Saturday, August 05, 2006
Antibiotic injection recalled after death of six-year-old girl
Chinese health authorities have recalled and banned the use of an injection antibiotic that is suspected of killing a six-year-old girl who was being treated for a common cold. More than 1.02 million bottles of the drug have been recalled or sealed in east China's Anhui province. The batch of the drug, known as clindamycin phosphate glucose injection, was made in June and July, said sources from the Anhui Provincial Food and Drug Bureau. The Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co., a subsidiary of the Shanghai Worldbest Co. Ltd., produced 3.68 million bottles of the injection in the batch. By Thursday, the company, based in Fuyang city, had recalled 539,000 bottles and the 485,000 more bottles had been sealed. The Ministry of Health late on Thursday issued an urgent circular ordering the suspension of the drug's use. The dead girl, identified as Liu Sichen from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, reportedly had an intravenous injection of the clindamycin phosphate made by the Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co. at about 2:00 p.m. on July 24, said Sun Pengli, director of the Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Center of Harbin, on Friday. The girl, who was being treated for a common cold, became seriously ill with a high fever within 20 minutes of the injection by a trained nurse at her home. She was transferred to two hospitals for emergency treatment, but was declared dead on July 27. Patients from provinces and regions including Qinghai, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang and Shandong have complained of chest discomfort, kidney pain, stomach ache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and even anaphylactic shock after having injections of the clindamycin phosphate glucose produced by the Anhui company. Sources from Penglai City, Shandong Province, and Heilongjiang and Qinghai provinces said at least 21 people became ill after receiving intravenous injections of the drug, and nine were still receiving intensive care treatment in hospital. Food and drug authorities in Shandong and Qinghai provinces have banned the sale and use of the medicine. Food and drug officials in Heilongjiang collected samples of the injection and sent them for testing with the provincial pharmaceuticals testing laboratory. The Ministry of Health ordered all batches of clindamycin phosphate glucose injections produced in the past two months by the Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co. to be suspended from use immediately. Fake or contaminated drugs have killed dozens of people in China in recent years and raised questions about pharmaceutical safety. The Qiqihar No. 2 Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. was fined 16.82 million yuan (2.1 million U.S. dollars) and had its licence revoked after a contaminated drug for gastric disorders killed 11 people. The Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co., has been told by the Anhui Provincial Food and Drug Bureau to halt production and to cooperate with an investigation by the health authorities. A spokesman for the Anhui provincial food and drug bureau said officials had moved into the company premises to investigate. "Production cannot be resumed until the investigation is complete," said the spokesman, who added the bureau ordered a province-wide inspection of all major pharmaceutical enterprises. Clindamycin phosphate glucose is mainly used to treat bacterial infections. Its side effects can include gastrointestinal problems, along with anaphylactic reactions and liver and kidney pain. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Depends On Morning After Pill's Fate
Andrew C. von Eschenbach is acting FDA Commissioner. He wants to become the permanent head of the FDA. For this to happen he has to get approval from lawmakers, specifically by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. This committee is made up of Democrats and Republicans. There is a drug called The Morning After Pill, also known as Plan B. If a woman takes it within 72 hours of having unprotected sex her chances of becoming pregnant go down by 89%. The treatment consists of two pills. It is a contraceptive. For a woman to get the Morning After Pill in the USA she needs a doctor's prescription. An FDA Advisory Committee some years ago recommended that the drug be available over-the-counter (OTC), i.e. without needing to get a doctor's prescription. The FDA usually does what the Committee recommends. However, in this case it has not done so. Some Democrat lawmakers in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee are suspicious that the FDA, rather than working as it should, making decisions based on science, is dragging its feet because of political pressure from conservatives. Suddenly there is talk of making Plan B an OTC drug. It is no surprise that this talk coincides with Eschenbach's having to appear before the lawmakers who have to decide whether he gets the permanent post. A couple of years ago the FDA (not the advisory committeee) suggested that perhaps only women over 16 should get this pill without needing a prescription. Last year the age edged up to 17, now Eschenbach suggests 18. Democrats feel that the choosing of the minimum age is arbitrary. When asked why he had chosen 18, Eschenbach said there had to be a cut-off point. He added that as the purchase of tobacco is only legal for those over 18 this would be a good age for this contraceptive. The FDA Advisory Committee some years ago recommended the drug be an OTC one, regardless of age. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has to decide whether Eschenbach gets the job next month. How this Morning After Pill is treated by the FDA could play a vital role on which way some of the lawmakers vote. Some people oppose turning Plan B into an OTC drug. They say that it could encourage younger people to become more promiscuous. Others say it is a form of abortion as it stops the fertilized egg from implanting itself onto the wall of the uterus. The way the FDA has dragged its feet on this issue has led many scientists, doctors and academics to wonder how scientifically independent the FDA really is. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton told von Eschenbach "You are caught, unfortunately, in a situation that gives great pause to many of us because of what it means for the future of the FDA. It has been turned into a political football, and you are on the field. Once we start to politicize the FDA, there is no stopping. This is a slippery, dangerous slope we are on, Doctor, and we are looking to you to get a decision made." Democrat members of the committee that has to decide on Eschenbach's nomination have put the decision on hold until an FDA decision on The Morning After Pill is made. Eschenbach's proposal for a minimum age of 18 was criticized by Clinton. Eschenbach had asked Barr Pharmaceuticals, the makers of this pill, to convince the FDA that it would make sure underage girls did not have access to it without a doctor's prescription. Clinton suggested it was a bit like asking beer makers to police underage drinking. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
