills online as there is less transaction costs and overhead expenses.

So If you do want to be alive and vibrant, losing weight can just make the difference. The need to come up with diet pills other than traditional therapies to combat the obesity epidemic is a boon for modern society who need to look good and fit in quick time. The idea of relying on behavioral programs, which have failed for years, is just ridiculous. So whenever you think of becoming slim buy
<a href=http://www.noprescriptiondrugstore.com> Phentermine</a> and see the difference it makes to your life and others.

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How to lose weight

My great grand father is appalled. Big sophisticated health clubs, fitness centres, nutrition schools never figured during his time. Health trainers, diet experts, fitness coaches, figure counselors are total strangers.
Even his favorite morning newspaper has changed. Coverage for politicians is on shrink though pages have multiplied. Big chunk is poached by sports and health. His world is totally changed. Depressing - while he is growing old and feeble, the world is renewing its youth.


Fat is the most hurting comment today a person can make on another. To some it agitates more than the four letter word. The body image now has become a social identity with slimness no more a monopoly of actors and celebrities. Commoners are now aspiring to be Miss World and they are aware, no celebrity carries even a fraction of extra bulk.


Youth are not alone. World governments have collaborated for the 'slim' battle albeit for different reasons.
More than 80 million Americans adults are smokers, obese or both and face increased risk of poor health and early death, say researchers.


Australians seem losing the fight against obesity, as average Australian has put on an extra 1.4 kg in the past five years. The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study warns waistlines have expanded dangerously and above 20,000 in Queensland alone, are now classified as obese rather than overweight.
Recent figures show the number of obese children in Britain between 11 and 15 has almost doubled over the past 10 years.


India too, has jumped among the top 10 obese nations of the world with around 120 million urban Indians seriously overweight.


The obesity epidemic has brought with it a host of associated illnesses or co-morbidity factors, such as diabetes, heart ailments and even cancer.


World Health Organization has classified obesity a chronic disease and physicians are encouraging pharmacotherapy along with lifestyle changes to maintain weight.


While nutritious diet and exercise are long term measures to contain obesity, medication for achieving quick results are necessary.


Oral Phentermine is an appetite suppressant sold for weight loss for short-term management of obesity. Safe and effective, Phentermine works best when taken in conjunction with diet, exercise and behavior therapy.
Phentermine works by stimulating the hypothalamus gland and affecting certain neurotransmitters to decrease appetite. The hypothalamus is the region of the brain that controls the autonomic nervous system, appetite, etc.

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Some Popular Diet Pills

Weight loss is not as simple as it sounds. Many times a strict regime, diet control, and exercise alone don't work. You need some extra assistance to bring that considerable change in your body. It is then that doctors prescribe the use of diet pills such as Didrex, Xenical, or Ionamin to help you reach your target. Weight loss often becomes easier when using these medications.
All three of these are generic prescription diet pills that are effective and safe. So, if you're looking at losing some weight, check this out.

Didrex

The generic name of Didrex is Benzphetamine hydrochloride. It is an appetite suppressant that is indicated only for the short-term management of obesity. The use of this drug may lead to dependence and severe social dysfunction. So beware and check with your doctor before you take it. Sometimes, it may also develop cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart, which diminishes the heart's performance.

Any discontinuation in the use of Didrex may result in withdrawal-like symptoms including extreme fatigue and depression. Side effects of this pill include skin abnormalities, insomnia, irritability, hyperactivity, personality changes, and psychosis.

Xenical

Xenical is an oral prescription medication that virtually melts away those extra pounds from your body. Unlike Didrex that suppresses appetite, Xenical is a fat blocker. It blocks a third of the fat in your food intake. That is why it is advised to take Xenical in conjunction with an overall diet plan to reduce weight. It is best to take Xenical on an empty stomach one half-hour before breakfast.

Ionamin

The generic name of Ionamin is Phentermine resin SA. It is again an appetite suppressant indicated only for the short-term management of obesity. The use of this drug may sometimes lead the development of primary pulmonary hypertension, a rare, fatal disease of the lungs, as well as valvular heart disease.

Jenifer d'souza is an associated editor to the website http://www.noprescriptiondrugstore.com . It is committed to provide visitors with complete information on  men's health, sexual health, and online prescription drugs like generic viagra, generic cialis by latest news, personal views, and articles on erectile dysfunction related topics.

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Prescribing of Antipsychotic Drugs for Children on Rise
Antipsychotic prescriptions for people aged 20 and younger rose sixfold from 1993-2002.

Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, and colleagues report that news in June's issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Olfson works in New York at Columbia University's psychiatry department.

Most of those prescriptions were for second-generation antipsychotic drugs -- such as Clozaril, Risperdal, Zyprexa, and Seroquel -- which the FDA hasn't approved for pediatric use, Olfson's team notes.

"There has been a sharp national increase in antipsychotic treatment among children and adolescents in office-based practices," write Olfson and colleagues.

"Second-generation antipsychotics are being widely prescribed, and emerging empirical evidence provides a base of support that is limited to short-term safety and efficacy," the researchers add.

Then and Now

Data came from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys. The numbers only include office-based visits, not visits to community mental health centers or outpatient clinics.

According to the study, there were about 201,000 office-based visits for youths aged 20 and younger that involved antipsychotic treatment in 1993. That number rose to 1,224,000 in 2002.

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Fake Generic Viagra Site Using Google Name
The site by ED Choice, which sells generic versions of drugs like Viagra, Levitra and Cialis (none of which exist in what I like to call "the real world"), features a Google logo with the "o"s replaced by two li'l Viagra pills, as well as this text:
We've just launched a pharmaceutical interface for Google, as well as several new features that will improve the Google experience for people buying pills and using pharmaceutical interfaces.

We are really pleased to have worked on a launch that will help people use pharmacy and surgery.

We are currently working to make it available to even more users with more language interfaces.

Visit Google's accredited pharmacy.
It never ceases to amaze me just how many businesses rely entirely on just how freakin' stupid people are. An intelligent person would never fall for this; and yet, people make money.

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Viagra for Children
I've been critical of some drug industry practices, I've been saying that me-too drugs don't always add much value, and I've said that many brand extensions and new formulations are just there to make more money for the drug company.

But there are also other, good, examples of what the drug industry does when they develop new indications and new drugs based on something they already have.

One example is Viagra for children.

Last year Pfizer got approval to sell Viagra, now named Revatio, to children. They tweaked the dose a tiny bit, 25 milligrams vs. 20, 50 and 100 milligrams for Viagra and gave the "new" drug a new look. Revatio is white and round, Viagra is a blue diamond.

Here's how the new drug works in children. Viagra increases blood flow (we all knew that, right?). But this isn't just something middle aged men are sometimes in need of, it turns out there is also a very deadly disease, called primary pulmonary hypertension, which is caused by constrictions in the blood vessels that supply the lungs.

Viagra dilates blood vessels, which promotes erections and dilates the vessels to the lungs which reduces blood pressure in the lungs. According to Pfizer, about 95% of young patients on Viagra survived 18 months, compared with the 65% survival predicted for the population with primary pulmonary hypertension.

Congratulations, Pfizer.

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Let Viagra lead you back to passion
A relationship that endures the passage of time is one of the greatest blessings that anyone can receive. But, time leaves its ravages in other ways. You may have led a very healthy life, taken good care of yourself. But, many reasons and causes could compromise your ability to enjoy your relationship with your partner. While sex is not the only basis for a long-lasting and fulfilled relationship, it cannot be denied that it is this facet that adds sparks to the relationship. Age may have interfered with your ability to sustain a happy sexual relationship, but it does not dim passion and desire. If you are someone who has been suffering from Erectile Dysfunction, you will be quite familiar with the frustrations and embarrassment that it can bring.

Don't give up on hope, just yet. While it is difficult to discuss sexual problems, it is also very important to do so. Because, treatment is available. And, in most cases, it is completely curable. While surgery and therapy are still used extensively, over the years, with advances in pharmaceutical science, oral prescription medicines like Viagra have become the leading choice of physicians for the treatment of Erectile Dysfunction, or ED. Viagra belongs to a category of drugs called PDE5 inhibitors, and it helps treat Erectile Dysfunction by combating its symptoms. It facilitates the rush of blood into the penis, during arousal, so as to help to achieve and sustain a successful erection.

Viagra can work miracles for your sex life, but it can be quite a strain on your budget, too. But, cheaper alternatives are available. Commerce over the Internet is booming. And, when you purchase your Viagra from online web sites, you save a lot of money. To buy Viagra online can mean savings to the tune of 10-15%, not to mention the convenience of being able to compare prices and find the best deal, read user reviews and having your purchases delivered at your doorstep, all from the comfort of your home. It does not get more convenient or easier than that.

