No Prescription: 2006-07-09

A state commission called yesterday for more aggressive tracking of
people who abuse addictive painkillers and the doctors who prescribe
them.
The OxyContin Commission, established by the Legislature in 2004 to
combat prescription abuse, also called for more cooperation among
state officials, regulators, and law enforcement officials, as well as
education for teachers and parents, safer storage of prescription
drugs, and a statewide disposal program for unused pills.

Abuse of OxyContin and other prescription drugs was responsible for a
600 percent increase in opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts between
1990 and 2003, particularly among teenagers and young adults. Opioids
are synthetic drugs that have a chemical structure similar to opium.

``It used to be that years ago we raided parents' liquor cabinets for
liquor," Representative Peter J. Koutoujian, the commission chairman,
said in an interview after the group released its final report. ``Now
kids are raiding parents' medicine cabinets for drugs."

Abuse of painkillers occurs throughout the state, but it is especially
prevalent in suburban neighborhoods where young people can afford the
drugs, Koutoujian said.

This ``has been identified as a middle-class drug," Koutoujian said,
adding that it has hit Lynn, Greater Somerville, and the South Shore
particularly hard. ``I'm talking about blocks and blocks of areas that
have a tremendously high rate of children abusing prescription drugs."

The 11- member committee recommended closer monitoring of patients who
receive and fill multiple prescriptions at multiple doctors' offices
and pharmacies and of doctors or pharmacists suspected of knowingly
supplying addicts' drugs.

``There has been frustration by [regulators] and by law enforcement
that this information is out there, but it hasn't been analyzed nor
shared," said Koutoujian, a Democrat whose district covers Newton,
Waltham, and Watertown. ``We know that other states are more actively
utilizing this information, and Massachusetts needs to do this."

OxyContin, an opioid-based painkiller, has been the main source of
prescription drug abuse, according to the report. When used correctly,
the drug slowly releases medication into the bloodstream, allowing
patients suffering from chronic pain to function normally and nearly
pain-free. Abusers of the drug, however, crush and snort the tablet,
chew it, or dissolve it in water and inject the solution for an
immediate heroin-like high.

Addicts often start with prescription drugs such as OxyContin, which,
on the street, costs approximately $80 for one 80 mg pill , but
eventually turn to less expensive heroin or other street drugs when
they can no longer afford the medication.

``No one has stopped at OxyContin," Koutoujian said. ``They become
full-blown heroin addicts."

Michael Botticelli , assistant commissioner for substance abuse
services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and a member
of the OxyContin Commission, said his department is already working on
the recommendations.

``It really validates much of the work that has already been going on
at the Department of Public Health for the past year," Botticelli
said, citing a recent campaign against OxyContin abuse and ongoing
efforts to enhance the prescription drug monitoring program

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# posted by Network @ 7:10 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Two recent studies offer new evidence suggesting an alternative form
of natural vitamin E can be taken by mouth and will reach the blood in
humans at levels determined to protect against stroke and other
diseases.

Vitamin E occurs naturally in eight different forms. The primary
vitamin E on drugstore shelves is called tocopherol, or TCP. But
another natural form of vitamin E surfacing as a potent
neuroprotective agent in repeated Ohio State University Medical Center
studies is tocotrienol, or TCT.

This form, while not abundant in the American diet, occurs naturally
in palm oil; this vegetable oil is increasingly used in prepared foods
because it has no trans fat.

In the first study of this form of the nutritional supplement in
humans, Ohio State researchers determined that a moderate dose of
tocotrienol reached concentrations in human blood plasma that would be
more than adequate to protect against neurological damage that follows
stroke. These findings were published in the May issue of the journal
Antioxidants & Redox Signaling.

In a separate study, the scientists determined that TCT is effective
at two concentrations, one at which it functions as an antioxidant,
and another, lower concentration at which the supplement offers
non-antioxidant protection. Both functions of TCT are directed against
neurodegeneration. These findings were published June 26 in an online
edition of the Journal of Neurochemistry.

"We have determined that when administered orally, tocotrienol can
reach concentrations needed to serve these dual protective functions,"
said Chandan Sen, professor and vice chair of surgery, deputy director
of the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute at OSU, and senior
author of both studies. "It is a regular dietary ingredient in Asia,
so it can safely be a part of a daily diet within prepared foods or as
a supplement in the United States . Can it be therapeutically used to
prevent stroke? Results from animal studies are encouraging, but it is
still too soon to tell for humans. More mechanistic and outcomes
studies are warranted."

In the first study, collaborating scientists at Wayne State University
fed participants 400 milligrams of a time-release formulation of a
supplement containing primarily TCT. Researchers collected blood
samples from the participants two, four, six and eight hours after
supplementation.

Sen said the maximum TCT concentrations in the bloodstream of
supplemented patients averaged concentrations between 12 and 30 times
higher than that needed to completely prevent stroke-related
neurodegeneration as determined by earlier research.

Conventional wisdom has suggested that TCT, if eaten, cannot be
carried to organs because the protein known as tocopherol transfer
protein (TTP), which delivers TCP throughout the body, doesn't
transport TCT very well.

"Our results demonstrate that TCT is efficiently delivered to the
bloodstream despite the fact that the transfer protein has a lower
affinity for TCT than it has for TCP," Sen said. Absorption of TCT is
increased when the supplement is taken with fat-containing food, so
the research participants took the study supplement with a high-fat
(60 grams) meal to increase the efficiency of absorption.

The findings corresponded closely with previous work as well as the
more recent study that sought to determine the levels at which TCT
functions as an antioxidant, an agent that protects cells against the
effects of free radicals. Free radicals are potentially damaging
by-products of energy metabolism that can damage cells and are
implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The tocopherol, or most common, form of vitamin E is known for its
antioxidant properties.

In previous studies, the scientists found that moderate oral doses of
TCT before a stroke significantly reduced stroke injury in
hypertensive rats.

In the more recent study published in the Journal of Neurochemistry,
researchers observed the effects of TCT on neurological damage that
can be caused in two different ways: through the presence of
homocysteic acid, which in excess can cause vascular and neuronal
lesions associated with cardiovascular disease, and the fatty acid
linoleic acid, which can directly stimulate damaging free radical
activity. Fatty acids are related to stroke: They rapidly accumulate
when a clot in a vessel stops blood flow to the brain, and play a role
in irreversible brain injury.

To observe the TCT's effectiveness, rodent neural cells were
pretreated with extremely low concentrations of TCT; these cells
avoided the cell death associated with toxicity caused by homocysteic
acid. But to reduce free-radical activity and resulting neurotoxicity,
the scientists found that a higher concentration of TCT was needed:
Tocotrienol does not exhibit antioxidant properties until it reaches a
concentration 10 to 25 times stronger than the concentration that
prevented the cell death signal.

The National Institutes of Health supported this research. Ohio State
co-authors of the Journal of Neurochemistry study were Savita Khanna,
Sashwati Roy, Narasimham L. Parinandi and Mariah Maurer, all with the
Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. Ohio State co-authors of the
Antioxidants & Redox Signaling paper were Viren Patel, Khanna and Roy,
all of the Laboratory of Molecular Medicine.

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# posted by Network @ 7:09 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The rate of premature births in the United States has risen nearly
one-third in the past 25 years, the nation's top medical advisory body
reported Thursday, resulting in costly health problems and
intensifying concerns over infertility treatments that lead to
multiple births and prematurity.

The report by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National
Academies of Science, said premature births result in $26.2 billion a
year in additional medical costs, or $51,600 per preemie.

``For pregnant women and doctors, preterm birth remains the single
greatest cause of disappointing outcomes in pregnancy,'' said Dr. Jay
Iams, an obstetrics and gynecology professor at Ohio State University
College and one of the authors of the report, ``and it's the leading
cause of death and acute and chronic health care problems for the
baby.''

Although not all the causes of premature birth are known, the report
blames part of the rising rate on the proliferation of fertility drugs
that give rise to twins, triplets and more, and on the practice of
implanting more than one embryo during in vitro fertilization.

Babies born too soon often face serious health and developmental
problems, including cerebral palsy, blindness, learning disabilities
and breathing difficulties.

About 12.5 percent of babies born in the United States last year were
premature, arriving more than three weeks early in the typical 40-week
pregnancy.

Doctors have pinpointed some risk factors such as drug use, exposure
to lead, a previous multiple birth and the fact that more women are
delaying childbearing. No test, however, can accurately predict
whether a baby will come early.

There is ``enormous ignorance'' about prematurity, said Menlo
Park-based physician Dr. Richard Berhman of the Federation of
Pediatric Organizations, who led the committee that wrote the report.

Researchers also know little about what the report calls
``significant, persistent and very troubling'' racial, ethnic and
socioeconomic differences in premature birth rates.

Regardless of income, education and access to health care,
African-American women are more likely to have preterm babies. In
2003, 17.8 percent of births to African-American women were preterm,
compared to 11.5 percent for white women, 11.9 percent for Hispanics
and 10.5 percent for Asian women.

Medical advances have helped these babies, who are often placed in
newborn intensive-care units for weeks or months after birth. Today,
hospital stays are shorter and more infants are surviving.

But miracle stories about preemies the size of Coke cans beating the
odds have given many parents a false sense of security.

``I do get the sense that patients generally approach this issue with
optimism, and the gravity of the situation isn't fully grasped,'' said
Dr. James F. Smith, a maternal-fetal physician at Lucile Salter
Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford who specializes in high-risk
pregnancies.

