Category Archives: Drugs

THURSDAY, Oct. 11 (HealthDay News) -- The latest attempt to fight the mental ravages of Alzheimer's disease involves an international study of three different drugs in people destined to develop the brain disorder. The large trial, scheduled to start next year, will assess the drugs' success in a group of people with gene mutations that practically guarantee they'll get Alzheimer's, but who do not yet have symptoms. There is no cure for the condition, which gradually robs people of their memory and their ability to live their everyday lives. The 160 American, Australian and British volunteers will likely start showing declines in memory and thinking within five years unless the drugs work, The New York Times reported. The three drugs selected for the study were among 15 submitted by pharmaceutical companies. The final choices were based on the best evidence of effectiveness and lowest risk of dangerous side effects, The Times reported. The drugs chosen are Roche's gantenerumab and two drugs made by Eli Lilly and Co., one called LY2886721 and the other called solanezumab, according to the news report. The drugs use different approaches to target beta amyloid, a protein that forms the brain plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's. "These … Continue reading →

TAMPA The term "designer drug" was coined by a University of California at Davis pharmacologist in the '80s, used to describe man-made drugs more potent than ever. Ecstasy. PCP. GHB. LSD. As legislators outlawed these drugs, manufacturers simply tweaked the formulas to get new, legal versions. Authorities realized they were always behind. So federal lawmakers passed a bill to outlaw designer drugs in 1986. But it has been largely ineffective. Called the Federal Analog Act, the law states that any chemical "substantially similar" to a controlled substance will be treated as one, if intended for human consumption. It was the first time the government had tried to outlaw entire groups of drugs. And it should have stopped bath salts. Over the past century, synthetic drugs have been born in laboratories, usually for medical purposes. Bath salts are primarily derivatives of the drug cathinone. One of the original versions was first distributed as an antidepressant. But people started abusing these drugs. Authorities outlawed cathinone in 1993. See the original post here: Designer drugs slip past prosecution … Continue reading →

Sending drugs and weapons through the post might appeal to some criminals, but they won't necessarily reach their target. In the past 17 months, 75 items have been caught by New Zealand Post and opened as suspicious. Most of those items - including drugs, guns and a knife - were reported to police, detained or destroyed. There were 43 interceptions of cannabis. Ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine, ritalin, valium and some unidentified pills and powders were also seized - as was some icing sugar that was mistaken for drugs. Nine weapons were also intercepted. The packages were revealed to The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act. New Zealand Post spokeswoman Jaimee Burke said the postal service was responsible for scanning and identifying mail items transported domestically, and Customs dealt with international mail. "New Zealand Post takes security very seriously and assists Customs and the police in their investigations. Any suspected illegal items found in the post are passed to the police." Seized weapons included two shotguns, a .22-calibre rifle, a knife, two airguns, a replica antique pistol and an antique air rifle. Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Leitch said illegal items found in the mail by New Zealand Post had led to … Continue reading →

The Irish Times - Saturday, October 13, 2012 CONOR POPE, Consumer Affairs Correspondent THE PRICE of prescription drugs is likely to fall by more than 10 per cent within days after the Department of Health announces the outcome of negotiations with the pharmaceutical industrys representative group. However, while lower prices will be welcomed by consumers, they are leading to severe shortages of some drugs and the problem is only going to get worse, it has been warned. President of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union Rory ODonnell told The Irish Times yesterday that certain medicines have been in short supply for quite some time. He said drugs which combat depression, erectile dysfunction and diabetes have been hardest hit. There is a public service obligation compelling manufacturers to maintain a certain supply of prescription medications for the Irish market but Mr ODonnell said the system was not particularly robust. Some medicines are subject to what is known as allocation. This means the manufacturer rations supply to wholesale and retail pharmacies, in an effort to prevent re-export to other EU markets where the price is higher. This often causes shortages and interruptions in treatment. The issue is likely to worsen as the price of … Continue reading →

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's government has taken steps to over-ride patents on a range of HIV drugs, highlighting a growing trend by Asian states to allow local production of cheap generic drugs that cut into sales of global pharmaceutical companies. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono quietly issued a decree last month authorizing government use of patents for seven HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B medicines held by the likes of Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Abbott and Gilead. The international trade body representing major drugmakers said the move set "a negative precedent". Individual companies affected did not provide immediate comment. The decree states Indonesia implemented the measures to "meet the urgent need for antiviral and antiretroviral treatments". An estimated 310,000 people are living with HIV in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy. The prevalence rate among the 15 to 49-year-old population is 0.2 percent, according to 2009 statistics from the U.N. Aids website. Unreported cases mean that the true figure could be higher. Under World Trade Organisation rules member countries are permitted to take measures to over-ride patents when it is deemed necessary to protect public health. Yudhoyono signed the decree without fanfare on September 3 and it was only recently highlighted by … Continue reading →