So, incorporate Viagra into your life. You will be amazed by what a difference it makes. See your sex life rejuvenated and your relationship sparkle. Recapture passion and vigor – with Viagra, you can.

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Thursday, June 08, 2006  
Lose weight Improve your life with Phentermine

Looking slim and fit is an obsession these days with the young and the old. Every magazine, TV channel tells you to diet and exercise. However, putting this rule into practice requires patience along with trial and error, especially when it comes to exercise.

Many women want to be slim before marriage. Maybe you're one of them. Just to fit into your wedding gown comfortably or perhaps simply to look and feel great in a swimsuit or bikini at the beach. Or may be you've just had a baby and want to get your pre-pregnancy figure back or may have gained weight after quitting smoking and now want a way to shed it off. Whatever your reason for wanting to be slim, there are some things you can do to become slim while staying healthy.

First thing is to assess your current eating habits. This is important because you need to know what's not working. If your current eating habits are keeping you overweight, and you want to be slim, it figures that you need to change those eating habits.

You measure food intake by counting calories. However, if your doctor advices you to exercise, the questions remain - what kind of exercise and how much? That becomes an uncomfortable decision due to time constraints and expensive alternatives like surgeries.

There are various ways to treat obesity and weight control. Weight loss supplements and pills, dieting and surgery are the common ones people often take to. People with certain medical problems, pregnant and nursing women, however must be particularly careful with supplements as they may interact with some medications.

Similarly bariatric surgery or surgery of obesity may lead to complications such as wound infections, leaks or narrowing at connection to the pouch, ulcers, hernias, breathing problems and blood clots. Bariatric surgery is expensive and so too is post surgery surveillance.

The key to weight control is keeping energy intake (food) and energy output (physical activity) in balance. If you consume 100 calories a day more than your body needs, you will gain about 10 pounds in a year.

Many programs promise miracles but do little more than take your money. There is no such thing as effortless weight loss, unless you try popping
diet pills as they popularly called. These medications decrease appetite by increasing the availability brain chemicals that affect mood and appetite. One such drug commonly used my people is phentermine diet pills. Often they buy phentermine online, as they cost less thus earning the sobriquet cheap phentermine. In general, appetite suppressants lead to an average weight loss of 5 to 22 pounds above that expected with non-drug obesity treatments.

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Asthma drugs increase risk of life-threatening complications
Widely used asthma medicines like as Advair and Serevent increase the risk of hospitalization and death in asthma patients who use them as compared to placebos, according to a new review of 19 studies done in this area.

The analysis, conducted by Stanford researchers also found that the long-acting bronchodilators pose increased risk in a large number of people. "What we have here is a drug that increases the number of people who will die from the disease it is treating," said lead researcher Shelley Salpeter of Stanford University. "The long-acting bronchodilators can help reduce symptoms for many people, but we think the price in terms of serious side effects and deaths is unacceptable."

The new analysis, which is published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, raises questions on whether is is time to pull these drugs out of the market. "Black box warnings on the labeling for these agents clearly outline the increased risk for asthma-related deaths associated with their use, but these warnings have not changed prescribing practices of physicians," the authors said.

The main way in which long-acting beta-agonist bronchodilators work is by relaxing airway muscles and thus helping in easy breathing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already put strict warnings on these drugs and had warned that they could result in death last year itself.

In the current study of 34,000 participants, the researchers found that the drugs increase risk of hospitalizations by 2.6 times and death by 1.8 times. "The take-home message is that long-acting beta-agonists worsen asthma control and increase the risk for moderate asthma exacerbations, life-threatening asthma exacerbations and asthma deaths," Salpeter concluded.


 

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FDA cracks down on unapproved drugs
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it was strengthening its efforts against unapproved drug products.

The FDA, which estimated there are several hundred unapproved active ingredients in prescription drugs on the market, issued a new guidance that encourages companies marketing unapproved drugs to seek agency approval.

"Right now, many unapproved drugs represent a public health threat because consumers wrongly assume that these widely marketed and available drugs are approved and have been found to be safe and effective by the FDA," said Acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach.

The FDA said its first action would be focused on unapproved prescription products containing the antihistamine carbinoxamine.

Many unapproved carbinoxamine products are labeled for treatment of cough and cold symptoms, which is not an FDA approved indication for the compound. These products often are specifically labeled for use in young children, but this raises safety concerns because the drug has never been studied in this age group, the FDA said.

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Wednesday, June 07, 2006  
Where to buy Viagra?

If you are someone using Viagra or planning to start using Viagra, you must be concerned about the rising prices of prescription drugs. You probably buy your Viagra from the same neighborhood pharmacy where you go for all your medical requirements. And, grimace at the bills every month. While it is completely true that all the money and savings in the world do not replace your health, it doesn't hurt to look for a cheaper or cost saving option, without compromising on the quality of drugs you use.

One of the greatest landmarks in the world of computers is the Internet and its increased availability to the layperson. Over the years, the Internet has become a platform for education, entertainment, commerce, information, communication, and so on. No single medium has made such an impact on our lives. The proliferation of online commerce is an important change in the way we do business and make our purchases. There has never before been a way to compare prices of a single product from different sellers, read user review, make your purchase and have it home delivered, all from the comfort of your home. And, when you add the money you save to all these conveniences, it becomes an unbeatable deal.

You can buy your medications online, as well. Prescription Viagra can now be purchased from online pharmacies, at significantly lower costs than what you'd get in regular pharmacies. You could buy from purely online pharmacies, or online sites for regular pharmacies like CVS and Walgreen's, or from the web sites of the drug in question or its manufacturer. Whichever you choose, the money you save will be significant. When you
buy Viagra from online web sites, you may save as much as 10-15% of the price in regular pharmacies. It is not that these online pharmacies sell inferior drugs. The quality and the drugs remain unaltered. But, they do save a lot of money on overhead expenses and store space. And, they are only too happy to pass the savings on to their customers.

So, the next time you have to buy Viagra, go on the Internet to find cheaper Viagra. When you buy Viagra online, not only do you benefit from the cost savings and convenience of the medium, but you join a revolution to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and health care in the country!

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Let Viagra Deal Impotence

When you are running on the path of the life with full speed on the vehicle of success, you are ignoring your body and its need. While your body is a machine also want the fuel of regular exercise and also the healthy diet and also active sex, but the stress level that has been inherent in the body may put in jeopardy many organs and escort to many diseases. Many of them are despair, hypertension, heart problems and the latest to hold fast the list is sexual dysfunction in men.



Men's sexual health has been of major concern since millions of men all over the world are affected by impotence. Actually it cannot be considered as a men's problem only because it also grips the partner in a correlation. When a man loses his ability to achieve or sustain an erection necessary to satisfy his sexual needs and also the needs of his partner is called as erectile dysfunction.



There have been many diagnostic researches carried out over the years for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. And Viagra is on the top of the list to treating the erectile dysfunction. Maybe, that is why it has been dotingly nicknamed 'the magic pill'. Viagra is the establish ED drug approved by FDA and incredibly admired for its cost benefits and effectual persona which could not be achieved earlier by any other forms of treatment.



Sildenafil Citrate is the main performance factor in Viagra. This dynamic constituent is advantageous for the leisure of arteries present in the penis which are helpful to smooth the muscles and blood flow in penis resulting in erection. One hour before Viagra is suggested to be taken and its effects remain ubiquitous for the next 4 hours.



You can get the information of Viagra through net. For adapted information you can discuss with your doctor or even post your queries on the websites for expert opinion. So overlook your doubts and let Viagra treat with impotence. In the conclusion, Viagra is unavoidably the victor and joy is all yours.

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Rogue pharmacy poses as Google

The newest addition to the Google family has just hit the web - the search giant's very own accredited pharmacy, selling pills at rock bottom prices.

Google celebrated the launch with a brand-spanking, stylised logo - the double 'O' replaced with two blue Viagra pills.
The mail promoting the new site told us: "We've just launched a pharmaceutical interfaces for Google, as well as several new features for the people buying pills and using pharmaceutical interfaces".

Pharmaceutical interfaces, we love it. However, since we weren't entirely sure what they were, we decided to have a look.

We landed at a familiar site: but, surprise, surprise, it wasn't Google, but rogue pharmaceutical site ED Choice. ED Choice pretends to sell generic Viagra, generic Levitra, generic Cialis and other generic products that can't possibly exist, as the patents on these products have yet to expire.

Which explains why ED Choice is hiring spammers to sell its products, and why it constantly changes its server address or URL to avoid a sudden meltdown by angry hosting providers.

Rogue sites selling fake medicines are rampant these days, as NBC's Inside Dateline showed last weekend. The news show posed as an online pharmaceutical company called The Hansen Group and started trolling the web looking for suppliers of counterfeit medicines. Within weeks, companies all over the world were offering them pills of every description - from fake Viagra to Tamiflu.