anti-obesity drugs
The medicalisation of obesity goes ahead at full tilt. Increasingly, fat people are not seen as self-indulgent or slothful but as victims of an "obesogenic environment", incapable of taking their fate in their own hands and prime candidates for medication. Indeed, even to suggest that this is a matter for individual decision, and not for national hand-wringing, is to step over an invisible line. Overweight people are victims and to imply that they have brought their problems on themselves is to deny their victimhood. So turning obesity into a medical problem suits everybody: the Government because it has decided that obesity is a problem but has no idea how to deal with it; obese people because they can console themselves that they have a disease; and the drug companies, which see a pot of gold in developing anti-obesity drugs and vaccines. Acomplia, a drug that reduces weight by acting on the appetite pathway, got a rapturous reception in June when it won a licence from the European drug regulatory agency. This week a team from California reported success with an obesity vaccine. Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute, in La Jolla, reported that when they gave rats a vaccine against a hunger hormone called ghrelin, the animals were able to eat what they wanted without putting on fat. If this vaccine ever becomes a reality for human beings, it will be aimed at "yo-yo" dieters whose weight oscillates wildly. What gives the vaccine its unique selling proposition, however, is that it appears to affect the rats' metabolism, not just their appetite. Fat people often claim — possibly with some justification — that their metabolism is different from leaner folk. A vaccine that could put that right would have the punters clamouring. But changing people's metabolism, or messing with their hormones, is not a trivial matter. Drugs that are to be used by healthy people, such as the Pill and HRT, have to meet far more stringent safety requirements than those intended for the ill. So the medicalisation of obesity matters because if the overweight are defined as ill, it lowers the threshold of safety that a drug has to meet. And there are dangers in that, as another of this week's stories pointed out. Acomplia is a close relation of the cannabinoids, the active ingredients in marijuana. But while hash can give users the "munchies" — a powerful desire for food — Acomplia is designed to do the opposite. Both work by affecting a chemical called anandamide, which has effects both in the brain and in other organs as well. A study of the effects of marijuana, this time among mice, showed that it can disturb the anandamide balance and cause a lot of complications in pregnancy, including ectopic pregnancies, when the foetus is implanted in the wrong place. The research did not show that the same was true for Acomplia but it suggested it might be. No drug that has yet been invented has effects but no side-effects, so we must be especially careful that the anti-obesity drugs really do more good than harm. But surely the benefits of cutting weight will outweigh any small side-effects? Maybe, but actually the health benefits of being thin are not quite as clear-cut as everybody believes. Being fit is more important than not being fat, as an abundance of evidence has shown. Among the middle-aged, those who live longest are those who are a little overweight but not obese. So we should beware of the obesity panic driving us into medical solutions until we are really sure that the cure is safe. Ten years ago, the hugely popular slimming drug Fen-phen was removed from the US market after it was found to have caused heart problems. It would be careless to make the same mistake again. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Friday, August 04, 2006
Prescribing medications
Maybe all doctors and physicians in Metro Iloilo are wondering what happens after they prescribe medications to their patients. Is it properly filled up by the drugstore pharmacist or clerk? As physicians, we never know or we never have the knowledge what is happening in the drug store counter. Is our prescribed medication being changed? Or a low quality drug is being sold as a substitute for the right pharmacological agent? In this country of ours, my dearest Philippines, over the counter transactions are so common in the drug store industry. Medications (drugs, medicine, "gamot" or "bolong") are given left and right without any form of prescription from a doctor or a physician aside from the "over-the-counter" medications (OTC, non-prescribed medications that can be "freely" purchased in the neighboring drug store or pharmacy). The pharmacist or sales lady or clerk will just recommend some medications to the patient without any medical knowledge or background. I believe that it can be the warranted opinion of the pharmacist which is valid. But for the saleslady or pharmacy clerk to give costumers medical advice or suggestion is hitting below the belt, especially in the practice of Medicine. The pharmacy clerk or sales lady should stay, refrain and avoid giving medical advice or suggestion to the buying public. Does the sales lady or the pharmacist have the right to question a physician's prescription? As in the case of a bed-ridden elderly patient in which there is an ease and comfort of giving a liquid form of medication per Orem (by mouth) as the best choice that a physician has and writes down a prescription for a suspension or syrup form of medications. Thus, the argument of the pharmacy clerk that this preparation are just for pediatric patients is just a plain ignorance. The prescribing power or writing down