Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center have adopted a new policy regulating interaction among clinicians and representatives of the pharmaceutical and device industries. The new policies are among the most stringent of academic medical centers in the US.
Beta blockers should be the first line of prevention against variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.
Sleep-disordered breathing was common when chronic pain patients took prescribed opioids. A direct dose-response relationship was found between central sleep apnea and methadone and benzodiazepines, an association which had not been previously reported.
More than 10 percent of women with breast cancer stopped taking a commonly prescribed drug because of joint and muscle pain, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB:PVCT) announced that it has obtained approval to begin Phase 2 clinical testing of Provecta for the treatment of Stage III and IV metastatic melanoma, the most aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer.
A new clinical study will explore the brain-gut interaction in patients with functional dyspepsia and whether certain drugs can effectively relieve symptoms of this disorder. Functional dyspepsia is a costly and chronic disorder that can cause severe stomach pain often reported as cramping, bloating and gas, or great discomfort or fullness after eating. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health at six medical centers in the US.
A global network to monitor drug resistance and guide malaria treatment and prevention policies is being launched. As outlined in a series of articles in the online open access publication, Malaria Journal, the World Antimalarial Resistance Network (WARN) aims to provide a globally co-ordinated effort to tackle the disease, which is estimated to kill between 1 and 2.7 million people every year.
How environmental stress contributes to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes is under study at the Medical College of Georgia. The study, which follows 523 pairs of twins, is funded by a $1.7 million continuation grant from the National Institutes of Health.
An observational study of a large United Kingdom primary care database showed that switching patients from Pfizer?s Lipitor? (atorvastatin calcium) Tablets to simvastatin was associated with a 30 percent increase in the relative risk of major cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, strokes and certain types of heart surgeries, or death compared to patients who remained on Lipitor therapy.
With the help of genetically engineered mice whose livers turned into glowing light bulbs, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have illuminated the underpinnings of an insidious and growing health concern — type 2 diabetes.