May 10th, 2011 by Michael Kirsch, M.D. in Health Tips, Research
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When the medical press seizes a story, it can become an obsession. Any physician who is reading any journal is aware of the reported interaction between clopidrogel (Plavix) and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs, including Prilosec and her cousins. PPI medicines are not exotic elixirs known only to medical professionals. They are known to any person with a working TV set or who still reads a newspaper, since ads for these drugs are omnipresent. Just google ‘purple pill’ and begin your entrance into the PPI Chamber of Advertising.
PPI medicines are highly effective for peptic ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux, although I suspect that most patients on these medications do not have any true indication for them. (Disclosure: I’ve pulled the PPI trigger too quickly on many patients who do clearly require acid blocking medicines.) PPI medicines are prescribed to hospitalized patients almost by reflex, and are often administered by the intravenous route, even when patients can swallow pills adequately.
Medical studies in 2009 reported that PPI medications appeared to make Plavix less effective. Since thousands of patients are on both of these medicines, this drug interaction could affect a large cohort of patients. Plavix serves to keep coronary stents open and to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Clearly, any force that could diminish Plavix’s potency could have serious ramifications for patients. But, is it really true? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at MD Whistleblower*
May 10th, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in News
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About 9% of infants are given dietary botanical supplements or teas as young as 1 month old, prompting government researchers to warn physicians to look for side effects and other health risks.
Supplement use is common. Parents use them to help with fussiness, digestion, colic, and relaxation. Parents like them because there’s no prescription required, they’re traditional to many cultures, and they’re marketed as “natural.”
But, caution the authors of a paper that appeared in the journal Pediatrics, such supplements’ purity and potency are unregulated, they can interact with prescription medicines, they may contain heavy metals or other contaminants, and they may not adapt well to a newborn’s metabolism and body weight.
Supplement use is also common as a cause of emergency room visits. And they’re linked to seizures and death.
Researchers from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, a longitudinal survey of 2,653 women studied from late pregnancy through the first year of the child’s life. The sample was drawn from a nationally distributed consumer opinion panel of healthy adult mothers with healthy term or near-term infants.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
April 29th, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Health Tips, News
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The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a new warning about a medication that has been used for years and it has sent shock waves throughout my specialty. Terbutaline is an FDA approved medication that is used for asthmatic patients or patients who have significant narrowing of the airways. However for years it has been used as an “off-label” medication to treat preterm labor but now that’s about to change. An off-label drug means it hasn’t been approved for that specific use by the FDA.
According to the FDA, the injectable form of Terbutaline should only be used for a maximum of 24 to 72 hours because the drugs association with heart problems and death. The FDA goes on to say that the oral version (pills) should not be prescribed to treat preterm labor because it’s ineffective and can cause similar problems. As an obstetrician, I feel utterly betrayed. The medication clearly had side effects that included shortness of breath and a racing heart. As resident physicians we were taught that the benefit outweighed the risks of having a premature baby and the patients should try to adjust to the medication. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
April 28th, 2011 by AndrewSchorr in Health Policy, Opinion
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Imagine you’re a pharmaceutical company product manager and your specific product helps people with a chronic illness, or a cancer that can be managed by taking a pill or an injectable medicine over many years. You want to be part of the dialogue patients have with each other. You want to be part of the community. Facebook users, and other social media participants, are increasingly forming groups around health conditions, big and small. You want to be there, because, after all, your company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars developing the approved drug and hopes this medicine, and perhaps a successor, will be on the market for a long time.
This is an exciting time on the Internet and pharmaceutical product managers want to be part of health discussions. But it is fraught with legal pitfalls and penalties that can range into the millions of dollars if the product manager, or associated marketing agencies, make even an innocent mistake. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*
April 24th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in News, Research
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It’s about TIME!!! I read this fascinating story on NPR here.
An all-natural insect repellant called nootkatone found in Alaska yellow cedar trees and citrus fruits (like grapefruit) is being developed by the CDC. It is so safe for humans, it is even an FDA-approved food additive.
Nootkatone is not only safe for humans and the environment, it is a highly effective insect repellant. In fact, it is not only a bug repellant, but an insecticide causing death to biting insects like mosquitoes within 15 seconds.
Application of 2% nootkatone will also control ticks for up to 42 days at greater than 97 percent efficacy.
It is non-greasy, dries very quickly, and it has a very pleasant, citrus-y grapefruit odor to it.
Sounds too good to be true… But it is true! The only downside right now is that it is not available in the market, mainly because it is expensive — $4,000 per kilogram for highly purified food-grade material, which is used in parts-per-million amounts as a flavoring agent.
However, there are two companies that are currently working to make it available as insect control, hopefully in the near future!
Read more about this here.
References:
Susceptibility of four tick species, Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae), to nootkatone from essential oil of grapefruit. J Med Entomol. 2011 Mar;48(2):322-6.
Mode of action for natural products isolated from essential oils of two trees is different from available mosquito adulticides. J Med Entomol. 2010 Nov;47(6):1123-6.
Ability of two natural products, nootkatone and carvacrol, to suppress Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) in a Lyme disease endemic area of New Jersey. J Econ Entomol. 2009 Dec;102(6):2316-24.
Use of novel compounds for pest control: insecticidal and acaricidal activity of essential oil components from heartwood of Alaska yellow cedar. J Med Entomol. 2005 May;42(3):352-8.
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
When the medical press seizes a story, it can become an obsession. Any physician who is reading any journal is aware of the reported interaction between clopidrogel (Plavix) and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs, including Prilosec and her cousins. PPI medicines are not exotic elixirs known only to medical professionals. They are known to any person with a working TV set or who still reads a newspaper, since ads for these drugs are omnipresent. Just google ‘purple pill’ and begin your entrance into the PPI Chamber of Advertising.
