Public Health

Two years after pharmaceutical giant Roche promised the BMJ it would release key Tamiflu trial data for independent scrutiny, the safety and effectiveness of this anti-influenza drug remains uncertain, warn experts today.

A new report by the Cochrane Collaboration says Roche’s refusal to provide full access to all its data leaves critical questions about how well the drug works unresolved.

A BMJ investigation, published to coincide with today’s report, also raises serious concerns about access to drug data, the use of ghost writers in drug trials, and the drug approval process.

Meanwhile, Tamiflu has become the mainstay of influenza treatment in the UK. It has also made it onto the World Health Organisation’s list of Essential Medicines and Roche’s claims continue to be supported by influential health agencies.

UK: Does anyone understand the government’s NHS reforms, asks senior professor?

Personal View: Does anyone understand the government’s plan for the NHS?

Despite 25 years of experience researching health systems, including writing over 30 books and 500 academic papers, Professor Martin McKee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says he still can’t understand the government’s plan for the NHS.

In a Personal View published on bmj.com today, he writes: “I have tried very hard, as have some of my cleverer colleagues, but no matter how hard we try, we always end up concluding that the bill means something quite different from what the secretary of state says it does.”

McKee notes that even Malcolm Grant, the incoming chairman of the National Commissioning Board, has described the bill as “completely unintelligible.”

India Records One Year Without Polio Cases

Critical need to maintain immunity to poliovirus in India until global eradication achieved

En Francais | In English

ATLANTA / EVANSTON, Ill. / GENEVA / NEW YORK / SEATTLE ¦ 12 January 2012 – India appears to have interrupted wild poliovirus transmission, today completing one year without polio since its last case, in a 2-year-old girl in the state of West Bengal, on 13 January 2011.

India was once recognized as the world’s epicentre of polio. If all pending laboratory investigations return negative, in the coming weeks India will officially be deemed to have stopped indigenous transmission of wild poliovirus. The number of polio-endemic countries, those which have never stopped indigenous wild poliovirus transmission, will then be reduced to a historical low of three: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

However, there remains no room for complacency. India must maintain sensitive surveillance and high childhood immunity against wild poliovirus to guard against any importation of polio until eradication is achieved globally. In 2011, Pakistan and Afghanistan have both seen alarming increases in polio cases, and poliovirus from Pakistan re-infected China (which had been polio-free since 1999). In Africa, active polio transmission continues in Nigeria, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with outbreaks in West and Central Africa in the past 12 months reminding the world that as long as polio exists anywhere, it remains a threat everywhere.

Two or more prescription meds doubles fall rate for young and middle aged

[Association between prescription medications and falls at home among young and middle aged adults Online First 2012 doi 10.1136/injuryprev-2011-040202]

Taking two or more prescription drugs at any one time seems to double the unintentional fall rate at home for the young and middle aged, similar to the effect seen in elderly people.

Drugs to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol were most commonly involved, the data showed.

The authors base their findings on a study looking at people of working age who died or required admission to hospital within 48 hours of an unintentional fall at home in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2005 and 2006.

Promote Importance of Sleep, Public Safety

DARIEN, IL – Jan. 12, 2012 – The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is in Washington to meet with federal agencies and lawmakers to forge relationships based on promoting the importance of sleep. AASM President Nancy Collop, MD, said the timing couldn’t be better.

“We have been planning this trip since fall, but with the recent rule changes on resting times for pilots and truck drivers, the mindset in Washington seems more open than ever to our concerns about adequate sleep and public safety,” Collop said. AASM is a professional membership society that is the leader in setting standards and promoting excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research.

UNICEF responds to urgent needs in flood-affected Philippines

NEW YORK (December 20, 2011) —UNICEF is delivering water and sanitation supplies today to assist 15,000 families affected by the devastating floods in southern Philippines.

The agency also launched an appeal today for $4.2 m illion to assist families affected by Tropical Storm Washi that unleashed devastating flash floods on the southern island of Mindanao. The appeal will support UNICEF’s response in the areas of water and sanitation, health and nutrition, education and child protection.

New report highlights need for action on health in the aftermath of war

Issue of noncommunicable diseases in post-conflict countries must be addressed.

Countries recovering from war are at risk of being left to their own devices in tackling non communicable diseases, leaving an "open door" for exploitation by alcohol, tobacco and food companies, health experts warn.

Writing in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Bayard Roberts and Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Preeti Patel, of King's College London, argue that the post-conflict environment risks increases of mental health problems and other NCDs, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.

Reform of NHS Community Health Partnerships "long overdue"

Commenting on the announcement today [Monday 12 December 2011] that the Scottish Government intends to introduce new legislation to reform Community Health Partnerships, Dr Brian Keighley, Chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said:

“An overhaul of CHPs is long overdue. This reform must be much more than a superficial re-branding exercise and it is essential that any legislation seeks to resolve the underlying factors that led to the failure of these structures in the first place.

BMA’s response to the government's consultation on the strategy for the UK life sciences industry

BMA leaders today (Monday, 5th December) warned ministers that they must ensure patient confidentiality is protected as part of new proposals to boost the life sciences industry.

Responding to the publication of a consultation on a future strategy for the UK life sciences industry, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, Head of Science and Ethics at the BMA said:

“It is encouraging that the government has recognised the importance of the life science industry to both the NHS and the wider UK economy. This vital sector already contributes significantly to the financial livelihood of our country and has the real potential to provide further benefits during this tough economic period. Patients also benefit from the new treatments and drugs that are devised by hard working clinical researchers.

Northern Ireland doctors welcome minimum alcohol pricing moves in Scotland

Northern Ireland doctors today (1 November 2011) welcomed the news that the Scottish government is to reintroduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol.

Public health committee chairman Dr Vinod Tohani said,

“Alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland costs our economy almost £700 million pounds. There are direct costs to hospital services and the criminal justice service, compounded by indirect costs such as loss of productivity and the impact on family and social networks”

FDA takes enforcement action against Pennsylvania dietary supplement maker

First permanent injunction of its kind; more than 400 products affected

The FDA today took legal action against a dietary supplement maker and owner for substituting ingredients and products without noting the changes on the final product labels. The permanent injunction, filed on behalf of the FDA by the U.S. Department of Justice, would stop the defendants from making and distributing more than 400 products for being in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

NIH DISCONTINUES TENOFOVIR VAGINAL GEL In 'VOICE' HIV Prevention Study

Product Safe but No More Effective than Placebo

A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an antiretroviral-containing oral tablet or vaginal gel can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the gel, an investigational microbicide, was not effective among study participants.

The BMA welcomed the Health Select Committee’s call today (Wednesday 2 November) that the new public health body for England must be independent.

The Committee’s report concludes that Public Health England (PHE) “must be – and, just as importantly, must be perceived as being – independent of the government.” The BMA has been calling for this since the government launched its White Paper on public health, Healthy Lives, Healthy People, in November 2010.

Home | Contact | Disclaimer | Tour | Links Exchange

TeleMed International HQ, Inc. | Medical Standard Systems Corporation

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by governmental institutions, authorities, scholars, academicians, researchers, educational institutions, pharmaceutical organizations, advertisers, individuals, websites, blogs and links featured at HcVN are their own. They may not reflect or parallel our own thoughts and should not be taken as an endorsement. With regards to your health related issues traditional or integrated, please consult your physicians.