Pharmacology/Pharmaceutical Industry

Once-Daily, Single-Tablet Regimen Suppressed HIV

14 Aug, 2017 | 14:30h | UTC

Once-Daily, Single-Tablet Regimen Suppressed HIV – Pharmacy Practice News (free)

Risk of Stroke With Various Types of Menopausal Hormone Therapies

14 Aug, 2017 | 14:42h | UTC

Risk of Stroke With Various Types of Menopausal Hormone Therapies: A National Cohort Study – Stroke (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Source: EvidenceAlerts

This large cohort confirms an increased stroke risk with oral hormone therapies, but suggests no increased risk of stroke with transdermal or vaginal estrogen application.

Exenatide for Parkinson’s disease?

11 Aug, 2017 | 16:48h | UTC

Exenatide once weekly versus placebo in Parkinson’s disease: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ to full-text)

Commentaries: Diabetes drug may be helpful for Parkinson’s disease – NHS Choices (free) AND Diabetes drug could help those living with Parkinson’s disease, research reveals – The Guardian (free) AND First hints Parkinson’s can be stopped – BBC (free) AND Diabetes drug shows potential as disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s disease – University College London, via EurekAlert (free)

Small trial suggests exenatide is beneficial for motor symptoms in Parkinson disease. Larger trials showing improvements in quality of life are warranted. (see NHS Choices commentary)

Lithium Associated With a Higher Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease in Older Adults

11 Aug, 2017 | 15:53h | UTC

Lithium Use, but Not Valproate Use, Is Associated With a Higher Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease in Older Adults With Mental Illness – The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (link to abstract -$ for full-text)

Case-control study suggests Lithium is associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease.

Counseling Adolescents About Contraception

11 Aug, 2017 | 13:12h | UTC

Guideline: Counseling Adolescents About Contraception – American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (free)

Commentary: Contraception and adolescents: ACOG releases counseling recommendations for clinicians – Clinical Advisor (free)

Present and future of metastatic colorectal cancer treatment

11 Aug, 2017 | 12:48h | UTC

Review: Present and future of metastatic colorectal cancer treatment: A review of new candidate targets – World Journal of Gastroenterology (free)

Interventions for emergency contraception

10 Aug, 2017 | 22:29h | UTC

Interventions for emergency contraception – Cochrane Library (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Summary: Methods of emergency contraception (free)

On-demand pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV

10 Aug, 2017 | 22:31h | UTC

Efficacy, safety, and effect on sexual behaviour of on-demand pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV in men who have sex with men: an observational cohort study – The Lancet HIV (free registration required)

Commentaries: PrEP on demand or every day? – The Lancet HIV (free registration required) AND HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis can be taken as needed – Reuters (free)

“four doses of PrEP around the time of sexual activity cut the risk of HIV by 97 percent” (from Reuters Health)

Antipsychotic drugs for the acute treatment of patients with a first episode of schizophrenia

10 Aug, 2017 | 20:52h | UTC

Antipsychotic drugs for the acute treatment of patients with a first episode of schizophrenia: a systematic review with pairwise and network meta-analyses – The Lancet Psychiatry (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: First-Episode Psychosis Drug Choice: No Clear Winner – Medscape (free registration required)

What do hypnotics cost hospitals and healthcare?

10 Aug, 2017 | 17:16h | UTC

What do hypnotics cost hospitals and healthcare? – F1000 Research (free)

Source: Hospital Medicine Virtual Journal Club

“A best estimate is that U.S. costs of hypnotic harms to healthcare systems are on the order of $55 billion, but conceivably might be as low as $10 billion or as high as $100 billion”.

How long should I take antibiotics?

9 Aug, 2017 | 17:04h | UTC

How long should I take antibiotics? Exploring the Goldilocks problem – Robin Centor in KevinMD.com Blog (free)

Treatment for Hepatitis C Virus by Community-Based Nonspecialist Providers

9 Aug, 2017 | 17:00h | UTC

Expansion of Treatment for Hepatitis C Virus Infection by Task Shifting to Community-Based Nonspecialist Providers: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial – Annals of Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Nonspecialists Could Safely Provide Hepatitis C Care – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND HCV treatment by NPs, PCPs appears safe, effective as that provided by subspecialists – ACP Internist (free)

“Expansion of Treatment for HCV Infection by Task Shifting to Community-Based Nonspecialists” (RT @kennylinafp see Tweet)

Gadolinium deposition in the brain: summary of evidence and recommendations

9 Aug, 2017 | 15:37h | UTC

Gadolinium deposition in the brain: summary of evidence and recommendations – The Lancet Neurology (free registration required)

Commentaries: Gadolinium deposition: practical guidelines in the face of uncertainty – The Lancet Neurology (free registration required) AND MRI Contrast Agents Accumulate in the Brain – Case Western Reserve University, via NewsWise (free)

Too Many Meds?