prescriptions for the pharmacy to be filled is the sole responsibility and obligation of a licensed (PRC) and qualified physician. In the US, they put a lot of emphasis on this part that they are so strict. In fact, it is a criminal offense in the US and hopefully it will find its way to the Philippines when it comes to the prescription of the medications. Why can't we do it here in the Philippines? I have seen and witnessed the selling of antibiotics and some cardiac medications just like "OTC's" in some drug stores. By just watching what is happening in our pharmacies we are just too far and beyond our counterparts in the US. The Filipino mentality of relying on self-medication had been so destructive wherein we have seen some infections that had been resistant to treatment regimen. In such case, a higher class of drug is needed reflecting a higher price and a greater expense. Maybe we have never seen the dangers that self-medication had brought about. One of them is resistance. Side effects and complications will then come its way. Relying on air time advertisements (our air waves are just full of them as you switch from one AM radio station to the other), they just make a killing by endorsing a certain herbal preparation that promises cure for all the maladies and illnesses of this world. As professionals and educated media practitioners, we should refrain from making any claims on herbal medication. Remember the statement and word " it is approved by BFAD as a FOOD supplement", or "BFAD approved, no therapeutic claims". So what do these statements alludes to? If we have time to browse down a copy of the Philippines MIMS or PIMS, 2006 edition (Philippines Index of Medical Specialties, est. 1968), there are a lot of information we can get from it like a comparative price on all the medications, the side effects and complications on all medications .One of the essential duty of a respected and professional mediaman is to further educated his community to show to him/her the pitfalls and dangers of medications sold over the counter, that are not suppose to be. In part, the pharmacy stores and chains should also protect the health of its buying customer. We never viewed our customers as consumers, but a bunch of suckers or fools. The sole right of prescribing the necessary medications to our sick patient is the sole responsibility of the physician and doctor. The right and sole responsibility of the pharmacy and its sales lady or clerk is the correct dispensing of the right prescribed medications or drugs that is rightfully accompanied by a prescription from a physician. The pharmacy clerk and sales lady should refrain from giving any consultations and suggestions to the customer. They should stick to their job description because the physician totally knows what he/she is doing. So fill up my prescriptions. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Thursday, August 03, 2006
U.S. warns makers of unapproved cold medicines
Makers of unapproved prescription cough and cold medicines containing the drug carbinoxamine must stop selling them within 30 to 90 days, U.S. regulators said on Thursday, citing concerns the drug may harm young children. Twenty-one deaths have been reported among children under age 2 who took carbinoxamine products, the Food and Drug Administration said. "While it is not clear that the carbinoxamine caused these deaths, FDA is concerned about the risks of these unapproved products," an agency statement said. Many unapproved prescription carbinoxamine products are sold illegally for treating cough and cold symptoms even though the drug has not been found safe and effective for that use, the FDA said. Some companies sell drops and syrups labeled for use in children as young as one month old. The FDA said it was told of 120 unapproved carbinoxamine products that were being sold. Doctors likely are prescribing the medicines without knowing they lack FDA clearance, officials said. Companies that keep selling unapproved carbinoxamine after the deadline could receive FDA warning letters or face other action, the agency said. The manufacturers can apply for FDA approval if they supply evidence of safety and effectiveness. The FDA said two unapproved carbinoxamine products were sold under the brand names Cardec and Rondec. Maker Alliant Pharmaceuticals reformulated Rondec in December 2004 and it no longer contains carbinoxamine, company spokeswoman Sharon Kraun said. One company, Mikart Inc., has FDA approval to sell carbinoxamine products for treating allergy symptoms. The FDA said the carbinoxamine action was part of a renewed effort to crack down on unapproved prescription drugs that are on the market. Less than 2 percent of prescribed drugs contain unapproved ingredients, the agency said. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
HIV drugs lauded, but side effects severe
HIV and AIDS cases in Canada slowly continue to rise, a fact that both
alarms activists and offers some hope to doctors watching over the
disease. Dr. Frank Plummer, head of the federal government's Centre for
Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, says the increase is due,
in part, to the swelling numbers of infected people who are staying
alive while taking new medication that fights the disease. "HIV treatments have substantially improved the survival of those
living with HIV," Plummer says. "Morbidity has gone down
significantly. These drugs are really lifesavers." But activists living with HIV have a vastly different reaction. Louise Binder says the drugs that extend lives can also force people
to endure some side effects so debilitating that some suffer from
severe depression, commit suicide or die from kidney or liver failure. "We don't have the same length of life as our peers and we still don't
have the quality of life. Nowhere near it," Binder says. Medication often causes problems such as intense nausea, fatigue,
damaged internal organs, deeply sunken cheeks and large fat deposits
on the back that resemble a buffalo's hump (called lipodystrophy). "This is a prevention message," says Binder, a spokesperson for Voices
of Positive Women. "Don't get the feeling that you can be as careless
as you want to, and pop these pills and it will all be dandy. Taking
these drugs is no picnic." She says the side effects from her new medication have been so bad
that she told her doctor she won't stay on it — even though she is
aware there are few options. "I said `No ... I don't want to live this
way.'"
