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Community pharmacy, also known as retail pharmacy, is the most common type of pharmacy that allows the public access to their medications and advice about their health. Traditionally known as a chemist, it is the healthcare facility that is responsible for the provision of pharmaceutical service to a specific community group or region.

Half of Britons at risk from heart disease

More than half the people tested in a national pharmacy initiative to identify the threat of high blood pressure were found to be at risk according to new research launched today at the British Pharmaceutical Conference.

27 Sep 2004

People with diabetes may soon be able to swap their tablets for creams and ointments

This news will come as a relief for type 2 diabetes patients who are routinely treated with oral hypoglycaemic drugs to lower their blood glucose levels. These can cause severe gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

27 Sep 2004

Active ingredients of soya may help beat breast cancer

Researchers are investigating whether it is possible to turn the active ingredients of soya into a useful medicine that may help to beat breast cancer, the British Pharmaceutical Conference heard today.

27 Sep 2004

Half of sildenafil samples purchased on the internet were fake

Around half of the Viagra samples purchased on the Internet were counterfeit, according to researchers who are today announcing a new technique that detects counterfeit medicines at the British Pharmaceutical Conference.

27 Sep 2004

Drug companies and FDA crack down on Canadian drug importation to protect profits

With an election on the horizon, and Canadian pharmacies proving to be as safe as U.S. counterparts, the Food and Drug Administration and big pharma are increasing efforts to prevent Canadian drug importation.

26 Sep 2004

Drug shortages are having major negative effects on patient care and hospital costs

A study to be published in the October 1, 2004, issue of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy finds that ongoing drug shortages are having far-ranging, negative effects on patient care and hospital costs.

26 Sep 2004

Medicare drug card savings growing, new data show

Seniors are now saving more money with the new Medicare-approved drug discount cards, the nation’s top Medicare official announced today at a forum held by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

23 Sep 2004

FDA proposal on antidepressants is premature and may be counterproductive

The recent FDA proposal to force antidepressants to carry warnings about increased suicide risk is the subject of a pair of articles by leading experts in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

23 Sep 2004

University of Arizona spin-off investigates DNA damage to human skin

Niadyne, Inc., a Tucson-based spin-off biopharmaceutical company co-founded by two University of Arizona professors, has received a Small Business Innovation Research grant of nearly $750,000 to continue investigating the prevention of DNA damage to human skin

22 Sep 2004

HHS enhances Medicare drug card program to help seniors

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced new measures to help seniors get the lowest price possible for their medicines by allowing them -- for the first time -- to compare prices for similar drugs used to treat common diseases such as high cholesterol or blood pressure.

15 Sep 2004

Grant to study genetics and drug interaction

A University of Minnesota researcher received a nearly $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how genetic differences affect whether people will experience dangerous drug interactions and how to adjust medications to avoid those interactions.

10 Sep 2004

Transthyretin discovery may halt progression of Alzheimer's

In a finding that may cause a dramatic shift in the way scientists and researchers search for a therapy for Alzheimer's disease, a team of researchers led by Jeff Johnson, an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, has discovered that increased expression of a protein called transthyretin in the brain appears to halt the progression of the disease.

10 Sep 2004

Health Canada is advising consumers of a recall of potassium replacement products

Health Canada is advising consumers of a recall of potassium replacement products distributed in Canada by EuroPharm International Canada Inc. and Laboratoire Riva Inc. Potassium replacement products are used in the treatment and prevention of potassium depletion.

2 Sep 2004

Pfizer files lawsuits against eighteen internet sites for selling illegal copies of LIPITOR

Pfizer has filed lawsuits against a second group of operators of eighteen internet sites for selling unapproved and illegal copies of Pfizer’s leading cholesterol medicine, LIPITOR®, the company said today.

2 Sep 2004

Researchers look to make more effective drug treatments for tuberculosis

Tuberculosis isn’t yet making a major comeback in the U.S. but one- third of the world’s population is infected with the disease, and it poses a major danger to health worldwide.

26 Aug 2004

Artificial heart can keep patients awaiting heart transplant alive

The results of the nine-year study of the CardioWest Total Artificial Heart have concluded that the device prevents death in critically ill patients suffering from irreversible failure of both sides of the heart who are candidates for heart transplantation.

26 Aug 2004

Blueberries may lower cholesterol

New research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that blueberries may lower cholesterol as effectively as a commercial drug and have the potential for fewer adverse side effects.

23 Aug 2004

Diarrhea the leading cause of death among the developing world's children

To most people in the developed world, diarrhea is a nuisance. It means some discomfort and maybe a trip to the local pharmacy.

23 Aug 2004

Dual-action compound shows promise in killing prostate cancer cells

Ohio State University researchers are working on developing a multi-purpose cancer drug that might one day scale back the number of medications some cancer patients need to take.

22 Aug 2004

Florida-based online pharmacy illegally prescribed the powerful painkiller Vicodin to an Illinois state employee

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Secretary Fernando Grillo today announced a suit has been filed against a Florida-based online pharmacy that illegally prescribed the powerful painkiller Vicodin to an employee in Madigan's office posing as a consumer who had injured his back after slipping on ice.

20 Aug 2004