Two drugs for treating osteoarthritis found ineffective

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disorder affecting the joints, mainly of the knees. It may cause pain and swelling. Two drugs commonly used for treating this disorder, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate were evaluated in a trial. The results are published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

The conclusion of the study was that glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate alone or in combination did not reduce pain effectively in the overall group of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. But there was a suggestion that combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate may be effective in a subgroup of patients with moderate-to-severe knee pain

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Amantadine and Rimantadine Resistance Very High

Amantadine and rimantadine are anti-viral drugs in the “adamantane” class, commonly used to treat and prevent influenza A. Viral resistance to adamantanes is now alarmingly high, according to a report published on February 2 in the in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) online.

Researchers Rick A Bright, PhD, and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta analyzed influenza samples from people in 26 US states, the study found that 92% of them were resistant to amantadine.

They concluded that amantadine should not be used to treat or prevent influenza A for the remainder of the 2005-2006 flu season and recommended ongoing surveillance of influenza viruses for drug-resistance.

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Herceptin for Breast Cancer: ’Simply Stunning’ Results Tempered by Concern About Side-Effects

In test results researchers describe as “simply stunning”, Herceptin (trastuzumab) – a drug already used in treatment of advanced cancer – has been shown to halve the recurrence of breast tumors after standard therapy.

However, Herceptin works only in women whose breast tumors contain high amounts HER2, a protein that makes the cancer particularly aggressive; moreover, the drug can cause significant effects, according to a report by Reuters on 20 October.

About 20% of women with breast cancer have this type of tumor, so about 42,000 women in the Untied States could benefit from Herceptin treatment, according to Reuters. About 400,000 people worldwide die from breast cancer each year.

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Anti-Cholinergic Drugs Linked to Cognitive Impairment in Elderly

The use of anti-cholinergic drugs by older patients has been linked with mild cognitive impairment, according to a new study in France.

An anti-cholinergic drug is one that opposes or blocks the action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Drugs with anti-cholinergic effects include some bronchodilators, antihistamines, analgesics, anti-hypertensives, antidepressants, antiparkinsonian agents and corticosteroids.

Elderly patients taking any of these drugs may consequently experience "significant deficits in cognitive functioning," according to Marie Ancelin, PhD, a senior research fellow at the French national health research unit.

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FDA Approves Rotavirus Vaccine

Infection with rotavirus is a leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children in the United States and worldwide. A search for a vaccine for this disease has borne fruit with the approval of this new vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of RotaTeq™, a live, oral, vaccine for use in preventing rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants. It is the only vaccine approved in the United States that can help protect against rotavirus, a viral infection that may cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and dehydration.

"This vaccine gives health care providers an important new tool that can effectively prevent an illness that affects almost all children within the first few years of life," said Jesse L. Goodman, MD, MPH, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that rotavirus infection results in approximately 55,000 hospitalizations annually of infants and young children in this country. Death from rotavirus is rare in the United States. However, in developing countries, rotavirus gastroenteritis has been estimated to cause up to several hundred thousand deaths annually in infants and young children.

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Starting a blog on drugs

New drugs and medical treatments are being discovered on a daily basis. Some of them are found to be real advances, while others are discarded. New things are also being found out about older established drugs. For example, the finding that Vioxx could increase the risks of heart attack had led to a big controversy.

Here we are starting a website to review the new drugs and latest news in the pharmaceutical field.