Obesity may be contributing to chemotherapy resistance and increasing relapse rates among children with leukemia. Obesity is associated with anncreased incidence of many types of cancer drugs. Given the increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, these findings could have important implications for cancer treatment and may help to explain the increased leukemia relapse rate in obese patients.
A common diabetes drug might be able to reduce tumors faster and prolong remission in mice longer than chemotherapy alone by targeting cancer stem cells, according to Harvard researchers.
The FDA has confirmed three new cases of a rare but potentially lethal brain inflammation linked to natalizumab (Tysabri, Biogen Idec/Elan), a medication that is used for multiple sclerosis (MS) and Crohn’s disease.
There have been 13 reported cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) since mid-2006. All of the PML cases are linked to the drug’s use for MS. Natalizumab drags was approved in November 2004 but was withdrawn from the market in 2005 for 18 months because of PML reports. It was reintroduced in July 2006. Read the rest of this entry »
Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has issued a voluntary nationwide recall of two Accusure insulin syringes:
• 1/2 cc, 31 G, Short Needle, Lot No. 6JCB1; expiration date, October
2011; NDC 0603-7001-21, distributed between January 2007 and June 2007
• 1 cc, 31 G, Short Needle, Lot No. 7CPT1; expiration date, March
2012; NDC 0603-7002-21, distributed between May 2007 and June 2008
Both the timing and dosage of clopidogrel (Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb/ Sanofi-Aventis) loading are important, according to a study of pretreatment in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The results suggest pretreating patients with highdose clopidogrel drug as early as possible.
Actovegin (Nycomed), a deproteinized derivative of calf blood, may improve neuropathic symptoms, sensory nerve function, and mental health in patients with neuropathy related to type-2 diabetes. According to findings from a randomized, double-blind study of 567 patients, the main difference for the changes on the symptoms scale was 0.86—a clinically meaningful effect, the researchers say.
Easing into treatment can help prevent neuropsychiatric adverse events (AEs) for patients taking efavirenz drugs (Sustiva, Bristol-Myers Squibb), say researchers from the Andalusian Society of Infectious Diseases in Spain. In their study of 114 patients with HIV infection at seven clinics, a stepwise dose escalation over two weeks reduced the incidence and intensity of efavirenz-related AEs while maintaining efficacy.
