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NICE has today recommended the use of rituximab (MabThera) as a treatment for some patients who suffer from relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, the most common form of the cancer in the UK.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Pharmacology) - Tue, 9 March 2010
http://www.nice.org.uk
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In this comparative-effectiveness trial, there was no significant difference in the overall survival rate between patients with shock who were treated with dopamine and those who were treated with norepinephrine. However, dopamine was associated with more cardiac arrhythmias and with a higher mortality rate among patients with cardiogenic shock.
New England Journal of Medicine (Pharmacology) - Tue, 9 March 2010
http://www.nejm.org
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Women between 59 and 80 years of age with a bone mineral density T score of -2.5 or less at the femoral neck or spine received the selective estrogen-receptor modulator lasofoxifene (either 0.25 or 0.5 mg daily) or placebo for 5 years. Lasofoxifene was associated with lower risks of fractures, estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, coronary heart disease, and stroke, with no increase in endometrial cancer, but there was an increase in venous thromboembolic events.
New England Journal of Medicine (Pharmacology) - Mon, 1 March 2010
http://www.nejm.org
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Anti-retroviral treatments (ARVs) could stop the spread of Aids in South Africa within five years, a top scientist says.
BBC News (Pharmacology) - Mon, 22 February 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk
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The pharmaceutical industry's latest attempt to sabotage the work of the WHO Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property—commonly referred to as IGWG—reached a new low last week when the non-governmental organisation, Intellectual Property Watch, noticed two privileged IGWG draft documents and an analysis of the drafts by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) on Wikileaks, a website that anonymously publishes sensitive information. This unfortunate situation is a double blow to the member states, public health advocates, and to non-governmental organisations that have strived to make research and development for neglected diseases a feasible reality. Not only has the IFPMA blatantly served its own interests by examining and discussing documents that, according to WHO, it was not supposed to have, but also the draft report falls pathetically short of the strong, decisive plan necessary—ironically, mostly thanks to the influence of the pharmaceutical industry.
The Lancet (Pharmacology) - Thu, 7 January 2010
http://www.thelancet.com
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WHO has identified antibiotic resistance as one of the greatest threats to human health. In the European Union (EU), about 25 000 patients die every year from infection with multidrug-resistant bacteria, and such infections result in health-care costs and lost productivity totalling at least €1·5 billion per year. Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus alone infects more than 94 000 people and kills nearly 19 000 in the US every year, more deaths than are caused by HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, emphysema, and homicide combined.
The Lancet (Pharmacology) - Fri, 4 December 2009
http://www.thelancet.com
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In a cluster-randomized smoking cessation trial conducted in Germany on 577 smokers, cost-free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or bupropion hydrochloride reduced smoking-related morbidity at low cost. This adds to the accumulated evidence that NRT, bupropion, and varenicline tartrate significantly increase cessation rate and are generally well tolerated by smokers.
Archives of Internal Medicine (Pharmacology) - Fri, 13 November 2009
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned consumers to use extreme care when purchasing any products over the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure the H1N1 influenza virus. The warning comes after the FDA recently purchased and analyzed several products represented online as Tamiflu (oseltamivir), which may pose risks to patients.
Food and Drug Administration (Pharmacology) - Fri, 16 October 2009
http://www.fda.gov
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The sleep-waking rhythm is mediated by hypophysis through the secretion of endogenous melatonin. Even if melatonin agonist ramelteon is approved by FDA for the treatment of insomnia, its efficacy for this indication is poor. Now, a new agonist, tasimelteon, has been experimented in the therapy of insomnia related to work shifts or to jet-lag.
MedNews (Pharmacology) - Fri, 28 August 2009
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/
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Antiplatelet therapy has a prominent role in the treatment of a broad range of cardiovascular diseases, and data supporting the role of aspirin in secondary prevention are robust. As monotherapy, the thienopyridine clopidogrel has also been shown to have modestly superior efficacy compared with aspirin in secondary prevention for patients with recent myocardial infarction or stroke or with established peripheral arterial disease.
Journal of the American Medical Association (Pharmacology) - Fri, 28 August 2009
http://jama.ama-assn.org/