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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.

Cancer stem cells similar to normal stem cells thwart anti-cancer agents

Current cancer therapies often succeed at initially eliminating the bulk of the disease, including all rapidly proliferating cells, but are eventually thwarted because they cannot eliminate a small reservoir of multiple-drug-resistant tumor cells, called cancer stem cells, which ultimately become the source of disease recurrence and eventual metastasis.

19 Jun 2007

Gaps in diabetes care identified

A symposium, sponsored by the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, Joslin Diabetes Center and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing identified barriers to, and strategies for, more effective diabetes self management and reaffirmed the nurse's critical role to facilitate better patient self care.

17 Jun 2007

Don't flush old or unused medications

Your spring cleaning is done. Or is it? Did you clean out your medicine cabinet? Before you flush old or unused medication, precautions need to be taken.

16 Jun 2007

New model shows how simple chemical and physical processes may have laid the foundation for life

Before life emerged on earth, either a primitive kind of metabolism or an RNA-like duplicating machinery must have set the stage, so experts believe.

15 Jun 2007

Structure of protein altered in autism revealed

As a result of mapping the structure of the protein complex implicated in autism spectrum disorders, a research team led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has discovered how particular genetic mutations affect this complex and contribute to the developmental abnormalities found in children with autism.

15 Jun 2007

Splitting high-dose pills and swallowing half could save cost

Slicing certain pills in half could slice a hefty amount off of America's prescription drug costs. While only some types of pills can be split safely, the practice could be used by millions of Americans – including many of those who take popular cholesterol-lowering drugs.

15 Jun 2007

Call for greater research into paediatric drugs for epilepsy

Researchers have called for urgent studies into the long-term safety of newer antiepileptic drugs after discovering that the number given to children has increased significantly over recent years, reports the June issue of British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

14 Jun 2007

Congress urged to cover home infusion therapy for Medicare beneficiaries

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is urging Congress to support the Medicare Home Infusion Therapy Coverage Act of 2007 (H.R. 2567), bipartisan legislation introduced yesterday by Reps.

8 Jun 2007

Experts call for greater research into paediatric drugs for epilepsy

8 Jun 2007

Drug use increasing among young American Indians

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center have completed a study that compared the age of first-time drug users across the nation to the age of first-time drug users on and near two different American Indian reservations.

1 Jun 2007

New mothers often not asked about depression

The majority of doctors in North Carolina do not probe for signs of postpartum depression in new mothers, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

1 Jun 2007

Pharmacists play critical role in reducing medication discrepancies

Involving pharmacists in obtaining and assessing a patient's medication history before elective surgery can significantly reduce medication discrepancies upon hospital admission.

30 May 2007

Tracing the path of depression

David Nutt, Professor of Psychopharmacology, said: "The development of one of these radioactive tracers to enable the study of noradrenaline and its related processes in those suffering depression is critical to our proper understanding of this disease.

27 May 2007

New treatment for toxic shock syndrome

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new therapeutic that neutralizes Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) more effectively than other treatments.

23 May 2007

New strategy to inoculate medical staff in a pandemic situation

Community preparedness for a bioterrorism attack or influenza outbreak has been the focus of much interest and effort in recent years.

22 May 2007

Heart-failure patients take their medicine more reliably when under the care of a pharmacist

...resulting in fewer emergency-room visits and hospital stays as well as lower health-care costs, according to a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy.

15 May 2007

Origins of modern medicine lie in ancient Egypt not Greece

Scientists examining documents dating back 3,500 years say they have found proof that the origins of modern medicine lie in ancient Egypt and not with Hippocrates and the Greeks.

From The University of Manchester 10 May 2007

Study finds collective bargaining rights for independent pharmacists could cost Medicare and commercial payors $29.6 billion over five years

A key legislative priority championed by the independent drugstore lobby, HR 971, that would provide pharmacists with new, sweeping collective bargaining rights could increase prescription drug costs for Medicare and commercial payors by 11.8 percent, or $29.6 billion, over five years, according to a new analysis from CRA International released by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA).

9 May 2007

Health care experiences and health status of African-American veterans

African-American veterans of the armed forces often struggle to get the health care they need, says a new report from Northeastern University's Institute on Urban Health Research (IUHR).

4 May 2007

FDA wants new warnings on antidepressant medications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed that makers of all antidepressant medications update the existing black box warning on their products' labeling to include warnings about increased risks of suicidal thinking and behavior, known as suicidality, in young adults ages 18 to 24 during initial treatment (generally the first one to two months).

4 May 2007