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Medicine shortages

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A warning from pharmacists that the shortage of certain medicines in the Republic poses a significant risk to patient health cannot be ignored. Results from a recent survey of pharmacists carried out by the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) confirm the problem is a nationwide one. Over half of those surveyed believe the health of their patients has been adversely affected by medicine shortages.

This inability to source prescribed medications is not new. In 2012, the then president of the IPU told its annual conference that pharmacists and patients had been distressed by medicine shortages. The latest example is the shortage of Eltroxin, a drug used to treat thyroid problems, a common disorder. It is not acceptable in this day and age that the health of some patients is compromised due to a shortage of medicines, Rory O Donnell said.

It is unacceptable to find the thyroid hormone replacement drug is also on the latest list of medicines in short supply. Eltroxin is widely prescribed for people with an underactive thyroid. It is an essential medicine that replaces a hormone the body no longer manufactures. Once diagnosed with hypothyroidism, the patient can expect to take Eltroxin for the rest of their lives. Left without the drug for a number of weeks, people are at risk of cardiac and psychological problems that may require hospital admission.

The most recent list of medicines in short supply includes Epilim, a drug used to treat epilepsy. Levels of the drug in the bloodstream drop quickly if the medication is not taken regularly, leading to a return of seizures. Lyrica, a drug used to treat nerve-induced pain and Cymbalta, an antidepressant, are also difficult to source in Ireland.

A number of possible causes of the supply problem have been mooted. Whatever the reasons, they must be addressed. Ensuring that a definitive solution for the perennial problem with the supply of essential medicines is found is basic preventive health.

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Medicine shortages

Erica Erwin: Medicine makes for angry cat, exasperated owner

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I love Sammy, but Sammy does not love me.

This might be because he's a cat, generally disdainful and aloof except, magically, at breakfast and dinner times, when he's apt to appear between my legs or under my feet at a moment's notice (whether to get my attention or to make me trip down the stairs is unclear).

It might be because it's Gerry, not me, who buckles under the constant mewing to fill his food bowl.

Lately, it's probably because I'm squirting medicine down his ears.

Our last trip to the vet -- itself an exercise in acrobatics and willpower on everybody's part -- was met with two pieces of bad news: Sammy might need to have several teeth extracted, a condition brought on by his advancing age -- 12, or 62 in crotchety cat years. And he has an ear infection.

The impending tooth extraction is ultimately more concerning, but it's the ear infection that had me groaning. Infection means antibiotics, and antibiotics mean cat wrangling, and cat wrangling means frustration. And Band-Aids.

So far, the process has been everything I suspected it would be and more.

Step 1: Fill two droppers with medicine, ready for a quick and (hopefully) painless (for me) administration into each ear.

Step 2: Find cat, likely hiding behind or under or on top of something just out of reach in an attempt to evade the medicine that will improve his health.

Step 3: Chase and catch cat, trying not to injure self in process. Ignore glare from cat.

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Erica Erwin: Medicine makes for angry cat, exasperated owner

Thyroid Gland Problems Hormones – Alternatives to Surgery Functional Medicine – Video

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Thyroid Gland Problems Hormones - Alternatives to Surgery Functional Medicine
Exclusive Content @ http://www.patreon.com/psychetruth Thyroid Gland Problems Hormones - Alternatives to Surgery Functional Medicine Psychetruth News Corresp...

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Is your teen abusing cough medicine?

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Christy Crandell wants you to know something.

Her son served prison time for armed robbery something he did while under the influence of over-the-counter cough medicine.

It was something I completely missed when my kids were growing up, she said. We had no idea about cough medicine abuse. She doesnt want you to miss the same thing.

Think about it. Cough medicine. So easy to get, right there in your own medicine cabinet. Parents sometimes dont understand how serious it can get, she said. Its so accessible and if you dont know about it, youre not doing anything to safeguard.

Unfortunately, Crandell isnt the only mother who discovered these amazing facts about cough medicine. And so she is helping get the word out, partly through a campaign called #tomyteen during this, National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month.

The hashtag crusade is aimed to show our teens that we think they are pretty awesome. It sounds obvious, but its important to remember that teens who are validated and appreciated by their parents are much less likely to fall to bad peer pressure.

Parents are looking for positive ways to interact with teens, rather than lecture or punish them, said Scott Melville, the CEO of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. He said CHPAs members started hearing that cough medicine was being abused, particularly by teens, starting about 10 years ago. One in 25 teens abuses cough medicine, he said. Thats one kid in every classroom.

The big issue here, said Deborah Gilboa, a family physician and mother of four boys, is that as parents, were never going to be standing there next to them when they are facing a decision that has serious consequences. She offers three things you can do to help kids faced with peer pressure or the desire to just give something like this a try:

Dont leave any subject off limits. If you dont tell your kids what your views are, they will only listen to popular culture or peers. They should get to hear what we think. You want them to know that you know what they are facing.

You should be trustworthy. Live the values you talk about. If you think texting and driving is a dangerous thing to do, you have to actually not text and drive yourself. If you want your child to call you when they are in a bad spot socially, you have to actually make yourself available so they know they have a safe place to land. Tell them, Gilboa said, I know youve told me that there wont be drinking at this party. But if there is and you find yourself in a bad spot, call me and you wont get in trouble. And then mean it when they call.

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Is your teen abusing cough medicine?

Drug for Rare Blood Disorder Developed at Penn Receives Orphan Drug Status from the FDA

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Newswise PHILADELPHIA A Penn Medicine-developed drug has received orphan status from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare, life-threatening disease that causes anemia due to destruction of red blood cells and thrombosis. This designation comes less than two months after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the drug for the same status.

