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Has pancreatic damage from glucagon suppressing diabetes drugs been underplayed? - BMJ
BMJ 2013; 346 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f3680 (Published 10 June 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;346:f3680Article Related content Article metrics Deborah Cohen, investigations editor Author Affiliations dcohen@bmj.com Incretin mimetics have been called “the darlings of diabetes treatment” and they may soon also be licensed for treating obesity. But a BMJ investigation has found growing safety concerns linked to the drugs’ mechanism of action. Deborah Cohenasks why patients and doctors have not been told. They’ve been touted as th...
Source: PharmaGossip - June 11, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Blogs lead in critical thinking, but newspapers still matter
Jump to follow-up Here is a record of a couple of recent newspaper pieces. Who says the mainstream media don’t matter any longer? Blogs may be in the lead now when it comes to critical analysis, but the mainstream media get the message to a different, and much larger, audience. The Observer ran a whole page interview with me as part of their “Rational Heroes” series. I rather liked their subtitle [pdf of article] “Professor of pharmacology David Colquhoun is the take-no-prisoners debunker of pseudoscience on his unmissable blog” It was pretty accurate apart from the fact that the picture was ...
Source: DC's goodscience - June 10, 2013 Category: Professors and Educators Authors: David Colquhoun Tags: Academia anti-oxidant Anti-science antioxidant antiscience Bait and switch blogs communication conflict of interest intimidation management bollocks nutribollocks public engagement Public relations Public understanding publis Source Type: blogs

Need Color atlas of pharmacology (2nd Edition) Book Reviews
by drugshealthcom (Posted Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:19 pm)Hi I am also Medical Student and it is my last year.My professor suggested me for "Color Atlas Of Pharmacology (2nd Edition" book.I purchased its ebook and now reading it. I am from Pharmacist field. Please let me know with reply that if you have any experience about this book. I need your reviews. about this book and about this book good phases. (Source: Med Student Guide)
Source: Med Student Guide - June 7, 2013 Category: Medical Students Source Type: blogs

Meet the Doctor Big Pharma Can't Shut Up
For the last 33 years, David Healy, an Irish psychiatrist and professor at Cardiff University School of Medicine in Wales, has written heavily researched university press books and academic journal articles on various aspects of psychopharmaceuticals. His output includes 20 books, 150 peer-reviewed papers and 200 other published works. He is not only well-pedigreed, with degrees and fellowships from Dublin, Galway and Cambridge medical schools, he is a widely recognized expert in both the history and the science of neurochemistry and psychopharmacology.Yet Healy says his output and reputation have ...
Source: PharmaGossip - June 3, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Risk of angioedema in ACEIs versus ARBs versus aliskiren
(Source: Notes from Dr. RW)
Source: Notes from Dr. RW - May 31, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Tags: pharmacology cardiovascular Source Type: blogs

FDA Five Year Plan on Risk Benefits Framework
Conclusions and Reasons, where: Evidence and Uncertainties presents the facts, uncertainties, and any assumptions made to address these uncertainties that contribute to the assessment of benefit and risk. Conclusions and Reasons captures the implications of the facts, uncertainties, and assumptions with respect to regulatory decision-making, drawing conclusions from the evidence and uncertainties and explaining the bases for those conclusions. The first two decision factors, Analysis of Condition and Current Treatment Options, represent the framework’s therapeutic area considerations and are distinct from the other dr...
Source: Policy and Medicine - May 31, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs

Back From The Dead - Well, Sort Of...
I know. It has been a very, very long time since I posted anything up here. However, I have a legitimate excuse. The spring semester totally beat me up. It was by far the most challenging semester I have had as a student, and I suspect it is a preview of what I am going to see in January. First, I have to report that I was accepted to the Physician Assistant program at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. I'll be at the Manchester, New Hampshire campus. Orientation is January 10, 2014, and the first day of classes is January 13. I am both excited and terrified at the same time, if that is possible; I know that it will b...
Source: Life in Manch Vegas - May 29, 2013 Category: Ambulance Crew Source Type: blogs

New e-books
Practical biostatistics: a user-friendly approach for evidence-based medicine / Mendel Suchmacher. Amsterdam ; Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press, 2012. This book provides researchers, medical professionals, and students with a friendly, practical guide to biostatistics. With a detailed outline of implementation steps complemented by a review of important topics, it can be used as a quick reference or a hands-on guide to effectively incorporate biostatistics in clinical trials. Customized presentation for biological investigators with examples taken from current clinical trials in multiple disciplines. Clear and concise de...
Source: DentistryLibrary@Sydney - May 29, 2013 Category: Dentists Tags: New books E-books Source Type: blogs

