12 March 2012 Last updated at 16:05 ET A mother says she is outraged after her son and nine other boys were strip-searched at school on suspicion of carrying drugs in their underwear. Police arrested two pupils, aged 15 and 16, after searching the group of year 11 boys at John Port School in Etwall, Derbyshire, on 9 March. Officers had received a tip-off the pupils were sneaking the drugs into the school in their underwear. The mother, whose son was not arrested, said parents were not told in advance. She said: "He's just very distraught by it all - very embarrassed. I feel my child has been victimised. "For police to actively go into the school and physically strip-search your child without your permission or knowledge, I'm outraged as I'm sure any parent would be." Police said the operation was carried out using powers provided by the Misuse of Drugs Act. Insp Paul Cannon said: "We had very specific intelligence about how the drugs were being brought into the school and the fact they were being brought in in the children's underwear. "We have a duty to investigate criminality and, particularly with drugs, protect vulnerable people from coming into … Continue reading →

An advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration will weigh in today (March 12) on whether drug companies can resume trials of pain drugs for osteoarthritis. Testing of the drugs, known as anti-nerve growth factor (anti-NGF) drugs, was halted by the FDA in 2010 and early 2011 after some patients taking them experienced bone tissue death in the joints, and required joint replacements. No cases of joint tissue death were seen in patients in the studies who took a placebo. Three drugs companies Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals were testing anti-NGF drugs before the trials were stopped. Pfizer's drug, tanezumab, was the farthest along in trials. Today's meeting is unusual in that the panel will be discussing drugs that are not already approved by the FDA or under review for approval, Bob Rappaport, director of the FDA's division of anesthesia, analgesia, and addiction products, said in a memo to the meeting's attendees. Anti-NGF drugs block nerve growth factor, a protein that is important for the development and survival of certain nerve cells also thought to cause sensitivity to pain in certain conditions. A 2010 study of 450 patients with knee osteoarthritis found tanezumab reduced pain by 45 … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON (AP) A panel of arthritis experts recommended Monday that the federal government allow continued testing of an experimental class of pain drugs for arthritis, despite links to bone decay and joint failure The Food and Drug Administration's 21-member panel of arthritis experts voted unanimously that research on the nerve-blocking drugs should continue, with certain safety precautions. Reports of joint failure led the agency to halt studies of the drugs in 2010 before any of the medications could be submitted for U.S. approval. Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals have asked the FDA to lift the moratorium on testing of their drugs. The FDA will weigh the advice of its panel before making a final decision. "There's clearly a worrisome safety signal, but in spite of that, I think there's an unmet need in certain patient populations," said panelist Dr. Sherine Gabriel, of the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minn. Panelists noted that not all patients respond to medications currently on the market, like Aleve and aspirin. The experts also said that the drugs could prove useful in treating a variety of other chronic pain conditions for which there are few options. "Anything that has the hope of … Continue reading →