Canada's most recent figures — for 2003 — show that 440 people died of
HIV/AIDS that year. Ten years earlier, in 1993, 1,564 people died. The numbers dropped significantly after 1996, when AIDS activists say
new drugs were introduced. Yesterday, the Public Health Agency of Canada released its new figures
on the prevalence of the disease in Canada. "The number of Canadians living with the HIV infection will likely
increase in the years to come as new infections continue and the
survival rates improve," says Plummer. The numbers showed: There are 58,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Canada compared to
50,000 when figures were last released in 2002. In 2005, there were 2,300 to 4,500 new infections, slightly higher than in 2002. Over half of all people in Canada living with HIV are men who have sex
with other men. Women made up 27 per cent of new infections in 2005, compared to 24
per cent in 2002. The infection rate of aboriginal people is nearly three times higher
than that of other Canadians. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
State Wants Maximum Stockpile of Antiviral Drugs
Wisconsin notified the federal government today it wants enough
anti-flu medicine to treat nearly 1.4 million people in the event of
an outbreak. And the state is asking for more help paying for the
stockpile. It would be enough medicine to treat roughly one-fourth of the state's
people. It's the amount recommended by the Centers for Disease Control
and the World Health Organization. Each person would have enough for a five-day treatment or a ten-day
preventive supply. The medications, including Tamiflu and Relenza, can
reduce the symptoms associated with influenza. For Wisconsin, the federal government will pay for and set aside about
816,000 courses of treatment. State health officer Sheri Johnson, in a letter dated today, asked the
federal government to pay the full cost of the drugs, estimated at $8
million. The federal government is stockpiling enough medications to treat 44
million people, or about 15 percent of each state's population. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Slimming wonder drugs could be a danger for mothers-to-be
WOMEN of childbearing age may be at risk from using rimonabant, the
latest weight-loss "wonder drug", leading scientists have said.
The alert comes after evidence that a key chemical that is affected by
the drug is needed for embryos to implant normally in the womb. It is
feared that even small variations in the level of anandamide, which
governs the development and implantation of the embryo, could have
disastrous consequences. The weight-loss pill was introduced in Britain under the brand name
Acomplia this summer as a drug that can help a person to lose 10 per
cent of their weight in a year. It works by interacting with
anandamide to reduce appetite and, it has also been claimed, helps
smokers to give up by reducing their cravings. Test results for rimonabant were quite impressive. In trials involving
more than 6,000 patients in the US and Europe, about a quarter of
those taking it lost more than 10 per cent of their weight after a
year. But research sponsored by the US Government and published in the The
Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests that the drug may also be
able to alter levels of anandamide. Experiments with mice have shown
catastrophic effects on the development of embryos. The researchers believe that potential adverse effects could include
ectopic pregnancy — in which an embryo fails to move to the womb for
correct implantation. This could occur very early in pregnancy,
possibly before a woman even knew she had conceived. Sudhansu Dey, director of reproductive and developmental biology at
Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, Nashville, said that his work
raised real concerns about the safety of rimonabant in women of
child-bearing age. For example, women might use the drug in the hope that it would help
them to quit smoking before they conceived, not realising the
potential risks. Professor Dey said that he had spoken to the manufacturer of
rimonabant, the French drug company Sanofi-Aventis, about his
concerns. "I gave a talk to them to explain the problems, but I didn't
hear from them again," he said. "At least they should consider putting
a warning on the packets." The potential market is huge. Some analysts have predicted that
Acomplia alone could generate worldwide sales in excess of £3 billion.
The drug was given official European Union marketing approval in June.
Sanofi-Aventis also hopes to win a licence in the US, where the Food
and Drug Administration has asked for more information. Herbert Schuel, an expert in reproductive biology at the State
University of New York, in Buffalo, said: "Given the results presented
by Professor Dey's study, we need to be very sure that rimonabant
doesn't have unwanted effects on women of reproductive age." A spokeswoman for Sanofi-Aventis said that existing packages advised
women who were pregnant to consult their GP before continuing with
medication. "Sanofi-Aventis takes the safety of all its medicines
seriously and will report any adverse events to regulatory
authorities," she said. "We do not recommend the use of rimonabant
during pregnancy." The study does not address the effects of rimonabant directly but
looks at marijuana, which also affects levels of anandamide. Professor
Dey's team showed that very precise levels were required for healthy
pregnancies in mice. THE DANGER Ectopic pregnancies are one of the most dangerous complications faced
by women expecting babies They occur when an egg fertilised in the Fallopian tubes fails to
reach the womb The embryo can implant in the Fallopian tubes, ovaries, abdomen or cervix Anything that slows the movement of the egg can increase the risk.
Research suggests that Acomplia may have that effect Ectopic pregnancies, which are becoming more common, can cause
rupturing of the Fallopian tubes and internal bleeding and kill the
mother A woman who has had an ectopic pregnancy is more likely to have
another, and her fertility is likely to be reduced. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Slimming wonder drugs could be a danger for mothers-to-be
WOMEN of childbearing age may be at risk from using rimonabant, the
latest weight-loss "wonder drug", leading scientists have said.
