April 10, 2013
Arrhythmia drug unavailable in most countries: study
An inexpensive drug that can prevent some life-threatening heart rhythm problems is unavailable in most places, according to a new survey of doctors in 131 countries…Only about one in 10,000 people inherits Brugada syndrome and even fewer have symptoms, according to Dr. Michael Ackerman, who studies heart disorders at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota…”Quinidine […]
Tags: arrhythmia, arrhythmia drug, Brugada syndrome, Dr. Michael Ackerman, Quinidine, Reuters, Reuters Health, unavailable
October 17, 2012
129 Minn. Clinics Got Potentially Tainted Drugs; Mayo Issues Statement
Minnesota Department of Health says 129 clinics in Minnesota got drug supplies from a pharmaceutical distributor that has been at the center of national concern about noninfectious meningitis cases. “It is not known at this time how many patients in Minnesota are affected,” the state agency said in a Tuesday afternoon alert…Mayo Clinic spokesman Bryan […]
Tags: Bryan Anderson, Minnesota Department of Health, New England Compounding Center, noninfectious meningitis, Post Bulletin, tainted drugs
October 11, 2012
Pricey Soliris Performs in Another Rare Disease
Alexion’s ($ALXN) Soliris is arguably the most expensive drug in the world. The rare-disease therapy fights two life-threatening diseases–and it costs up to $400,000 per year, depending upon the patient. And if the company has its way, the drug may be targeted at another group of patients…Patients with NMO are progressively disabled by each attack. […]
Tags: Alexion, FiercePharma, Sean J. Pittock, Soliris
July 26, 2012
Group Asks FDA to Provide Clearer Painkiller Guidelines
A group of pain experts and health officials are asking the Food and Drug Administration to provide clearer guidance to physicians on how to use extended-release painkillers and to limit claims pharmaceutical companies can make about the high-dosage medications. If approved, drug companies would be blocked from marketing their powerful painkillers as remedies for more […]
Tags: citizen's petition, extended-release painkillers, FDA, Wall Street Journal
July 23, 2012
Unrelenting Heat Can Wither Your Meds, Too
This has been a difficult summer for Aylssa McDermott. The Maplewood 12-year-old, who wears an insulin pump for diabetes, has landed in the emergency room three times after softball tournaments in which hot, humid air combined with her body heat to destroy her medication…At the Mayo Clinic emergency room in Rochester, Dr. Torrey Laack sees […]
Tags: Dr. Torrey Laack, heat, medications, Star Tribune
July 10, 2012
Fake Avastin shows very little protects drug supply
As drug counterfeiters step up their sales of bogus medicines, global health regulators have few protections in place to prevent them from reaching patients, and new laws aimed at addressing the problem could be years away…Larger hospitals are likely to have more quality controls in place than individual clinics, but there are still concerns. The […]
Tags: Cardinal Health, counterfeit, Robert Wolf
June 22, 2012
Blood Pressure Drug Olmesartan Linked to Celiac Disease Side Effects in a Handful of Patients
A drug used for treating high blood pressure has been linked with a number of severe gastrointestinal side effects, according to a report from the Mayo Clinic…”We thought these cases were celiac diseases initially because their biopsies showed features very like celiac disease, such as inflammation,” said Dr. Joseph Murray, the Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist treating […]
Tags: ABC News, celiac diseases, Dr. Joseph Murray, gastrointestinal side effects, high blood pressure
June 19, 2012
FDA Proposal Gives Pharmacists Too Much Power, Doctors Argue
Physicians are concerned regarding a recent government proposal to create a new class of drugs that would fall somewhere between those that need a doctor’s prescription, and those that can be bought over the counter… In an AMA committee meeting yesterday, Dr. Robert Orford, an assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, […]
Tags: Dr. Robert Orford, government proposal, MyHealthNewsDaily, prescription drug