News summary
Research & Development | Branch
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39 Welsh Assembly earmarks £500,000 for automated dispensing
in hospitals The National Assembly for Wales is to spend £500,000 installing
automated dispensing robots at three hospital pharmacies in the next financial year...[more]
39 Ricin found by police during raids on flats in London Ricin, a protein toxin derived from the beans of the castor oil plant, was discovered by officers from the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorism branch during raids on premises in north and east London on 5 January...[more]
40 Department
of Health's skill mix paper shows limited vision, the PSNC says The
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has dismissed the Department
of Health's skill mix discussion paper as showing little vision of how
pharmacists' skills can be used to deliver better care through the National
Health Service...[more]
40 Staff shortages hold back skill mix developments, says UNISON Shortages
of hospital pharmacy staff are holding back the developments outlined
in the Department of Health's skill mix consultation paper, according
to UNISON, which represents the majority of National Health Service pharmacy
technicians and assistants...[more]
40 NHS Scotland logos sent to pharmacies Community
pharmacies in Scotland have been sent stickers and posters to display
bearing the National Health Service in Scotland logo...[more]
40 Independent Pharmacists' Association to be
launched in Britain in the spring The inaugural meeting of a new Independent Pharmacists' Association is to be held on 6 April...[more]
41 Risk
of developing diabetes reduced in women with heart disease taking HRT Women with
coronary heart disease who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have a substantially reduced
risk of developing diabetes, a large randomised controlled trial has
shown...[more]
41 Sildenafil
effective for sexual dysfunction associated with use of antidepressants Sildenafil
(Viagra) is an effective treatment for sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressant
use, a study shows...[more]
41 Possible
new role for tamoxifen Tamoxifen
could be used to stimulate the ovaries of former breast cancer patients
who wish to increase their chance of becoming pregnant, say American
researchers...[more]
42 Candesartan
could help in preventing migraines Candesartan
(Amias) could prove to be an effective agent for migraine prophylaxis,
according to the results of a small placebo-controlled study...[more]
42 Call for Schering to repay NHS money over Yasmin
claims The Consumers' Association has called on Schering Health Care to repay £200,000 to the National Health Service following misleading claims about its oral contraceptive product Yasmin (ethinylestradiol with drospirenone)...[more]
42 Pharmaceutical industry promotions criticised Promotional
activities of pharmaceutical companies have been criticised in articles
published in two leading medical journals...[more]
43 Celecoxib
as good as diclofenac plus omeprazole in gastric bleeds Celecoxib (Celebrex) is as
effective as diclofenac plus omeprazole at preventing recurrent bleeds among arthritis
patients with a recent history of ulcer bleeding, a randomised controlled
trial has shown...[more]
43 Pharmacist
supports "women into public
life" at Number 10 MADELEINE KEYWORTH, FRPharmS, was
one of a number of women invited to a reception hosted by Cherie Blair
at 10 Downing Street last month...[more]
Research and Development
44 Selective
adhesion molecule inhibitor effective in treating Crohn’s disease ... well as for the treatment
of multiple sclerosis NATALIZUMAB (Antegren), a selective adhesion molecule
inhibitor, increases rates of clinical response and remission in patients
with Crohn’s disease, researchers report...[more]
44 Call to abandon body surface area for dosing
anticancer drugs Body surface area should not be used to determine
starting doses of anticancer agents in phase I trials, researchers say...[more]
44 Dendritic cell vaccine for HIV? In Nature Medicine this month researchers find that dendritic cell vaccines show promise as a means to control diseases caused by immunodeficiency viruses...[more]
45 Complete
remission seen for multiple myeloma with new enzyme inhibitor omplete remission of
advanced stage multiple myeloma can be achieved in patients treated with the proteasome
inhibitor bortezomib
(Velcade), phase II data show...[more]
45 New drug for treating malaria Fosmidomycin,
a phosphonic acid derivative, is a safe and effective treatment for uncomplicated
malaria in adults, researchers say...[more]
45 Ximelagatran reduces VTE risk Ximelagatran
(Exanta), a direct thrombin inhibitor, reduces the risk of recurrent
venous thromboembolism (VTE) by 84 per cent over 18 months compared with
placebo, new data show...[more] |