According to the Alzheimers Association, an estimated 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimers disease. And the number of people with the disease will increase each year as the proportion of the U.S. population over age 65 continues to growand its predicated it will escalate rapidly as the baby boom generation ages. Now for some potentially good news. Scientists have selected three different types of Alzheimers drugs to be tested in the first large-scale international attempt to prevent the disease in people who are otherwise doomed to get it, reports The New York Times. MORE: Can Skipping Processed Foods Prevent Alzheimer's? The Times explains that, Most of the test subjects will have no symptoms . . . but they would be expected to start showing signs of problems with memory and thinking within five years unless the drugs work. The hope is that by intervening early, the disease might be headed off. Another study starting next year involves an extended family in Colombia that shares the same mutation. Anyone who inherits that mutated gene gets Alzheimers disease. A third study will involve people in the United States age 70 and older who seem perfectly healthy and who do not have … Continue reading →

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Authorities discovered marijuana, heroin and a loaded gun on Grammy-winning rapper Nelly's tour bus during a routine stop at a Border Patrol checkpoint in West Texas, law enforcement officials said on Thursday. A member of the singer's entourage took responsibility for the items and was arrested after the search on Wednesday evening, while others on the bus including Nelly were released, officials said. "It is my understanding a member of my staff made an unfortunate decision to bring unlawful materials onto our tour bus that resulted in his arrest," Nelly said in a statement on Thursday. "Neither I nor anyone else on the tour bus was aware of his decision to bring these on board." The incident took place at the same checkpoint where singers Willie Nelson and Fiona Apple, rapper Snoop Dogg and actor Armand Hammer have been stopped for possession of controlled substances. The checkpoint, which is not on the border, is used by the Border Patrol to check the citizenship status of motorists on Interstate 10. A spokesman for the Hudspeth County sheriff said the tour bus had pulled into the Border Patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas, about 90 miles east of … Continue reading →

11 October 2012 Last updated at 14:37 ET An investigation into the circulation of fake HIV drugs in Tanzania could lead to criminal prosecutions, the health minister has told the BBC. Dr Hussein Mwinyi has suspended three top officials and stopped local production of the anti-retrovirals (ARVs) while the probe takes place. He told the BBC Swahili Service he would "not allow people to play around with the lives of Tanzanians". He said the police force and security services were involved in the probe. Analysts say there is concern about the quality of locally made drugs given widespread corruption in political circles in the East Africa nation. Earlier this year, a body overseeing public finances exposed rampant misuse of public funds, including in the health ministry. The scandal led to the sacking of seven ministers. Dr Mwinyi said the health ministry was alerted in August to problems with a batch of ARV drugs at the Tarime District Hospital. The batch, produced by the Tanzania Pharmaceutical Industry (TPI), was immediately recalled and subjected to further testing, which revealed that it was sub-standard. The officials who were suspended on Wednesday work at the Medical Stores Department (MSD) and the production of all … Continue reading →

Newswise Leading scientists have selected the first drugs to be evaluated in a worldwide clinical study to determine whether they can prevent Alzheimers disease. The pioneering trial, expected to start by early 2013, initially will test three promising drugs, each designed to target Alzheimers in different ways. In people with inherited mutations that cause early-onset Alzheimers, the study will seek to identify whether the drugs can improve Alzheimers disease biomarkers and effectively prevent the loss of cognitive function. This trial is the result of a groundbreaking collaboration between academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies and patient advocacy groups, with key support from regulatory groups, says principal investigator Randall Bateman, MD, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor in Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. We are excited that this diverse portfolio of drugs and approaches will accelerate the discovery of an effective treatment for Alzheimers. The trial will be conducted by the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimers Network Trials Unit (DIAN TU) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The trials unit is supported by the DIAN, an NIH-funded collaboration of world-leading Alzheimers research centers; the Alzheimers Association; and the DIAN Pharma Consortium, composed of 10 pharmaceutical … Continue reading →

According to the Alzheimers Association, an estimated 5.4 million Americans of all ages currently have Alzheimers disease. And the number of people with the disease will increase each year as the proportion of the U.S. population over age 65 continues to growand its predicated it will escalate rapidly as the baby boom generation ages. Now for some potentially good news. Scientists have selected three different types of Alzheimers drugs to be tested in the first large-scale international attempt to prevent the disease in people who are otherwise doomed to get it, reports The New York Times. MORE: Can Skipping Processed Foods Prevent Alzheimer's? The Times explains that, Most of the test subjects will have no symptoms . . . but they would be expected to start showing signs of problems with memory and thinking within five years unless the drugs work. The hope is that by intervening early, the disease might be headed off. Another study starting next year involves an extended family in Colombia that shares the same mutation. Anyone who inherits that mutated gene gets Alzheimers disease. A third study will involve people in the United States age 70 and older who seem perfectly healthy and who do … Continue reading →