Martha Rosenberg questions Merck and Schering-Plough's revival of the Vytorin 'two sources of cholesterol' campaign, less than two years after the earlier marketing drew state lawsuits, and as the companies agreed to pay $41.5 million to settle consumer and health plan claims.
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Drug
Prescription drugs, vaccines and their risks and benefits.
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Drug
What women really know about mammogram benefits, risks
A Journal of the National Cancer Institute study of 479 women found 94 percent did not realize some early breast cancers may never progress. Of 1,000 women screened, one avoids a breast cancer death, while 10 to 15 learn of a cancer earlier with no change in prognosis.
Drug
FDA okays Extavia to treat multiple sclerosis
The FDA has approved Extavia, Novartis's version of beta interferon, for multiple sclerosis. The company recommends it for newly diagnosed patients and those in relapse, saying it can slow physical disability and shorten attacks. Side effects include injection-site irritation and headache.
Drug
FDA: Don’t use glucose test strips if you are on biologic drugs
The FDA warned that certain glucose test strips, including Roche's Accu-Chek Comfort Curve and Abbott's Freestyle, can read falsely high in patients on biologic drugs, prompting insulin overdoses. The agency has received 13 reports of related deaths over 12 years, six of them last year.
Drug
FDA Okays morphine based drug for pain management
The FDA approved King Pharmaceuticals' Embeda for moderate to severe pain. It pairs morphine with naltrexone to cancel the quick high abusers get from chewing pills. King says that makes abuse somewhat difficult, and warns the drug can still be abused like any narcotic.
Drug
FDA: Celltep raises severe anemia risk
The FDA now requires a warning that the kidney transplant drug can cause pure red cell aplasia, a severe anemia marked by extreme fatigue and pallor. The agency already required notice of infection risk and strongly discourages use during pregnancy.
Drug
New chemical attacks tumor-fueling cancer cells
Whitehead and Broad Institute researchers report in Cell that salinomycin kills breast cancer stem cells, cutting their number more than 100-fold compared with paclitaxel and shrinking tumors in mice. Such cells resist current therapies and are thought to seed new tumors.
Drug
FDA Approves Drug for Shizophrenia and Bi-Polar Disorder
The FDA has approved a Schering-Plough drug for schizophrenia and bipolar 1 disorder, due on the US market in the fourth quarter with a black box warning. Side effects run from sedation and weight gain to a higher death risk in dementia-related psychosis. One patient plans to try it.
Drug
Aspirin Blocks Recurrence of Colorectal Cancer
Among 1,279 people with non-metastatic colorectal cancer followed about 12 years, those taking aspirin before and after diagnosis were a third less likely to die of it, and those who started only after diagnosis fared better still. Aspirin inhibits COX-2, an enzyme found in these tumours.
Drug
Antidepressants raise suicide risk in young people
An FDA-led review of 372 trials covering nearly 100,000 adults found antidepressants raised suicide risk in people under 25 while lowering it in those 65 and older, Reuters reported. The analysis appeared on the British Medical Journal website.
Drug
Should Your 3-Year-Old Be On Antidepressants?
Joan Luby's article on preschool depression reported no financial disclosure, though a 2006 journal article listed her industry support. The piece questions extending major depressive disorder diagnoses, and the drugs that follow, to three-year-olds.
Drug
Swine flu vaccine on fast track and out by September
The WHO says fast-tracking the H1N1 vaccine will not compromise safety or quality controls, and expects supply by September after early yields ran a third to a half of normal. Officials point to 1957 and 1968, when vaccines arrived too late to blunt the worst phases.
Drug
Migraine Sufferers Benefit from Plastic Surgery
Dr. Bahman Guyron of Case Western Reserve treats migraine patients with a modified forehead lift that snips nerves at trigger sites. In a clinical trial written up in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 57 percent of his patients recovered completely from migraine pain.
Drug
FDA approves Onglyza for type 2 diabetes
The FDA approved Onglyza (saxagliptin), a once-daily DPP-4 inhibitor meant to be used with diet and exercise to control blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. Side effects include respiratory and urinary infections, headache and rash; a cardiovascular safety study is required.
Drug
"Historic highs" for support of legalizing marijuana
Oakland voters approved a tax on cannabis businesses 80 percent to 20 percent, at $18 per $1,000 of gross receipts, making it the first US city to tax medical marijuana sales. NORML's Paul Armentano says public support for taxing and regulating marijuana is at historic highs.
Drug
Let the testing begin
The NIH designated eight medical centers to test two candidate H1N1 vaccines from Sanofi Pasteur and CSL Biotherapies, starting with adults 18 to 64 and people 65 and over at varying doses. Trials in children aged 6 months to 17 years would follow if the vaccines look safe.
Drug
Novartis says new version of Tekturna approved
Novartis says the FDA approved Tekturna HCT, pairing its blood pressure drug aliskiren with the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide. The article sets it in a trend of combining already-approved drugs -- Advair, Vytorin, Contrave -- which clears FDA review faster than developing one from scratch.
Drug
Brain tumors: New gene clues
Two Northwestern studies in JAMA report genetic clues to brain tumours: one identified 31 genes involved in tumour proliferation, and another found patients with only one copy of the tumour-fighting gene ANXA7 may be at a disadvantage. The blood-brain barrier still blocks chemotherapy.
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