The report calls for ultrasound exams earlier in pregnancy to better
pinpoint a fetus's age and determine a safe date for delivery. They're
now typically done at 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy to check for birth
defects and multiple fetuses.

Although the authors note that fertility specialists have reduced the
number of embryos they implant during IVF, they call for guidelines
that promote single embryo transfers to reduce the potential for
multiple births. The researchers also called for mandatory reporting
of the use of fertility drugs that spur production of more than one
egg, as well as restrictions on their use.

Those recommendations didn't sit well with Dr. David Adamson, director
of Fertility Physicians of Northern California in Palo Alto.

Although he suggested that the use of fertility drugs be restricted to
specialists experienced in their use, he said a one-embryo policy
would dramatically lower pregnancy rates for IVF, an expensive
procedure often not covered by insurance.

Adamson said he often implants two or three embryos in an IVF
procedure, depending on the woman's age.

``We're all concerned about prematurity. It's a serious problem,''
Adamson said. ``But I'm concerned that we discriminate against
infertile people. They're an easy target to solve this problem.''

The report's findings were no surprise to Angela Campbell, a San Jose
hospice nurse who is pregnant with quadruplets as a result of the
fertility drug Menopur.

Now 19 weeks pregnant after several failed attempts, she is home on
disability. She hopes to hold out at least 10 more weeks before
delivering.

``When we were going through the process, I felt I wanted to be
aggressive,'' said Campbell, who is 30 and pregnant with three boys
and a girl. ``I think you don't really grasp the reality of it until
it happens to you. They're all going to have complications when
they're born.''

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# posted by Network @ 7:08 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new pill
called "Atripla" that combines three anti-retroviral medications used
for the treatment of AIDS. Doctors hope that the three-in-one drug
will make it easier for patients to keep up with their daily regimen.
Is it hard to put different medications in the same pill?

No. Anti-retroviral cocktail pills have been around for some time in
the developing world. Indian pharmaceutical companies and the
government of Thailand produce these single-dose medications using
older versions of the same kinds of drugs that go into Atripla. Even
in America, two of the three Atripla drugs already come in a single
pill called Truvada.

The process for making a combination can take longer in the United
States. The FDA must approve the new drug even if it has already
looked at each component. (In this case, FDA approval took only three
months under a special program to promote life-saving drugs.) Another
factor that might have delayed Atripla is the fact that its three
active ingredients—efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil
fumarate—are sold commercially by two different companies,
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences. The drug could hit the
market only after all the necessary business and legal agreements had
been reached. The ATRIPLA trademark belongs to a joint venture known
as "Bristol-Myers Squibb & Gilead Sciences, LLC."

Putting different drugs into the same pill can be as easy as blending
them into the same powder. But some ingredients may not mix
well—they'll tend to separate like oil and water—or they could have a
reaction when they come into contact with each other. Combining
chemicals might lower their melting point, for example. If the melting
point of a compound dips too low, your bottle of pills will turn into
medicinal soup.

Manufacturers can try to keep different drugs separate inside the same
pill. They can coat the powdery particles of one ingredient before
mixing it with another, to make sure that they don't actually touch.
They might also try to layer different ingredients within the same
pill.

Compounding pharmacies produce single-dose combinations of drugs on a
custom basis. One trick they use to keep drugs separate is to put a
pill into a large capsule and then fill the rest of the space in the
capsule by sprinkling in the powdered form of another drug.
(Compounding pharmacies don't need FDA approval for their concoctions.
They're regulated by the state boards of pharmacy.)

Once a pharmaceutical company has figured out a way to mix ingredients
into a single pill, they have to make sure the new combination drug
works. They have to test it in clinical trials to make sure that each
component is making its way into the bloodstream at an appropriate
rate. Since different ingredients may be most effective if taken at
certain times of day, the companies also have to figure out the best
way to prescribe the combination.

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# posted by Network @ 6:43 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

A new generation of drugs including Aromasin and Arimidex are helping
to fight breast cancer in high-risk patients

The biologist Desmond Morris ridicules the widely accepted suggestion
that the male fascination with breasts is merely a relic of our
mammalian past. Morris emphasises that we are not like chimpanzees.
When female chimpanzees are not lactating, their breasts are flat.
Even when they are lactating, their male companions don't appear to be
much interested. Morris suggests that the difference between human and
mammal breasts is that ours are two thirds fat, and only a third
composed of tissue that is concerned with milk production. The fatty
portion has become a powerful sexual signal. The resulting emphasis on
breasts in advertising, art, fashion and seedy strip clubs has one
great advantage: few branches of medicine are the subject of so much
research.
Over 40,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in this country every
year, and they account for 30 per cent of all female cancers. The
number of deaths attributed to breast cancer is around 12,000 a year,
whereas in 1989 there were 16,000. Eight out of ten cases of breast
cancer are diagnosed in post-menopausal women.

If breast screening, as advocated by the American Cancer Society, was
generally available, thousands of lives would be revolutionised. But
research is needed to find the treatment that will best provide
hormone-receptor-positive post-menopausal women with the best possible
chance of surviving their cancer.

At the American cancer conference in Atlanta this year, the latest
advance in the treatment of inflammatory breast cancer, lapatinib, was
announced. Last year, at the equivalent meeting, Herceptin, the drug
that has revolutionised breast cancer treatment for 20 to 25 per cent
of younger cases who are HER 2 positive, was introduced.

Recently there has been much interest in aromatase inhibitors, the
probable successors to the one-time wonder drug Tamoxifen for the
treatment of post-menopausal hormone-receptor-positive cancers.

The debate centres on how the aromatase inhibitors should be given
instead of Tamoxifen in those cases that are appropriate for it, and
whether they should be given immediately after surgery. Some
oncologists prefer women to be treated by a regime that switches to an
aromatase inhibitor after two or three years of Tamoxifen.

Switching from Tamoxifen to an aromatase inhibitor in this way will
still give women five years of hormonal adjuvant therapy (directed at
killing cancer cells that may have spread elsewhere in the body). This
form of treatment might have saved some women from experiencing
problems of osteoporosis and genital dryness, but conversely would
have made them more likely to have other uterine problems.

The recent research on the optimal pattern of aromatase inhibitor
treatment is of fundamental importance. Post-menopausal
hormone-receptor-positive early breast cancers usually receive some
of, or all of, the following treatments: surgery, radiotherapy,
chemotherapy and/or hormonal treatment.

One recent study involved Aromasin (exemestane), marketed by Pfizer.
It confirmed that switching to Aromasin after two or three years of
Tamoxifen treatment reduced dramatically the risk of the breast cancer
coming back, or of the breast cancer occurring in the previously
unaffected breast. Research indicated that overall survival was also
improved.

Another very extensive research project has studied three possible
treatment plans using Arimidex (anastrozole), manufactured by Astra
Zeneca. The first regime explored the advantages of giving Arimidex
for five years directly after surgery, rather than switching from
Tamoxifen later.

The second looked at changing all those patients who had been taking
Tamoxifen for two or three years to Arimidex, so as to complete five
years of adjuvant therapy. In the third programme, the women were
deliberately started on Tamoxifen with the intention of changing it to
Arimidex two or three years later.

The Arimidex trials showed that giving this aromatase inhibitor
directly after surgery for early breast cancer in
hormone-receptor-positive cancer in post-menopausal women gave the
best results and was superior to Tamoxifen and to switching from
Tamoxifen to an aromatase inhibitor after two or three years. The
side-effect profile, although affecting life in different ways, seemed
to balance.

It is generally accepted that high risk patients with cancers with the
necessary profile should have an aromatase inhibitor immediately after
surgery or switch to it if already on Tamoxifen.

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# posted by Network @ 6:43 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

A move to restrict the use of new drugs used to fight Alzheimer's is
being challenged.

Charities, medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies are
jointly appealing against draft guidelines issued by the NHS's drugs
watchdog - the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
(Nice) - that would prevent patients from accessing the medicine.

Existing guidance issued by Nice in 2001 says the drugs donepezil,
galantamine and rivastigmine, which cost £2.50 a day, should be freely
available on the NHS to anyone with mild to moderate Alzheimer's. But
under the new proposals, still to be approved, primary care trusts
will be permitted not to fund the drug for patients with mild
symptoms.

NHS access to a fourth drug, memantine, used to treat moderate to
severe Alzheimer's would also be blocked.

Those appealing against the draft guidelines argue that the
mathematical model used by Nice to decide if the drugs are
cost-effective is flawed and that they have failed to take into
account the benefits the drugs would provide to others such as carers.

Speaking before the start of the appeal Andrew Chidgey, head of policy
and campaigns at the Alzheimer's Society, said: "These guidelines on
dementia drugs are currently the biggest threat to dementia care that
exists.

"What we are here today to argue is that Nice have failed in their
responsibility to provide adequate apportion on cost effectiveness of
these drug treatments. In particular we will be arguing that the
decision is perverse in light of substantial evidence available about
the clinical and cost effectiveness of these drugs.

"We will argue that they fail to take into account evidence about the
benefits to carers. For example research has shown that these drugs
can save up to an hour-and-a-half of care time a day. We also believe
they have failed to note that if people are substantially impaired by
Alzheimer's doctors sometimes have to resort to powerfully sedative
drugs."