The alert comes after evidence that a key chemical that is affected by
the drug is needed for embryos to implant normally in the womb. It is
feared that even small variations in the level of anandamide, which
governs the development and implantation of the embryo, could have
disastrous consequences. The weight-loss pill was introduced in Britain under the brand name
Acomplia this summer as a drug that can help a person to lose 10 per
cent of their weight in a year. It works by interacting with
anandamide to reduce appetite and, it has also been claimed, helps
smokers to give up by reducing their cravings. Test results for rimonabant were quite impressive. In trials involving
more than 6,000 patients in the US and Europe, about a quarter of
those taking it lost more than 10 per cent of their weight after a
year. But research sponsored by the US Government and published in the The
Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests that the drug may also be
able to alter levels of anandamide. Experiments with mice have shown
catastrophic effects on the development of embryos. The researchers believe that potential adverse effects could include
ectopic pregnancy — in which an embryo fails to move to the womb for
correct implantation. This could occur very early in pregnancy,
possibly before a woman even knew she had conceived. Sudhansu Dey, director of reproductive and developmental biology at
Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, Nashville, said that his work
raised real concerns about the safety of rimonabant in women of
child-bearing age. For example, women might use the drug in the hope that it would help
them to quit smoking before they conceived, not realising the
potential risks. Professor Dey said that he had spoken to the manufacturer of
rimonabant, the French drug company Sanofi-Aventis, about his
concerns. "I gave a talk to them to explain the problems, but I didn't
hear from them again," he said. "At least they should consider putting
a warning on the packets." The potential market is huge. Some analysts have predicted that
Acomplia alone could generate worldwide sales in excess of £3 billion.
The drug was given official European Union marketing approval in June.
Sanofi-Aventis also hopes to win a licence in the US, where the Food
and Drug Administration has asked for more information. Herbert Schuel, an expert in reproductive biology at the State
University of New York, in Buffalo, said: "Given the results presented
by Professor Dey's study, we need to be very sure that rimonabant
doesn't have unwanted effects on women of reproductive age." A spokeswoman for Sanofi-Aventis said that existing packages advised
women who were pregnant to consult their GP before continuing with
medication. "Sanofi-Aventis takes the safety of all its medicines
seriously and will report any adverse events to regulatory
authorities," she said. "We do not recommend the use of rimonabant
during pregnancy." The study does not address the effects of rimonabant directly but
looks at marijuana, which also affects levels of anandamide. Professor
Dey's team showed that very precise levels were required for healthy
pregnancies in mice. THE DANGER Ectopic pregnancies are one of the most dangerous complications faced
by women expecting babies They occur when an egg fertilised in the Fallopian tubes fails to
reach the womb The embryo can implant in the Fallopian tubes, ovaries, abdomen or cervix Anything that slows the movement of the egg can increase the risk.
Research suggests that Acomplia may have that effect Ectopic pregnancies, which are becoming more common, can cause
rupturing of the Fallopian tubes and internal bleeding and kill the
mother A woman who has had an ectopic pregnancy is more likely to have
another, and her fertility is likely to be reduced. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Prescription Bargains
OK, using the word "bargain" next to "prescription" may be a little
too much in a world where some drugs cost hundreds of dollars per
month. Still, if you're a regular buyer of prescription drugs, you'll
want to go about your purchases in the most cost-effective manner. You probably have a local pharmacy where you buy all your medications.
Maybe it's a Walgreens (NYSE: WAG), CVS (NYSE: CVS), Rite Aid (NYSE:
RAD), or even your local supermarket or Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). You may
not realize it, but asking for a generic version isn't enough. Prices
can vary widely from pharmacy to pharmacy in the same area. To get
some specific examples, I tapped the services of myfloridarx.com, a
website that compares prices of drugs in Florida. Here are some stats
for Boca Raton: For 40 mg of Nexium (quantity: 30), I found a price of around $140 at
a Wal-Mart, $155 at a CVS, $267 at Suncoast Pharmacy, and $173 at a
Walgreens (and, oddly, more than $500 and $800 at two other
Walgreens).
Between CVS and Walgreens, you could save $6 to $8 on an order of
Singulair and $13 on an order of Zocor.