Looking at the Commercial Development of Rapamycin
The standard script is being followed for drug development based on rapamycin, by the look of things. Rapamycin reliably extends life in mice, which is more than can be said for the last set of overhyped alleged longevity-enhancing drugs, but it's still not worth getting excited about this sort of thing. The most likely end result is a rapamycin-like drug that lacks the worst side-effects, is of marginal benefit to humans, and which is only legally available as a palliative treatment for people suffering late-stage age-related disease - the regulatory environment in the US blocks all other options. Pharmacology to slow agi...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 28, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs

Mitochondrially Targeted Antioxidant SS-31 Reverses Some Measures of Aging in Muscle
Antioxidants of the sort you can buy at the store and consume are pretty much useless: the evidence shows us that they do nothing for health, and may even work to block some beneficial mechanisms. Targeting antioxidant compounds to the mitochondria in our cells is a whole different story, however. Mitochondria are swarming bacteria-like entities that produce the chemical energy stores used to power cellular processes. This involves chemical reactions that necessarily generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a byproduct, and these tend to react with and damage protein machinery in the cell. The machinery that gets damaged ...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 23, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs

Thalidomide - The Real Story & The First Seal Baby By James Linder Jones, M.D., M.H.A., FACEP
http://www.healthworldnet.com/articles/the-best-of-the-best/the-first-seal-baby-the-real-story-of-thalidomide.htmlThalidomide, despite its sordid past is undergoing a sort of renaissance and is being manufactured and used worldwide for a variety of illnesses including leprosyThe Thalidomide story had a complex course, full of unintended discoveries, with unforeseen consequences including the elements of an adventure story; heroes and heroines, bad guys, villains, intrigue, deception, antagonists and protagonists, even Nazis.It was December 25, 1956. In Stollberg, Germany. A young, nervous, to-be Dad was waiting for news fr...
Source: PharmaGossip - May 20, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Proposed FDA Guidance on Financial Disclosure and the Physician Payment Sunshine Regulations – Divergent Paths and Duplicated Efforts
Conclusion The increased regulation and requirements to disclose FCOIs creates a tremendous burden for researchers and institutions that are repetitive, overlapping but not-identical, and time-consuming. Nevertheless, institutions that receive PHS funding can manage FCOIs in a number of ways: (1) public disclosure of the FCOI (e.g., when presenting or publishing the research); (2) disclosure of the FCOI directly to human participants; (3) appointment of an independent monitor capable of taking measures to protect the design, conduct, and reporting of the research against bias resulting from the FCOI; (4) modification ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - May 17, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs

Antibiotics and the risk of sudden cardiac death
(Source: Notes from Dr. RW)
Source: Notes from Dr. RW - May 16, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Tags: pharmacology hospital medicine infectious disease cardiovascular Source Type: blogs

Six Years Later, Ranbaxy - Oops, Daiichi Sankyo - Pleads Guilty to Adulteration, Pays $500 Million
It only took until 2013, but the US Food and Drug Administration finally secured guilty pleas and fines. The basics are in an Associated Press story (via the Washington Post): A subsidiary of India’s largest pharmaceutical company has agreed to pay a record $500 million in fines and penalties for selling adulterated drugs and lying to federal regulators in a case that is part of an ongoing crackdown on the quality of generic drugs flowing into the U.S.Federal prosecutors say the guilty plea by Ranbaxy USA Inc. represents the largest financial penalty against a generic drug company for violations of the Federal...
Source: Health Care Renewal - May 14, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: FDA outsourcing crime adulterated drugs Ranbaxy adverse effects Daiichi Sankyo manufacturing problems Source Type: blogs

Online USMLE Programs Throughout the USA∙ Guaranteed PASS Pr
by helpforusmle (Posted Sat May 11, 2013 12:13 pm)"Reinventing the way that we that teach traditional medical education…" Program Information (24-hour INFORMATION LINE) PH# Six four one seven one five thirty nine hundred extension eight three three seven six eight Commences on the 1st day of each month, 2013Terms: If you do not PASS THE USMLE, you will PAY NOTHING; otherwise you will pay $12,750 (discounted by $2000 to $10,750 for all registrations; IF YOU MENTION this POST and ENROLL BEFORE 5-31-2013!) General Description ( See the APPENDIX for a DETAILED Sample Schedule/Timetable for Our Professional Online USMLE Prep...
Source: Med Student Guide - May 11, 2013 Category: Medical Students Source Type: blogs

