News summary
EC document seeks to improve
safety and range of medicines for children How medicines for
children can be improved is being tackled in a new European Commission
consultation document...[more]
South London LPC delivers letters to 10 Downing
Street...[more]
Drug misuse report excludes pharmacy An
Audit Commission report examining drug misuse treatment services barely
mentions the role that pharmacists play. This has led to concerns that
funding for pharmacy-based services might be threatened...[more]
Pharmacists give good advice on OTC antimalarials
but confusion exists over options on prescription Pharmacists
give appropriate advice about over-the-counter malaria prophylaxis but
confusion exists over prescription-only regimens, research shows...[more]
ViATIM winning in hepatitis A and typhoid vaccines
trial New interim data from a direct comparative study of two
combined hepatitis A and typhoid fever vaccines, ViATIM and Hepatyrix,
show that ViATIM achieved a superior response rate in patients 14 days
after vaccination...[more]
Panel to distribute global funds to fight AIDS,
TB and malaria An international panel of experts has been set
up by the World Health Organization's Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria to make recommendation on how US$700m–US$800m should be spent
this year...[more]
NICE limits use of colon cancer drugs Neither
irinotecan (Campto) nor oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) in combination with 5-fluorouracil
and folinic acid (5FU/FA) should be used as routine first-line therapy
for advanced colorectal cancer, according to the National Institute for
Clinical Excellence...[more]
Vitamins could halve colon cancer risk in those
with family history Individuals with a family history of colorectal
cancer could halve their risk of developing the disease by using multivitamin
supplements, say American researchers...[more]
First case of fatal vasculitis with celecoxib
reported French doctors report the first case of fatal allergic
vasculitis associated with celecoxib (Celebrex) in a research letter...[more]
Losec formulation patent overturned The
High Court in London has ruled that AstraZeneca's formulation patent for
Losec (omeprazole) is invalid...[more]
Sir Richard Sykes to step down as GSK chairman
Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline, Sir Richard Sykes, has announced
his retirement...[more]
European Court likely to rule that parallel imports
can be repacked Parallel importers expect to be told by the
European Court that they are entitled to repackage centrally approved
medicines to match pack sizes in destination member states...[more]
Early action needed to prevent diabetes Action
to prevent type 2 diabetes in South Asian adults should begin during childhood,
a study suggests...[more]
Don’t stop statins after MI Stopping
statins after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) nearly triples the incidence
of death or subsequent coronary events, report researchers...[more]
ACE-inhibitors good for delaying muscle loss
in elderly women Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors may
halt or delay muscle loss and disability in elderly patients, according
to American researchers...[more]
Treat with aspirin soon after acute MI Patients
treated with aspirin soon after experiencing an acute myocardial infarction
(MI) have lower mortality than those treated at a later stage, say researchers
from Israel...[more]
Vitamins to be restricted? On 12 March
the European Parliament debated a proposal to restrict the sale of high-dose
vitamin supplements...[more]
Light therapy for pancreatic cancer Photodynamic
therapy could be used to treat patients with pancreatic cancer, suggest
researchers...[more]
MeReC reviews thyroid diseases The
latest issue of the MeReC Bulletin reviews common thyroid diseases,
including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism...[more]
Atropine equals patch for lazy eye Atropine
eye-drops as treatment for amblyopia (lazy eye) are as effective as using
an eye patch, report researchers...[more]
Hair loss with dopamine agonists Two
case reports of alopecia induced by dopamine agonists are described in
the current issue of Neurology ...[more]
Web health information is no worse than print
Attempts to control the quality of health information on the
internet are a waste of time and effort, according to the BMJ...[more]
Inquiry into prescription pricing system in Scotland
under way The Audit Committee in Scotland is currently considering
evidence in its inquiry into prescription pricing...[more]
Intermediate care money delays meeting An
announcement of new funding for care of older people last week has led
to the postponement of a weekend school for pharmacists about older people
and intermediate care...[more]
Boots plans to buy back shares The
Boots Company announced this week that it is to return £300m to
shareholders through a share buy back programme...[more]
Pharmacists can check up on CPD Pharmacists
registered with the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education can now
obtain a record of their continuing professional development achievements
from the CPPE website...[more]
Clinical audit guide published 'Principles
for best practice in clinical audit' has been launched by the National
Institute for Clinical Excellence this week...[more]
PCTs advised to look at making better use of
community pharmacy Primary care trusts in England are being
asked to consider how community pharmacists' contribution to the National
Health Service can help to achieve targets set out in the NHS plan...[more]
Germans step up generic dispensing Germany
has introduced measures to increase generic dispensing to save money for
its statutory health insurance system...[more]
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