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Variability in weight and drug content of split tablet may put patients at risk of receiving wrong dosage

Back and neck pain sufferers who divide the most frequently prescribed muscle relaxant may be getting anywhere from half to one-and-a-half times the amount of medicine they believe they are taking, suggests a new study examining the practice of tablet splitting.

19 May 2004

25% of women in many countries voluntarily take folic acid tablets before conception

By taking folic acid before pregnancy or during the first few weeks after conception, women can markedly lower the risk of neural tube defects in their offspring; the defects commonly manifest themselves as a debilitating health condition known as spina bifida. The neural tube is fully developed 22 to 28 days after conception

19 May 2004

Dark chocolate and cocoa may help arterial stiffness

“This is the first study to investigate whether chocolate has any favorable effects on cardiovascular function in healthy subjects,” says Charalambos Vlachopoulos, MD, of the Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece. “We found dark chocolate improves endothelial function and decreases arterial stiffness in healthy young adults.”

19 May 2004

Survey shows chicken popular with low-carbohydrate dieters

The chicken industry has benefited even more than beef or pork from the high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets so popular with American consumers, according to a recent survey.

19 May 2004

Inactivating a protective molecule may help chemotherapy for leukemia but harm bone marrow

Inactivating a protective molecule in leukemic cells to make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy might also make healthy blood-forming cells more sensitive to the toxic effects of those same drugs.

19 May 2004

Survey of sulphur dioxide in soft drinks

A Food Standards Agency survey of soft drinks has found that manufacturers are making sure that sulphur dioxide levels are within the legal limits.

19 May 2004

Prescription drugs imported by patients into the United States may be unsafe

Prescription drugs imported by patients into the United States may be unsafe, ineffective, adulterated, misbranded, expired or counterfeit, and could result in harm or death, according to AMA Trustee Rebecca J. Patchin, MD, who testified before the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Task Force on Drug Importation on May 14.

19 May 2004

HHS launches new web pilot project for consumer health information

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the launch of a 9-month pilot project with WebMD Health to make HHS consumer health information more widely and more rapidly available to the public on a new HHS "channel" on WebMD.

17 May 2004

FDA to determine health significance of low furan levels in foods

The Food and Drug Administration today announced that it will embark on a thorough scientific assessment of the health significance of very low levels of furan -- a chemical that is produced through the heating process - in certain foods. FDA has initiated this process through a notice on display today at the Office of the Federal Register.

17 May 2004

IMPAX receives final FDA approval for generic version of Sinemet CR

IMPAX Laboratories, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted final approval to the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Carbidopa/Levodopa Extended Release Tablets, its generic version of Sinemet(R) CR tablets.

17 May 2004

Pharmaceutical agreement involving novel obesity compound

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Solvay Pharmaceuticals today announced that the companies have entered into a worldwide agreement for the Solvay compound SLV319, which is currently in Phase I development with potential for use in treating obesity and other metabolic disorders.

17 May 2004

Research suggests that weanling pigs are susceptible to West Nile virus infection

Since the emergence of West Nile virus in the Western Hemisphere in 1999, health care personnel have been on the lookout for signs of infection in people and animals. Recent research suggests that food processing personnel should beware of the presence of the virus in swine and a potential health risk to employees in pork processing plants.

17 May 2004

HHS to ensure safe, effective drugs delivered to developing countries under the President's $15 billion plan for AIDS relief

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced an expedited review process to ensure that the United States is providing safe, effective drugs to developing countries under the President's $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

16 May 2004

Drug discount card accepted across 41,000 US PCA pharmacies

Following Medicare's approval of its prescription drug discount card, the Pharmacy Care Alliance today announced that its growing network of pharmacies includes more than 31,000 chain and 10,000 independent representing more than 41,000 local pharmacies across the U.S.

16 May 2004

Researcher has learned how to maximize the cancer-fighting power of broccoli

University of Illinois researcher Elizabeth Jeffery has learned how to maximize the cancer-fighting power of broccoli. It involves heating broccoli just enough to eliminate a sulfur-grabbing protein, but not enough to stop the plant from releasing an important cancer-fighting compound called sulforaphane.

15 May 2004

FDA approval of topical anti-inflammatory cream

Atrix Laboratories, Inc. has announced the company received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market fluticasone propionate cream.

15 May 2004

Study to find the best diet to reduce heart disease and diabetes

The Medical Research Council has announced the launch of a landmark study to identify the best dietary strategies to reduce heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

15 May 2004

New device lab-on-a-chip sensor to detect milk contamination

Whitaker investigator David Beebe, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a process to make on-demand, miniature sensors for a wide variety of poisons, including naturally occurring contaminants and intentionally introduced toxins.

15 May 2004

Vitamin discovery offers clues for cancer chemotherapy

NH-Dartmouth Medical School cancer researchers, in a fusion of biochemistry and genetics, have discovered a new vitamin in a molecular pathway central to such vital processes as gene regulation, metabolism and aging. And, they found that milk contains this nutrient.

15 May 2004

New designer steroid discovered in anonymously provided syringe

A previously unknown synthetic "designer" steroid has been identified as tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). Researchers working out of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory in Los Angeles synthesized and characterized the "New Chemical Entity", and proceeded to develop a rapid and accurate urine detection test for it.

14 May 2004