The Drug Industry’s Invisible Influence on Prescribers: Key Opinion Leaders and Publication Planning -by Andrea Tarr
Two of the speakers at the ISDB symposium in Vancouver—Sergio Sismondo (Professor of Philosophy, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario) and Adriane Fugh-Berman (Georgetown University Medical Center, Pharmacology and Physiology, Washington, DC)—highlighted techniques in knowledge manage- ment used by the drug industry to promote their products. In the pharmaceutical industry, knowledge is a resource to be accumulated, shaped and deployed to best promotional effect. To this end, the industry produces an abundance of special-purpose knowledge, flooding the markets it is most interested in, and distributing it via its ...
Source: PharmaGossip - May 9, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

FDA to Titan: ‘NO’ on Probuphine
A few weeks ago I described Reckitt Benckiser as a ship returning to port, after the FDA ‘bitch-slapped’ the company for a bit of trickery that was intended to block generics from making Suboxone. As an aside… I wondered if ‘bitch-slap’ would be an offensive, misogynist term, or whether it was a fair way to describe what happened [...] (Source: Suboxone Talk Zone)
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - May 4, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: J T Junig Tags: Addiction Buprenorphine Legal Pharma pharmacology Public policy Suboxone treatment new treatments for addiction opioid dependence probuphine suboxone alternatives zubsolv Source Type: blogs

Hazards of using enoxaparin in patients with reduced creatinine clearance but above the threshold for dose adjustment
(Source: Notes from Dr. RW)
Source: Notes from Dr. RW - May 2, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Tags: pharmacology hematology cardiovascular nephrology Source Type: blogs

The Testosterone Trap
Should the Modern Man Be Taking Testosterone? Is It Low T? .com By now you've likely seen the commercials. Fit-looking middle-age men telling you how they put on weight, had less energy, and were no longer the sexual tigers they were in their twenties -- until, that is, they started rubbing testosterone gel on their shoulder, upper arm, or abdomen. Now they feel more like the men they used to be. The commercials don't mention a 2009 study in the New England Journal of Medicine wherein a group of men on testosterone replacement therapy had more than four times the number of cardiovascular problems -- so many that the s...
Source: PharmaGossip - May 2, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Trying to sort out all the STEM and STEM related departments, graduate programs , at #UCDavis
Well, I was in a meeting yesterday for the UC Davis ADVANCE program. This program is an NSF funded project to improve presence of women and underrepresented minorities on the faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). So I decided to see - how many departments at UC Davis might participate in such an initiative. And, well, wow. I knew there were a lot of STEM or STEM-related departments at UC Davis but I did not know there were this many. Here is a list I compiled of UC Davis STEM or STEM-related Departments. I included medical departments here since many people in such...
Source: The Tree of Life - April 27, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Jonathan Eisen Source Type: blogs

Watching PARP1 Inhibitors Fail To Work, Cell By Cell
Here's something that's been sort of a dream of medicinal chemists and pharmacologists, and now can begin to be realized: single-cell pharmacokinetics. For those outside the field, you should know that we spend a lot of time on our drug candidates, evaluating whether they're actually getting to where we want them to. And there's a lot to unpack in that statement: the compound (if it's an oral dose) has to get out of the gut and into the bloodstream, survive the versatile shredding machine of the liver (which is where all the blood from from the gut goes first), and get out into the general circulation. But all destination...
Source: In the Pipeline - April 24, 2013 Category: Chemists Tags: Pharmacokinetics Source Type: blogs