Most offers were from China, which isn't surprising, as most drugs with the Viagra label sold in China are counterfeit. A Hong Kong contact even agreed to ship thousands of fake Viagra tablets every week to the Hansen Group, a deal with an estimated value of $10m.

The good news is that the people behind the operation were put behind bars before the documentary was aired.

More importantly, a ruling in a Beijing court this week could put halt to the burgeoning industry. The court overturned a 2004 decision by China's patent review board, which would have allowed local drug makers to sell legal generic versions of Viagra in China. The decision could dent the widespread availability of potentially lethal or harmful fake medicines on the net, experts say.

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Blood-Pressure Drugs Linked to Birth Defects

A popular class of blood-pressure medications thought to be safe in the first trimester of pregnancy appear to have caused serious birth defects in about 7 percent of babies whose mothers took them, a new study has found.

ACE inhibitors carry a warning that pregnant women should not use them in the last two trimesters because they can cause kidney damage to the fetus. The number of women taking them early in pregnancy is unknown but probably is small, the study suggests.
 

ACE inhibitors are the second-most commonly prescribed class of pharmaceuticals in the United States, with 149 million prescriptions dispensed last year. They came on the market 25 years ago.

"It would be important for a pregnant woman and her health-care provider to be aware of this, so they can identify an alternative medicine to treat her hypertension," said William O. Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital who headed the study, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

Exposure to ACE inhibitors early in pregnancy nearly tripled the risk of birth defects, the study showed. "We all believe that we want to see more data. But this is important enough and impressive enough to tell people about," said Robert Temple of the Food and Drug Administration, who spoke to reporters about the findings.

The agency will consider broadening the "black box" warning against taking ACE inhibitors late in pregnancy, he said. The message is that women trying to get pregnant should switch to a different blood-pressure drug, Temple said.

One-third of the defects involved the heart, one-quarter the limbs or face, and one-tenth the brain or spinal cord, the study found. Many defects, especially the heart problems, are curable with surgery or other treatment. Others, however, cause permanent disability or retardation.

Cooper and his colleagues looked at 29,507 births to women covered by Medicaid in Tennessee between 1985 and 2000.

Of that group, 209 babies were born to women who took an ACE inhibitor, and 18 had birth defects. Among 202 babies born to mothers taking some other blood-pressure medication, four had defects. The fraction of babies with defects was 7.1 percent in the ACE-inhibitor group; 1.7 percent in the other anti-hypertensive group; and 2.6 percent in the group taking no blood-pressure medication.

That such an effect was first noticed a quarter-century after ACE inhibitors arrived on the market points up the lack of data about the effect of drugs in pregnancy.

All new drugs are tested on pregnant animals to see whether they cause malformations, but those tests can be misleading. It's considered unethical to include pregnant women in studies of new drugs unless the medication is intended to treat pregnancy-related conditions.

As a consequence, the labels on nearly all medications carry a statement saying their safety to fetuses has not been established.

"I think it is safe to say that not a lot is known about the options for women in pregnancy," said Sandra L. Kweder of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Studies of large databases such as Medicare records or registries that enroll pregnant women already taking particular drugs are the chief ways to discover and measure possible risks to the fetus from prescription drugs.

Increasingly, the FDA is seeking such data. It paid for the ACE-inhibitor study with help from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The alternatives that clinicians might want to consider are diuretics, alpha-methyldopa, some beta-blockers, and the calcium-channel blocker nifedipine, according to the FDA officials and an editorial accompanying the study.

Blood pressure often falls slightly in pregnancy, and women with mild hypertension may be able to go without medicines, experts say. Some pregnant women develop hypertension that can be life-threatening to them and their babies.

ACE inhibitors -- the acronym stands for angiotensin-converting enzyme -- have become more popular. A government survey of visits to doctors' offices found that their use doubled from 1995 to 2002.

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Order Online Phentermine

Maintaining a healthy weight is important for a leading a healthy life. People who have excessive weight are always mocked at. Obesity open doors to many health diseases such as high blood-pressure, diabetes, arthritis, heart diseases and hypertension. Those with a high body mass (BMI) are considered are considered to be at the edge of developing serious health problems. BMI is calculated by dividing weight (in kgs) with height (in mts). People who have a BMI of 27 or more are assisted for weight loss program with an effective weight loss drug –Phentermine.

 

Phentermine acts as an appetite suppressant. When consumed in combination with a low-fat diet and regular exercise phentermine helps you to get rid of those extra calories thus reducing your body weight and giving you a flexible body.

 

Phentermine should not be used except under complete medical supervision. If you have had some health problems in the past, consult your doctor before taking the medicine.

 

One need not move to different stores looking for phentermine pills. These can be ordered online through a licensed pharmacy. You can even buy them from online stores that do not require a prescription.

 

Ordering phentermine online is easy. Since numerous online pharmacies deal with the drug, therefore the prices may vary. There will also be a difference between the composition and dosage of each manufacturer's product. So, shopping around can help you get reasonable prices, better quality and delivery options.

 

Most of the pharmacy websites provide a price comparison chart. The prices are inclusive of tax, shipping and handling costs. These can be viewed before placing an order.

 

Online phentermine ensures customer privacy. The online drug stores take up a direct order and deliver the medicine free of cost if within a specified area.

 

The online pharmacies necessitate the customer to fill in an online medical history form. This online medical history form would be analyzed by a licensed nurse or a doctor. This makes sure that the product the online pharmacies are selling is safe for use by the customer. The medical prescription will be written online, so the customer does not feel a need to visit a doctor. Consultation is provided online, free of cost.

 

Before buying phentermine from an online pharmacy, one needs to be careful and attentive to protect himself against any treachery. The question that often arises is on the legalization of the online pharmacies. When an e-pharmacy is giving you a medical prescription, it is quite understood that the law has given them the right to do so.

 

In order to avoid any deceit while purchasing online phentermine, the customer is advised to check the tag and other guidelines for safety and quality as outlined by FDA.

 

Technology has benefited an individual to buy phentermine from an online drug store without getting into a direct contact with the seller. Order online phentermine now and make yourself look attractive once again.

 

Joseph Jones received training as a healthcare scientist. He has been working in the same field and writes informative articles for weight loss subject. To find Buy phentermine online, Cheap phentermine, phentermine diet pills visit http://www.noprescriptiondrugstore.com

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Mail-order prescription bill splinters trade groups

State legislation that would prevent prescription drug plans from forcing people to use mail-order pharmacies would increase costs and provide no value for consumers, a trade association said yesterday.

House Bill 814 would increase drug spending by $60 million to $123 million per year in Pennsylvania, according to a study commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.

PCMA opposes the bill, which would prevent insurers from requiring members to use a mail-order pharmacy in order for a medicine to be covered. The bill also would prevent insurers from imposing higher co-payments or fees when members don't order by mail.

PCMA represents pharmacy benefit managers, known as PBMs. Health insurers often hire PBMs to manage prescription drug benefits, and PBMs often require certain prescriptions to be filled by mail.

Mark Merritt, president of the association, said mail-order pharmacies often offer lower prices than drugstores because they obtain large discounts on drugs and are more efficient. He said restricting their use amounts to a "hidden tax that will provide zero benefits for consumers while fattening drugstore profits."

The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, which represents drugstore owners, supports House Bill 814, said Pat Epple, the executive director.

Epple said many health plans require members to use mail-order pharmacies, taking away members' choice of where to fill their prescriptions. She noted that mail-order pharmacies are commonly owned by PBMs, which reap most of the benefits from drug company rebates and earn more money by selling customer data to pharmaceutical firms.

"The idea they save money is a veil the PBMs have put over things to conceal costs as they move market share in their direction," she said.

Supporters point out that mail-order pharmacies typically fill prescriptions for maintenance drugs used to treat long-term conditions. PBMs allow members to use drugstores to fill emergency prescriptions, such as antibiotics to treat a short-term illness.

Epple said forcing people to use mail-order pharmacies will drive drugstores out of business, denying people the opportunity to get direct advice from pharmacists. She said face-to-face interaction with pharmacists prevents many drug-related problems and is especially important for senior citizens and others who might be using many medications.

In an e-mail statement, Capital BlueCross, the Susquehanna Twp.-based health insurer, said: "We would be concerned about any bill that might raise costs or limit the options for benefit plan designs by our customers. Properly managed, for most patients mail-order pharmacy services can provide additional benefits and lower costs."

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Married couple accused of dealing prescription pills
A middle-aged married couple face criminal charges for dealing prescription pills after a police raid turned up drugs and guns at their house.

Anthony Jones, 60, and Katherine Jones, 55, of 243B North End Blvd. were arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with distribution of a class A substance (methadone), trafficking methadone, distribution of a class B substance (klonopin), possession of a class D substance (marijuana), three counts of firearm possession without a license and possession of a dangerous weapon (a switch blade).

