Clinical News

An increase in febrile seizures in children following vaccination with Fluzone warrants further investigation, according to a report from FDA.

FDA currently lists 178 drugs in short supply, up 33% from 157 in 2009. The most frequent problem of shortage relates to manufacturing or regulatory noncompliance.

A revolutionary flu vaccine patch is likely to be developed in the course of an upcoming 5-year clinical trial. Data indicate that it is more effective in animals than are traditional injections.

The latest info on VTE in HIV; intracerebral hemorrhage; and antiplatelet/warfarin combinations

After its withdrawal from the marketplace 35 years ago, sodium fluoride F 18 for use in bone scans is experiencing a rebirth as a result of a New Drug Application submitted by the National Cancer Institute and approved by FDA.

New CDC guidance recommends that 16-year-olds receive a booster meningitis vaccine shot.

Sanofi-Aventis is appealing a federal judge's decision to lift the injunction against the sale of a generic Allegra D24 product in the United States.

FDA has approved gabapentin (Gralise, Depomed and Abbott Products) tablets for once-daily treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia.

AEDs may increase the risk of nontraumatic fractures in patients aged 50 years and older, according to a study published in the Archives of Neurology, HealthDay News reported.

Elderly patients have difficulty with long-term adherence to medications following myocardial infarction, and this is significantly worse among those with kidney dysfunction, according to a study published online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, HealthDay News reported.

A combination drug therapy given initially appears to result in better blood-pressure control in individuals compared with those who are treated with monotherapy, according to research published online in The Lancet, HealthDay News reported.

Health advocacy organizations that promote research and access to healthcare services for members routinely fail to disclose their financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, according to a study released online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Medication errors involving analgesics, including mistakes in prescribing, are a major contributor to suboptimal therapeutic outcomes and preventable adverse patient events, according to a study published in The Journal of Pain, reported Newswise.com.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has issued updated guidelines regarding the use of antiviral agents for the treatment and chemoprophylaxis of influenza, according to a report in the January 21 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The new recommendations, which include a summary of the effectiveness and safety of antiviral treatment medications, update those issued by the committee in 2008.

The angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab, used with chemotherapy or biological therapy, carries an increased risk of treatment-related death in cancer patients compared with chemotherapy alone, a new study shows.

FDA has issued a complete response letter to Eisai for its rabeprazole sodium extended-release capsules, 50 mg, an investigational proton pump inhibitor (PPI) under review for the healing and long-term maintenance of healing and symptom resolution of erosive GERD, and for the treatment of daytime and nighttime heartburn and other symptoms of non-erosive GERD.

FDA has issued a complete response letter for Orexigen?s and Takeda?s Contrave (naltrexone HCl/bupropion HCl) extended-release tablets for the treatment of obesity, including weight loss and maintenance of weight loss.

Half of Americans polled don't think vaccines cause autism. However, 18% are convinced that vaccines, like the MMR vaccine, can cause the disorder, and another 30% aren't sure, according to a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll.

The Centers for Disease Control included a botanical treatment for genital warts in its recently revised 2010 CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines.

British Medical Journal has published a new study, which analyzed 31 randomized controlled trials comparing the cardiovascular safety of any NSAID with placebo or other NSAIDs.

Small-molecule drugs in the United States will experience the greatest degree of brand erosion as patents of many of the most popular drugs expire during the next several years, leaving them exposed to generic competition, according to a report published by Datamonitor.

New draft standards from the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention could bring dramatic changes to Rx labels as early as 2012. Changes to USP Chapter 17, Prescription Container Labeling, include larger font, placement of the most important information at the top, more understandable language, and more white space.

Researchers recently found that extreme obesity can increase patients? risk of death from the H1N1 influenza virus.

Pfizer Inc. recently launched a syringe that aims to help hemophilia patients lead active lives and take care of their condition faster and easier.

With several blockbusters going off patent, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asked the office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation to ?examine barriers to and identify opportunities for increasing generic use.?

A new study conducted by CVS Caremark and published in Health Affairs, found that among patients who had increased drug costs but were adherent with their medications, a ?substantial medical savings as a result of reductions in hospitalization and emergency department use? was realized.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has released a study examining trends of admissions to U.S. substance abuse treatment facilities of people aged 12 years and over, during the period from 1998 to 2008.

FDA has approved vilazodone HCl tablets (Viibryd, Clinical Data) for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder.

FDA has approved the premix formulation of vancomycin injection, USP (750 mg/150 mL) (Baxter). Vancomycin is an antibiotic used to treat severe infections caused by susceptible strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and/or treat patients who are penicillin-resistant.

Bayer instructed patients to immediately discontinue use of the Triad alcohol prep pads included in Betaseron (interferon beta 1-b) packaging and to dispose of those pads in the trash.