Pharmed Out's conference. "Medical Behavior in a Commercial World: Who Is Responsible?", June 6-7, 2013 at Georgetown University.
Pharmed Out's highly-acclaimed annual CME conference. "Medical Behavior in a Commercial World: Who Is Responsible?", will be held on June 6-7, 2013 at Georgetown University.This year, we will explore the ethical responsibilities of health care providers, medical journals, industry and payers on therapeutic choices, and the public health implications of pharmaceutical and medical device marketing. We will have a surprise guest: a former pharmaceutical executive from a top 5 company who will be discussing ethical conflicts inside the industry.Our all-star lineup also includes:- Marcia Angell MD, author of The Truth About Dru...
Source: PharmaGossip - April 24, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Jury awards $63M to Samantha Reckis, girl who lost skin after taking Motrin - CBS News
via cbsnews.com BOSTONA jury has awarded a Massachusetts teenager and her parents $63 million nearly a decade after she suffered a life-threatening drug reaction that caused her to lose most of her skin after taking Johnson & Johnson's children's pain reliever Motrin. Johnson & Johnson and its McNeil-PPC Inc. subsidiary should pay Samantha Reckis and her parents a total of $109 million, including interest, a Plymouth Superior Court jury decided on Wednesday. Samantha was 7 when she was given Motrin brand ibuprofen, family attorney Brad Henry said. She suffered a rare side effect known as toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) an...
Source: PharmaGossip - April 21, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Safe drug use in long QT and Brugada syndromes
(Source: Notes from Dr. RW)
Source: Notes from Dr. RW - April 17, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Tags: pharmacology cardiovascular Source Type: blogs

FDA Drug Shortages: Fundamental Problem is the Inability for the Market to Observe and Reward Quality
Conclusion Ultimately, the FDA officials argued that “the fundamental problem with injectible shortages is insufficient market reward for quality (including reliability of production) stemming from the buyers’ inability to observe it.” This in turn gives manufacturers strong incentives to minimize quality system investments, especially when faced with pressures brought about by new production opportunities, aging facilities, and the recent economic downturn. Until new incentives are provided to improve quality, it is uncertain whether generic-injectable makers will adequately address quality issues. (Source: Policy and Medicine)
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 12, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs

Pharmacology Versus Biology
There's a comment made by CellBio to the recent post on phenotypic screening that I wanted to highlight I think it's an important point: In drug discovery, we need fewer biologists dedicated to their biology, and more pharmacologists dedicated to testing the value of compounds. He's not the first one to bemoan the decline of classic pharmacology. What we're talking about are the different answers to the (apparently) simple question, "What does this compound do?" The answer you're most likely to hear is something like "It's a such-and-such nanomolar Whateverase IV inhibitor". But the question could also be answered by say...
Source: In the Pipeline - April 10, 2013 Category: Chemists Tags: Drug Assays Source Type: blogs

The Coming Alzheimer’s Tsunami
When it hits, the Alzheimer's tsunami will cause havoc and destruction, and will probably do so suddenly. The longer we wait, the more intense and more devastating the effects will be. By Max Wallack Alzheimer's Reading Room Perhaps you have heard the oncoming increase in Alzheimer's cases referred to as an impending tsunami. Have you ever stopped to think about what this means? "Tsunami" is a Japanese word that refers to what were once called a "tidal wave" in English. A tsunami begins with an undersea disturbance such as an earthquake, resulting in a buildup of water pressure. Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Rea...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - April 10, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Max Wallack Source Type: blogs

Open standards: Collaborative disruption
The Learning Health System (LHS) – Essential Standards to Enable Learning (ESTEL) is the theme of an initiative we just launched through CDISC (Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium) on behalf of the Learning Health Community. Twenty of the brightest minds in the area of health IT in the U.S. and a representative from Argentina convened in early February to develop LHS use cases and identify relevant standards, opportunities and challenges. The output of the ESTEL Launch meeting was presented in a webinar on March 14th, after which I was encouraged to write a blog post for Disruptive Women. I must say that my ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - April 9, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Innovation open standards research Source Type: blogs

'Insane' rules block medical trial of fungus - The Independent
Absurd and outdated laws on illegal drugs have prevented the start of a ground-breaking clinical trial into of a treatment for depression using the active ingredient of magic mushrooms, the leading pharmacologist Professor David Nutt will tell the British Neuroscience Association (BNA) festival in London today. Professor Nutt, who was controversially sacked as the Labour government's drugs tsar for his outspoken views on illegal drugs in 2009, was awarded a £550,000 grant from the Medical Research Council to conduct the world's first attempt to see if the hallucinogenic substance psilocybin can be used to treat severe d...
Source: PharmaGossip - April 7, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