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Tuesday, June 06, 2006  
A Wonder Pill To Surmount Over Obesity - Phentermine

We all crave for a perfect and healthy body. Losing weight is like a dream come true for obese people. I too was flabby earlier. My bulkiness always landed me up in a thwarting state. The fear of facing embarrassment stopped me from socializing with friends and attending parties. As a result I lost my self-confidence and my individual personality was shattered. I was over-whelmed with joy when a friend introduced me to a weight reducing drug. I tried it and the results were marvelous. Thanks to Phentermine!

 

A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. If you have a body that is hale and hearty, you will definitely have a positive attitude towards life. You will always be well groomed with an influential personality. Nowadays, as more and more people are becoming health conscious, the field of medical science has emerged with various ways to overcome obesity. Phantermine- a weight reducing drug is an apt solution to your excessive body weight.

 

Phentermine is a sympathomimetic amine, similar to amphetamine. It is also known as an anorectic or anorexigenic drug. It acts as an appetite suppressant that is helpful for obese people to reduce weight within a short span of time. It stimulates the nervous system increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, thus reducing your hunger.

 

The weight reducing drug- Phentermine should be used for a short period say for a few weeks. It should be consumed as a part of physician-guided weight loss program including a low fat diet and regular exercises.

 

Phentermine is available in different colors in the form of capsules and tablets as well. The pharmacist normally keeps the medicine in three strengths- 15mg, 30mg and 37.5 mg. Let your doctor decide which one is right for you depending upon your weight, height and other health problems.

 

It is important to take phentermine under the supervision of a medical practitioner only. The medicine should be consumed in correct quantity exactly as directed by your physician.

 

 

·Phentermine should be stored at room temperature away from heat and moisture.

·Phentermine is usually taken on empty stomach once or twice in a day.

·It is necessary to take the medicine with a full glass of water.

·Avoid taking a dose in the evening as it may cause insomnia.

·Do not crush or chew the capsule. Swallow it whole.

·If you skip a dose never try taking a double.

 

One may not be able to take phentermine if you have any of the following problems:

 

  • High blood-pressure
  • Heart disease
  • Arteriosclerosis
  • Glaucoma
  • History of drug or alcohol abuse

 

Nursing mothers should consult their doctor before taking phentermine, as it can pass into breast milk and can affect your new-born baby.

 

Cautions have to be taken at the time of driving or operating machinery. There are chances of phentermine causing dizziness, restlessness or blurred vision. If any of these effects are experienced by you avoid performing hazardous activities.

 

Phentermine works as a wonder pill to surmount over obesity.

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Diet Pills: A Ray of Hope

We all wish to have a healthy and well shaped body all through our life. The foundation of such a health would be controlled weight. From the very beginning one has to keep an eye on their weight to avoid the situation of being overweight or obese. One has to follow the strict schedule of healthy diet along with regular physical exercises. Unfortunately, in the fast life of today people do not have much time to take care of their health. They indulge in all kinds of poor food habits and live on fast food which is high on fat. Also the availability of gadgets has pushed them in a comfort zone resulting into lack of physical movement. All these factors lead to accumulation of fats in the body and over a period of time it takes shape of obesity.

In such a scenario, diet pills have given a ray oh hope to all individuals suffering from overweight or obesity. Diet pills have been around for about 30 years but it is only recently they have received attention. They have caused a revolution in the weight management industry with their stupendous success. The market of prescribed diet pills is controlled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and it ensures these drugs are tested for their safety and reliability.

Diet pills work to suppress the appetite, limiting the consumption of calories to minimum. The popular diet pills available in the market are Phentermine, Adipex and Ionamin. These are the prescribed diet pills with good success rate. Their popularity can be assessed by the fact that these account for more than 50% of prescriptions.

Consulting a doctor and sharing the medical history before getting started on diet pills is important so as to reduce or avoid possible side effects. It is extremely important if you have history of problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid problem, alcoholism or emotional issues. These drugs are for adults only and not recommended for children.

All people suffering from obesity are advised to make optimum use of diet pills. These are available at authorized pharmacy stores and online shops. There is lot of facts and research material available for one to go through before opting for diet pills. If combined with healthy food habits and exercise program, it can work as a magic in controlling the weight. So gear up, and fight the evils of obesity and enjoy a healthy life.

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400 breast cancer drugs
Big Pharma has discovered cancer.For several years biotechnology companies like Genentech and ImClone have garnered most of the attention at the nation's largest cancer meeting with new so-called targeted drugs that were in general less toxic than traditional chemotherapy.

But this year, the most significant data on targeted drugs is coming from the traditional big pharmaceutical companies.


Doctors at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting here said Sunday that temsirolimus, an experimental drug from Wyeth, prolonged lives in very sick kidney cancer patients by about three and a half months, a finding that could pave the way for the drug's approval next year.

And new data on Pfizer's Sutent could make that drug, which is already on the market, the first choice for treating kidney cancer. A day earlier, GlaxoSmithKline's breast cancer drug Tykerb was the centre of attention.

Neither Glaxo, Pfizer nor Wyeth had much of a presence in the cancer business several years ago. But pharmaceutical companies have awakened to the scientific discoveries and business factors -particularly high prices-that have transformed an area they once considered more of a niche market.

But the new scramble into cancer could result in a flood of "me-too" drugs. Numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are developing drugs that seek to choke off the flow of blood to tumours or interfere with proteins inside the tumour that spur it to grow.

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Death risks seen in U.S. asthma drugs
United States (UPI) -- Several popular U.S. bronchodilator drugs used to treat asthma can be potentially dangerous or fatal, a Stanford University analysis of 19 studies shows.

Shelley Salpeter of Stanford led the analysis that concluded the drug Advair, which is used by an estimated 3.5 million patients each year 'may be responsible' for as many as 4,000 of the 5,000 asthma-related deaths each year in the United States.

'What we have here is a drug that increases the number of people who will die from the disease it is treating,' wrote Salpeter.

A spokeswoman for Glaxo, the drug manufacturer, disputed the findings and said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a decline in asthma-related deaths since the drug came on the market in the mid-1990s, The Washington Post reported.

'The author`s conclusions are inconsistent with a large body of evidence and experience of patients,' said Mary Anne Rhyne.

The Stanford analysis also named Serevent as a possibly fatal asthma long-term bronchodilating drug, the report said.

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Viagra: Potent Weapon to Kill Impotence

Erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence is generally a feeble condition of penile muscle. When you are suffering from it you cannot get or maintain penis erect enough for the process of sexual intercourse.


Generally, factors responsible for ED are classified under two classes such as psychogenic factors and physical factors. Psychological factors are depression, performance anxiety, marital stress or relationship problems, life crisis, financial difficulties, religious repression, or some type of mental illness. Whereas, physical factors are damage to nerves, arteries, smooth muscles, and fibrous tissues, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, kidney or liver disease, other vascular conditions, cigarette smoking, and excessive alcohol intake.


Until the late 1990s, effective oral medications for ED were not available. But treatment of ED is much easier now, thanks to a class of drugs called phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors. Viagra is most popular among the PDE-5 inhibitors. Viagra prevents the breakdown of nitric oxide, a chemical messenger that promotes relaxation and opening of the blood vessels that supply erectile tissue in the penis. Under the influence of nitric oxide, these vessels expand and stay dilated. Increased blood flow makes erectile tissue swell and compress the veins that carry blood out of the penis, resulting in a full erection.
Its dosage varies from person to person and mostly recommended dose is 50mg, some user may require the dose of 100mg. Viagra should be taken an hour before the sexual activity then after it works by increasing the blood flow to the penile muscle which make the penis erect and the effect of single dose of Viagra may last up to 4 hours.


You may get headache, facial flushing, and upset stomach with the use of Viagra. Use of  Viagra may also result bluish vision, blurred vision, or sensitivity to light, but all these problems will go away after few hours. But, sometimes you may experience prolonged abnormal, painful erections medically known as priapism, if such problem persists for longer period; you must consult a doctor as soon as possible.


It is now easier for you to buy Viagra though the Internet. You can get Viagra in competitive market price and online buying is cheaper option than buying over-the-counter. You can get free online consultation, discount on cost price, safe and reliable shipment of drug to your doorsteps. If you are feeling embarrassed buying Viagra from the counter, buy it online, it is the best option for you as it ensures anonymity.


It is not sensible for you to compromise with ED when there are ample ways to treat it. Be smart and buy Viagra through online pharmacy, I assure you that you won't regret using Viagra. Otherwise, you may be pressed down by other mental health problems like low self-esteem, sexual failure anxiety, and depression, stress and guilt and relationship conflicts.