5 Aug, 2017 | 20:02h | UTC

Too Many Meds? America’s Love Affair With Prescription Medication – Consumer Reports (free)

See more on “Deprescribing” in our May 8^th issue (see #7), May 9^th issue (see #4) and May 15^th issue (see #2), and also a related article on Current and future perspectives on the management of polypharmacy

“Yes. Way Too Many Meds. Think De-prescribe”. (RT @EricTopol see Tweet)

Bevacizumab for advanced cervical cancer

3 Aug, 2017 | 21:56h | UTC

Bevacizumab for advanced cervical cancer: final overall survival and adverse event analysis of a randomised, controlled, open-label, phase 3 trial – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

“Benefit of adding bevacizumab to CT for cervical cancer is sustained: OS curves remain separated with ext. follow-up” and “Unfortunately though bevacizumab is out of reach of many patients living in #LMICs” (RT @oncology_bg see Tweets)

Trial of Tocilizumab in Giant-Cell Arteritis

3 Aug, 2017 | 21:39h | UTC

Trial of Tocilizumab in Giant-Cell Arteritis – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Quick Take Video Summary: The GiACTA Trial (free)

Commentaries: Tocilizumab improves remission rates in giant-cell arteritis: The GiACTA trial – 2 Minute Medicine (free) AND Phase 3 trial confirms superiority of tocilizumab to steroids for giant cell arteritis – Massachusetts General Hospital, via EurekAlert (free) AND Tocilizumab With Steroid Taper Superior in GCA – Medscape (free registration required)

Oral fluoroquinolones and risk of secondary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome

3 Aug, 2017 | 20:21h | UTC

Oral fluoroquinolones and risk of secondary pseudotumor cerebri syndrome – Neurology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Fluoroquinolones May Up Risk of PTCS, a Rare But Serious Condition – MPR (free) (RT @AmeshAA see Tweet)

Opioid Use in Pregnancy, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, and Childhood Outcomes

3 Aug, 2017 | 13:37h | UTC

Opioid Use in Pregnancy, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, and Childhood Outcomes: Executive Summary of a Joint Workshop by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the March of Dimes Foundation (free)

Original article: Systematic review with meta-analysis: the efficacy and safety of tenofovir to prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus – Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Association of Statin Use With Risk of Back Disorder Diagnoses

27 Jul, 2017 | 22:52h | UTC

Association of Statin Use With Risk of Back Disorder Diagnoses – JAMA Internal Medicine (free)

Commentaries: Statin Use Could Be Associated With Higher Risk of Back Disorders – American Journal of Managed Care (free) AND Are Statins Behind Some Back Problems? – MedPage Today (free registration required)

Observational analysis suggests a possible association, data from randomized trials needed.

Antipsychotics in Acute Schizophrenia

27 Jul, 2017 | 17:34h | UTC

Sixty Years of Placebo-Controlled Antipsychotic Drug Trials in Acute Schizophrenia: Systematic Review, Bayesian Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression of Efficacy Predictors – American Journal of Psychiatry (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Antipsychotic Response Rates Through the Prism of 60 Years – Psychiatric Times (free)

Source: EvidenceAlerts (free resource to find articles of interest)

Twice as many patients improved with antipsychotics as with placebo, confirming the benefits of antipsychotic drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Ivermectin – Old Drug, New Tricks?

27 Jul, 2017 | 16:50h | UTC

Review: Ivermectin – Old Drug, New Tricks? – Trends in Parasitology (free)

Inconsistent Guideline Recommendations for Cardiovascular Prevention

25 Jul, 2017 | 00:55h | UTC

Viewpoint: Inconsistent Guideline Recommendations for Cardiovascular Prevention and the Debate About Zeroing in on and Zeroing LDL-C Levels With PCSK9 Inhibitors – JAMA (free)