Another way to offset your net expenses on medications is to make some
money on drugs -- by investing in drug-related firms such as drug
wholesalers McKesson (NYSE: MCK) and Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH),
pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK), and the like. Here are some
recent articles to get you started: McKesson's New Pep Pill
Cardinal Looks to Deliver
Merck Goes on the Attack
Walgreen's Prescription for Growth
Rite Aid Regains Respectability
And finally, if you're excited by the prospect of saving more of your
hard-earned dollars, check out our brand-new personal finance
newsletter service, GreenLight. Packed with terrific ideas and
guidance, GreenLight is written by some of our smartest, wittiest
writers and analysts. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Study finds effects of serotonin on weight loss
The brain chemical serotonin activates some cells that curb appetite
and blocks others that normally increase hunger at the same time,
according to a new study into the effects of several weight-loss
drugs. Working with mice, researchers from several institutions sought to
learn whether serotonin acts on specific brain circuits in the
hypothalamus region that are known to regulate the body's energy
balance. Their tracer experiments showed that receptors for serotonin dot
specific nerve cells within these circuits. And they found that both
serotonin and drugs like fenfluramine and sibutramine (Meridia) that
change levels of serotonin acted on those brain cells to reduce the
release of one protein that stimulates appetite and aids the release
of another protein that helps curb the desire to eat. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Neuron, reinforce the
role of serotonin in affecting a key molecular pathway that controls
weight, in addition to its better-known function as a regulator of
sleep, mood and emotions. Fenfluramine with phentermine, or Fen-phen, helped tens of thousands
of people lose weight. But the combination also caused heart problems,
including defects in the valves of the heart or a form of
hypertension, in many patients and it was removed from the market in
1997. But the mechanisms of how the drugs caused weight loss were never
fully determined. Researchers led by Dr. Joel Elmquist, then at Harvard Medical School
and now at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in
Dallas began studying those molecular pathways that reduce appetite,
working with both normal mice and those genetically engineered to be
lean or fat. In 2002, they found that drug-induced serotonin releases activate
brain cells to, in turn, release a hormone that reduces appetite. The team's new study shows how serotonin also simultaneously blocks
other neurons from being able to inhibit the activity of the
hunger-suppressing system, and concluded that both mechanisms are
required to promote weight loss. "The more we understand about the pathways and the way serotonergic
drugs regulate body weight, the more it one day might lead to
harnessing the beneficial properties of anti-obesity treatments like
Fen-phen and minimizing the harmful side effects,'' said Elmquist, a
professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern. The search for more effective and safe drugs to combat obesity is
viewed as a public health priority in the United States. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
about two thirds of American adults are overweight, as are 16 percent
of youths aged 6 to 19. Being overweight or obese increases the risk
of many harmful health conditions, including heart disease, stroke,
diabetes and liver disease. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Viagra’s makers focus on female sexual dysfunction
A new type of drug which increases blood flow to the vagina in animal
experiments has now been shown to be safe in rats. Derived from an
experimental heart drug, the new compounds could one day help treat
women who find it difficult or impossible to become sexually aroused,
say researchers at the drugs company Pfizer. Previous tests have shown that the new compounds, including the most
potent one, called R-13, increased vaginal blood flow in animals. New
tests now demonstrate that the drugs are safely tolerated by rats. The ultimate aim is to address female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD)
in women. The condition sometimes involves blood flow problems in the
pelvic region, which might be restored by a drug intervention. Experts agree the approach might eventually benefit the small subset
of women who suffer sexual dysfunction due to a physiological cause,
due to nerve damage in the pelvic area from surgery, for example. But
they stress that such drugs would not effectively treat FSAD when it
is due to purely psychological factors. In fact, some question the very existence of FSAD, adding that some
women's sexual dissatisfaction may have to do with the nature of the
relationship the women are in (see Caution over sexual arousal patch
for women). Sex differences
In the late 1990s, the approval of the drug sildenafil (Viagra) made
by Pfizer, popularised the idea that men could be treated for erectile
dysfunction with a simple pill. It became one of the pharmaceutical
giant's best-selling drugs. Drug companies' search for a compound to treat sexual dysfunction in
women, however, are complicated by the fact that the disorder appears
to have a wider number of causes in women, suggests Lori Brotto at the
University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Researchers at Pfizer derived the new compounds from a drug called
Candoxatrilat, which was tested in clinical trials during the 1990s
for treating chronic heart failure. Tests show that a precursor of Candoxatrilat appears to disable a key
enzyme called neutral endopeptidase, or NEP. This is important because
NEP usually degrades a hormone called vasoactive intestinal peptide
that promotes blood flow to the vagina. So blocking NEP may allow the
hormone to maintain this blood flow. "Too early"
The Pfizer group found that rats can tolerate NEP inhibitors derived
from Candoxatrilat, such as a newly designed compound, R-13. New
research carried out by the team also shows that R-13 rapidly
inactivates NEP when ingested by laboratory animals. They add that
previous experiments have suggested that R-13 can somewhat increase
vaginal blood flow in rabbits. "The objective of the research is to identify a rapid-acting,
efficacious and well tolerated compound," says Joel Morris, a
spokesman for Pfizer in Sandwich, Kent, UK. "A small subgroup of women might benefit from a biological approach,"
says Brotto, who studies FSAD. But she adds that because there is such
limited testing of the compound in animals, let alone humans, "it's
far too early to conclude anything" about the compound's potential to
treat sexual dysfunction in women. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Alzheimer's Drugs Only Marginally Helpful, Researchers Say
Thomas Finucane, a geriatric specialist, tells his Alzheimer's
patients and their relatives not to get their hopes up when he
prescribes Pfizer Inc.'s Aricept and similar drugs. ``In ten years we are going to be embarrassed that we were sending
billions of dollars to the drug companies for a pill that patients