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Natural products a real cure for male sexual problems?
Erectile dysfunction was once a taboo subject, one that caused embarrassment and frustration for the adult males who suffered from it, but today they have a multitude of drugs and natural supplements to choose from. The question is, which should they choose? Here in the Czech Republic, supplements such as ViaMax Power tabs are advertised as a natural, more holistic approach to solving the problem. The argument they and other producers of over-the-counter alternatives make is that you must restore balance to the body. This, they say, is accomplished through a mixture of ingredients such as Gingko, Maca, Cnidium, and Horny Goat Weed. I had the chance to ask Czech sexologist Petr Weiss his thoughts on the debate.
"You see we are the first generation in the whole history of human kind who can have erection on demand because we are the first who have real medicine, really helpful medicine for erectile dysfunction, so why buy these food supplements we know that there is nothing that is really working when you can buy for the same price real drug, helpful drug, why do that? I see no sense in that."
But why do some people find these natural alternatives so effective if they don't, in fact, actually do anything?
"There is so called placebo effect, and it really works placebo effect, because it works on the basis of suggestion and if you believe that something will work there is certain probability that it will work but this probability is only 20% and if you will drink water it will be the same when someone will tell you that it works."
Experts such as Dr. Weiss would go against the arguments of the over-the-counter medications and recommend use of prescription drugs such as Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis which go to the root of the problem, quite literally, by targeting the penis itself in order to correct the dysfunction.

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Next session focuses on prescription drugs
Prescription drug misuse will be the topic of Thursday's Families Talking workshop in Neptune.

The free program, which runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Neptune Township Early Childhood Center, includes dinner, an open gym for basketball and child care.

The program is sponsored by the Neptune Municipal Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and is part of a series of nine family-oriented workshops to be held this year. For more information or to register, call (732) 869-1202.

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The Right Prescription For Healthcare
Strikes by junior doctors and reports of women waiting up to a year for mammograms will leave many Kiwis suffering from more than deja vu. The latest symptoms of our ailing health system require more than a sticking plaster solution, and with so few health professionals asked to treat so many people, almost every family is somehow affected.

It could be your mother waiting for treatment, or your sister, or your son. Behind the awful statistics are real people, with families, jobs and lives put on hold until they get the attention they need.

180,000 people are waiting - equivalent to the entire population of Hamilton. About half of those are waiting to see a specialist. The others have been assessed as needing treatment and are waiting to either have a date booked, or for that date to arrive.

What's holding us back? It's certainly not a shortage of ideas.

The Hutt District Health Board is investigating offering financial assistance for people who "go private" for their operations. In the United States, Massachusetts has just made health insurance compulsory, either through government-owned Medicaid or a private insurer.

The Minister of Health's chosen course of action has been to blame health workers for the waiting list crisis. District Health Boards, hospital management, surgeons and general practitioners - government will blame everyone but themselves.

Healing the health system requires more than buildings, bureaucracy and campaigns against particular diseases like Meningococcal B. Above all, it needs people.

The reinvention of Government's "Health Workforce Advisory Committee" as an "action committee" only reinforces its four years of failure. General practitioners not only have to deal with the red tape that holds all small businesses back, but also grapple with the added bureaucracy of Labour's Primary Health Organisations.

There is no shortage of measures New Zealand could take; it's the political will our government lacks.

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A sensible approach to weight loss

If you suffer from obesity (BMI>30), act fast! CDC has recognized obesity as the number one health threat to the Americans.

The extra fat on the body could mean fatal consequences in the times to come. Extra pound of flesh means extra rounds of visits to the doctor. Obesity is the cause of major health hazards like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases etc.

A sensible approach to life is the need of the hour for every human alive. A healthy and disciplined lifestyle is required not only for the obese but also for each and every individual. Obesity must be tackled by adopting a comprehensive treatment plan. Such plan usually involves the dietician, physical trainer and a qualified general physician.

The ideal weight loss routine involves a strict and regulated diet. This may involve the carbs management, calorie management, fat management and water therapy. This is the natural way of losing the extra baggage from the body.

A strict diet must be supplemented by physical exercise. Jogging, brisk walking, breathing and other exercises. In addition, your physical instructor may prescribe you certain cardiovascular exercises which can reduce the weight quickly.

The extreme obese conditions are generally treated by weight loss pills (also known as diet pills). The diet pills like Phentermine, Adipex, Reductil, Xenical, Didrex et al are usually the common prescription pills used in addition to the natural weight loss methods.

Diet pills like Reductil (Sibutramine) work as satiety enhancers. Reductil blocks the nerve cells that releases and re-absorb serotonin. This increases serotonin levels, which act in the brain and enhance feelings of fullness so that you eat less and consequently lose weight.

Pills like Xenical (Orlistat) work as lipase inhibitor. Xenical blocks the action of the fat-digesting lipase enzymes in the intestine. This stops around 30 percent of the fat you've eaten from being absorbed. It simply passes through the natural bowel movements of the body and resultantly, you lose weight.

The suitability of diet pills must be left to the doctors since these are prescription pills and OTC purchase of these drugs should be avoided at all costs.

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Warning on Counterfeit Drugs
 

If you're not careful, the prescription you take could be a phony. Now Congressman Mike Rogers has proposed legislation to dole out stiffer penalties to counterfeit drug producers. Each time a pharmacist fill's a prescription, there's a 10% chance that the pills they pour are fakes.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, (R) Brighton: "We've seen it with HIV treatments, with cancer treatments. This is a problem we must step up to the plate soon and solve."

Polly Cove, A Lansing Pharmacist, says counterfeit drugs are a growing problem, stemming from an age-old motive.

Polly Cove, Pharmacist: "The people who are making these counterfeit drugs are in it for the money."

According to a study by the World Health Organization, fake drugs are a billion dollar industry that's putting many in danger.

Polly Cove: "There's a lot of drugs that people's lives depend on, and even just a few days off of a drug could cause death, certainly could cause great harm."

And you'd be surprised at what goes into fake pills- paint, plaster, obviously not ingredients meant to heal. While Polly says her pharmacy sticks to one manufacturer, she still hopes she's never given one of her patients fake pills without knowing it.

Polly Cove: "Before a few years ago, I had total faith that what the bottle said is what the bottle is."

The truth is you can't always avoid fake drugs, but here are some safety measures you can take- get to know your pharmacist and know their buying practices. Also, make sure your pharmacy is licensed. They're more likely to buy their products from a reliable source. Finally, if something seems strange, for example, you're pill is the wrong color, call your pharmacist before taking the medicine.

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Inside the world of counterfeit drugs
Chances are you didn't think twice about the last prescription you picked up from the pharmacy, trusting that the medicine in the bottle matches the information on the label. After all, America's drug supply is the safest in the world. But a dose of reality: as more and more drugs are being sold on the Internet, a new problem has emerged: counterfeit medications. They look so real even pharmacists are being fooled. Below is Chris Hansen's Dateline Hidden Camera Investigation which aired Dateline Sunday, June 4, 7 p.m.
The Blount family of St. Louis, Missouri has already discovered that counterfeit medicine is a very real and growing threat.

Ed Blount: Maxine was a fighter, she always was a fighter. She never complained. 

Ed and Maxine Blount were married for 29 years and raised six kids. But suddenly, after a visit to the doctor, the family got bad news.

Blount: The biopsy shows she's got breast cancer.

Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent: Breast cancer?

Blount: Yes.

Maxine had surgery. But a year later, when the cancer returned and spread to other parts of her body, she began a grueling course of radiation and chemotherapy.

Hansen: No matter how much of a fighter you are, that treatment takes its toll.

Blount: It takes away your strength. And it takes away your desire to live, more or less.

But doctors said there was a medicine that might help.

Maybe you've heard about it on TV: Procrit. It can't cure cancer, but it can give people the energy to help fight it.

Hansen: So how did Maxine respond to this Procrit?

Blount: She responded real well because she knew she would have three or four real up days.

Tina Rawn, daughter: She said, you know, how great it made her feel. She didn't just physically feel better.  She mentally felt better, too.

Hansen: So you could see the difference?

Rawn: Definitely.

Maxine was getting the highest strength from a vial, injected once a week. It cost $500 a dose—quite literally, worth its weight in gold.

Blount: It was worth it because it gave her life.  It gave her something to live for.

The doctor would prescribe the Procrit, and the family would go to the pharmacy and pick up the drug. They would then take it to the cancer clinic, who would inject her with the medicine. It gave Maxine the strength to do things with her family, including her daughter's new baby, Sadie.

Rawn: She loved to see her.

Hansen: The Procrit helped your mom have the energy to play with her granddaughter?

Rawn: It did.

But suddenly, mysteriously, the Procrit seemed to stop working. Her family wondered, was the cancer taking over?

Then a nurse at the cancer clinic made a shocking discovery: Their latest batch of Procrit was counterfeit. And there wasn't enough of the active ingredient to have an effect.

Hansen: The labels look legit.  The box looks legit.  It's got a lot number and expiration number.