Orphan designation for the drug, called AMY-101, will allow Amyndas, the company currently developing the compound, to proceed with expedited clinical development. Amyndas is planning to move AMY-101 into the clinic for first-in-human trials in 2015. AMY-101 is a new way to fight PNH, which is currently only treatable with the most expensive drug available for sale in the United States. The new strategy is based on inhibiting C3, a central component of the oldest part of the human immune system called complement -- and could turn out to be less costly and more effective for the majority of patients with this rare blood disorder.

If a drug is approved by the FDA, this special orphan status allows for a seven-year period of market exclusivity from product launch in the United States, and enables an orphan drugs maker to apply for research funding, tax credits for certain research expenses, and assistance for clinical research study design. This status also provides a waiver from the FDAs Prescription Drug User Fee, which authorizes the FDA to collect fees from drug sponsors to expand their staff so that new drugs can be reviewed more quickly.

John Lambris, PhD, the Dr. Ralph and Sallie Weaver Professor of Research Medicine in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine, developed AMY-101 at Penn, and in 2013 the university licensed it to Amyndas, which is now further developing the compound for application in the clinic.

Receiving the orphan drug designation from both the FDA and the EMA is an important achievement and a key milestone in the development pathway of AMY-101 and we are optimistic regarding the long-term potential of this potent complement inhibitor, said Lambris. AMY-101 could represent a significant therapeutic advantage over treatments currently available for PNH.

PNH affects between 1 and 5 per million people and is caused by a defective expression of regulatory proteins on the surface of blood cells, leaving them vulnerable to complement attack. This can lead to premature death of the red blood cells, a process called hemolysis, which results in severe anemia and contributes to a high risk of clotting. AMY-101 tames this inappropriate complement activation and protects cell surfaces from attack.

Although one treatment exists for PNH, one third of patients continue to require blood transfusions to manage their anemia. This non-response is due the accumulation of fragments of complement C3 proteins on the surface of their red blood cells, which are eventually attacked by immune cells. The team investigated the effect of AMY-101 on self-attack and resulting hemolysis using human PNH cells and found it be active.

Editors Note: Lambris is an inventor of patents and/or patent applications owned by Penn that describe the use of complement inhibitors for therapeutic purposes. Lambris is a founder and equity holder of Amyndas Pharmaceuticals, which has exclusively licensed the AMY-101 technologies from Penn and is developing complement inhibitors for clinical applications.

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Drug for Rare Blood Disorder Developed at Penn Receives Orphan Drug Status from the FDA

TRUAGE Science Made Simple 3 , anti-aging medicine singapore, top anti aging products singapore – Video

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Reworking Health: Translating Siloed Research into Medicine – Video

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Reworking Health: Translating Siloed Research into Medicine
http://www.iftf.org/reworkinghealth This video is from our 2013 Health Horizons Map of the Decade, Reworking Health: New Authorities in a Well-being Economy, which is a guide to the new tools...

By: Institute for the Future (IFTF)

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Reworking Health: Translating Siloed Research into Medicine - Video

Mark Tomaino panel – Medicine X Entrepreneurship Special Event – Video

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Mark Tomaino panel - Medicine X Entrepreneurship Special Event
Moderator Mark Tomaino, Senior Healthcare Executive, Welsh, Carson, Anderson Stowe, speaks with Vivian Lee, MD, PhD, MBA, CEO, University of Utah Health Care and Dean, University of Utah...

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Mark Tomaino panel - Medicine X Entrepreneurship Special Event - Video

Health, Medicine and Sex with Jonathan Lazare, MD – Penile Implant Demonstration – Video

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Health, Medicine and Sex with Jonathan Lazare, MD - Penile Implant Demonstration
Description I demonstrate how the three piece penile implant works on a live patient. This patient had complete impotence prior to surgery. He received a three piece AMS cx 700 penile implant....

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Health, Medicine and Sex with Jonathan Lazare, MD - Penile Implant Demonstration - Video

A tragic quest for Amazon 'medicine'

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Kyle Nolan, right, pictured with his triplet sister Marion and triplet brother, Kevin.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Is ayahuasca a natural remedy for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder or just another drug fad? Lisa Ling goes inside an ayahuasca ceremony in the Amazon on this week's episode of "This Is Life With Lisa Ling: Jungle Fix" Sunday, October 26, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

(CNN) -- Kyle Nolan did his research -- his mother made sure of that. She didn't want her 18-year-old son heading to the Amazon jungle at all -- let alone, without learning everything he could about the supposed "medicine" with the bizarre name that he insisted would help him turn his young life around.

"I really tried to discourage him ... I kept telling him over and over, there are no easy answers in life," Ingeborg Oswald said.

But she knew she couldn't stop him.

Overshadowed by his "overachieving" triplet brother and sister, Oswald said Kyle "was going through this teenage crisis, not knowing what he wanted to do with his life."

He had dropped out of junior college and was living with his mother, when he somehow discovered ayahuasca, (pronounced "eye-uh-WAHS-kuh") a psychedelic brew that some believe can help users achieve a higher state of consciousness.

"He went online and started reading all these positive things about ayahuasca, which is something I had never heard of before," Oswald said. "Apparently there's a huge, positive movement toward ayahuasca. And he thought that that would help him maybe discover who he was."

His research led him to the Shimbre Shamanic Center in a remote corner of the Peruvian Amazon region. Oswald said the center's website made its ayahuasca experience "sound very individualized."

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A tragic quest for Amazon 'medicine'


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