68 minutes with chest compressions, full recovery. Plus recommendations from a 5-member panel on cardiac arrest.
The following is told with full permission of the patient, who is a paramedic who also started, owns and runs with his wife a company for teaching CPR. He has taught CPR to over 100,000 people. And he's a wonderful guy. Here is his story:Near midnight in December, this 56 yo very healthy and vigorous paramedic was out on a run with a critical case when his partner found him unresponsive in the front seat of the ambulance. The partner began manual chest compressions immediately and called for help. He was found to be in ventricular fibrillation and was defibrillated 4 times, unsuccessfully.&nb...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - April 6, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs

Stealing A Compound, To Set Up in China
Here's a strange case worth keeping an eye on. Via Deborah Blum's Twitter feed we have this report of a researcher in Wisconsin being charged with economic espionage - specifically, investigational oncology. Huajun Zhao, 42, faces a single count of economic espionage, according to a federal criminal complaint, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. . . . . .According to the complaint, Zhao worked as an associate researcher at the college, assisting professor Marshall Anderson by conducting experiments in pharmacology. On Feb. 22, Anderson set down three pill bottle-size containers of a ca...
Source: In the Pipeline - April 2, 2013 Category: Chemists Tags: Cancer Source Type: blogs

Alzheimer's Claims Yet Another Brilliant Mind
I told myself her confusion was the result of some medication for back pain. I did not want to admit that one of the kindest, smartest people I had ever met might be slipping away. By Max Wallack Alzheimer's Reading Room Yet another person I really care about has become affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Although not a blood relative, this person has had a profound influence on my life since I was four years old. I have considered her my primarily role model. She was the one that taught me that each person has gifts that can benefit society, and with those gifts comes an obligation to make this world a better place. W...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - March 31, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Max Wallack Source Type: blogs

The Sudden Death of Your Child After Vaccination May Be Written Off by Researchers, Here’s How…
Conclusion SIDS has been occurring since long before vaccination was invented. [17] As records of its incidence were not kept until relatively recently, it is not possible to know whether the rate of SIDS in modern times is different to what it was in the distant past. To gain more insight into the distressing phenomenon of SIDS, blood sugar levels at the time of death should be assessed in every SIDS autopsy, and every vaccine that is recommended for infants should be tested to find out whether it causes blood sugar levels to drop at any time after vaccination. References 1. Vennemann, M.M., Butterfaß-Bahloul, T...
Source: vactruth.com - March 23, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Wendy Lydall Tags: Top Stories Wendy Lydall Case Control Study metabolic disorders Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Vaccine Research Whooping Cough Vaccine Safety Source Type: blogs

Can Aerobic Exercise and Environmental Enrichment Slow Alzheimer's Disease?
In this study, scientists who were already providing wild mice with a running wheel for exercise, decided to add a novel toy or object to explore to their cage each day. The results were amazing. While the mice doing aerobic exercise were less impaired when injected with amyloid beta from Alzheimer’s patients, those mice who were given the novel toys each day were significantly less impaired than those with the aerobic exercise alone. Could it be that the novelty of going to the gym every day had a significant effect upon Dotty, above and beyond the exercise factor? It looks like that is a very real possibility. We all...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - March 23, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Max Wallack Source Type: blogs

All “A-Twitter” at ACC.13
As cardiovascular science marches forward, certainly demonstrated at the ACC.13 Annual Scientific Session, so too does the way technology is used to expand communication. Innovation has changed the way we practice medicine—witness TAVR, the use of LVAD and the emergence of new pharmacology for the betterment of our patient care—and similarly, innovation has forever altered the way we locate and consume the latest science and education reports as well as how we share education information with patients. This weekend, smart phones and tablets dominated the hallways of the convention center at ACC.13. While ...
Source: ACC in Touch Blog - March 15, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Administrator Tags: ACC Scientific Session Source Type: blogs

Suboxone as Problem, Suboxone as Solution
A local District Attorney wrote to me last week to express his concern about the increased diversion of buprenorphine. I often sense an undercurrent of tension when I cross paths with attorneys, aware of the different attitudes that we hold that arise from our different roles in society. The DA wrote about the dramatic increase in [...] (Source: Suboxone Talk Zone)
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - March 14, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: J T Junig Tags: Addiction Buprenorphine Legal pharmacology Psychodynamics Public policy relapse side effects treatment hooked on the needle IV drug abuse Suboxone suboxone abuse suboxone diversion suboxone relapse Source Type: blogs