Blount: To a common person, you go down the drugstore and pick that up, it could be full of water.  You wouldn't know the difference. We had no idea that what we were getting and having administered wasn't the good stuff. How? How could we know?

What surprised us, and what may surprise you about this case, is that Maxine and her family followed the U.S. government warnings you've heard. They didn't import the medicine from Canada. They didn't order it over the Internet. They got the medicine the way most of us do— at a trusted local pharmacy.

Hansen: Prior to this, had you heard anything about such a thing as counterfeit prescription medicine?

Rawn: Never. I never ever would have dreamed that someone was counterfeiting it, just taking advantage of someone who's already terminally ill. I can't even conceive it.

So how did it happen? These records obtained by Dateline show that before Maxine's medicine arrived at her drug store, drugs from the same batch were bought and sold by a series of drug wholesalers and distributors in Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, and New York.

Along the way, someone slipped in the counterfeits.

And Maxine Blount wasn't the only victim. The bogus medicine ended up in well-known drug stores nationwide, including CVS.

Investigators discovered that a phony prescription drug ring run by a Jose Grillo of Miami, operated undetected for nearly a year— selling as many as 11,000 boxes of counterfeit Procrit to wholesalers nationwide, and pocketing an estimated $28 million.

And what other medicines are counterfeiters targeting?

Even the top-selling prescription drug in America, Lipitor, had to be recalled when counterfeits from Central America were discovered in drug stores across the country, including Rite Aid.

Another phony prescription drug ring had operated for more than a year before someone even noticed the fakes. We rarely think to look for them.

Aaron Graham, investigated counterfeit drugs for the government and pharmaceutical industry: If I'm sick to begin with, that's why I have the prescription. Now I get the counterfeit medicine. Now it's sub-potent. So I'm not getting better. The first thought the doctor has is not, "Oh, you must have a counterfeit drug." It's, "The drug's not strong enough, it's not the right drug, you have a different illness, so let's treat it differently."

And because bogus prescription drugs can be so difficult to detect, no one really knows how many Americans there are like Maxine Blount who suffered because her medicine was fake.

Blount: That Procrit was her only hope of being able to enjoy some prime time because without it, she had nothing. She got part of her life stolen away from her.

Hansen: When you're dying of cancer, time is precious.

Blount: Special.

Hansen: And this was the medicine that was supposed to make those moments tolerable for her.

Blount: Right.

Within a few months, Maxine Blount was dead. And an entire family felt robbed.

When you hear a story like that, where the stakes are so high, you want to know more: Who's making the bogus medicines?  How do they sneak them into the very heart of our medical system?  And could we find some of the illegal counterfeiters?

The search for answers would start at a computer keyboard and take us halfway across the world.

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Be aware of drug ads that market sickness

Q: My mom takes ads on television for drugs too seriously. She thinks that if her doctor doesn't give her a prescription for whatever ails her, then she should see another doctor. How can I convince her otherwise?

A: One of the most dangerous problems that older adults face is how multiple drugs interact with each other. One quarter of people over 60 take at least three drugs a day. The older they are, the more drugs they take. The more drugs they take, the greater the risk for an adverse reaction that could put them right in the hospital.

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that drug reactions kill an estimated 100,000 people a year in U.S. hospitals. The researchers also claim that another 2.1 million are injured by adverse reactions. The elderly are especially vulnerable because of the multiple prescriptions they take. The federal General Accounting Office reports that more than 5 million Americans use medications that are either inappropriate or could cause adverse interactions serious enough to warrant hospitalization.

So the main message to your mother is that drugs can improve the quality of her life but there are risks for every drug she takes, and the risks grow with every new drug she adds to her daily regimen. The risks can even involve death.

Your mom should also be aware that ads -- no matter what the product -- are meant to sell you into thinking that you want what the seller has to offer. In fact: You need it. Can't live without it. Got to have it. Prescription drugs are no exception. Ever since the Food and Drug Administration eased up on drug companies being able to directly advertise to consumers (they used to just advertise to physicians), the American public has been treated to an orgy of drug ad campaigns. The industry spent $345 million this past year to hawk just one kind of drug -- sleeping pills. Advertising budgets in the pharmaceutical industry are in the billions, causing some to argue that the money could be better spent on research and making drugs more affordable.

In the provocative book, "Selling Sickness," authors Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels charge that drug companies are marketing their products by recasting health problems as diseases (such as female sexual dysfunction to sell a pink version of Viagra) or redefining conditions so that a greater percentage of the American public will be prescribed their drug. They contend that we're all being persuaded to believe that in some way shape or form -- we're all sick and a pill will make us better. Conditions of irritable bowel syndrome, sleeplessness, social anxiety disorder, erectile dysfunction, restless legs, high cholesterol and attention deficit disorder have become over-medicalized and sensationalized so that drug companies can tout their products to treat them. Moynihan and Cassels call this "disease marketing" and the goal is to medicate as many people as possible. Take for instance Viagra: it was intended to help men with erectile dysfunction caused by medical complications such as from diabetes or spinal cord damage. But its manufacturer, Pfizer, cast a wider net and spent over $300 million showcasing touting younger-looking men and sports stars who suffered from ERD. It paid off with their greatest sales growth to the 18 to 45 age group.

The Prescription Access Litigation Project is a coalition of 118 state, local and national senior, labor and consumer health advocacy groups in 35 states that is fighting to make prescription drugs affordable. It also hands out annual "Bitter Pill" Awards to drug companies it believes have crossed the line in marketing to consumers. Overall, the companies spent $4.65 billion in 2005, advertising brand-name prescription drugs to consumers, which, PAL says, over-promotes drug usage rather than people changing their lifestyles (eating well and exercising) or using less expensive means to get better.

Two of this year's Bitter Pill winners are Lunesta and Ambien CR advertisements that give people the impression, according to PAL Director Alex Sugerman-Brozan, "that a full night's trouble-free sleep is just a pill away, when in fact these drugs don't meaningfully improve how long it takes most people to fall asleep or how long they stay asleep. For many of the millions taking these drugs, changes in behavior would be just as effective, without the side effects. But these ads convince people these drugs are a cure-all." People received coupons for free 7-day trials of Ambien CR without stating what the drug does, and nearly a half billion dollars in advertising was spent by both drug makers to lure Americans into a good night's sleep. The lullaby worked -- 43 million prescriptions were filled for sleeping pills last year alone.

As physician Dr. Jerry Avorn, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of "Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs" explains, "As a physician, I have seen how the avalanche of direct-to-consumer drug advertising infects the doctor-patient relationship, as patients demand brand-name drugs they've seen promoted in magazines or on television. This aggressive marketing can lead people to take expensive drugs they may not need, driving up costs for consumers and the health care system as a whole."

So, if the statistics on adverse drug reactions doesn't get your mother's attention, perhaps not wanting to merrily follow Pied Piper advertising will stop her short. Prescribing medications, especially to older people with multiple chronic conditions, is complicated and should be entrusted to a physician who knows her medical conditions and can weigh the risks and benefits of her taking a drug. It can be just as powerful walking out of her doctor's office with a prescription telling her to exercise three days a week for 20 minutes a day as taking a pill. It might even be more powerful.

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Big Pharma Making News With Cancer Drugs

Citing accelerating pipeline news from the annual American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting, Banc of America Securities analyst Chris Schott said he's becoming "incrementally more positive" on the large-cap pharmaceutical group.

"After an extended period with limited oncology news flow, major pharmaceuticals saw a reacceleration in data at this year's ASCO," wrote the analyst in a report Monday.

Specifically, the analyst discussed news of Bristol Myer Squibb's Sprycel; phase III studies in renal cell carcinoma for Pfizer's Sutent and Wyeth's temsirolimus and phase III data for refractory breast cancer for GlaxoSmithKline's Tykerb.

"With signs of increased cost cutting and an emerging pipeline, we are becoming incrementally more positive on the group," said Schott. "However, with a very difficult 2006 ahead, we expect near-term performance may remain volatile."

The analyst said the ASCO meeting "a step in right direction" and expects more news flow over the next six to nine months.

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AIDS drugs create false sense of security

Those words 25 years ago announced the arrival of something most Americans thought anachronistic -- an infectious disease epidemic. At first it was called GRID -- gay-related immune deficiency. In September 1982, CDC renamed it acquired immune deficiency syndrome -- AIDS.

Its worldwide toll has already exceeded the 20 million killed by the 14th-century bubonic plague. By 2020, it probably will have killed more than any epidemic in history, with most fatalities in sub-Saharan Africa, where it probably began about 75 years ago after some people who ate wild chimpanzees in Cameroon became infected with a low-virulence progenitor of the virus that causes AIDS.