can't distinguish from a placebo,'' said Finucane, a professor of
medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore,
in an interview. Alzheimer's medicines generated $2.16 billion last year, according to
IMS Health Inc. Approved in 1996, Aricept became the world's
top-selling drug for the disease even amid doubts about its
effectiveness and that of similar pills. Today, in one of the largest
reviews of clinical data on Alzheimer's drugs, researchers found that
all medications in the same class as Aricept, known as cholinesterase
inhibitors, offered the same small improvement in mental functioning. The study by the U.K.-based Cochrane Collaboration analyzed data from
18 clinical trials involving 9,200 patients. Patients taking
Alzheimer's drugs showed an average 2.5-point improvement on a
70-point scale measuring cognitive function and activities of daily
living compared with those taking a placebo. The analysis found that 29 percent of patients dropped out of the
trials because of side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. `Don't Expect Miracles' ``The average benefit is very small. It might escape notice,'' said
lead researcher Jacqueline Birks, a medical statistician for
Cochrane's dementia and cognitive impairment group at University of
Oxford. ``Don't expect miracles.'' Doctors have long debated whether the drugs, which also include
Novartis AG's Exelon and Johnson & Johnson's Razadyne, offer any
benefit at all. Finucane says his Alzheimer's patients and their relatives can't tell
whether there is improvement after taking the pills. John Morris, a
professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine,
says the treatments do help patients. Both say there's dire need for
new medicines. ``All the current drugs only treat the symptoms, they don't get at the
underlying disease process,'' Morris said. Previous clinical trials have shown that more than half of patients
show no improvement, and for those that do, the degree of benefit is
small, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Findings presented
today at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and
Related Disorders in Madrid will do little to sway opinion on either
side of the debate. `Not Satisfying' ``It's not ultimately satisfying to anyone, and I think the
manufacturers would agree with that,'' said William Thies, vice
president of medical and scientific relations for the Chicago- based
Alzheimer's Association. ``If you put all these studies together you
do get a consistent effect. It's modest.'' In an e-mailed statement today, Thomas McRae, Pfizer's senior medical
director, said ``there is significant evidence supporting the value
and therapeutic benefit associated with Alzheimer's disease treatments
such as Aricept.'' Cholinesterase inhibitors, approved for patients with mild to moderate
forms of Alzheimer's disease, are designed to curb an enzyme in the
body that breaks down acetylcholine, a brain chemical involved in
memory and other thought processes. About 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's, which often begins with
memory lapses and progresses into severe degeneration of brain cells
that leaves the patients unable to care for themselves. Five Approved Drugs There are five FDA-approved Alzheimer's drugs, none of which stop the
inevitable decline of people with the disease. Four of the five are
cholinesterase inhibitors. Forest Laboratories Inc.'s Namenda,
approved in 2003, works by a different mechanism and is approved for
moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease. The marginal efficacy of Alzheimer's drugs also raises the debate
about cost effectiveness. A month's supply of Aricept pills costs
about $150, according to Drugstore.com. Razadyne costs about $160 per
month, and Exelon costs about $170. Last year, the U.K.'s National Institute for Clinical Excellence,
which evaluates a drug's cost against its benefits for the country's
National Health Service, recommended against prescribing the drugs,
saying they weren't worth the expense. The cost for the drugs in the U.K. is about 1,000 pounds ($1,825) per
patient per year, Birks said. An outcry among patients, however,
prompted the agency to reconsider the recommendation. It's due to
release revised guidance this month. `No Clear Evidence' ``The reason there is such a dispute is that there is no clear
evidence that they have an important clinical benefit or that they
make a difference in the lives of patients,'' Sidney Wolfe, director
of the Washington-based Public Citizen's health research group, said
in an interview. Public Citizen has kept Aricept on its list of ``worst pills'' since
1999. Exelon and Razadyne are also on Public Citizen's list of
medications to be avoided. The group accuses drugmakers of playing on
the ``hope, fear and guilt'' of Alzheimer's patients and their
caregivers through advertising. ``Everyone recognizes that what we need are much better drugs,'' said
Washington University's Morris. Morris is most excited about two new avenues of research designed to
control the accumulation of beta amyloid and tau proteins that choke
nerve cells in patients' brains. The protein buildup is a hallmark of
the disease and is used to definitively diagnose it, typically during
an autopsy. New Treatments Eli Lilly & Co., based in Indianapolis, is developing drugs to both
block the secretion of amyloid and improve the body's ability to clear
it out of the brain. Dublin-based Elan Corp. and Wyeth, based in
Madison, New Jersey, are developing a similar treatment to remove
amyloid deposits, while Switzerland's Novartis is refining a vaccine
that would prompt the body's own immune system to destroy the plaque. Those drugs are all in early trials, meaning patients may have to wait
years to receive them, researchers said. ''While existing treatments are useful and effective in many people,
the fact is they are dissatisfying because people continue to get
worse,'' Thies said. ``The question of how long we'll wait to see
these disease modifying drugs is always an impossible one to answer.'' Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Monday, July 31, 2006
Scientists uncover how weight-loss drugs work
Weight-loss drugs such as fen-phen and Meridia deliver a two-pronged
punch to curb appetite, researchers have found. This class of drugs enhances the effect of the brain chemical
serotonin, but until now, scientists didn't know how. Dr. Joel Elmquist, professor of internal medicine at the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and his colleagues discovered
serotonin activates some neurons to curb appetite while at the same
blocking other neurons that normally act to boost appetite. The study appears in Thursday's issue of the journal Neuron. "The finding increases the understanding of the molecular circuitry
that controls body weight in response to changing levels of
serotonin," said Elmquist. "An overarching goal of this understanding,
for humans, is to design specific, safe drugs to fight obesity." It's been nearly a decade since fen-phen, a combination of
fenfluramine and phentermine, was pulled from the market after some
people developed heart complications. Meridia is approved as a weight-loss treatment in Canada. The U.S.
