Community Practice

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.

The Michigan Pharmacy Association criticized a new report suggesting that the state could save $146 million by moving fee-for-service Medicaid recipients to managed care programs.

Despite the electronic-tracking systems for pseudoephedrine that have been implemented in several states, methamphetamine-related activity is on the rise.

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.

In this section we showcase products and product news that ran up against space limitations or fell outside the parameters of recently featured categories in the print edition. Look for more OTC Product News in upcoming issues of the Drug Topics e-newsletter.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation announced the 2010 recipients of the NACDS Foundation Pharmacy Student Scholarship Awards.

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.

Executives with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and other groups are urging Congress to pass federal legislation to ease drug shortages in the United States.

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

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.

FDA has sent MannKind Corp. a complete response letter regarding the company?s New Drug Application for Afrezza (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder for the treatment of adult patients with types 1 and 2 diabetes for the control of hyperglycemia.

Concern that its drug vorapaxar, in trial for its potential to prevent clots, actually increased the risk of bleeding in stroke victims has prompted Merck & Co. to halt a late-stage study of the drug, the Associated Press reported.

FDA has approved a label update to include a 200-mg formulation of etravirine (Intelence, Tibotec Therapeutics), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of HIV-1 in adults resistant to an NNRTI and other antiretroviral agents.

The impact of generic drugs ? which now account for more than 70% of all prescriptions dispensed in the United States ? will continue to increase as some of the world?s most-prescribed products lose their patent protection in 2011 and begin facing generic competition.

FDA approved spinosad (Natroba, ParaPRO LLC) Topical Suspension 0.9% for the treatment of head lice infestation in patients aged 4 years and older. Natroba is a topical drug product and should be applied only to the child's scalp or hair.

Severe liver injury, including 2 cases of acute liver failure leading to liver transplant in patients treated with the medication, has been associated with the use of dronedarone (Multaq), according to an FDA Drug Safety Communication announcement.

Warehouse retailer Sam's Club has launched what may be the country's largest retail preventive health program targeting consumers and small businesses.

The National Community Pharmacists Association commended BB&T Corporation's recent decision to reemphasize and continue its employees' choice in filling their maintenance prescriptions, including at independent community pharmacies.

The first trial to provide evidence that drugs used to treat HIV can also help to prevent HIV infection among men who have sex with men (when combined with other prevention strategies) was reported late November online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America is set to release its first guidelines for the treatment of the increasingly common and potentially deadly methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Compared with conventional 21-day regimens, 24-day oral contraceptive regimens containing a progestogen with a long half-life show higher contraceptive effectiveness under routine medical conditions, according to research published in the January 2011 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

FDA has approved fentanyl (Abstral, ProStraken) transmucosal tablets to manage breakthrough pain for adults with cancer.

Duloxetine (Cymbalta, Eli Lilly), used to treated depression and anxiety, was found to be effective at reducing joint and muscle pain associated with breast cancer treatment.