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IN THIS ISSUE:

Drug Protects Brain Cells in Huntington's Disease Model
Ketamine Relieves Depression In Just Hours: Points To Targets For New Medications
Older is Better: Top-10 Comparison od Diabetes Drug Gives Metformin Top Grade
Soft Drinks Linked to Increase in Risk Factors for Heart Disease
Drug to Curb Smoking Also Cuts Alcohol Dependence
Treating HIV-Infected Infants Early Helps Them Live Longer
CDC Offers Travelers' Health Guide
Believe It Or Not
News From MedWatch
Research Update
Recently Approved Drugs/Indications
FDA Recalls and Safety Alerts in the Past 60 Days
Drug Shortages
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Drug Protects Brain Cells in Huntington's Disease Model

A drug used in some countries to treat the symptoms of Huntingtons disease prevents death of brain cells in mice genetically engineered to mimic the hereditary condition, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.
The research sheds light on the biochemical mechanisms involved in the disease and suggests new avenues of study for preventing brain-cell death in at-risk people before symptoms appear.
The drug can actually prevent brain cells from dying, said Dr. Ilya Bezprozvanny, associate professor of physiology at UT Southwestern. Its much more important than people thought.
The study, of which Dr. Bezprozvanny is senior author, appears in the July 25 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

For more information CLICK HERE

Ketamine Relieves Depression In Just Hours: Points To Targets For New Medications

A new study has revealed more about how the medication ketamine, when used experimentally for depression, relieves symptoms of the disorder in hours instead of the weeks or months it takes for current antidepressants to work. While ketamine itself probably won't come into use as an antidepressant because of its side effects, the new finding moves scientists considerably closer to understanding how to develop faster-acting antidepressant medications -- among the priorities of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Ketamine blocks a receptor called NMDA on brain cells, an earlier NIMH study in humans had shown, but the new study in mice shows that this is an intermediate step. It turns out that blocking NMDA increases the activity of another receptor, AMPA, and that this boost in AMPA is crucial for ketamine's rapid antidepressant actions. The study was reported online in Biological Psychiatry on July 23, by NIMH researchers Husseini K. Manji, MD, Guang Chen, MD, PhD, Carlos Zarate, MD, and colleagues.
"Our research is showing us how to develop medications that get at the biological roots of depression. This new finding is a major step toward learning how to improve treatment for the millions of Americans with this debilitating disorder; toward eliminating the weeks of suffering and uncertainty they have to endure while they wait for their medications to work," said NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D.
Almost 15 million American adults have a depressive disorder. During the long wait to begin feeling the effects of conventional medications, patients may worsen, raising the risk of suicide for some. Depressive disorders also affect children and adolescents.

For more information CLICK HERE

Older is Better: Top-10 Comparison od Diabetes Drug Gives Metformin Top Grade

A type 2 diabetes drug taken orally and in widespread use for more than a decade has been found to have distinct advantages over nine other, mostly newer medications used to control the chronic disease, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins.
In their report, published online July 16 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the Hopkins team found that metformin, first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995 (and sold as Glucophage, Riomet and Fortamet), not only controlled blood sugar levels but also was less likely to cause weight gain and more likely than others to lower bad cholesterol levels in the blood.
Researchers say these health benefits are important because they can potentially ward off heart disease and other life-threatening consequence from diabetes. More than 15 million Americans have type 2 diabetes.
Sometimes newer is not necessarily better, says lead study author Shari Bolen, M.D., an internist at Hopkins. Issues like blood sugar levels, weight gain and cost could be significant factors to many patients struggling to stay in good health, says Bolen, an instructor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

For more information CLICK HERE

Soft Drinks Linked to Increase in Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Drinking more than one soft drink daily, whether its regular or diet, may be associated with an increase in the risk factors for heart disease, Framingham researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
We were struck by the fact that it didn’t matter whether it was a diet or regular soda that participants consumed, the association with increased risk was present, said Ramachandran Vasan, M.D., senior author of the Framingham Heart Study and professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. In those who drink one or more soft drinks daily, there was an association of an increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or good cholesterol) and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Prior studies linked soft drink consumption to multiple risk factors for heart disease. However, this study showed that association not only included drinking regular calorie-laden soft drinks, but artificially sweetened diet sodas as well, researchers said.
Moderation in anything is the key, said Ravi Dhingra, M.D., lead author of the study and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. If you are drinking one or more soft drinks a day, you may be increasing your risk of developing metabolic risk factors for heart disease.