During the hearing Professor John O'Brien from the Royal College of
Psychiatrists told the appeal panel the proposals contradicted the
advice they had given on the drug's benefits when consulted two years
ago at which time they said the drugs would benefit mild sufferers. In
addition he said doctors were now seeing more and more sufferers in
the early stages of Alzheimer's when these drugs would be most
effective.

Professor Andrew Stevens, chairman of the appraisal committee who
drafted the guidelines, said he was "extremely sympathetic" to
Alzheimer's sufferers. He said the committee had looked at the
"innovative properties" of the drugs, which he recognised are the only
treatments available to sufferers with mild to moderate symptoms. But
he said the committee also had to make "a judgment about the wise use
of NHS resources".

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# posted by Network @ 6:42 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

The '80s song "I Want a New Drug" might as well be the soundtrack for
The New York Times and NBC. Both media have dramatically changed the
tune on two prescription drugs they once hailed as "breakthroughs" and
"promising new treatments."

On July 12, the news outlets reversed their 1998 positions on
cancer drugs raloxifene and tamoxifen. Eight years ago the drugs were
lauded, but now these are "dangerous drugs," according to one cancer
patient who won't even take them.

On May 26, 1998, the Times raised the hopes of cancer victims,
saying, "For weeks, a barrage of good news about cancer in people has
come from scientists and public health officials." The article, titled
"Good News from the Front in the War Against Cancer," went on to
catalogue the benefits of raloxifene and tamoxifen. Dr. Lawrence K.
Altman, the article's author, said tamoxifen reduced the risk of
developing breast cancer by 45 percent in one study of high-risk
women.

Altman cited another study that claimed raloxifene could "reduce
the risk of breast cancer without raising the risk of uterine cancer,
a side effect of tamoxifen." He also admonished society to do more "to
make new or experimental treatments available" to cancer patients,
including treatments involving the two drugs. Additionally, Altman's
upbeat story said some forms of cancer might soon become nothing more
than "manageable chronic diseases."

But on July 12, 2006, in an about face, the Times published an
Associated Press article that now emphasized the risks of raloxifene.
The article claimed that raloxifene did not "lower the risk of death,
hospitalization or heart attack." The AP piece said the risks
associated with taking raloxifene were more difficult to treat than
the cancer it would be preventing.

The article quoted a federal study saying that those on the drug
had a 49-percent greater risk of having a fatal stroke than those on a
placebo. The article quoted Stanford School of Medicine disease
prevention researcher Marcia Stefanick saying the prevention benefits
were moderate and did not justify the risks of taking raloxifene.

NBC made a similar switch, extolling the benefits of these drugs
before using scare tactics regarding the drugs' risks. In May 1998,
both raloxifene and tamoxifen made several appearances on NBC. On the
May 19, 1998, "Today," NBC's Ann Curry said, "There is even more
promising news in the fight against breast cancer today. At a medical
meeting in Los Angeles, two drugs are reported to dramatically reduce
the risk." Curry was speaking of raloxifene and tamoxifen.

The previous day on NBC's "Nightly News," Tom Brokaw told viewers
they weren't alone if they couldn't keep up with all the
"breakthroughs" in breast cancer treatment. "There's a great deal of
exciting news," he said before going on to talk about raloxifene, the
"completely new way of treating breast cancer."

On the same day, NBC's "Dateline" raised women's hopes when its
chief medical correspondent claimed "the arrival of a drug like
raloxifene means they may be able to do more than just worry about
developing breast cancer. They may be able to something about it." In
the same show Dr. Bob Arnot, chief medical correspondent, stated that
"raloxifene also lowers blood cholesterol."

But the honeymoon appeared to be over for these cancer drugs when
on July 12, 2006, Robert Bazell of NBC's "Nightly News" reported on
the purported risks of raloxifene. The network had once bestowed
praise on these drugs, but this time all Bazell could say was, "the
effects of estrogen are complicated and varied."

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# posted by Network @ 6:42 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Some products touted on the Internet as natural alternatives to
impotence drugs like Viagra illegally contain the same active
ingredients as the prescription medicines, the Food and Drug
Administration said Wednesday.

The FDA warned consumers not to buy or use seven of the so-called
dietary supplements, sold online to treat impotence and enhance sexual
performance. The list includes a product called Zimaxx, which FDA
testing showed contains sildenafil, the same active ingredient in
Viagra. Viagra, made by Pfizer Inc., is sold only by prescription in
the United States.

A message left for Herbal Remedies USA, a Casper, Wyo.-based company
that sells Zimaxx on its Web site, was not immediately returned. The
FDA has sent the company and five others letters that warn they are
marketing illegal drugs based on the claims made for the products or
their ingredients.

The other products named by the FDA are: Libidus, Neophase, Nasutra,
Vigor-25, Actra-Rx and 4Everon. Chemical analyses showed the products
contain either chemical ingredients that are similar to sildenafil or
a second drug called vardenafil, the FDA said. Vardenafil is the
active ingredient in Levitra, an impotence drug sold by
GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Schering-Plough Corp.

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# posted by Network @ 6:12 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

T he Medicare health care program for seniors has allowed millions of
older Americans to live longer, healthier lives. And reforms made in
2003 have improved it by getting millions of seniors the drugs they
need so they can confidently look forward to a better quality of life.

In 2003, Congress passed the first major overhaul of the Medicare
program since its creation by adding a prescription drug benefit. This
benefit was needed because the old model of health care treatment
involving either a visit to a doctor's office or hospitalization has
been replaced by health management through new wonder drugs.

Before, Medicare would pay for your heart surgery but not for the
drugs to keep your heart healthy in the first place. This meant too
many seniors had to make the impossible decision between spending
their hard-earned dollars on the drugs to keep them in good health and
other basic needs like food and housing.

But the Republican-led reforms that created Medicare Part D are now
changing that for more than 30 million American seniors. These seniors
are getting help in obtaining the life-enhancing and prolonging drugs
they need despite attempts by Democratic critics -- for purely
partisan political reasons -- to confuse and scare seniors away from
signing up.

Thanks to partnerships with groups like the AARP and other senior
advocacy organizations to educate seniors to the advantages of the new
program, almost 1.3 million seniors in Michigan have signed up for the
program, which is expected to save the average beneficiary $1,100 a
year.

The 100,925 seniors from my congressional district who signed up for
this benefit will save an estimated $111 million on their drug bills
this year alone. This is money that can finance other needs, such as
visits with grandchildren, mortgage payments or simply a more
enjoyable and secure retirement.

Many critics attack the fact that it isn't a huge "one size fits all"
government program. Instead, it allows private insurers to offer
competing plans, which is not only reducing costs to the government,
but also to the beneficiaries.

Premiums for the plan were originally anticipated to be $37 per month,
but because of competition the average premium is only $24 per month.
And low-income seniors are experiencing even more savings, often
paying little or no premium, co-pay or deductible.

In addition, the entire Medicare program may save money due to its
efficiency in keeping seniors healthy, which means more savings for
taxpayers as well. If a senior's heart remains healthy because he or
she is receiving the drugs necessary to avoid costly surgery, that
individual will not only lead a better life, but our overburdened
health care system will be relieved and our taxpayers will save money.
And the expected drop in cost of Medicare over the next 10 years is
more than $180 billion over original estimates, meaning savings for
seniors and taxpayers will continue well into the future.

Despite the attacks of the critics and detractors, Medicare Part D is working.

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# posted by Network @ 6:11 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Senator Byron Dorgan introduced a bill today to help seniors who are
trapped in a prescription drug coverage gap period, often referred to
as the doughnut hole. The prescription for Fairness Act would waive
monthly Medicare Part D premiums for any month a senior is trapped in
the coverage gap. Dorgan says it`s wrong to require seniors to pay a
premium for prescription coverage when as a matter of policy they
won`t be getting any.

"About one third of the people that have signed up for prescription
drug coverage under medicare will end up in a circumstance where they
will have reached a level where they will not have coverage for a
while but will still be paying monthly premiums," says Dorgan. "And
they`re going to be upset about that, and they should be. That doesn`t
make any sense to me."

The Senator says this is going to be a growing problem for many
seniors in the weeks ahead, as they encounter the coverage gap which
kicks in when their drug expenditure for the year reaches $2251.

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# posted by Network @ 6:10 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

When Donald Lewis, 54, suffered a heart attack in April, he had just
switched jobs and hadn't been at the new one long enough to qualify
for health insurance.

He faced mounting medical bills from quadruple-coronary-artery bypass
surgery and hundreds of dollars in prescription-drug costs.

"All the time, I didn't fill them. I went without," Lewis, a truck
driver, said of the prescriptions.

A new report looks at just how much more uninsured people pay for
prescription drugs compared with the federal government, which can
negotiate deep discounts for employees and veterans because of its
purchasing power.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group surveyed pharmacies in 35
states for the report, which recommends, among other things, making
more generic drugs available, creating prescription-drug buying pools
and providing more access to low-cost Canadian drugs.

The Richmond survey results suggest that the uninsured pay about 57
percent more for drugs than what is charged the federal government.
The national average was about 60 percent more.

"Uninsured consumers are paying the price for the rising costs of
prescription drugs," said Rose Garr, mid-Atlantic field organizer for
the research group, which is based in Washington. The group is
nonpartisan and nonprofit and is supported by individual donations and
foundation grants, Garr said.

