Among hypercholesterolemic patients on a low-dose statin, the addition of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) did not reduce the occurrence of a first stroke but did lower recurrence rates in those with a history of stroke, according to a Japanese study published in the July issue of Stroke.
Reuters Health Information

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Compliance with antipsychotic medications can reduce violent behavior in schizophrenic patients without a history of childhood antisocial conduct, according to a report in The British Journal of Psychiatry for July. In those with this history, other medications and interventions are likely to be required.
Reuters Health Information

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Adolor Corp said U. S. health regulators lifted a clinical hold on its drug Entereg, which is being developed to treat bowel dysfunction in patients on opioid therapy, but said partner GlaxoSmithKline may be mulling dropping out of their development deal.
Reuters Health Information

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US researchers have created a Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine that uses a form of Salmonella enterica engineered to self-destruct after producing stimulatory antigens.
Reuters Health Information

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Intranasal budesonide given for 6 weeks benefits children with mild obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), according to a report in the July Pediatrics.
Reuters Health Information

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Fluvastatin inhibits hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA replication in patients with chronic hepatitis C, according to a report in the June American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Reuters Health Information

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The problem with antibiotics is that, eventually, bacteria outsmart them and become resistant. But by targeting the gene that confers such resistance, a new drug may be able to finally outwit them.

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A bill has been introduced to Congress to prohibit the use of bisphenol A in all food and drink containers; the Senate is considering expanding the proposed ban to include toys and other children’s products.
Medscape Medical News

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The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland docetaxel (Taxotere®) for the induction treatment of patients with resectable locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in combination with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. The committee noted that in the pivotal study, the docetaxel-containing induction regimen was associated with improved overall survival compared with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil alone. The SMC had previously issued advice for patients with unresectable disease and this now extends the advice to patients with resectable disease.

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The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has rejected paricalcitol injection and capsules (Zemplar®) for use within NHS Scotland for the prevention and treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic renal insufficiency/failure undergoing haemodialysis/peritoneal dialysis. The committee noted that the benefits and adverse effects of paricalcitol injection are similar to another vitamin D analogue with which it has been compared, but the capsules have not been directly compared with other analogues. In addition, the manufacturer had not presented a sufficiently robust economic case.

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