CCAs: Celebrating 10 Years as Part of the ACC Team
The ACC’s Cardiac Care Associate (CCA) designation and membership group began in 2003 in response to ACC’s focus on team-based cardiovascular care, a decade later this group has grown to include more than 5,000 members of the cardiac care team, including nurse practitioners, registered nurses, clinical nurse specialists, physician assistants and clinical pharmacists. Among the group’s biggest accomplishments over the last decade: National and state-level committee positions for CCA members, including on the ACC’s Board of Trustees Certificate of Accreditation as a provider of continuing nursin...
Source: ACC in Touch Blog - March 10, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Administrator Tags: ACC Scientific Session Source Type: blogs

The British Pharmacological Society and the MHRA don’t help the cause of honest science. They hinder it.
Jump to follow-up The bulletin of the British Pharmacological Society, Pharmacology Matters, declined to publish the following article. Sadly the Society seems to be more interested in "reputation management" than in truth. Luckily, it is not easy to suppress criticism these days. A version of the article has appeared in Research Fortnight where it will be seen by far more people than it would have been in Pharmacology Matters. This is the original version that I submitted to them. They would not allow me to quote Lewis’s comment (apropos of the sale of homeopathic meningitis vaccine) “Children will ...
Source: DC's goodscience - February 26, 2013 Category: Professors and Educators Authors: David Colquhoun Tags: Academia Adrian Eddleston Big Pharma British Pharmacological Society CAM MHRA arnica badscience BPS Kent Woods Medicines and Health Regulatory Authority Phillip Routledge regulation Richard Eastell Source Type: blogs

The Op-Ed: Entering The Golden Age Of Big Data
As drug development and diagnostics increasingly converge, the advent of personalized medicine is increasing all the time. Of course, we are not quite there yet, but the advent of electronic medical records and the genome are inching us closer all the time. But this poses challenges, of course, and Ted Driscoll, who heads the digital healthcare team at Claremont Creek Ventures, enthuses over the possibilities… One of the interesting facts we live with today is that most of the diseases we confront are largely because of our success at lifespan extension and simultaneous increase in per capita food production. It’s ...
Source: Pharmalot - February 20, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized companion diagnostics Electronic Medical Records Genomes Personalized Medicine Source Type: blogs

CCAs: Start Packing for San Francisco; ACC.13 Activities Await!
This post was authored by Eileen M. Handberg, PhD, ARNP-BC, FACC, and Margo B. Minissian, RN, ACNP-BC, CLS, AACC. Cardiac Care Associates (CCAs) have reached an important milestone this year as they celebrate 10 years of inclusion in ACC membership. The ACC has taken a strong position advocating for the importance of team-based care through governance and committee appointments both in the state chapters and at the national level. College CCA members actively participate in every facet of the ACC, providing input and enriching the College discussions and direction. The members of the care team represent and ...
Source: ACC in Touch Blog - February 19, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Administrator Tags: ACC Scientific Session Source Type: blogs

Urine Drug Testing on Suboxone
A recent exchange with a reader: I have been on buprenorphine for 5 yrs. Recently my doctor stated that my u/a t looked like I have been ‘loading my meds.’ He said my levels where ‘backwards’ and that would happen if I took just a few doses just before my appt. My doc had me [...] (Source: Suboxone Talk Zone)
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - February 15, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: J T Junig Tags: Addiction Buprenorphine Drug Testing pharmacology Suboxone Subutex treatment norbuprenorphine suboxone drug test mistakes suboxone tests Source Type: blogs

Up And Down The Ladder… Job Changes
Hired someone new and exciting? Promoted a rising star? Finally solved that hard-to-fill spot? Share the news with us and we’ll share with it others. That’s right. Send us your announcements and we’ll find a home for them. Don’t be shy. Everyone wants to know who is coming and going, especially with all the layoffs. Despite the downsizing, there is movement. Here are some of the latest changes. Recognize anyone? And here is our regular feature. Send us a photo and we will spotlight a different person each week. This time around, we note that FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research hired Rich Moscicki as dep...
Source: Pharmalot - February 15, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Berkeley Research Group BioHealth Innovation Biologics Bristol Myers Squibb FDA Genzyme Insight Genetics Ironwood Pharmaceuticals MEI Pharma Mylan Laboratories Oasmia Pharmaceuticals Onyx Pharmaceuticals Pain Therap Source Type: blogs

