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High workloads for pharmacists increase the potential for medication errors

The risk of dispensing potentially harmful combinations of medications that could result in a drug interaction increased by 3 percent for each additional prescription filled per hour.

25 Apr 2007

Inner city kids from poor families much more likely to seek emergency care for asthma

Inner city children from poor families are much more likely to seek emergency care for asthma than their more affluent peers, finds research published ahead of print in Thorax.

25 Apr 2007

Lisinopril could help stroke victims

A University of Leicester study could help to provide a new lease of life for patients who have suffered a stroke.

25 Apr 2007

New data supports safety of ranolazine but not its effectiveness

The anti-anginal medication ranolazine was shown to be safe in regard to certain outcomes but did not reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack or recurrent ischemia following acute coronary syndromes, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA .

25 Apr 2007

Succimer therapy improves balance and movement in lead-exposed children

University of Cincinnati (UC) environmental health researchers say a therapy commonly used to remove dangerously high levels of lead from the body may also improve muscle functions associated with postural balance and movement in lead-exposed children.

25 Apr 2007

Increase in pneumococcal infections not covered by childhood vaccine

Alaskan native children are experiencing increased rates of serious infections caused by strains of pneumococcal bacteria that are not covered by the current childhood pneumococcal vaccine, indicating the importance of ongoing surveillance of vaccine effectiveness, according to a study in the current issue of JAMA.

25 Apr 2007

Telephone treatment overcomes barriers to optimal stroke care in rural settings

Stroke patients in rural hospitals can get safe, effective treatment with the use of a clot-busting drug when a doctor from a larger hospital is on the telephone guiding the treatment.

25 Apr 2007

Steam, boil, stew for food preparation

How your food is cooked may be as important to your health as the food itself. Researchers now know more about a new class of toxins that might soon become as important a risk factor for heart disease and metabolic disorders as trans fats.

25 Apr 2007

Extended bed rest leads to substantial muscle deterioration in older adults

Extended bed rest – often necessary during hospitalization – leads to a substantial amount of muscle deterioration in older adults, researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) report in the April 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association .

25 Apr 2007

Sexual function after reconstructive surgery for anterior urethral stricture disease

In an effort to better define sexual dysfunction after urethroplasty for anterior strictures, a recent study was performed by Chris Gonzalez and colleagues from Northwestern University in Chicago. The paper is published in the March 2007 issue of BJU International.

25 Apr 2007

Tactics used by drug reps to manipulate physicians revealed

In a unique collaborative paper in PLoS Medicine , Georgetown University Medical Center's Adriane Fugh-Berman and a former Eli Lilly drug rep reveal the tactics used by drug reps to manipulate physicians into selling drugs.

25 Apr 2007

Drug company sales visits influenced doctors

Almost half of sales visits by pharmaceutical company representatives advocating the use of the drug gabapentin led to doctors stating that they intended to increase their prescription of the drug or recommend it to colleagues, according to an analysis of a survey completed by the doctors shortly after the visits.

25 Apr 2007

Examination of execution by lethal injection

Execution by lethal injection may cause death by asphyxiation, and prisoners being executed may be conscious and may experience pain, claim the authors of a new study published this week in PLoS Medicine.

25 Apr 2007

Did drug reps encourage doctors to prescribe gabapentin for nonapproved uses?

A new study published in PLoS Medicine suggests that so-called "detail" visits to doctors made by drug company representatives can involve promotion of drugs for non-approved, "off-label" uses.

25 Apr 2007

Variations of two common genes associated with progression to more advanced forms of age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD; when the center of the inner lining of the eye suffers thinning, atrophy, and in some cases bleeding), which can lead to visual impairment and legal blindness, is associated with variations in the genes CFH and LOC387715.

25 Apr 2007

No evidence that antioxidant supplements interfere with therapeutic effects of chemotherapy agents

There is no evidence that antioxidant supplements interfere with the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy agents, according to a recent systematic review of the use of antioxidants during chemotherapy, available in the May, 2007 issue of the journal Cancer Treatment Reviews.

25 Apr 2007