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299 First
enhanced service specifications announced Template specifications
for enhanced services forming the third tier of the new community pharmacy
contract were released by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee
this week, in conjunction with the Department of Health and the NHS Confederation
...more
299 NHS
finances must improve for NICE guidance NHS bodies should
strengthen their financial management arrangements in order to improve
implementation of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
guidance, a report published by the Audit Commission this week argues
...more
299 New national
MI database Next week sees the launch of a new paperless database
that will allow medicines information staff throughout the UK to share
answers to queries via a central website ...more
299 Patient pack
plan announced The Department of Health has started consulting
on proposals to simplify the reimbursement arrangements for NHS pharmacy
contractors in England only, that will be tantamount to introducing patient
pack dispensing ...more
300 Three Statutory Committee decisions “flawed” Three
Royal Pharmaceutical Society Statutory Committee decisions between April
2004 and March 2005 were flawed in the view of the Council for Healthcare
Regulatory Excellence ...more
300 Integrated
care needed in substance misuse Model schemes for integrated care in substance misuse — in which pharmacists should play a key role — are recommended by a report published this week
...more
300 Keep balance
over fitness to practise, warns CHRE Health regulators should
not place undue emphasis on the investigation of individual practitioners'
fitness to practise, the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence
is to tell a Government regulatory review ...more
301 “Newer” antihypertensives reduce CV events Hypertension
specialists are predicting that blood pressure guidelines will change
with this week's publication of the final results from ASCOT-BPLA (The
Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial Blood Pressure Lowering Arm)
in The Lancet ...more
301 Beta-blockers
can be used before ACE inhibitors in heart failure Initiating
treatment of chronic heart failure with a beta-blocker is as effective
and as well-tolerated as starting treatment with an angiotensin-converting
enzyme inhibitor, which is currently recommended in guidelines, according
to the results of a new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology
annual congress in Stockholm this week ...more
301 Vitamin B
and folic acid do not reduce risk of MI and stroke A combination of high-dose vitamin B6 and folic acid may increase the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke in MI survivors, according to the Norwegian Vitamin Trial (NORVIT) reported this week at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress. The findings effectively end the hope that taking a folic-acid/B-vitamin combination to lower homocysteine levels might prevent cardiovascular events
...more
301 Heart failure
guidelines Guidance for the treatment of heart failure has
been published in the European Journal of Heart Failure ...more
301 Markers for
insulin resistance Patients at risk from type 2 diabetes and
cardiovascular disease, who are likely to develop insulin resistance,
may be identified by high blood pressure, low high density lipoprotein
levels, high waist circumference and high glucose levels, said researchers
...more
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302 MHRA to extend
pre-vetting of advertisements No advertisements for newly
licensed medicines are to be allowed unless the Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency has approved them ...more
302 Wide variations
in practice-based commissioning There are wide variations
in the progress primary care trusts are making towards implementing practice-based
commissioning ...more
302 Software
will identify patients who need care Software that identifies
which patients with long-term conditions are at increased risk of being
admitted to hospital has been developed for the Department of Health,
it was announced last week ...more
302 New school
of pharmacy proposed at Keele University Keele University
is to open a school of pharmacy next year, subject to accreditation by
the Royal Pharmaceutical Society ...more
302 IT business
plan published NHS Connecting for Health's business plan for
2005–06 shows that it still aims to have 50 per cent of the electronic
transmission of prescriptions service in place by the end of the year,
subject to agreements with system suppliers and deployment by primary
care trusts ...more
303 Single infusion
of zoledronic acid for patients with Paget's disease produces sustained
response Patients suffering from Paget's disease may benefit
from a single infusion of zoledronic acid, say researchers ...more
303 SSRIs linked
with birth defects Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors
have been linked with congenital malformations, such as cardiac defects,
in a study presented at the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology
conference in Nashville, Tennessee, US, last month ...more
303 Study confirms
letrozole's benefits Treatment with letrozole (Femara) in
women with breast cancer who have been previously treated with tamoxifen
reduces the risk of recurrence, newly analysed data from an earlier trial
has confirmed ...more
303 Drug-eluting
stents should be limited to high risk patients Drug-eluting
stents are more cost-effective when limited to patients in high-risk
groups than when used in all patients, a study has shown ...more
R&D news
304 Coxib-type
drug targets cancer Tumour growth may be inhibited by a drug
that resembles a coxib, new data show ...more
304 Novel antibiotic
may help eradicate MRSA infection Scientists have developed
a new type of antibiotic that may be effective in treating hospital-based
infections ...more
304 Live worms
to cure asthma Live worms have been used to cure asthma in
a laboratory model, researchers claim ...more
304 Evidence
for neuroprotection by fatty acid US scientists report that
they have found a possible mechanism for the neuroprotective effect of
the essential fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ...more
304 Gene involved
in lung disease identified Recent identification of a gene
involved in the pathogenesis of a progressive and incurable lung disease
could lead to the development of new treatments, say scientists ...more
304 Vitamin E
raises mouse lifespan High doses of vitamin E have been shown
to improve the lifespan of mice ...more
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal