The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7458 p759
30 June 2007

This article
Reprint   Photocopy

  Acrobat Reader

News summary

NICE advises on treatments for glioma and alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke

Temozolomide has been endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence as a treatment option for newly diagnosed high-grade glioma. Carmustine implants, appraised separately by NICE, are also approved for use in this group of patients but only for those who have had at least 90 per cent of their tumour resected. NICE was not able to make recommendations regarding the sequential use of these treatments.

In separate guidance, NICE approved the use of alteplase for the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke. NICE makes the point that alteplase should only be used by appropriately trained clinicians and in centres equipped to enable it to be used according to its licence.

NICE has developed tools to help organisations implement the recommendations; see links on this page.

NICE has also published a clinical guideline this week on the management of faecal incontinence. It calls for health care professionals to ask patients proactively in high-risk groups whether they have signs of faecal incontinence and outlines treatment options.