Garr disclosed the Richmond results Tuesday at the office of Richmond
Enhancing Access to Community Healthcare, or REACH, a local nonprofit
agency that brings together health-care providers to address needs of
the uninsured. The research group held similar events in other cities
surveyed. The report looks at costs of 10 commonly prescribed drugs.

Garr said the research group chose to compare the pharmacy list prices
to federal government prices instead of private health-plan prices to
show the power of prescription-drug buying pools.

An estimated 45.8 million Americans lack health insurance. In the
Richmond area, the number is an estimated 100,000 people.

There are programs that help. Some pharmaceutical companies offer free
drugs to low-income people who prove their need. A community pharmacy
is in the planning stages for Richmond, said Sara K. MacDermod, REACH
program coordinator. It would use the buying-pool concept to provide
prescription drugs to clients of free clinics and is scheduled to
begin operations in January.

Already, free clinics step in to help. Lewis, who was recently
approved for Medicaid because of his disability, was able to get help
from the Fan Free Clinic to fill Plavix, Lopressor and Lipitor
prescriptions in the interim. Out of pocket, the prescriptions
sometimes topped $100 each, he said.

"I don't think I could have made it without them," Lewis said. He was
able to get prescriptions filled for a $2 dispensing fee paid to the
pharmacy. The clinic picked up the rest.

John Baumann, Fan Free Clinic executive director, said the clinic does
about 11,000 prescriptions a year and helps clients by giving them
free drug-company samples, assisting them in applying for drug-company
assistance programs and paying for some prescriptions.

"We don't have a big budget for medication," Baumann said.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 6:10 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The FDA has warned consumers not to purchase or consume seven products
that are promoted and sold on web sites as "dietary supplements" for
treating erectile dysfunction (ED) and enhancing sexual performance.

The products -- Zimaxx, Libidus, Neophase, Nasutra, Vigor-25,
Actra-Rx, and 4EVERON -- are "illegal drugs that contain potentially
harmful undeclared ingredients," states an FDA news release.

"These products have not been approved by FDA, and there is no
guarantee of their safety and effectiveness, or of the purity of their
ingredients," the FDA's news release continues.

The FDA is advising consumers who have used any of these products to
discontinue use and to consult their health care provider. The FDA
also encourages anyone experiencing ED to seek guidance from a health
care provider before purchasing a product to treat this medical
condition.

Stealth Ingredients

"These products threaten the public health because they contain
undeclared chemicals that are similar or identical to the active
ingredients used in several FDA-approved prescription drug products,"
says Steven Galson, MD, MPH, in the FDA's news release. Galson directs
the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

(Story continues below)

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"This risk is even more serious because consumers may not know that
these ingredients can interact with medications and dangerously lower
their blood pressure," Galson continues.

The banned products contain chemicals similar to those in the
prescription ED drugs Viagra and Levitra. The FDA analyzed the
products and found that Zimaxx contains sildenafil, Viagra's active
ingredient. The other illegal products contain chemical ingredients
that are similar to either sildenafil or vardenafil, Levitra's active
ingredient.

"There is no mention of any of these ingredients in any of the illegal
products' labeling," states the FDA.

Health Risk

The illegal products' undeclared ingredients may interact with
nitrates found in some prescription drugs (such as nitroglycerin,
Isordil, and Imdur) and lower blood pressure to dangerous levels.

People with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart
disease often take nitrate medications. ED is a common problem in men
with those conditions, the FDA notes.

Those men may seek ED products that claim to be "all natural" or that
claim to lack the active ingredients used in FDA-approved ED drugs,
states the FDA. But those claims are false, misleading, and
potentially dangerous, according to the FDA.

The FDA also warns that because it doesn't know where the illegal
products are made, there is no assurance that the ingredients are
safe, effective, or pure.

The FDA has sent warning letters to the products' marketers, is
working to stop Libidus and 4EVERON from entering the U.S., and may
take other enforcement actions.

The FDA's actions follow its first survey of 17 dietary supplements
marketed on the Internet to treat ED and enhance men's sexual
performance.

"Our survey found that many of the so-called 'dietary supplements'
marketed as treatments for erectile dysfunction actually contain
nondietary chemicals, including chemicals used as active ingredients
in FDA-approved drugs," says Margaret Glavin, the FDA's associate
commissioner for regulatory affairs, in the FDA news release.

"The claims made for these products were in fact claims made for the
undeclared nondietary chemicals they contain, which rendered them
illegal drugs," Glavin continues. She adds that the FDA "is committed
to protecting the public health by removing such illegal and dangerous
products from the market."

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 6:09 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

For cancer patients, there's good news and bad news: many more drugs
to call on as tools to fight the disease, but, at prices that rose 15
percent last year – five times faster than prices for other
prescription drugs.

"I'm worried that the cost of cancer care is spiraling out of
control," says Dr. Leonard Saltz, one of the nation's top cancer
specialists, who sees a crisis looming for patients who may find
themselves unable to handle the added cost.

At the same time, some drug companies are chalking up noticeably
larger profits.

Genentech, the maker of the cancer drug Avastin, reported record
earnings growth Tuesday, checking in with an increase of a stunning 79
percent.

Wall Street Analyst Geoffrey Porges says the key driver for the
improved earnings "is the cancer drugs. And what's keeping those
cancer drugs going so well – well, part of it is the pricing."

CBS correspondent Trish Regan reports Avastin, for example, costs
$4,400 for a one month prescription; Erbitux, from Bristol-Myers
Squibb, costs about $10,000 a month.

The pharmaceutical giants say the cost of developing and marketing the
drugs, and not their ingredients, are the cause of their painful price
tags.

Some of the most expensive prescriptions extend a patient's life by a
few months or a year.

"That's really the crux of the problem," says Dr. Leonard Saltz, of
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. "For a modest
improvement, there's a huge increase in cost."

The industry defends its prices, arguing that while new medicines come
at a cost, they remain a very small part of total health spending and
a very big part of improving cancer patient's survival chances.

"You can argue that they were the ones that took the risks, committed
all the resources," says industry analyst Geoffrey Porges of Sanford
C. Bernstein & Co. "But I think there's just a little bit of to and
fro about what's reasonable... We're definitely on a collision
course."

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 4:54 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Several thousand prescription medicines including cough remedies,
painkillers and sedatives are being sold by pharmaceutical companies,
prescribed by doctors and dispensed by pharmacists without ever
receiving Food and Drug Administration approval.

In a startling disclosure, the FDA last month acknowledged a wide
range of pharmaceuticals -- most on the market long before Congress
strengthened the nation's drug law in 1962 -- have never been
certified as safe and effective or checked for manufacturing quality
and adequate labeling.

"It is unfortunate that many older or existing drug products continue
to be marketed in this country without required FDA approval," Steven
Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research,
said in a statement. "We consider it a significant and serious drug
safety issue that must be addressed since these products may pose a
risk to consumers."

The FDA said the unapproved medicines represent less than 2 percent of
the multibillion dollar U.S. prescription drug market.

Yet they include several thousand separate products using several
hundred different unapproved active ingredients. They cover a broad
range of therapies and bring their makers hundreds of millions of
dollars a year in revenue.

The FDA also announced it will begin systematically cracking down on
the unapproved prescription medicines, focusing on those that may
represent potential safety risks, lack evidence of effectiveness or
constitute health fraud.

"I am a little surprised there are so many of these prescription
medicines out there that haven't been already removed from the
market," said John Colaizzi, dean of the Rutgers University Ernest
Mario School of Pharmacy. "For me as a pharmacist and for the public,
there is an assumption that all the products have been tested and
certified for both safety and effectiveness."

The FDA said it does not have complete data on unapproved medications
because "the universe of such products is constantly changing as some
products enter and leave the market," and as companies mix known
prescription ingredients in various strengths, combinations and
dosages.

In general terms, the FDA said the major categories of unapproved
prescription drugs now on the market include some cough and cold
preparations with antihistamines, certain single-ingredient narcotics
and sedatives.

Perry Cole, president of the Branded Pharmaceutical Association, said
there also are unapproved analgesics for pain, anti-inflammatory
drugs, gastrointestinal medicines and many other products.

"No one knows for sure how many are out there," said Cole, whose
association represents small manufacturers that have sold some of
these drugs for decades. "There are some products without formal
approval for probably any kind of therapy you can think of."

Most of these medications were on the market before Congress made
successive changes to the drug approval process, including 1962
amendments that required pharmaceuticals not only be safe but also
effective. While most pre-1962 prescription remedies were later
evaluated by the FDA, many claimed exemptions because they or similar
drugs were marketed before a 1938 drug safety law.

The FDA said some of the "grandfathered" drugs actually have since
changed their formulations, dosages, how they are administered and
what patients and conditions they are recommended for -- making them
"new" drugs requiring formal review and approval.

Cole said most of the unapproved products have been prescribed for
decades and have been considered safe and beneficial by doctors and
their patients. "How could these drugs now be illegal?" he asked.

Tom J. Cassio, a pharmacist since 1966 and owner of Twin City Pharmacy
in South Plainfield, N.J., said medicines with antihistamines such as
Pheniramine and some of the other drug categories cited by the FDA
were once widely prescribed but are fading in popularity.

"The trend is going in the opposite direction. There is lack of use of
a lot of these older remedies, and doctors are not really prescribing
them," Cassio said.

The FDA said many doctors and pharmacists may not suspect some
medications they rely on are unapproved because they have been
available for so long. Many of these products may be listed in guides
such as the Physicians' Desk Reference and advertised in medical
journals, the FDA said.

Cole said the FDA should not pull these therapies off the market or
force small drug companies to spend large sums of money on clinical
trials and to take other steps required for new drug approvals.
Instead, he said the FDA should set up a simpler system for expedited
review of classes of medications that have a long history of safety
and effectiveness.

The FDA has rejected this view, maintaining the longevity of a product
on the market or the "absence of known safety problems" is not enough
to prove safety and effectiveness. Galson said one cannot assume a
product's indications and directions for use are appropriate, or be
sure it is safe for children or for other vulnerable populations,
without examining the scientific evidence.

When the FDA placed manufacturers on notice recently, it announced it
was targeting an estimated 26 companies that market about 120
prescription allergy medications containing the sedating antihistamine
carbinoxamine.

Carbinoxamine has been used for at least five decades in prescription
products, but the FDA said only two products made by Mikart Inc. of
Atlanta have been approved to treat allergic symptoms.

The FDA said other carbinoxamine products are being sold illegally,
some labeled for treatment of coughs and colds, an indication for
which carbinoxamine has not been found to be safe and effective.

In addition, the FDA said companies are selling the product in drops
and syrups labeled for use in children as young as 1 month old, but
carbinoxamine has never been studied in young children. The agency
said it has received reports of 21 deaths in children under age 2
years associated with drugs containing carbinoxamine since 1983,
although a definitive connection has not been established.

The maker of one carbinoxamine product, Everett Laboratories in West
Orange, N.J., said it will take its producet off the market. Company
president Everett Felper said the medication, one of several sold
under the brand name Tussafed, has been used safely for years, but
"the FDA makes the rules and we have to live with it."

To find out if a drug is approved, go to the FDA Web site at
www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/ and type in the active
ingredient or name of your drug. You will find the names of the
approved manufacturers for your drug. If you do not see your
manufacturer's name, check with the manufacturer.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 4:54 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved generic
versions of two widely prescribed drugs. The first is simvastatin, a
cholesterol-lowering drug that has been marketed by Merck under the
brand name Zocor since its approval in 1991. Simvastatin is the second
most widely prescribed drug in a class called statins. Other statins
include lovastatin (brand name Mevacor) and pravastatin (Pravachol),
which are also available as generic drugs, and atorvastatin (Lipitor)
and rosuvastatin (Crestor), which are available only as brand-name
drugs.

The generic drug manufacturer Ivax will sell 5-, 10-, 20-, and 40-mg
doses, while Ranbaxy will sell 80-mg doses. Before generic versions of
simvastatin were approved, the drug cost roughly $3 to $5 a pill,
depending on the dose. The generic versions are expected to cost
considerably less, and Merck is expected to cut the cost of Zocor to
compete.

The second drug to be approved is a generic version of sertraline
(Zoloft), a member of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
(SSRI) class of antidepressants. Generic sertraline is made by Ivax
and is available in 25-, 50-, and 100-mg doses. Other SSRIs, such as
fluoxetine (Prozac) and paroxetine (Paxil), are also available in
generic form.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 4:53 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The Pharmacy Guild says senior citizens have been reluctant to have a
flu shot this year.

Acting president Patrick Reid says there are fears that an influenza
outbreak could hit Australia after a recent outbreak in New Zealand.

He says influenza can be dangerous to the elderly and it seems seniors
are not getting vaccinated.

"At the moment the uptake has been quite low so it's certainly
something that we're trying to encourage and I know GPs and certainly
the Government has been trying to encourage for quite a long time," he
said.

"The actual figures vary from year to year, but certainly this year
they're down a bit so that's why we're trying to promote it this
year."

Mr Reid says influenza is a highly infectious respiratory illness and
can be dangerous to the elderly.

He says it is not too late to get vaccinated for this winter

"One of the issues is that New Zealand has had a recent outbreak of
influenza so normally what we find is when other countries around us
are experiencing an influenza outbreak it normally means we follow
several weeks or months later," he said.

"So although it's a late season ... the risk is out there."

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 12:40 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

It's no wonder so many people without insurance don't fill their prescriptions.

The uninsured in New York state on average pay 60 percent more than
the federal government pays for 10 common prescription drugs,
according to a report released Tuesday by consumer groups. With nearly
5 million people in New York state lacking drug coverage, such costly
barriers to medication are straining the health care system, experts
say.

The uninsured frequently don't get their prescriptions filled because
they assume they can't afford them, said Craig Burridge, executive
director of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York. In fact,
he said those who pay cash for prescriptions account for just 2 to 3
percent of pharmacy purchases.

Chuck Bell of the Consumers Union, one of the groups behind Tuesday's
report, said 60 percent of the uninsured either delay getting
medication or don't take the proper dosage because of high costs. For
example, an uninsured person in the Albany area paid $93.32 for the
cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, 50 percent more than the federal
government paid.

Those patients _ particularly those with conditions like hypertension
and thyroid conditions _ generally become sicker later on and end up
requiring more costly care, said Richard Peer, president of the
Medical Society of the State of New York.

They eventually end up in emergency rooms, with hospitals footing the bill.

"In the long run, it ends up costing society more," Peer said.

In New York state, hospitals provide $1.6 billion in bad debt and
charity care each year, according to the Healthcare Association of New
York State. Nationally, the uninsured population costs the country
between $65 billion and $130 billion every year, according to the
Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the Albany region, the same study by the New York Public Interest
Research Group found uninsured consumers are charged nearly 65 percent
more than the federal government for the 10 prescription drugs
examined. The group compared regional prices with those paid by the
federal government's Veterans Administration. Those in Buffalo paid 60
percent more, while those in New York City paid 63 percent more.

The report examined drug prices across the country and found similar
results in 22 other states.

One way to bridge access is to educate the uninsured about discount
options for medications, Burridge said. One national program by an
association of drug manufacturers, the Partnership for Prescription
Assistance, can provide consumers medications at no cost.

Consumers should also talk with their pharmacists about discount
programs or generic alternatives, Burridge said.

To solve the larger problem of skyrocketing prescription drug prices,
the groups behind the report are urging state lawmakers to pass
legislation that would create a buying pool to negotiate drug prices,
with savings passed on to the uninsured.

