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Democrats should 'stand up strongly' for principles, columnist writes

If the Democrats gain control of at least one chamber of Congress, "the best thing that [they] can do, not just for their party and their country, but for the cause of bipartisanship, is ... stand up strongly for their principles," columnist Paul Krugman writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

23 Oct 2006

Washington, D.C., to offer caremark Rx discount cards to all residents

Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams on Wednesday announced a program called DC Rx that will provide prescription drug discount cards at no cost to residents, the Washington Post reports (Silverman, Washington Post, 10/19).

22 Oct 2006

Columnist explores reasons for discrepancy in U.S., foreign health spending, related life expectancies

The answer to why many countries spend less on health care than the U.S. and have higher life expectancies is "fantastically complicated -- but also fantastically important," New York Times columnist David Leonhardt writes.

19 Oct 2006

Antiretroviral drug discounts should be extended for countries classified as 'middle-income'

Pricing antiretroviral drugs and other "lifesaving" medications based on a country's gross national income per capita "seems particularly arbitrary -- and even cruel" -- given that HIV-positive people often have incomes "well below what might be considered a country's 'average' income," Jorge Saavedra Lopez.

19 Oct 2006

Toxic chemical found in 3 more medicines in Panama

A toxic chemical found in contaminated cough syrup suspected to have caused the deaths of 22 people in Panama, has now been found in three more medications made by a government-run factory in Panama.

19 Oct 2006

Why organs fail following massive trauma

Massive trauma, say from a sabertooth tiger attack, meant immediate death for the primitive human.

17 Oct 2006

Abuse of caffeine pills can land you in intensive care

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) says many young Americans are ending up in hospital because of an abuse of caffeine medications.

17 Oct 2006

FDA Attorneys seek dismissal of Plan B lawsuit

The Center for Reproductive Rights on Wednesday during two hearings at a U.S. District Court in New York City asked federal judges to grant a subpoena of White House documents and officials in its lawsuit against FDA over the agency's rejection of Barr Laboratories' first application for nonprescription Plan B sales, Long Island Newsday reports.

16 Oct 2006

U.S. consumers' health care concerns

USA Today on Monday published three articles addressing U.S. consumers' health care concerns as part of a week-long series titled "Prescription for Change," which examines possible improvements to the U.S. health care system.

16 Oct 2006

Contaminated cough syrup kills 22 in Panama

The mysterious deaths of 22 people in Panama have now been linked to a contaminated cough syrup.

16 Oct 2006

Photochemistry creates drug-trapping nanoparticles

Many of the most potent anticancer agents are poorly soluble in water, presenting a challenge for medicinal chemists who must develop methods of delivering these drugs in the watery environment of the human body.

9 Oct 2006

New York Times examines efforts to obtain FDA approval for Abraxane to treat earlier-stage cancer

The New York Times has examined efforts by the pharmaceutical company Abraxis BioScience to obtain FDA approval for its late-stage breast cancer drug Abraxane as a treatment for earlier-stage breast cancer.

5 Oct 2006

U.S. Customs to stop seizing Canadian drugs

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Tuesday said that as of Oct. 9 they will no longer seize prescription drugs sent by mail to U.S. residents from Canadian pharmacies, the Wall Street Journal reports (Carreyrou, Wall Street Journal, 10/4).

5 Oct 2006

U.S. must do more to protect integrity of pharmaceuticals

The business of counterfeit prescription drugs "has grown to frightening proportions," and the U.S. must do more to "protect the integrity of pharmaceuticals dispensed" in the nation, Henry Miller, a physician and Hoover Institution fellow, writes in a Washington Times opinion piece.

5 Oct 2006

Health drugs recommended for depression lack sound scientific backing

According to a new study the majority of drugs recommended by health shops to treat depression have no sound scientific backing.

5 Oct 2006

Now OK to get prescription drugs from Canada, but is it really?

According to the consumer group that sponsored "Rx Express" trains to Canada, the U.S. Customs announcement that it will no longer seize prescription drugs being shipped to the U.S. is not the solution that patients need.

5 Oct 2006

FDA more cautious in approving new drugs after Vioxx

Many pharmaceutical companies and industry observers say that FDA is "quietly becoming more assertive about keeping new drugs off the market or refusing to approve new uses for existing medications" in response to criticism since the 2004 Vioxx recall, the New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2006

Democrats focus on income gap, health care costs in election campaigns

Many Democratic candidates "see this as the year when the widening gap between the rich and the rest of America will help win them votes" and some have focused on the issue of health care costs for middle-income voters, the Wall Street Journal reports.

3 Oct 2006

Temperature-sensitive nanoparticle boosts drug antitumor activity

Using temperature-sensitive, lipid- and polymer-based nanoparticles with a polymer coating, researchers in Korea have created an anticancer drug delivery vehicle that may provide a significant boost to the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer agents, particularly when used in conjunction with hyperthermia.

2 Oct 2006