Archive for March, 2010
Next Entries »Combination Therapy For Some Alzheimer’s Patients May Help Ease Caregiver Distress.
Friday, March 12th, 2010Source: DIA Daily
Medscape (3/10, Harrison) reported that, according to research presented at a geriatric psychiatry meeting, “caregiver distress is significantly attenuated when patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are treated with a combination of extended-release memantine plus a cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) vs. ChEI monotherapy.” Researchers came to this conclusion [...]
Physicians fail to assess LDL cholesterol targets correctly for many patients
Friday, March 12th, 2010Source: MedWire News
Only about half of all high-risk patients are assigned the correct low-density lipoprotein (LDL) targets by their primary care physicians, report researchers.
“In our study we observed an average difference in LDL target levels of just over 17 mg/dl [0.44 mmol/l] between physicians with the least and best guideline knowledge, and this difference will [...]
Survey Finds Majority Of Patient Groups Deem Drug Companies Untrustworthy.
Friday, March 12th, 2010The majority of patients’ organisations consider pharmaceutical companies untrustworthy, according to a survey conducted by a UK-based consultancy to be released on Friday.
PatientView, which monitors the views of patient groups around the world, says that from 665 organisations assessed, only 37 per cent considered the industry “trustworthy” in 2008, and less than a quarter had [...]
Oral Contraceptives May Reduce Risk Of Death From Any Cause In Women.
Friday, March 12th, 2010The contraceptive Pill can extend your life and may even save 1,500 lives a year, a study has suggested.
Women who have taken the Pill at any stage in their life are less likely to die from any cause - including heart disease and all types of cancer - than those who have never taken the [...]
Medication adherence poor in COPD patients
Friday, March 12th, 2010Source: MedWire News
Adherence to respiratory medications is poor among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), say researchers who suggest that measures such as simplification of dosing regimens should be implemented where possible.
Eric Van Ganse (University Hospital Lyon, France) and team investigated respiratory medication adherence and correlates of accidental and intentional treatment interruptions in 179 [...]
Hydroxychloroquine May Help Delay Skin Damage In SLE Patients.
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010MedPage Today (3/2, Walsh) reported that, according to a study published in March issue of Arthritis Care & Research, “treatment with hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) may help delay the occurrence of skin damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).” In a study of “580 patients who had not yet developed skin damage [...]
Osteoporosis drugs may reduce breast cancer risk
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010Source: MedWire News
Women who use biphosphonate drugs to prevent and treat osteoporosis may have a lower risk for breast cancer than non-users, according to a study by US researchers.
“Because we were able to account for important confounders, these findings may reflect real benefits due to the anti-tumor mechanisms of these medications,” remark Polly Newcomb (Fred [...]
Thyroid drug in short supply
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010A shortage of thyroid medicines that contain powdered pig thyroid has frustrated patients, physicians and pharmacists.
Patients for decades have used the medicines, distributed under names such as Armour Thyroid and Nature-throid.
Over the past few months, Armour Thyroid has been “available to us for a while, and then it goes away,” said Kris Shubert, a pharmacist [...]
Suppressive antiretroviral therapy slows progression of atherosclerosis
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Antiretroviral therapy that reduces viral load to an undetectable level was linked to slower progression of sub-clinical atherosclerosis, as indicated by carotid intima-media thickness, researchers reported last week at the 17thConference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco.
Atherosclerosis (’hardening of the arteries’) is an inflammatory condition in which plaques (accumulations of lipids, immune [...]
Awareness: Report Calls for Spotlight on Hypertension
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Source: New York Times
High blood pressure is the underlying cause of one in six deaths in the United States, but many Americans do not know they have it and doctors are lax about treating it, according to a new Institute of Medicine report that calls hypertension a “neglected disease.”
The report, issued last week, calls for population-based public health measures [...]