Similar programs are already in place in 27 states, Bell said. Studies
have shown a sharp increase in the number of uninsured people who sign
up for discounted medications in those states, he said.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 9:41 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Many people relate weight loss with being hungry all the time. They're
afraid to start a weight loss plan because they want to stay away from
the irritation of being hungry all the time. And yes, a lot of times
for many people it's better to be overweight than to starve. This fear
of being hungry brings in over weightiness and obesity. Some think
that there is no reason to be constantly hungry for the sake being
thin. What kind of life is it if you're always feeling hungry? Our
natural instinct tells us to eat when we are hungry. Hunger is a
signal telling the body that it needs to eat. It is also a signal to
the body that it is in danger, that it needs food now. Our
self-preservation instinct makes us scarf down everything in sight in
response to feelings of starvation. Now the work of prescription diet
pill is to stop all these signals coming to brain and restricts the
man from feeling hungry. He or she always feels that he is full at
stomach. But after so much tine of fame for these diet pills the
question has started arising. What can diet aids do for you; the
appeal of losing weight fast through these prescription diet pills and
over-the-counter weight-loss pills is often hard to pass up. But are
these products safe and effective? Diet pills and weight-loss pills
aren't subject to the same exact standards as are prescription drugs
or medications, which are sold as an over-the-counter drug. Thus,
these drugs are often marketed with limited proof of effectiveness or
safety. Vendors can make health claims about products based on their
own evaluation and interpretation of studies without the authorization
of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, the FDA can pull a
product off the market if it's proved dangerous. Diet pills have a
great potential to help you lose weight and this can be very
appealing, especially if you are someone who has struggled to lose
weight in the past and who is obese, with the BMI [Body Mass Index] of
more than 27. But these advantages should be weighed against the
possible dangers of diet pills including some dangerous side effects.
Before taking any prescription diet pill, one should understand what
some of the dangers of diet pills could actually be. Here are some
dangers and dangerous side effects of these prescription diet pills,
which claim that they are safe diet pills. These prescription diet
pills and over-the-counter diet pills are very strong drugs, and all
of them have the potential for dangerous side effects. Some of the
side effects from taking prescription diet pills can be dangerous.
Each diet pill has its own set of potential side effects, which can
comprise of dry mouth, sleeplessness, irritability, disturbed abdomen
and constipation. You also have to look at the opportunity of drug
interactions among these so-called safe diet pills and other
medications you are taking. If you have any other health matter, the
taking of diet pills may cause severe results when collectively taken
with other medications. Some diet pills, especially the
stimulant-based diet pills, are habit-forming and as such can be
abused. Abuse of these drugs may lead to dependence. Have a long
discussion with your doctor prior to taking any prescription diet pill
to find out if they are habit-forming and what signs you should look
out for to alert you to this problem. Always ask your doctor to avoid
those prescription diet pills, which are famous as a habit-forming
drug. The main work of almost all the prescription diet pills is to
suppress the appetite, which causes you to consume fewer calories.
This seems as is it is the ultimate solution for losing weight.
However, as your caloric intake is reduced, your metabolism also slows
down. And this slowness in metabolism also slows down the amount of
weight you lose. This is why it is common for people to lose only a
certain amount of weight while taking diet pills alone. To avoid this,
the solution is of course combine lifestyle changes to your diet
schedule. Lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, dietary changes,
big changes in the way you take your diet and regular health check-ups
can greatly increase your weight loss success. Also keep in mind that
even if you take a weight-loss pill or a diet pill, you still have to
eat fewer calories than your body uses in order to lose weight. As
soon as you stop them weight starts increasing. Even if these products
were there to help you lose weight initially, you'd have to continue
taking them for your whole life for the weight to stay off, which is
neither practical nor safer. If you are very seriously concerned about
your weight or have a condition that's worsened by extra pounds, talk
to your doctor. Whether you have 10 pounds or 100 pounds to lose, what
is needed is to eat a healthy diet based on a variety of foods and
burn calories through physical activity combined with these diet
pills. It has been proven by the time that there truly are no easy
solutions to losing weight. And these prescription diet pills could
cause more harm than good. Your own analysis and curiosity are your
best protection. Read labels closely and talk with your doctor or
pharmacist about any dietary supplements you're taking or considering
taking.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 3:18 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is a common health problem especially in men
above 40 years. This also occurs in younger men. Erectile Dysfunction
is a state when men have difficulty in getting or maintaining an
erection. There is a lack of blood flow to the penis. This means a man
can have trouble getting and keeping erection. CIALIS: Erectile
Dysfunction can be treated by CIALIS. The generic name of Cialis is
Tadalfil. Cialis was launched by Eli Lilly and Icos in a joint
venture. Cialis (Tadalfil)is in a class of drugs called
phosphodiesterase inhibitors that also include sildenafil (Viagra) and
vandenafil (Levitra).FDA approved Tadalfil – Cialis in 2003 for the
treatment of men who experience difficulty having and maintaining an
erection. Cialis (Tadalafil), an oral treatment for Erectile
Dysfunction (ED) in men, is a selective inhibitor of cyclic quanosine
monophosphate (cGMP) - specific phophodiesterase type 5 (PDE 5).
Cialis is available in the form of tablets which contains 5, 10 or 20
mg of Tadalfil and inactive ingredients like croscarmellose sodium,
hydroxpropyl cellulose, hypromellose, iron oxide, lactose monohydrate,
magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium lauryl
sulphate, talc, titanium dioxide and triacetin. Recommended dose of
Cialis in most patients is 10mg taken prior to sexual intercourse.
Both Cialis and Viagra work in the same way, by helping blood vessels
in the penis to relax allowing blood to flow into the penis causing an
erection. Cilais is slightly different from the other products
available in the market as it may work up to 36 hrs.after dosing.
Cialis does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases
including HIV. Cialis is not an aphrodisiac. Side effects: Common side
effects are Headache, Flushing, Indigestion, Urinary Tract Infection,
Nasal congestion and Dizziness. Recent reports also suggest a possible
risk of blindness. This is a rare condition in which blood supply is
reduced to the optic nerve causing permanent nerve damage. This was
primarily seen in patients suffering from diabetes and heart diseases.
Need to remember: It is extremely important that problems like
diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure problems or any other disease
should be reported to the doctor before starting on Cialis. Men taking
Nitrates in any form should not be treated with Cialis as they cause
sudden unsafe drop in blood pressure. Some drugs can alter the way
Cialis works in the body or vice versa. For this reason some drugs are
not recommended for use while taking Cialis. The drugs can interact in
such a way that they could cause serious side effects.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 3:18 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

It seems like it is all about looking fit in the eyes of others so
that others may praise you of maintaining your body. To impress them
you need to be successful, happy and attractive. Who would not like to
attract that life mate but for that you require good looks. For years
from now the search for the best diet or the most effective exercise
regiment is undertaken to lose weight and everyone struggles with it
sooner or later. To find a sense of worth and fitness in mind from the
core of my heart is more important than how my body looks. For that
you don't have to quest to lose weight. To loose weight is not the
only problem but looking fit from both body and mind is necessary.
This is really about getting in touch with your own self-worth and
accessing a deeper feeling that is not derived from your appearance.
The importance of self-acceptance must be equal to the importance of
weight loss. Along with the weight loss when you make self-acceptance
as one of the prime goal you opens a door towards feeling much better
emotionally. Everyone knows emotional happiness is more necessary than
physical happiness. Going for true self-worth gets you to stare the
problem right in its eyes. Now you can realize that there are other
ways to solve this problem besides from just dieting and exercising.
Make emotional happiness a priority and be more conscious only then
you can start to uncover the core issues. Many books and resources are
available in the market to advise you on various factors such as
weight loss, self-esteem, body image, and true self-acceptance that
will take you in new directions. If anyone asks me what is the basic
problem then I would probably say that the real problem is
self-judgment and can be removed with self acceptance only and not by
losing weight, or eating less or exercising. If you are not confident
at yourself then you would feel that everyone is seeing you with eyes
of insult etc. So, stop being self judgmental to yourself and try to
see the root of the problem. Be confident and then think how bad it
was when you was self judgmental about yourself simultaneously finding
ways to feel more self-esteem.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 3:17 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Most of us want to live a long time, but few of us look forward to
being really old. Why do we have to age? Is aging inevitable? And what
can scientists do to slow down the aging process, or stop aging
altogether? If you're still alive, you're growing older every day. You
may not notice it, but you are. When we make that great shift out of
our teenage years into our twenties, most of the changes we encounter
about growing older are good. When we are in our twenties, growing
older means a lot more freedom and a lot of adventure. Physically, we
are at our peak of perfection. In our thirties, we are starting to
enjoy many of the benefits of growing older as we accumulate more
wisdom and in most cases, continue to have a body and a brain that's
still in great shape. But there comes a time, perhaps in our fifth
decade, or in our sixth, when growing older starts to have some
negative effects we don't really like. We may not be as physically fit
as we used to be. We start to get sags and bags. We get aches and
pains. We may be showing some forgetfulness. Our beautiful perfection
of youth is gone. Why do we age? Over the centuries, people have often
wondered how it is that our bodies grow and develop from a tiny
fertilized egg, to a newborn baby, to a young child, then a teenager
and, finally, a young adult. A huge number of very complex changes
within our bodies must happen perfectly in order to achieve this. Once
we grow into our adult perfection, why can't we just stay there? Why
do we have to age? And can we stop it? Doctors and scientists used to
take aging for granted. Scientists used to think that because aging
was a natural process, there was no need to investigate it. Now, as
increasing numbers of baby boomers are turning fifty, anxious to hang
on to some semblance of youth, more and more research is being devoted
to the topic of aging. Scientists are trying to find out how and why
we age, and they are investigating possible ways to slow down the
aging process, or perhaps even stop it altogether. If new ways are
found to extend physical and mental health for the aging population,
the benefits to society will be enormous.. Although all of us want to
live a long time, none of us wants to spend our final years in
physical pain or suffering from mental decline. Scientists have been
able to identify some of the factors that influence the process of
aging, and new knowledge is accumulating at a rapid rate. Dozens of
theories to explain aging have been proposed, but it seems that aging
is a very complex, and several processes are interlinked. Here are
some of the current theories about why we age: Hayflick Limit Theory –
Two scentists in the 1960s noticed that many human cells would divide
a limited number of times, then stop. If the cells were well fed, they
divided faster. Body cells may have a built-in genetic program that
tells them not to reproduce anymore. Free Radical Theory - Free
radicals are molecules or atoms that have an unpaired electron. In
order to be electrically balanced, these molecules or atoms will grab
an electron from a nearby atom, thereby creating another free radical,
eventually resulting in a cascading chain of damage to cells and
organs. Free radical formation may not account for all the symptoms of
aging, but it probably does play an important part in accelerating
cellular damage. Free radicals are unavoidable. They are an inevitable
consequence of living in a physical body. However, there are steps we
can take to slow down free radical damage, such as avoiding
pollutants, and eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. The
Telomere Theory – Telomeres are special types of chemicals that seem
to have some ability to protect the chromosomes inside our cells.
Every time our cells divide, the telemeres become shorter and less
able to protect the chromosome. This may explain why the cells
eventually become damaged and die. Scientists are currently trying to
find out how to repair telomeres and stop the damage to the cells.
Glycation – When proteins in your body react with excess blood sugar,
the proteins become damaged. This process is known as "glycation".
These sugar-damaged proteins may contribute to the breakdown of many
other systems in the body. People who have diabetes or problems with
insulin resistance are particularly vulnerable to glycation damage
because of abnormalities in their blood sugar levels. If it turns out
to be true that glycation plays a major part in causing the negative
effects of aging, we may be able to slow it down by making sure we
avoid excess blood sugar levels. Here are some other factors that play
a part in aging: - We experience a steep decline in hormone production
in our later years. - Our body becomes less efficient at detoxifying.
- The DNA in our cells becomes damaged. - A life time of exposure to
stress and environmental toxins in our air, food and water overwhelms
our body's repair systems. These are some of the explanations for why
we age, but it's not a complete picture. At the present time, we don't
yet know all the reasons for this process. And so far, there is no
single magic bullet to stop it. If scientists can learn how to slow
down the process of aging, we will be able to spend many more happy
years enjoying our lives while maintaining our peak of physical
perfection. And that will be something to look forward to!

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 3:16 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

In a different instance, Romy Knittel would be willing to try
mail-order pharmacy.

