By Melodie Warner Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said a Phase 3 study showed its pregabalin controlled-release formulation as a potential epilepsy treatment didn't meet the primary endpoint for a change in seizure frequency. Pregabalin CR, also known as Lyrica, is approved for five indications in the U.S., including four in the therapeutic area of pain. Pfizer said the study evaluated 165-milligram and 330-milligram doses of pregabalin CR in adult epilepsy patients with partial-onset seizures. Epilepsy is a chronic disorder in which seizures occur intermittently, and partial-onset seizures are the most common. "While the study showed an observed improvement, it did not show a statistically significant difference in seizure frequency, which we believe may have been due to a higher-than-expected placebo response," said Steven J. Romano, senior vice president and head of the Global Primary Care Business Unit's medicines-development group. This study was one of three Phase 3 pregabalin CR studies evaluating the drug's potential use as a once-a-day therapy. The other two studies are evaluating pregabalin CR in fibromyalgia and post-herpetic neuralgia. Pfizer said it will continue the other two studies. Shares were trading eight cents lower at $23.58 premarket. The stock was up 9.3% this year through Thursday's close. Write … Continue reading →

90 p.c. of patients in some areas do not receive treatment for many reasons, says expert India accounts for a large number of epilepsy patients and like in any other developing country nearly 90 per cent of the patients in some areas do not receive treatment for many reasons, which calls for a need to devise alternative strategies to provide service at the peripheral, regional, and apex levels, said a senior neurophysician K. Venkateswarlu on the occasion of the National Epilepsy Day on Saturday. Lack of awareness, social stigma, unavailability of medicines, and patients not able to afford them are some reasons for the gap in treatment. In a country such as India, which is a land of contrasts, treatment for epilepsy is provided by a variety of trained and untrained personnel that include neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, physicians, paediatricians, and a large number of health and nonhealth care personnel, Dr. Venkateswarlu said. The existing number of about 1,000 trained neurologists and 1,500 trained neurosurgeons is inadequate to take care of the large number of patients in the country. There is an urgent need to devise alternative strategies to organise services at the peripheral, regional, and apex levels. Any programme to … Continue reading →

When it comes to health insurance, should autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities be treated like a sprained back or like diabetes? In essence, that's the question at the heart of a pile of class-action lawsuits filed against insurers over the past two years by parents demanding equal treatment for mental-health conditions. The parents say autism and other conditions affecting the brain should be covered like chronic medical conditions are now with no limits on the number of visits for treatment. Group Health Cooperative, one of several insurers targeted by the lawsuits, has announced that as it awaits clarification from a judge, it is suspending coverage limits. That will apply to neurodevelopmental therapies, behavior-modification programs and visits with mental-health practitioners and therapists for issues such as learning, communication and motor skills disorders. With rehabilitation services, such as speech therapy, Group Health also agreed to stop requiring patients to have "significant, measurable improvement" within a 60-day period in order to continue therapy. Group Health has also removed caps and limits on Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), a type of therapy of particular interest to families of those with autism-spectrum disorders, such as Asperger syndrome, said Group Health spokesman Mike Foley. Other insurers, including … Continue reading →

BY RICK TELANDER rtelander@suntimes.com November 17, 2012 1:22AM Mike Ditka says hes fine after a mini-stroke. His health scare reinforces what an irreplaceable character he is for Chicago. | Kiichiro Sato~AP storyidforme: 40231947 tmspicid: 14864133 fileheaderid: 6771598 Updated: November 18, 2012 2:47AM Try to imagine Chicago without deep-dish pizza or Wrigley Field or indicted aldermen. Hard to do, right? Now try to think of our toddlin town without Mike Ditka. Impossible. Thus, our equilibrium got shaken a bit when we heard Da Coach had suffered a minor stroke Friday. He was at his beloved Bob OLink golf club in Highland Park when he started feeling woozy and had slurred speech, and he was quickly taken to a suburban hospital for treatment. It was a mini-stroke, or whatever you call them, he growled to sportscaster Mark Giangreco over the phone. That reminded this scribe of the Saturday Night Live Superfans skit, wherein the roundtable panelists debate which team would win the Ditka-coached Bears or the Giants if the Bears were just 14 inches tall. Consensus: The Bears in a close one. Then this: Todd OConner: What about Ditka? Would he be mini, too? Follow this link: TELANDER: Mike Ditka handling ‘mini-stroke’ … Continue reading →