An epidemic requires both a microbe and an enabling social context. In Africa, aspects of modernity in a primitive setting became a deadly combination: HIV was spread by roadside prostitutes serving truckers and soldiers traveling on modern roads. Africa's wars caused population dislocations; economic development caused migrations of workers across porous borders. Both weakened families and dissolved traditional sexual norms. Jet aircraft integrated Africa into the world flow of commerce and tourism. In 1980s America, the enabling context included a gay community feeling more assertive and emancipated, and intravenous drug users sharing needles.

AIDS arrived in America in the wake of the Salk vaccine which, by swiftly defeating polio, gave Americans a misleading paradigm of how progress is made in public health. Pharmacology often is a small contributor. By the time the first anti-tuberculosis drugs became available in the 1950s, the annual death rate from TB had plummeted to 20 per 100,000 Americans, from 200 per 100,000 in 1900. Drugs may have accounted for just 3 percent of the reduction. The remaining 97 percent was the result of better nutrition and less urban crowding. Thanks to chlorination of water and better sanitation and personal hygiene, typhoid, too, became rare before effective drugs were available.

Which suggests that the most powerful public-health program is economic growth. And the second-most-powerful is information.

The 14th-century Black Death killed one-third of Europe's population, but it was in the air, food and water, so breathing, eating and drinking were risky behaviors. AIDS is much more difficult to acquire. Like other large components of America's health care costs ( e.g., violence, vehicular accidents, coronary artery disease, lung cancer), AIDS is mostly the result of behavior that is by now widely known to be risky.

The U.S. epidemic, which so far has killed 530,000, could have been greatly contained by intense campaigns to modify sexual and drug-use behavior in 25 to 30 neighborhoods from New York and Miami to San Francisco. But early in the American epidemic, political values impeded public-health requirements. Unhelpful messages were sent by slogans designed to democratize the disease -- ``AIDS does not discriminate'' and ``AIDS is an equal-opportunity disease.''

By 1987, when President Reagan gave his first speech on the subject, 20,798 Americans had died, and his speech, not surprising, did not mention any connection to the gay community. No president considers it part of his job description to tell the country that the human rectum, with its delicate and absorptive lining, makes anal-receptive sexual intercourse dangerous when HIV is prevalent.

Twenty years ago a San Francisco public-health official explained death's teaching power: Watching a friend die, like seeing a wreck along a highway, is sobering. But after driving more slowly for a few miles, we again speed up. AIDS has a more lasting deterrent effect.

There has, however, been an increase in unsafe sex because pharmacological progress has complicated the campaign against this behavior-driven epidemic. Life-extending cocktails of antiviral drugs now lead some at-risk people to regard HIV infection as a manageable chronic disease, and hence to engage in risky behavior. Furthermore, the decline of AIDS mortality means that more people are surviving with HIV infection -- persons who can spread the virus. And drugs like Viagra mean that more older men are sexually active.

Still, even with no pharmacological silver bullet, AIDS deaths in America have been declining for a decade. In Africa, where heterosexual sex is the primary means of transmission, the death rate is steady relative to population growth, and the age of beginning sexual activity is rising, as is the use of condoms. Human beings do learn. But they often do at a lethally slow pace.

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Drugs Hold Promise in Kidney Cancer Fight
For decades, it has been one of cancer's great mysteries: Why do about 4 percent of kidney tumors spontaneously disappear?
Doctors believed that if the immune system was defeating the cancer, treatments to boost it might help the others, but that hasn't worked very well. Now, three new drugs are displacing the immune system theory and attacking the disease in different ways.

A Pfizer Inc. drug, Sutent, prevented tumor growth twice as long as immune therapy did in a study of 750 people whose disease had spread beyond the kidney.

An experimental drug, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals' temsirolimus, performed even better, boosting survival _ not just delaying tumor growth _ in a study of 419 very ill patients with widely spread kidney cancer.

On Monday, fresh results are expected on a third drug _ Nexavar, made by Bayer AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc.

"Until just a few years ago, there were no promising drugs for kidney cancer," said Dr. Gary Hudes of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, who led the study on the Wyeth drug.

There still is no cure, "but these drugs can control the disease for a significant amount of time," and may offer more benefit when given earlier in the course of the disease, he said.

The drugs were discussed Sunday at a meeting in Atlanta of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

About 39,000 new cases of kidney cancer and 12,800 deaths from it are expected in the United States this year. Smoking is the top risk factor. About one-third of cases spread throughout the body, a situation currently incurable.

Temsirolimus is part of a new generation of cancer drugs that, unlike chemotherapy, attack cancer in more precise ways. This drug is the first to target mTOR, a signaling chemical that controls cell growth and the formation of blood vessels that nourish tumors.

Patients who received the drug lived about 11 months versus about seven months for those given interferon, an immune system treatment.

Fatigue and severe side effects were more common in those receiving interferon. Mild anemia, rash and mouth sores were more common with the novel drug "but easily manageable," Hudes said.

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Should all cancer drugs be free?
As a result of the new Medicare drug program, thousands of people who take pills to fight cancer have found themselves with new bills to pay for their medicines, The New York Times reported.

Medicare participants who take oral cancer drugs found that their co-payments rose dramatically under the new Medicare Part D program, which went into effect earlier this year. Oral cancer drugs can cost $4,000 a month.

Before the new Medicare program took effect, many Medicare patients received cancer pills free through charity programs from the drugs' manufacturers. Or they received them through extended Medicare policies provided by private insurers that charged minimal co-payments.

Should all cancer drugs be free? Vote in the online ballot, and watch "Closing Bell" weekday afternoons on CNBC.

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Monday, June 05, 2006  
Viagra to the rescue for diabetic women
Young women with diabetes with sexual dysfunction may find that Viagra (sildenafil) improves arousal, orgasm and sexual enjoyment and decreases pain during intercourse, results of a small study suggest.

Diabetic women may experience sexual dysfunction due to vaginal dryness, discomfort, and other factors, Dr Salvatore Caruso and associates, from the University of Catania in Italy, note in their paper. The research results were published in Fertility and Sterility.

Some of Viagra's physiologic effects, which are beneficial in men, may also help women, they hypothesised.

To test their theory, they recruited 32 women with Type 1 diabetes who, in the past had experienced normal sexual desire, but currently experienced sexual dysfunction for 3.5 years on average.

The subjects were randomly assigned to Viagra or inactive "placebo" and then the opposite treatment for 8 weeks at a time. The women were instructed to take the medication 1 hour before sexual intercourse.

Viagra use was associated with significantly improved arousal, orgasm, and enjoyment. Only desire and frequency did not change significantly. A special ultrasound test was used to measure blood flow in the clitoris. Viagra, but not placebo, was associated with improved blood flow.

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Dangers of recreational Viagra
As officials have dealt with a variety of dangerous drug use on college campuses across the country, a new trend is emerging among college students that health experts warn could lead to serious complications -- the recreational use of erectile dysfunction medication.

While Viagra is medication mainly targeted toward impotent older men, recent studies conducted by the Chicago Children's Memorial Hospital have found that one out of every 18 college-aged men have used Viagra or other sexual enhancement drugs such as Levitra or Cialis before. The research also concluded that half of the men using these medications were doing it recreationally for purposes of enhancing their sexual experience despite having no true medical problems below the belt.

The study was done on three different college campuse and a survey taken exclusively at IU turned up conflicting results of the severity of the use in Bloomington.

"In a questionnaire we asked over 6,000 men and women at IU if they had used Viagra (or similar drugs) and only 2% of men that say they have ever tried it," said Erick Janssen, associate scientist and director of graduate studies at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction. "It is a relatively small number of people who have done it regularly."

Although the Kinsey Institute didn't find the use of Viagra as prevalent on IU's campus as the Chicago Children's Memorial Hospital study did elsewhere, experts caution that those who do use Viagra as a party drug should be wary of the possible consequences.

The Chicago study found that 64% of college men who use Viagra recreationally are mixing it with other drugs that weaken the ability to perform sexually such as alcohol, cocaine and ecstasy. These drugs are known to increase sexual drive and reduce inhibitions, but weaken the ability to actually perform. That's where Viagra steps in.

"I know of no problems mixing Viagra with alcohol. However, if you were doing cocaine, speed or ecstasy, the danger of Viagra is greatly increased," said Dr. Rose Wenrich, a family practitioner.

Researchers found that those mixing Viagra with other drugs causes the user to be more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors that increase the chances of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, simply because recreational users that pop the pill with other drugs are less likely to wear a condom.

Because most people who are taking Viagra as a party drug are not actually prescribed it, Anne Reese, the director of Health and Wellness Education at the IU Health Center, said she theorizes that they are obtaining it from external sources, namely the Internet.

"The pharmacy here has only prescribed Viagra sporadically in the past year, therefore I am doubting that the larger group of people using it for recreational use are getting it from the health center or other physicians," she said.

