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839 MHRA
issues new advice on SSRI dose changes, withdrawal and the risk of suicidal
behaviour New advice to patients and doctors about selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors has been issued this week by the Medicines
and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The National Institute for
Clinical Excellence has also published new guidelines for the treatment
of depression and anxiety ...more
839 Campaign
highlights range of out-of-hours services Patients are happy
to see health professionals other than GPs if it means a faster service
out of surgery hours. The finding is part of a Developing Patient Partnerships
campaign launched to explain out-of-hours services ...more
839 UK
to introduce some European medicines law early Plans to implement
three aspects of new European medicines legislation in the UK before
they become mandatory are to go ahead ...more
840 Pharmacists
part of team to manage chronic disease A disease management
programme involving 6,000 patients run by US managed health care company
Kaiser Permanente has shown that teams of pharmacists, technicians and
nurses can improve outcomes and reduce costs in the treatment of dyslipidaemia
and hypertension ...more
840 NPA outlines benefits of independent prescribing by pharmacists
Independent prescribing by community pharmacists will increase
patient choice, access and equity, according to a position paper published
this week by the National Pharmaceutical Association ...more
840 Supplementary
prescribing pack for pharmacists in Scotland A pack about
supplementary prescribing is being sent to all community and hospital
pharmacies in Scotland by NHS Education for Scotland ...more
840 NatPaCT
provides help for new contract implementation Two new tools
to help primary care trusts plan for the implementation of the new community
pharmacy contract in England and Wales have been launched ...more
840 Hospital
cleanliness guidance Recommendations on the minimum number
of times specific hospital areas should be cleaned and a best practice
guide on evaluating and awarding contracts to cleaning firms were published
by the Department of Health on 7 December ...more
840 New
hepatitis C campaign A new public health campaign about hepatitis
C was launched this week by the Department of Health ...more
840 Sativex
delayed by CSM More evidence of the effectiveness of Sativex, GW Pharmaceuticals’s cannabis-derived treatment for spasticity in multiple sclerosis, has been demanded by the Committee on Safety of Medicines
...more
841 Anastrazole
should be preferred initial treatment Anastrazole should be
the preferred initial treatment for postmenopausal women with localised
hormone-receptor positive breast cancer, according to final results from
the ATAC (Arimidex, Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination) trial ...more
841 Study
shows Glivec has long-term efficacy Patients treated with
Glivec (imatinib) maintain their response to therapy long term, new data
presented this week at the American Society of Haematology (ASH) in San
Diego, California, have indicated ...more
841 High
folic acid doses require further investigation Women taking
high doses of folate throughout pregnancy may be more likely to die from
breast cancer in later life, a new study sugggests. However, the association
was not statistically significant and an accompanying commentary argues
that the reported association is most likely to be a result of chance
...more
841 NPSA
updates methotrexate patient safety alert The National Patient
Safety Agency has published an update to the patient safety alert about
oral methotrexate that it issued earlier this year ...more
841 Sleeping
pill prescribing levels “cannot be justified” Levels of prescribing of hypnotic drugs represent “a risk to individual and public health that cannot be justified”, the latest issue of Drug
and Therapeutic Bulletin warns
...more
842 Drug
adherence poor in osteoporosis Health care professionals’ perception of how well patients adhere to osteoporosis treatment regimens may be quite different from the actual situation, a new report suggests
...more
842 Little
evidence base for use of teriparatide More trials are needed to support the use of the osteoporosis drug teriparatide (Forsteo, Eli Lilly), the latest issue of Drug and Therapeutic Bulletin argues. Teriparatide is the first parathyroid hormone derivative licensed for the treatment of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis
...more
842 Simvastatin
guidance card Pharmacists registered as working in hospital or community pharmacy will receive Royal Pharmaceutical Society guidance on the use of over-the-counter simvastatin with this week’s Journal ...more
842 Vantage diabetes
service Vantage Pharmacy has launched a diabetes screening
service as part of its Health Watch package ...more
842 Short term
NSAIDS for osteoarthritis Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee in the long-term cannot
be recommended, say the authors of a new meta-analysis ...more
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843 London counterfeit
medicines factory closed down Three men have been prosecuted
and two of them jailed after the discovery by police of two illicit medicines
factories making counterfeit medicines in north London in April this
year ...more
843 Irresponsible
spoof advert Using fictitious medicines in advertisements
is misleading and irresponsible ...more
843 AstraZeneca
executive to chair science forum AstraZeneca’s chief
executive Sir Tom McKillop is to chair a new science forum announced
by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in his pre-budget statement
to the House of Commons last week ...more
844 Hull pharmacist
wins UniChem award A pharmacist in Hull has been named the
overall winner of this year’s UniChem Great Business Award following
a major refurbishment and the launch of new services at his pharmacy
...more
844 US pharmacists
call on congress to expand older patients’ medication management
services US pharmacists are calling on congress in Washington
DC to allow them to provide comprehensive medication management services
to all patients in the Medicare health system. Medicare provides health
care for those over the age of 65 years ...more
844 NPC resources
on simvastatin and repeat dispensing Two new resources have
been published by the National Prescribing Centre: one examines over-the-counter
simvastatin and the other tackles repeat dispensing ...more
844 New partnership
set up between hospitals and a single wholesaler A confederation
of seven NHS trusts has entered a public-private partnership with a pharmaceutical
wholesaler to increase its procurement efficiency ...more
R&D
845 Dendritic
vaccine may control HIV progression Scientists have produced
a vaccine that may limit replication of the HIV-1 virus and thus prevent
progression of the disease ...more
845 Antipsychotics
may treat viral brain disease Immuno-compromised patients
may benefit from treatment with antipsychotic drugs if they are vulnerable
to the effects of a potentially fatal nervous system disorder, cell culture
experiments have suggested ...more
845 Molecule
regulating blood oxygen is identified Researchers have identified
a molecule responsible for regulating the levels of oxygen in the blood
by producing different levels of carbon monoxide and triggering incresed
breathing rates when needed ...more
845 Monoclonal
antibody reduces relapse in multiple sclerosis A new drug
undergoing review for approval as a treatment for multiple sclerosis
has been shown to be effective in reducing MS relapse rates, the companies
developing the drug have announced ...more
845 Chocolate
ingredient is an effective cough suppressant Theobromine,
an ingredient found in chocolate, has been found to be an effective cough
suppressant ...more
845 Protein can
mend hearts A protein found to promote survival of mice heart
muscle cells could be used to treat the damage caused by a heart attack
...more
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal