AIDS activists call for generic Tamiflu in Africa
Activists who put pressure on drugs companies to make AIDS treatments accessible in Africa called on Friday on the maker of antiviral Tamiflu to renounce its rights on the drug in the developing world.
As concerns mount over how countries would deal with a potential flu pandemic stemming from bird flu virus H5N1, the Act Up-Paris lobby group and the African Essential Drug Network (RAME) said that Roche Holding AG should allow generic companies to make the drug for Africans.
Surgery Seen as Best Treatment for Small Bowel Obstruction
Patients with small bowel obstruction who were sent to the OR had better long-term outcomes than those treated non-surgically or whose eventual surgery was delayed, according to a retrospective study.
In an analysis of 32,583 cases of small bowel obstruction, mortality was higher among the non-surgery patients, with 8% dying during their hospital stay and 25% in the year after admission. By comparison, 5% of the surgery patients died while in the hospital, and 16% died during the following year.
Investigational Diabetes Drug Linked to Increased Risk of Death, Strokes and Heart Attacks
Researchers here said today that the use of the investigational diabetes drug Pargluva (muraglitazar) doubles the risk of death, heart attack and stroke, and they asked the FDA to delay approval of the drug.
In an analysis that was released online by the Journal of the American Medical Association, Steven E. Nissen, M.D., and colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic said the FDA should not approve Pargluva until its cardiovascular safety can be proven in “a dedicated cardiovascular events trial.”
Low-Dose Radiation Numbs Lengthy Post-Shingles Pain
Low-dose radiation could help relieve long-lasting post-herpetic neuralgia that often trails a painful herpes zoster outbreak, Swiss researchers reported.
“We think that radiation is at least as good as antiviral drugs in preventing post-herpetic neuralgia,” said Mohammed Suleiman, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Hospital of Sion in Switzerland. “This treatment,” he said, “could be an alternative for people who can’t take antiviral medications,” such as Zovirax (acyclovir) and Valtrex (valacyclovir).
Mortality Risk in Elderly Dementia Patients May Rise With Newer Anti Psychotics
Elderly patients with dementia who take so-called atypical anti-psychotic drugs have an increased risk of death, according to a meta-analysis of clinical trials.
The increased risk of about 50% compared with placebo was not found for any individual drug and could not have been detected by any of the individual trials included in the analysis, according to a report published in the Oct. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Pregnant women often not vaccinated against flu
Although most obstetricians recommend that their pregnant and breastfeeding patients be immunized against influenza, only about one third offer immunizations within their own practices, new study findings show.
Despite recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for immunizing pregnant women against influenza, only 13 percent of pregnant women were vaccinated in 2003.
Heart surgery does not induce cognitive decline
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is not a major risk factor for either short- or long-term cognitive decline or dementia, according to two reports in the journal Neurology. The widespread assumption that a decline in cognition occurs after CABG is apparently based on studies that did not include comparable control groups.
To rectify this limitation, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, led by Dr. Guy M. McKhann, prospectively followed patients who had undergone CABG. One hundred forty had conventional bypass surgery, in which the heart is stopped and a heart-lung machine is used to circulate blood during the operation; and 72 patients underwent “off-pump” bypass surgery, during which only a portion of the heart is immobilized.
Hungary bird flu vaccine sparks foreign interest
The United States, Britain and Russia have expressed interest in an experimental Hungarian vaccine against deadly bird flu after initial human tests proved promising, Hungary’s government said on Thursday.
Other countries interested in buying the vaccine include Indonesia, Ukraine, the Philippines and Mongolia, but concrete talks on purchases had not started yet, government spokesman Andras Batiz said.