consumer group Public Citizen has lobbied for it to be removed from
the market, saying it is linked to 29 deaths, and increases the risk
of cardiovascular problems. The drug's manufacturer says it is safe to
use if taken as directed. The researchers discovered the dual approach by tracing the effect of
this class of drugs on the feeding behaviour of normal and genetically
engineered lean and obese mice. Serotonin has to regulate both types of neurons to promote weight
loss, the researchers said. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Safer anti-obesity drug may be possible
Boosting serotonin levels was the secret of the diet drug Fen-Phen's
success, and this could be the basis of a safe substitute. After Fen-Phen was taken off the market for causing heart
complications in 1997, Joel Elmquist of University of Texas
Southwestern's Medical Center's Center for Hypothalamic Research and a
team of international researchers decided to find out why it
controlled weight so well. The active ingredients in Fen-Phen were fenfluramine and phentermine,
and the team found that they increase levels of the brain chemical
serotonin, which is best known as a regulator of emotions, mood, and
sleep. The researchers also discovered that serotonin activates neurons in
the brain's hypothalamus that produce a hormone that stimulates
melanocortin-4 receptors (MC4Rs). MC4Rs curb appetite. For a double
whammy, serotonin also blocks NPY/AgRP neurons that produce a
substance that blocks MC4Rs and stimulates the appetite. "This finding increases the understanding of the molecular circuitry
that controls body weight in response to changing levels of
serotonin," Elmquist told the press. "An overarching goal of this
understanding, for humans, is to design specific, safe drugs to fight
obesity." The study can be found in the July 20 issue of Neuron. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
CONSUMER TIPS
Two in 10 people with Medicare drug plans have experienced major
problems, according to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Here's a list of common problems with Medicare's prescription drug
program and what you can do about them: Your plan does not cover your medicine: Your doctor can ask the plan
in writing to make an exception if the drug is necessary. If that
fails, file a formal appeal with the plan. Ask the doctor whether you
can take a generic version or a similar drug. You are wrongly listed as not enrolled: Call the plan and Medicare at
800-633-4227 to make sure you are listed correctly and have a valid
membership card. For help: Contact the state-funded Serving the Health Insurance Needs
of Elders, or SHINE, program, 800-963-5337. Organ donations Doctors at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center
held a news conference to highlight the case of two Arab-Israeli girls
with a rare disorder who are awaiting multi-organ transplants at after
being flown from their home near Haifa. Health experts say thousands of other patients are also waiting organ
donors, with the need far outstripping the supply. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Phentermine - A name you can trust
Weight control is not just a problem for those who are highly
overweight or obese but everybody needs to be conscious about it.
Today, it is a huge problem and is affecting the societies and masses
at large. If we take example of US itself, more than 40% of the adult
population has been categorized as overweight or obese. Obesity has
taken shape of an epidemic and has engulfed people from all age
groups, children to old people. According to Health department in US,
obesity is included in the top ten diseases which are having serious
impact on health of the people in the country. Also, obesity is the
highest contributor to the healthcare costs. We seriously need to have an answer to this problem of obesity before
it takes a severe shape. People try various methods like diet control,
work-outs and exercises, but there has not been anything more
successful than weight loss diet pills. Diet pills have provided a
major breakthrough in helping to control the weight effectively. These
diet pills act as appetite suppressant and are responsible in
curtailing the intake of calories. Phentermine is amongst the most commonly used diet pills. Over a
period of time is has become immensely popular because of is high
success rate. A lot of obese people have trusted Phentermine and have
been benefited. Before getting started with diet pills, it is
essential for you to share your medical history with the doctor which
would enable him to prescribe the most suitable option. Diet pills like Phentermine are quite easily accessible and one can
buy it from any of the authorized pharmacy stores. The most convenient
and the best way to buy Phentermine would be to order it through an
online pharmacy. Prior to making a buying decision about Phentermine
it is advisable to go through the information related to its usage,
side affects, reviews of existing users to avoid any kind of problem
later on. To achieve consistent positive results for a longer time, it is
recommended to combine the usage of diet pills with healthy low-fat
food and regular exercises. If taken in the correct manner and
discipline diet pills can create wonders and help you achieve the
desired shape and free you from the worries of obesity and related
ailments. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
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