With a pill for every possible situation, pharmaceutical companies see patients as no more than pound-signs - - The Independent
As if our suffering patients didn’t have it bad enough, now the pharmaceuticals go and announce the failure of yet more drug trials dashing hopes for the million UK sufferers of Alzheimer’s. “Your health is our top concern,” trumpets one pharmaceutical company. Yet if these latest drug failures coupled with the outbreak of scandals surrounding the pharmaceutical industry are anything to go by it makes clear that big pharma’s main concern is anything but our health. So what is it that drives the industry? Profit. Obscene profit. To be more precise, profits that rank the almighty pharmas as one of the world’s ...
Source: PharmaGossip - February 15, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Kaiser Health Network
This article was produced by Kaiser Health News with support from The SCAN Foundation. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2012/march/13/off-label-use-of-risky-antipsychotic-drugs.aspx (Source: PharmaGossip)
Source: PharmaGossip - February 15, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Girl who lost most of her skin awarded $63 million in Motrin lawsuit
BOSTON -- Health care company Johnson & Johnson has been told to pay a Massachusetts teenager and her parents $63 million after she suffered a life-threatening drug reaction and lost most of her skin when she took a children's pain reliever nearly a decade ago. A Plymouth Superior Court jury Wednesday decided Johnson & Johnson and its McNeil Laboratories subsidiary should pay Samantha Reckis and her parents a total of $109 million, including interest. Family attorney Brad Henry says Samantha was 7 when she was given Motrin brand ibuprofen. She suffered a rare side effect known as toxic epidermal necrolysis and lost 90 pe...
Source: PharmaGossip - February 13, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Thank You to All My Supporters on the Alzheimer's Reading Room
By Max Wallack Alzheimer's Reading Room Unfortunately, even with the support of so many tireless Alzheimer’s advocates, and with the support of so many readers at the Alzheimer's Reading Room, and even with the strong support of Bob DeMarco, my cause for Alzheimer’s research is not the winner of the $10,000 award in the Kids Who Give contest. However, the contest was a wonderful experience because I came in contact with so many people who share my passion to make a difference in the course of this disease. Today, one supporter donated $5000 of his private funds for Alzheimer’s research at BUSM. I will continue...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 12, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Max Wallack Source Type: blogs

An FDA Seal Of Approval To Prevent Shortages?
As concerns persist over prescription drug shortages, the FDA is looking for ways to perform a tricky balancing act – maintain a commitment to enforcement while encouraging manufacturing quality so shortages can be avoided. The problem, in particular, has involved sterile injectable medicines, since the production process can be vulnerable to contamination (see this). And remediation, of course, can lead to production slowdowns and shutdowns. The shortages, as you may recall, have reverberated in different ways. Several US Senators say pricing by group purchasing organizations is to blame. Shortages have fed greater...
Source: Pharmalot - February 6, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Drug Shorages FDA Janet Woodcock Prescription Drug Shorages Source Type: blogs

Continuous infusion Zosyn (Pip/Tazo)
(Source: Notes from Dr. RW)
Source: Notes from Dr. RW - February 3, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Tags: pharmacology infectious disease Source Type: blogs

Up And Down The Ladder… Job Changes
Hired someone new and exciting? Promoted a rising star? Finally solved that hard-to-fill spot? Share the news with us and we’ll share with it others. That’s right. Send us your announcements and we’ll find a home for them. Don’t be shy. Everyone wants to know who is coming and going, especially with all the layoffs. Despite the downsizing, there is movement. Here are some of the latest changes. Recognize anyone? And here is our regular feature. Send us a photo and we will spotlight a different person each week. This time around, we note that MyoKardia hired Jonathan Fox as chief medical officer. He previously was v...
Source: Pharmalot - February 1, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Clondalkin Comprehensive Clinical Development Cytovance Juventas Therapeutics Metrics MyoKardia Novella Clinical Novo Nordisk Pantheon Questcor Pharmaceuticals Synteract Source Type: blogs

Link to Great Alzheimer's Videos by Geriatric Care Manager Carole Larkin
ThirdAge Services provides expert, impartial support for cognitively impaired people and their families. They offer services to help families make the best choices about caring for a loved one with dementia. By Max Wallack Alzheimer's Reading Room I want to share some excellent videos about Alzheimer’s disease with you. These videos were made by Carole Larkin, a geriatric care manager with expertise in the field of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Her first video discusses how to go about getting a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementia. You can watch this video here. Carole has three additional videos that...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - January 30, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Max Wallack Source Type: blogs