News summary
Branch
meetings Future
Events Conferences
Restrictions on OTC advertising to go
Rules that restrict advertising non-prescription medicines to the public
are to be scrapped...[more]
Lancet articles are disappointing and biased
according to ABPI The first of a series of four articles published
in The Lancet, aimed at scrutinising the pharmaceutical industry,
has been condemned as disappointing and biased by the Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry...[more]
Cardiac risk similar for thioridazine and haloperidol
Overall, the risk of cardiac events in patients with schizophrenia treated
with thioridazine is no worse than that for patients treated with haloperidol,
a cohort study has shown. However, thioridazine may have a higher risk
at high doses and so should be prescribed at the lowest dose needed to
obtain an optimal therapeutic effect...[more]
Europe to block re-importation of medicines
destined for Third World It will soon be a crime to re-import
into Europe medicines sold cheaply to developing countries to treat AIDS/HIV,
tuberculosis or malaria...[more]
Pharmaceutical suppliers are against patient
leaflet photocopying proposals Eleven organisations representing
pharmacies, wholesalers and manufacturers of pharmaceuticals have voiced
concern about the Medicines Control Agency's proposals to allow pharmacists
to photocopy patient information leaflets. They have called on the MCA
to withdraw the proposals...[more]
GPs override drug interaction alerts without
checking Almost one-quarter of general practitioners surveyed
admitted that they frequently override computerised drug interaction alerts
without investigating them further...[more]
HRT safety message update in latest issue of
MCA/CSM bulletin The benefits of hormone replacement therapy
over the short term still outweigh the risks for most women who take it,
according to the latest safety update from the Medicines Control Agency
and the Committee on Safety of Medicines...[more]
NICE issues type 2 diabetes guidance
People with type 2 diabetes who have not yet developed cardiovascular
disease should have their coronary heart disease risk estimated at least
annually, according to recommendations from the National Institute for
Clinical Excellence...[more]
Digoxin is safer in men than in women, study
claims Digoxin may increase the risk of death among women who
have heart failure and depressed left ventricular systolic function, but
not among men, according to American researchers...[more]
New antiviral available to treat influenza
The antiviral oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is now available for the treatment
and prevention of influenza...[more]
WHO identifies global priorities
The World Health Organization has highlighted 10 factors that it considers
to be the most globally important risks to human health...[more]
Infliximab exerts prolonged response even after
the treatment is stopped Infliximab (Remicade), used to treat
rheumatoid arthritis (RA), produces a prolonged therapeutic response even
after the drug has been withdrawn, new data show...[more]
Arthritis patients benefit when leflunomide
is added Adding leflunomide (Arava) to methotrexate therapy
produces clinical benefits for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
and is generally well tolerated, a new study shows...[more]
Transdermal selegiline effective treatment for
major depression Transdermal selegiline is an effective and
well-tolerated treatment for adults with major depression, a new study
shows...[more]
Use of low-dose tricyclics justified
The use of tricyclic antidepressants at lower-than-recommended doses is
justified, say the authors of a systematic review...[more]
Presence of a pharmacy sign of street friendliness
Pharmacy accessibility is one of the measures of the friendliness of local
streets in London...[more]
Pharmacist loses repetitive dispensing strain
injury appeal A pharmacist who claimed that checking prescriptions
while working for Boots The Chemists had given him a repetitive strain
injury in his left shoulder has lost an appeal on his case...[more]
Cornish pharmacy wins grant for collection and
delivery service A community pharmacy in rural Cornwall has
won a £9,000 grant from the Countryside Agency to help it run a
prescription collection and delivery service in and around the village
of St Just at the westerly tip of the county...[more]
Welsh GPs issued 46m prescriptions
General practitioners in Wales issued prescriptions for 46 million items
at a cost of £456m during 2001–02, according to new figures from
the National Assembly for Wales, equivalent to 15.9 items and £156.91
net ingredient cost per person...[more]
Salt intake levels for children Draft
recommendations on safe salt intake levels, including those for children,
have been issued by the Food Standards Agency...[more]
Chief pharmacist says modernisation will shatter
rigid NHS demarcation lines The Government is determined to
shatter old, rigid demarcation lines that hold back staff and slow down
patient care. So said Dr Jim Smith, chief pharmaceutical officer for England,
at the National Pharmaceutical Association's October management board
meeting...[more]
Pharmacist opens new trauma unit
The former chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee, Dr Alan Smith, FRPharmS, officially opened a new trauma unit
at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford last month...[more]
Cannabis medicines on track GW Pharmaceuticals
announced positive preliminary results for its cannabis-based medicines
from four phase III trials this week...[more]
Head lice prefer not to jump Head
lice are particular about what will persuade them to move from one hair
to another, Australian researchers have found...[more]
AAH restructures marketing...[more]
Tesco opens Nutri Centre...[more]
|
