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Laser eye surgery comes under close scrutiny

More and more people are having laser vision corrective surgery (LASIK surgery) in the hope that their vision will be restored to such an extent that glasses will no longer be needed.

28 Apr 2008

FDA official says agency cannot ensure safety of all medications sold in U.S.

Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at FDA, on Thursday at a Senate hearing said that the number of medication ingredients manufactured abroad limits the ability of the agency to ensure the safety of all treatments sold in the U.S., CQ HealthBeat reports (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 4/24).

26 Apr 2008

FDA approves Actonel (risedronate sodium) for postmenopausal osteoporosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new once-a-month dose (150 mg) of Actonel (risedronate sodium) tablets for the treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Actonel is approved to reduce the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

24 Apr 2008

Federal Government should 'pay its bills' instead of shifting health care, other costs to atates, Arizona Gov. Napolitano writes

States are "in a precarious position" this year because the "economy is slowing down," revenues from taxes are declining and "demand for expensive services -- health care, food assistance and the like -- is growing," Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

24 Apr 2008

Researchers identify Heme detoxification protein - potential target for developing new malaria drugs

Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have identified Heme Detoxification Protein (HDP), a unique protein encoded in the malaria genome that represents a potential target for developing new malaria drugs.

24 Apr 2008

AMPK signaling helps explain how cell growth is inhibited when nutrients are low

A team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies think they know how many-if not most-living organisms answer this question. They recently showed that when food supplies dwindle, mammals, fruitflies, or frogs probably activate the same ancient cell signaling pathway in order to conserve energy.

24 Apr 2008

Tredaptive and Janumet recommended for approval in European Union

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing the combination of extended release (ER) niacin and laropiprant under the trademark Cordaptive (ER niacin/laropiprant). The CHMP recommendation does not apply to regulatory decisions by the FDA and no inferences should be made about pending FDA regulatory actions based on the recommendation of the CHMP.

24 Apr 2008

FDA approves Relistor for opioid-induced constipation - helps reduce effects of drugs like morphine on bowel function

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Relistor (methylnaltrexone bromide) to help restore bowel function in patients with late-stage, advanced illness who are receiving opioids on a continuous basis to help alleviate their pain.

24 Apr 2008

Medicare prescription drug benefit improved access to medications for most seniors, but sickest seniors continued skipping pills because of cost issues, study finds

The percentage of seniors who said they skipped taking medications because of costs declined after the Medicare prescription drug benefit took effect in January 2006, but the sickest beneficiaries still skip prescriptions because they cannot afford to pay for them, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Reuters reports.

23 Apr 2008

FDA issues regulation on animal feeds with added safeguards against BSE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a final regulation barring certain cattle materials from all animal feed, including pet food. The final rule further protects animals and consumers against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as "mad cow disease").

23 Apr 2008

Teenage health in Europe

After three years of work, the EU funded research programme HELENA has revealed its initial results. It concludes that amongst European adolescents, approximately 27% of males and 20% of females are either overweight or obese. It also reveals for the first time at European level, food intake and physical activity patterns for adolescents.

23 Apr 2008

Slowing the spread of cancer in Albania

Once locked in decades of isolation, Albania is seeing new horizons in the fight against poverty. Expectations run high, driving demands for better - and healthier - lives.

23 Apr 2008

FDA approves guayule latex gloves

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing the first device made from a new form of natural rubber latex, guayule latex. The product, the Yulex Patient Examination Glove, is derived from the guayule bush, a desert plant native to the Southwestern United States.

23 Apr 2008

Global food price increase forces World Vision to scale back food aid program

One of the world's largest humanitarian organizations has announced it can no longer provide food to 1.5 million of the 7.5 million poor it fed last year.

23 Apr 2008

Child's sex is associated with the mother's diet

New research by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford provides the first evidence that a child's sex is associated with the mother's diet. Published today (23 April 2008), in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the study shows a clear link between higher energy intake around the time of conception and the birth of sons.

22 Apr 2008

Sub-Saharan African countries not on track to meet MDGs, U.N. Secretary General Ban says

Sub-Saharan African countries likely will not meet the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals -- which include reducing the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria -- by 2015, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday at the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development in Accra, Ghana, AFP/Google.com reports.

22 Apr 2008

Sickest patients still struggle under new Medicare Part D benefit

A recent study finds that the advantages of the new Medicare Part D drug benefit-a program that for the first time offers Medicare recipients prescription drug coverage-are mixed.

22 Apr 2008

Still lack of knowledge regarding Medicare's Part D prescription drug program

There still appears to be some lack of knowledge regarding Medicare's Part D prescription drug program, although there is evidence that cost-related medication nonadherence may have improved overall, according to two studies in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

22 Apr 2008

Taro Pharmaceutical receives final FDA approval for Cetirizine Hydrochloride oral solution

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. reported today that it has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for its Abbreviated New Drug Application ("ANDA") for cetirizine hydrochloride oral solution, 1 mg / 1 mL ("Cetirizine Oral Solution").

22 Apr 2008

Severe acute watery diarrhoea with Vibrio cholerae positive cases in Vietnam

Between 5 March and 22 April the Ministry of Health of Vietnam reported 2,490 cases of severe acute watery diarrhoea including 377 that were positive for Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium causing cholera.

22 Apr 2008