News summary
CPA statement on safe, effective
and affordable access to medicines The Commonwealth Pharmaceutical
Association has developed a position statement setting out its views on
access to medicines...[more]
Loratadine prescription packs to be withdrawn
Prescription packs of loratadine (Clarityn) are to be withdrawn
in December...[more]
Screening for diabetes needs to be targeted
Screening for diabetes solely on the basis of age uncovers few cases and
so is better used for patients with multiple risk factors, researchers
say...[more]
One in five cannot read small print on medicine
labels One in five people in the United Kingdom cannot read
medicine labels because the print is too small, according to the Royal
National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)...[more]
Medical editors to block publication of research
if sponsors control trials The problem of the pharmaceutical
industry influencing clinical trials has been raised by editors of leading
international medical journals...[more]
Company hopes to launch cannabis medicine in
2004 The first cannabis-based medicine will be marketed in
2004, GW Pharmaceuticals hopes, after new data have demonstrated the drug’s
efficacy and safety...[more]
Benefits of chemoradiation Concurrent
chemotherapy and radiotherapy improves survival rate in women with cervical
cancer compared with radiotherapy alone, a systematic review of 19 studies
has concluded...[more]
Folic acid and miscarriage risk Taking
folic acid supplements before and during pregnancy has no influence on
rate of miscarriage, researchers say...[more]
Verdict — 600 pharmacies could close Over
600 independent community pharmacies could close over the next five years
as a result of increased price competition from supermarkets, according
to Verdict Research Ltd...[more]
Consultation starts on HA boundaries Members
of the public and patients are to be consulted on the proposed changes
to the boundaries of health authorities...[more]
WHO warns on rising resistance A warning
that the benefit of $17bn spent developing new medicines in the past five
years could be lost just as quickly has been issued by the World Health
Organization...[more]
Refurbishment at John Bell & Croyden John
Bell & Croyden, the central London flagship of the Lloydspharmacy
chain, was officially re-opened on 10 September after a £2.5m refurbishment...[more]
Printed age exemption extended Temporary
arrangements under which computer printed National Health Service prescriptions,
which show the patient’s age as under 16 years or 60 years and over
are accepted as exempt from prescription charges even when a valid exemption
declaration has not been made, has been extended to May 2002...[more]
Gehe starts work on one-stop centres Gehe
UK has started work on its first two one-stop health centres in Manchester
and Lanark...[more]
Levodopa useful in stroke rehabilitation Levodopa
can improve motor function recovery after stroke when given in combination
with physiotherapy, German researchers say...[more]
“Pharmacy is the canary in the coal mine,”
international students told Pharmacy is the canary in the coal
mine of health professionals, being predictive of trends that will occur
in other professional groups, Dr Zubin Austin, co-ordinator of pharmacy
practice, University of Toronto, told the International Pharmaceutical
Students Federation at a symposium during its annual congress held in
Cairo from 3–14 August...[more]
Smoking: half quitting, young starting Over
61,000 smokers gave up smoking last year with help from National Health
Service smoking cessation services...[more]
Ofloxacin linked with case of diabetes insipidus
A case of diabetes insipidus induced by the quinolone antibiotic
ofloxacin (Tarivid) has been reported by Indian doctors...[more]
Website set up for Glasgow pharmacy The
pharmacy department at Greater Glasgow Health Board has set up a website
giving information on pharmacy activities in Glasgow and links to other
pharmacy and health care sites in Scotland...[more]
Useful role for amfebutamone in obesity Amfebutamone
(bupropion, Zyban) could be a useful treatment for obesity, researchers
from the United States have suggested...[more]
NEWS IN BRIEF
New BNF edition launched The 42nd
edition of the British National Formulary is now available.
The reference section at the back of the book has been expanded to include
a new adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation chart.
Major revisions that have been made to this edition include changes to
the guidelines for instalment prescribing of buprenorphine, the treatment
of croup, the use of cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors and to the section on
stopping smoking.
NHS to help staff buy homes Hospital
pharmacists working for the National Health Service may be eligible for
help buying a home if they work for trusts with specific recruitment and
retention problems.
Under the Government’s starter homes initiative, NHS staff who are
first-time buyers, earn less than £35,000 a year and work in the
London, South East, South West and Eastern regions can get interest free
loans of up to £10,000 to help them buy a home. Equity loans and
shared ownership of a property with the NHS are other options under the
scheme.
Guidance on the scheme can be downloaded as a Word document from the internet
here.
Lack of heart disease knowledge The
general public greatly underestimates the risk of heart disease, a survey
of 991 people has suggested. Only 17 per cent of participants thought
that they were at high risk for heart disease despite the fact that 40
per cent had two or more risk factors including high cholesterol, smoking
or hypertension. One-third of participants were unaware that high cholesterol
was linked with heart disease and 83 per cent did not know their cholesterol
level. The results were presented at the European Society for Cardiology
meeting in Stockholm last week.
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