Another danger of taking Viagra without first consulting a doctor is that certain medications may have a negative reaction when taken with it and can cause dangerously low blood pressure, Reese said. These problematic medications are usually those used to treat heart problems. People who have any sort of heart or circulatory problems should steer clear of Viagra. Viagra also makes it possible to have more sex during a shorter period of time than men who don't have erectile dysfunction would normally be capable of.

Viagra is only one of the many drugs that college students are using to enhance their sexual experiences.

"When you look at other drugs, the numbers are larger," Janssen said. "Viagra is in that group but is not as widely used. One reason for that might be that it is not as easy to get as some other drugs, like marijuana for example, which we also found was being used to enhance the sexual experience."

Health professionals are also concerned about the underlying issues as to why young, seemingly healthy men are feeling that they need to take drugs to intensify their sexual experiences.

"I know that students talk all the time about improving their sex lives and they want to know what they should do in order to do so," Reese said. "Poor sexual performance at this age could be from a number of problems, such as excess alcohol or drugs, stress or even unknown diabetes, and Viagra is not the best solution in most of those situations."

For most college-aged students, using Viagra recreationally probably doesn't pose serious health risks.

"Viagra is among the least dangerous drugs," Janssen said. "There are a lot of other drugs that students are taking that are much more likely to get them to engage in risky sexual behaviors."

But not many studies have been done that can draw firm conclusions on long-term risks of non-impotent men taking anti-impotent drugs, so abusers should be cautious. In fact, other than the study conducted by the Chicago Memorial Children's Hospital, there have been hardly any other conclusive studies completed.

"There is not very much that's informative out there on this subject (and) there haven't been many decent studies," Janssen said. "One thing that may complicate this research is that while some men have no problem admitting that they have tried Viagra, a lot of men feel uncomfortable and won't want to admit it. It may not be that easy to find out about."

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Nashville Entrepreneur Helps Obesity Sufferers Understand Phentermine Diet Pills

20-year-old entrepreneur Ian Mason has set a new standard for weight loss and phentermine websites. Mason claims that other phentermine sites are either full of misinformation and promotion, or are simply lacking in guidance for customers to make the right decision.

Nashville, TN (PRWEB) June 4, 2006 -- A new site on the web enables obesity sufferers - and all others dissatisfied with their current weight - to learn about healthy weight loss, Phentermine as a tool, and join a free support group. PhenForum.com found at, found at http://www.noprescriptiondrugstore.com/noprescriptionphentermine.php , provides more than 16,000 pages of phentermine information and resources that can help obesity sufferers and yo-yo dieters lose weight permanently using healthy methods.

The site provides resources not only for information on Phentermine diet pills, (including tolerance issues, manufacturer guide, brand photos, prescription guide) but also offers a large weight loss support group which is free to join and allows users to partner with a "weight loss buddy" to increase their chances of success. "PhenForum.com offers obesity sufferers a place where they can feel comfortable discussing weight loss, and even taking the necessary steps to lose it. We have many success stories among out members," said the site's creator, Ian Mason, a 20-year-old web entrepreneur from Nashville, TN.

"PhenForum.com is designed to offer greater resources, support and information than similar Phentermine weight loss sites," Mason said. "Unlike other phentermine websites, the PhenForum.com doesn't just provide link to buy phentermine online; it provides helpful content and testimonials (both negative and positive) to ensure that people are making an education choice when buying online," he said. Mason noted that the frequently updated site is also the only one in which the administrator is active in the community. He firmly believes that in the case of discussion forums, the administrator of the site must take an active role in the community to gain a large following.

Mason said he launched PhenForum.com after seeing people struggle to lose weight permanently, in spite of the fact that they were using an appetite suppressant such as Phentermine. "Because I've seen so many people fail even with such a useful medication, I realized the potential of this content-and-community-oriented website to help them use Phentermine as a tool rather than a panacea of weight loss," Mason said.

Only a year old, PhenForum.com has already gained publicity from the web community. With over 2600 members, 16,000 pages and nearly 2000 unique visitors every single day, the site is fast becoming the authority site for Phentermine online and how to use it for healthy, permanent weight loss. After careful planning and development, PhenForum.com has recently launched a brand new platform for members, offering quick access to articles, weight loss support forums, a photo gallery, and all phentermine information.

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Combination drugs to combat cancer
Using combinations of "smart bomb" cancer drugs that target specific proteins and avoid the indiscriminate cell destruction of chemotherapy may be the wave of the future for cancer patients, experts say.

Early studies show that combining targeted treatments such as Genentech's breast cancer drug Herceptin with GlaxoSmithKline's experimental treatment Tykerb, may be helpful in patients who do not respond to Herceptin alone, said Dr Jose Baselga, chief of medical oncology service at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona.

Targeted therapies act like smart bombs by crippling or knocking out deadly cancer cells while leaving healthy cells in tact, unlike the scorched earth approach of chemotherapy which kills both healthy and unhealthy cells.

Using Herceptin and Tykerb together is just one of many drug combinations that could improve on results seen with existing targeted therapies such as ImClone Systems's colon cancer drug Erbitux and OSI Pharmaceuticals's lung cancer drug Tarceva. "All the chemical models suggest that combinations will be superior, though the data still has to prove it," Baselga said.

Investigators on Saturday released promising results from a mid-stage trial on lung cancer patients of Pfizer's kidney cancer drug Sutent.

Now they are planning to test it in combination with Tarceva.

"Most of us feel that except for in very rare instances, tumours are driven by multiple pathways and therefore it makes sense that a multi-targeted approach makes most sense," said Mark Socinski, associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina.

The first targeted therapies isolated single targets. Genentech's Avastin targets a protein known as vascular endothelial growth factor, which cuts off the oxygen and nutrients tumours need to survive. Erbitux attacks the epidermal growth factor receptor, which curtails the tumour's growth.

But drugs such as Sutent hit multiple targets, as does Bayer AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals' kidney cancer drug Nexavar. In the colorectal field, behind Avastin and Erbitux, comes Amgen's panitumumab, which is yet to be approved.

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Merck has blockbuster hopes for new drugs

Merck hopes to bolster its outlook this week by getting Gardasil and Januvia, the two new drugs most critical to the US drugmaker's turnround, past important milestones.

Gardasil, a vaccine for cervical cancer in women, is expected to get US regulatory approval by Thursday, while on Saturday, Merck will present key phase III data for Januvia, an oral diabetes drug, at a US diabetic medical conference.

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China court backs patent protection for Viagra
A Chinese court backed patent protection for Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) anti-impotence pill Viagra, overturning a previous unfavorable ruling to the world's largest drug maker, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The verdict was announced by a Beijing court on Friday, according to the Journal's Saturday edition.

In July 2004, China's patent review board sided with a group of Chinese generic-drug makers that had challenged Pfizer's patent on sildenafil citrate, the main ingredient in Pfizer's blockbuster drug, the paper reported.

New York-based Pfizer posted Viagra sales of $1.65 billion in 2005.

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Pfizer wins patent protection suit in China
Pfizer Inc. won a drawn-out battle in China for patent protection of Viagra at a time when the U.S. is imploring that country to take a tougher stance on halting the proliferation of fakes and knock offs, according to the Wall Street Journal Online's Saturday edition.
It's unclear how much, if any, political pressure was applied to the case, but it could put an end to Pfizer's
Pfizer Inc

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Bowel cancer drugs denied NHS funding
Cancer charities were dismayed yesterday by a preliminary decision from the government's drug watchdog against funding new bowel cancer drugs on the NHS.

Bowel cancer is the second biggest killer after lung cancer, affecting about 35,000 people a year. The drugs bevacizumab (sold under the brandname Avastin) and cetuximab (Erbitux) promise longer life, but not a cure, for about 9,000 people in advanced stages of the disease.

The news is a setback for the charities, which are awaiting the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's decision on whether to fund the breast cancer drug Herceptin. Ian Beaumont of Bowel Cancer UK said: "The UK has been in the forefront of developing both these drugs, including in clinical trials. But it looks as if we will, once again, be at the very back of the queue when it comes to being able to make them available to patients.

"It is hard not to be angry and cynical when Nice appears to be making its decisions on the basis of financial expediency rather than clinical efficacy."

Joanne Rule, the chief executive of the charity Cancerbackup, said the treatments offered patients precious extra time, and added that it was important "to remove the inequalities between those who can afford to pay for treatments and those who can't".

But Andrea Sutcliffe, the deputy chief executive of Nice, said initial assessment showed neither drug was "a good use of scarce NHS resources". Avastin gave some benefit over standard treatment but did not appear to justify the cost. There was insufficient evidence to compare Erbitux with existing treatments. She said Nice would consider further submissions.

The news coincided with figures showing the NHS hit one of its cancer targets but missed another. The Department of Health said 98.9% of patients waited less than a month for treatment once diagnosed, compared with a target of 98%. But 91.1% were treated within two months of referral by a GP, below the target of 95%.

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