She says she's all for health care companies trying to cut costs. But
she doesn't understand why she now has to receive an expensive,
refrigerated medication through the mail when all she had to do
previously was walk a few doors down to the pharmacy.

Ms. Knittel gets insurance coverage through BlueCross BlueShield of
Western New York. Beginning July 1, the health care company began
using Medco Health Solutions, Inc. as its prescription drug benefit
manager (PBM) for all plans except Senior Blue and Medicare PPO. Olean
pharmacists estimate the change affects about 20 percent of their
patrons.

For many customers, this means prescriptions can be filled using
Internet service and mail order, or at a local pharmacy, though
co-pays for mail order may be lower. Doctors, pharmacists and patients
agree that for some, being able to take care of prescriptions on the
computer and through the mail will be a welcome convenience.

But Ms. Knittel's case is unique in that her prescription, used to
treat multiple sclerosis, is on a smaller list of drugs Medco requires
be shipped through the mail.

The drug has to be refrigerated during shipping and comes in metered
injectible doses. Cost for the drug averages about $20,000 per year,
the majority of which is covered by health care.

What makes her nervous is that she's always at work, as a biology
professor at St. Bonaventure, so she won't be at home to be able to
sign for the drug. If it's left on the doorstep, she's worried there
could be temperature damage, the medicine could be stolen, or worse,
someone could obtain her personal information from attached paperwork.

"I don't think it's unreasonable for me to say I'm not convinced you
have this system sealed," she said. "These medicines are all
temperature-sensitive – they're all biological molecules. If you get
them too hot it's bad or too cold it's bad," she said.

"My co-pay is going to be the same – $15, middle of the road. I
understand they are trying to cut their costs, but who's pocketing the
savings?" she asked. "How much of a savings is there? Why is it so
difficult to have this drug administered through a pharmacy?"

After repeated frustrating phone calls to Medco to try to make sense
of information packets and resolve the issue, she's now working with
BlueCross customer advocates to develop a solution. She said thus far
they've been accommodating, but she's not sure what will happen when
she needs a refill next month.

All this headache, she guesses, probably because for $20,000 per year,
BlueCross would probably rather have her switch to another provider.

This issue is just one of many some people fear could have an affect
on local health, peace of mind, and business as PBMs become the norm
in the Southern Tier and across the country.

Vic Vena, owner of Vic Vena Pharmacy on West State Street in Olean,
said there are health risks in weakening the patient-pharmacist
relationship.

"A pharmacist sees the patient five to six times more per year than
any other health care professional," he said. "People establish pretty
good relationships with their pharmacists – we know that a
prescription is really more than a bottle of pills, and it needs to be
understood by the patient."

"Medco is being indicted by 48 states for a variety of poor pharmacy
practices," he said. "Any employer that I talk to, no one was notified
or asked their opinion about this."

He said independent stores and chain pharmacies will take a hit as
more people turn to mail order, and local services will decrease.

Dr. Michael Kalsman, family physician with Universal Primary Care,
says taking the pharmacist out of the physical equation is not a good
idea.

"The service that is provided by individual pharmacies and the
relationship between the pharmacist and the customer is invaluable,"
he said.

He said he can't count the times he's gotten calls from local
pharmacists alerting him to possible over-the-counter medication
interactions or other potential risks for his individual patients.

"Medco is never going to call me and tell me that," he said. "Medco
will tell you they always have a pharmacist available, 24/7, but they
have you talking to someone you don't even know from God knows where.
The fact that insurance companies are starting to mandate this is
deplorable. It's frustrating for the patients and just is not good."

Karen Liberatore is the senior director of corporate communications
for BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. She said the move to
Medco equates to more retail pharmacy options, coverage for a greater
variety of prescription drugs, and more choice.

"We listened to our members when they said they wanted more options as
far as the pharmacy network," she said. "Medco, through its size and
scope, was able to double the size of pharmacy network from 600 to
1,200 locations between the Buffalo and Albany markets."

Through using mail order, it will bring some cost savings to our
members," she said.

The mail order part is a choice, and it is also a growing trend that
is getting increasingly popular across the country.

More than one-third of prescriptions today are filled by mail order,
she said, though the trend has not been as well-received in Western
New York as on the West Coast.

She said lawsuits against Medco were not a concern for BlueCross
BlueShield in signing on with the company.

"To my knowledge, the matters of litigation have been resolved," she said.

Ms. Liberatore compared mail-order prescriptions to using an ATM
versus waiting in line at a bank.

"It is convenient," she said. "The prescription gets delivered to the
person's home or office. It's a very secure system. You can get a
90-day supply if you go through mail order, or a one-month supply in
the store. Local pharmacies usually can't stock 90 days of
prescription drugs."

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 3:16 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Losing a couple of kilos and keeping it off has far greater health
benefits than any single preventative drug on the market, researchers
have found.

A study by science agency the CSIRO has revealed that even a small
sustained weight loss can be more effective than pharmacological
approaches to disease prevention.

Leading nutritionist Professor Manny Noakes investigated the benefits
of three to four kg of weight loss, sustained for four years.

"There is compelling evidence showing sensible weight loss that
incorporates healthy eating as well as a small amount of resistance
training has significant benefits in reducing disease morbidity," Prof
Noakes said.
In essence it would take many pills to achieve what a four-kilogram
weight loss can achieve."

She said losing excess weight could improve cholesterol levels and
delay the development of arterial deposits which lead to stroke and
heart attack.

It lowers blood pressure which reduces stress on the kidneys, and
lowers glucose and insulin response which prevents diabetes and stress
on the pancreas.

"It can also reduce DNA damage which leads to degenerative diseases
such as cancer, Alzheimer's and heart disease," Prof Noakes said.

There was also emerging evidence that eating less but still eating a
nutritious diet could delay the ageing process and prolong life, she
said.

Presenting her findings to the Australian Institute of Food Science
and Technology Incorporated Convention in Adelaide on Tuesday, the
nutritionist will also tackle the contentious issue of weight loss in
older people.

Some studies have proven that weight loss can be detrimental to the
health of the elderly, but Prof Noakes said this was only true if the
person shed their kilos without meaning to.

"Unintentional weight loss may be the result of existing health
problems ... and can mask beneficial changes in cardiovascular risk
and other diseases,"

Sensible, intentional weight loss, on the other hand, can be extremely
beneficial, she said.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 3:15 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The first complete treatment for AIDS that is taken once a day as a
single pill is expected to be available soon.

The pill combines three drugs by two companies and would be a
milestone in improving the simplicity of treatment, experts say.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the new drug
as soon as this week. The agency has until October but is expected to
act sooner, partly because the government has encouraged developing
simpler AIDS drugs.

The new drug is a combination of drugs now on the market -- Sustiva
sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Truvada, sold by Gilead Sciences.
Truvada is a combination of two Gilead drugs, Viread and Emtriva.

The companies have not revealed the new drug's price, but have
suggested it will cost roughly the same as Sustiva and Truvada bought
separately, about $1,200 a month.

Other AIDS pills that combine three drugs generally contain older
drugs and are taken twice a day.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 4:27 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Statin drugs, which promise to reduce the levels of bad (LDL)
cholesterol in the body while improving the levels of good (HDL)
cholesterol, are the fastest-growing class of prescription drugs in
the world, but increasing evidence shows they may not be safe, and
Canadian health officials are warning that statins can cause serious
muscle damage.
Health Canada is now requiring manufacturers of statin drugs such as
Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol, Mevacor and Crestor to include warnings and
information about the potential for muscle damage on patient safety
information sheets, according to the Toronto Star.

General muscle pain is a side effect frequently experienced by
patients on statin drugs. The drugs may also lead to a potentially
fatal muscle-wasting disease called rhabdomyolysis in patients with
certain pre-existing medical conditions. In this potentially deadly
disease, muscle cells are destroyed and released into the bloodstream
and can cause patients to suffer kidney failure.

Health Canada spokesperson Jirina Vlk told the Toronto Star the new
warnings are a "precautionary measure" because so many Canadians are
prescribed statin drugs to treat high cholesterol. "There's a high
number of Canadians prescribed statins, so we want them to be aware of
the risks associated with that," Vlk said.

Likewise, in the United States, millions of people are prescribed
statin drugs. In 2001, Americans filled more than 57 million
prescriptions for Lipitor, the most popular of the five available
statin drugs.

Other possible side effects of statin drugs include nausea, diarrhea
and constipation, and they have even caused severe memory and mental
awareness problems in some patients. Most people concerned about their
blood cholesterol levels can improve cholesterol naturally by making
changes to their diet and exercise regime. In fact, a study in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed adding foods like tofu,
almonds, cereal fibers, plant sterols and soy products can lower total
cholesterol more effectively than statin drugs. See Mike Adams'
NewsTarget article "Healing foods beat statin drugs for lowering high
cholesterol" for more information on that study.

Of course, doctors continue to prescribe moneymaking statin drugs to
millions of people around the world, posing a great risk to human
health. Health Canada is taking a step in the right direction by
stiffening the health warnings on prescription statin drugs. As more
information surfaces about the risks of statin drugs, hopefully more
people will begin to say no to drugs like Lipitor and Crestor and take
responsibility for their health in a safer, more natural way.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 4:27 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

In marketing their medicines, big drug companies make good use of a
little-known trade secret.

They know almost every doctor's prescription-writing history, which
can be had for a price.

