- How Pharmacists Can Combat the Military’s Top Health Problem (pharmacytimes.com)
What is the No. 1 disorder seen among deployed soldiers?... sleep problems are...the most common health issue in the military… Among 300,000 military members who suffer a traumatic brain injury, 97% reported some form of a sleep problem, most commonly insomnia…34% said they had sleep apnea, and half of them said they experienced fragmented sleep…short sleepers are more likely to be overweight,…Patients with sleep apnea also may experience blood pressure surges that contribute to plaque rupture...poor sleep is associated with less motivation, reduced overall functioning, and amplified emotional responses to neutral or mildly negative events.
- Pharmacist Counseling Points for Sleep-Deprived Soldiers
- Sleep Deprivation: A Persistent Health Problem in the Military
- Health Consequences from Sleep Deprivation
- Pharmacy, Digital Health, and Big-Pharma (pharmacypodcast.com)
John Nosta – Digital Health Philosopher, with Nosta Lab returns to the Pharmacy Podcast Show to discuss Pharmacy, Digital Health, and Big Pharma. (32:55 minutes)
- India may classify vitamin supplements as drugs rather than foods if the manufacturers of such products claim they can treat or prevent disease. (in-pharmatechnologist.com)
The proposal was put forward by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization…vitamins should be reclassified if there is a claim for treatment, mitigation or prevention of any diseases or disorder… also concluded that supplements containing vitamins already found in schedule V products should be labelled as drugs even if the ingredient is below recommended daily allowance limits...Drugs Controller General of India, Dr GN Singh, has requested industry feedback on the proposed reclassification...
- PharmTalk – Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center (pharmacy.arizona.edu)
PharmTalk is a special production from the University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy that features Keith and Kevin Boesen.
PharmTalk team visits one of the nation’s oldest poison centers. The Tucson-based center not only knows all about poison and drugs, but has a "special specialty" in venomous creatures, including scorpions.
- FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA modifies monitoring for neutropenia associated with schizophrenia medicine clozapine; approves new shared REMS program for all clozapine medicines (fda.gov)Clozapine Dispensing Requirements Changed (pharmacytimes.com)
Food and Drug Administration is making changes to the requirements for monitoring, prescribing, dispensing, and receiving the schizophrenia medicine clozapine, to address continuing safety concerns and current knowledge about…severe neutropenia…There are two parts to the changes in the requirements for treating patients with clozapine. First, we have clarified and enhanced the prescribing information for clozapine that explains how to monitor patients for neutropenia and manage clozapine treatment. Second, we approved a new, shared risk evaluation and mitigation strategy called the Clozapine REMS Program…
- Data finally looks at antibiotics resistance in developing countries, and figures for India are scary (indianexpress.com)
Researchers map dangerous trends in antibiotic resistance on a global scale for the first time; online mapping tool and new CDDEP report show perilous rise in drug-resistant infections and antibiotic use…the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy have released new data documenting alarming rates of bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics that can lead to life-threatening infections…high rates in the low and middle-income countries like India, Kenya and Vietnam...In many countries, antibiotics are easily purchased in pharmacies and shops without prescription.
- Indian API maker Pan Drugs is reconstructing its manufacturing suite after holes in the wall and rusty equipment landed the facility a US FDA warning. (in-pharmatechnologist.com)
Pan Drugs received the Warning Letter…with the US Food and Drug Administration citing a number of deviations from GMP (good manufacturing practices) standards during an inspection of the Nandesari, Vadodara facility (India)…failed to maintain, repair, and keep clean its API manufacturing units,…holes in the walls and roof which allowed pigeons access near production equipment…gaps and holes in outside walls for piping and air ducts which allow contaminants to enter the building…We have given the commitment to stop all production while we renovate the facility,…
- Cloaked Nanoparticles Pave Way For Targeted Drug Delivery (forbes.com)Nanoparticle biointerfacing by platelet membrane cloaking (req sub) (nature.com)Nanotechnology: Platelet mimicry (req sub) (nature.com)
A study from the University of California,…Jacobs School of Engineering shows how nanoparticles can be an effective delivery system for drugs in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and systemic bacterial infections…engineers disguised nanoparticles as human platelets to see if they could increase the healing power of drug treatments by delivering those drugs to targeted areas in the body or organs…By using the natural biology of our bodies with the nanoparticle technology, the researchers have taken advantage of the unique natural properties of human platelet membranes for a new form of drug delivery.
- Australia’s new PM looks to biotech for a boom as mining-led growth wanes, WSJ says (fiercepharmaasia.com)
R&D tax incentives combined with a former investment banker as the country's new prime minister could see steady growth in biotech in Australia gain momentum,…Australia was ranked fourth globally for biotechnology innovation last year,..lags top player in biotech the U.S. by a wide margin…former Goldman Sachs banker Malcolm Turnbull as premier…portends a new push in the sector…I can see biotech and medical tech really transforming Australia..
- Researchers said a popular antidepressant was safe for teens. It was actually deadly. (vox.com)Restoring Study 329: efficacy and harms of paroxetine and imipramine in treatment of major depression in adolescence (bmj.com)
For years,…GlaxoSmithKline was illegally persuading doctors to prescribe paroxetine (Paxil),…as an antidepressant for children and teenagers…citing…Study 329…research...claiming to show that Paxil is "well tolerated and effective" for kids…A…new analysis of the raw data behind Study 329, published in BMJ (British Medical Journal), suggests that the original conclusions were…wrong. Not only is Paxil ineffective, working no better than placebo, but it can actually cause serious side effects, including self-injury and suicide…New York State Attorney General…sued GSK,...pleaded guilty...paying out $3 billion in fines. Drug companies are pushing to market more drugs for off-label uses…