For more information CLICK HERE

Drug to Curb Smoking Also Cuts Alcohol Dependence

A drug already approved for nicotine addiction also curbs alcohol dependence, a new animal study shows. One dose alone cut drinking in half. The finding is particularly encouraging, the researchers say, because the animals did not turn to drinking in excess after the drug was stopped, a common pattern when people take current drugs to curb alcohol consumption.
In addition, the drug did not kill appetite, which the most effective drug to curb alcohol dependence does.
In the study, rats had access to unlimited amounts of alcohol. Under these conditions, they steadily increased their alcohol intake over several months. But the first day they received the drug, they cut their drinking in half. They received the drug every other day for a week, and during this period, maintained their lower drinking level. When the drug was discontinued, they returned to their previous level but no higher.
The research is being published online by The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The paper goes online the week of July 9. The embargo is set for 5 PM (ET) Monday, July 9.
The findings were published in the current issue of Nature.

For more information CLICK HERE

Treating HIV-Infected Infants Early Helps Them Live Longer

Hundreds of thousands of babies around the world are born each year with HIV or more than half a million in 2006 alone. Caring for these children is complicated by the fact that their immune systems are not fully developed in the first year of life, which makes them especially susceptible to rapid HIV disease progression and death. The current standard of HIV care in many parts of the world is to treat infants with antiretroviral therapy but only after they show signs of illness or a weakened immune system.
Now the initial results of an ongoing clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), suggests that more HIV-infected infants survive if they are given therapy early on, regardless of their apparent state of health.
This trial, called the Children with HIV Early Antiretroviral Therapy (CHER) study, is a phase III, randomized clinical trial led by Avy Violari, M.D., FCPaed (SA), of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Mark Cotton, MBChB, MMed, of the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa. Dr. Violari will present these findings on Wednesday, July 25 at the 2007 International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney, Australia.
Children with HIV infection frequently show rapid disease progression within the first year of life due to their developing immune systems and susceptibility to other serious infections, says NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. This is the first randomized clinical trial that shows that infants treated before three months of age will do better than infants who have their treatment delayed.

For more information CLICK HERE

CDC Offers Travelers' Health Guide

Wearing a seat belt while driving in foreign countries and getting the necessary immunizations are among the recommendations in the revised Yellow Book, the biennial travelers' health guidebook available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The newest edition -- which includes an expanded section on life-threatening blood clots that can develop after sitting for hours on a plane -- is now available.
"More than 63 million Americans travel abroad each year. This book can help prepare travelers for their trips, or help them learn how to stay safe and healthy while overseas," Dr. Christie Reed, team leader for the CDC traveler's health group, said in a prepared statement.
Injuries and auto accidents pose the greatest risk to travelers, according to the CDC, so the book emphasizes wearing seat belts while driving in foreign countries.
The Yellow Book also addresses deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a condition in which blood clots form deep in the veins of the leg because of poor circulation. This is a risk for people who spend long hours in planes. Travelers are advised to make an effort to stretch their arms and legs out during international flights.

For more information CLICK HERE

Believe It Or Not

Oscar the cat predicts patients' deaths

Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.
"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.
The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.
After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.
Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.
Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill
She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near.
Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.
Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advanced warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.
No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause. Teno wonders if the cat notices telltale scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him.
Nicholas Dodman, who directs an animal behavioral clinic at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and has read Dosa's article, said the only way to know is to carefully document how Oscar divides his time between the living and dying.
If Oscar really is a furry grim reaper, it's also possible his behavior could be driven by self-centered pleasures like a heated blanket placed on a dying person, Dodman said.
Nursing home staffers aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.
Oscar recently received a wall plaque publicly commending his "compassionate hospice care."

News From MedWatch

Keep up-to-date on all of the recent MedWatch reports that gives you timely safety information on the drugs and other medical products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by CLICK HERE

Recently Approved Drugs/Indications

Keep up-to-date on all of the recently approved drugs and/or approved new indications on already FDA approved drugs CLICK HERE

FDA Recalls and Safety Alerts in the Past 60 Days:

To see a list of all FDA Recalls and product safety alerts for the last 60 days CLICK HERE

Drug Shortages:

As many of you are aware, many drugs in the US are either unavailable or in short supply. To view a list of these drugs CLICK HERE

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Edmund M. Hayes, R.Ph., M.S., Pharm.D.
Departments of Pharmacy and Medicine
Stony Brook University Hospital
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, New York, 11794
631 444-2668

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