For doctors who don't like it that their "scrips" are an open book,
there's now a way to shut the cover, at least in the faces of the
sales representatives who besiege doctors' offices daily, leaving drug
samples, free lunches and trinkets like pens and coffee mugs.

The American Medical Association -- which sells to drug-tracking firms
the doctor ID numbers that link physicians to the scrips they write --
for the first time will let any doctor choose to hide prescription
records from drug company sales representatives.

The opt-out provision, which started July 1, responds to criticism
from physicians, health-care activists and others that drug companies
know too much about the prescription-writing habits of doctors and
exploit that insider information in marketing their drugs.

Companies, for instance, can focus marketing efforts on doctors who
don't use their drugs, and reward in any number of small ways doctors
who do.

Depending on how many doctors choose it, the opt-out provision could
prompt a big change in the way medicine is marketed. One outcome:
Consumers might see more drug advertising aimed at them.

Gary Schwebach, founding principal of G&S Research, a Carmel, Ind.,
drug-marketing consulting firm, predicts a fourth of the nation's
884,000 doctors may choose to take their prescription records offline.

That would leave significant blanks in the prescribing records that
drug sales forces depend on -- and force them to return to
old-fashioned sales tactics, like chatting up nurses, to find out what
doctors think of their drugs.

Dr. Neil Wanee, a doctor with Fishers Family Physicians in the
Indianapolis suburbs, said he won't opt out, in part because he thinks
companies might cut out free sampling to his patients if he does.

Wanee, who has practiced family medicine for 19 years, said he also
thinks drug companies are wily enough to get around roadblocks to
using data from physicians who opt out. "If pharmaceutical companies
want to access that information, they'll find a way," he said. "This
sounds like a lot of politics to me."

The AMA won't cut off drug companies entirely from using data from
physicians who opt out. Although sales representatives and district
sales managers will be prohibited from using the data under the
licensing agreements, higher-level drug company executives still may
use it in figuring out salary compensation, sizing sales territories
or other things.

Robert Musacchio, senior vice president of business and publishing for
the Chicago-based professional association, said he believes companies
will honor the provision and not let prohibited data seep down to
their field salespeople.

Indianapolis drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. will put safeguards in place
so its sales reps and district sales managers don't get their hands on
prescription data they shouldn't have under the new rule, said Lilly
spokeswoman Judy Kay Moore. "It would be a violation of company policy
for that to be done," Moore said.

Lilly began restructuring its more than 4,000-member U.S. sales force
this year to emphasize service to physicians rather than just
salesmanship. Lilly also is basing a chunk of every salesperson's
compensation on how well he or she responds to doctor requests. Up to
now, compensation was based only on sales.

Those changes are the result of wishes of surveyed physicians, not of
Lilly trying to adjust to the coming of the opt-out provision, Moore
said. The sales force restructuring "was being planned far before this
became kind of a hot topic, if you will," she said. "One was not the
result of the other."

Pressure from state legislatures, which have considered bills banning
drug company use of prescription data linked to doctors, in part
pushed the AMA to create the opt-out provision and drug companies to
go along with it, Musacchio said. "They realize there are a couple
ways it can go," he said. "They can work with us ... or face the
alternative, which can be legislative action, and I don't think they
want to deal with that."

The AMA collects about $40 million a year from licensing exclusive
data it controls that lets companies track prescriptions linked to
doctors.

An "important piece" of that revenue comes from drug companies, he
said. But the organization declined to discuss whether it will charge
drug companies less for the data once some doctors' information can't
be shared with sales reps.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 4:26 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

With prescription drug costs increasing about 11 percent per year,
some health-care companies are pitching a new way for consumers to
save money on selected medications and co-pays.
Generally, it works like this: With your physician's approval, you buy
your usual number of pills at double the strength. By splitting the
tablets in half, you increase your supply while you continue to take
your prescribed dose, saving money on co-pays and actual costs.

Cost savings are possible because some pills can be purchased at
different dosages — but for the same price. For instance, a
40-milligram Lipitor, taken to control cholesterol, costs the same as
a 20-milligram tablet.

Spending in the United States for prescription drugs has more than
quadrupled between 1990 and 2003 — from $40.4 billion to $179.2
billion, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, which
provides information and analysis on health care issues.

But some organizations are finding that it is possible to fight back.

Several years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs found that
patients were saving on costs through pill-splitting. The VA, the
nation's largest health system, has no official half-a-tablet program
in place.

"Just on this one medication alone, Zocor, we saved $46.5 million
across the entire VA system," said David Parra, clinical pharmacist at
the VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"It shows that if you pick the right drug, and the clinical outcomes
are the same, you can save a ton of money," said Parra, who also
cautioned that patients need to discuss pill-splitting with their
doctors.

A study in the Midwest shows that Blue Cross and Blue Shield North
Dakota would have saved $4.1 million in 2003, had all of the company's
449,000 subscribers cut certain medications in half. The company
formalized a voluntary pill-splitting program for subscribers in late
2004.

But in New Jersey, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Aetna, two
of the state's largest insurers, have not initiated half-a-pill
programs, nor do they plan to.

"We leave it up to the patient and their physician to determine if
pill-splitting is a safe and economical solution for a particular
medication," said Margaret Johnson, executive pharmacy director at
Horizon New Jersey.

"We are not going to require pill-splitting for any of our members,"
said Walt Cherniak, spokesman for Aetna. "In cases that the members'
physicians recommend it, Aetna will support it and provide a free tool
to split the drugs to ensure that it's being done correctly."

But another company doing business in New Jersey has formalized
pill-splitting for its 800,000 subscribers in the state.

UnitedHealthcare, a health-benefits company based in Minnetonka,
Minn., said its "Half-Tablet Program" will save 1 percent to 2 percent
in its annual pharmacy costs this year; hardly a dent, when you
consider that pharmaceutical prices are rising at double-digit rates.

UnitedHealthcare members can save up to $300 a year on co-pays if they
split pills, the company says. The program is voluntary, but a
patient's physician must approve participation.

Consumer driven

"Consumers are asking what they can do to bring their prescription
costs down and are turning to their health plans to offer innovative,
cost-savings solutions," said Tim Heady, chief executive officer of
UnitedHealth Pharmaceutical Solutions, a division of UnitedHealthcare.

Members may split 16 medications that the company has deemed safe for
cutting. Those medicines include ACE inhibitors, angiotension receptor
blockers, antidepressants, lipid-lowering medications and antivirals.

"It's a safe way for the consumers to save some money. And that's a
good thing these days," said Dr. Alan Muney, chief medical officer of
UnitedHealthcare in the Northeast, a region that includes New Jersey.

The New Jersey Pharmacists Association finds that hard to swallow.

Consumers may save a little, but health care companies save much more
when subscribers purchase fewer, stronger pills that cost about the
same, according to Joe Roney, CEO of the state association.

"It's very bad public policy and worse health policy. The actual
savings goes to UnitedHealthcare, not to consumers," he said.

Roney also said pill-splitting can cause confusion for patients,
especially for the elderly who often take many medicines.

Consumers could get the wrong message that pill-splitting is OK for
any medication, according to Dr. Richard Weiss, president of the
association. "It gives the illusion that if they can do it for one,
they can do it for another. And this is not true," Weiss said.

UnitedHealthcare said its program has safeguards in place to protect
against such abuses.

Robert Petcove, president of Advanced Benefit Advisors in
Philadelphia, doesn't think that pill-splitting will do much to curb
pharmaceutical costs in the long run. Medicines are becoming more
expensive because physicians are prescribing too much, he said.

Financial impact unclear

Hollie Gilroy, of the New Jersey Health Institute, said she is not
sure of the financial impact on pharmaceutical companies when patients
buy fewer but stronger pills for the same price.

"It's an issue that we haven't studied. It has so many variables, and
it's such a new practice," said Gilroy, whose organization represents
pharmaceutical companies and other health care providers. "But the
real issue is not the money, but patients' safety," she said.

Nationally, drug manufacturers also seem to be in the dark about how
pill-splitting is affecting the industry.

Perhaps they don't need to be concerned. From 1995 to 2002,
pharmaceutical manufacturers were the nation's most profitable
industry, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. In 2004, the
industry ranked third with profits (return on revenues) of 16 percent,
compared with 5 percent for all Fortune 500 firms, according to the
foundation.

will support it and provide a free tool to split the drugs to ensure
that it's being done correctly."

But another company doing business in New Jersey has formalized
pill-splitting for its 800,000 subscribers in the state.

UnitedHealthcare members can save up to $300 a year on co-pays if they
split pills, the company says. The program is voluntary, but a
patient's physician must approve participation.

Consumer driven

The New Jersey Pharmacists Association finds that hard to swallow.

Consumers may save a little, but health care companies save much more
when subscribers purchase fewer, stronger pills that cost about the
same, according to Joe Roney, CEO of the state association.

"It's very bad public policy and worse health policy. The actual
savings goes to UnitedHealthcare, not to consumers," he said.

Roney also said pill-splitting can cause confusion for patients,
especially for the elderly who often take many medicines.

UnitedHealthcare said its program has safeguards in place to protect
against such abuses.

Financial impact unclear

Hollie Gilroy, of the New Jersey Health Institute, said she is not
sure of the financial impact on pharmaceutical companies when patients
buy fewer but stronger pills for the same price.

Nationally, drug manufacturers also seem to be in the dark about how
pill-splitting is affecting the industry.

Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs

# posted by Network @ 4:25 PM 0 Comments Links to this post