The AMA/NDLS™ Disaster Volunteer Physician Registry provides an easy and convenient means to facilitate and coordinate the deployment of physicians who are willing to volunteer with federal and private sector response organizations. The information you provide will be used specifically for disaster response deployment to Haiti, but it may also be employed should future disasters occur around the world.
Remember, the health care infrastructure in Port-au-Prince and other areas affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks have suffered significant damage. This environment isn’t one that many of us have ever seen before. It’s physically challenging, austere and resource-constrained. Therefore, we must be self-sufficient and able to work independently.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Morphine Approved for Chronic Pain
FDA approves morphine sulfate solution for opioid-tolerant patients.
The AP (1/26) reported that the FDA "says it has confirmed the safety of a widely-used formulation of morphine that was previously unapproved." Regulators "approved Roxane Laboratories' Morphine Sulfate oral solution for patients with moderate to severe chronic pain." The agency "issued warning letters to Roxane and eight other drugmakers" last March "ordering them to stop distributing their morphine drugs."
MedPage Today (1/26, Petrochko) reported that Roxane's drug "is indicated for opioid-tolerant patients with moderate-to-severe acute and chronic pain, as well as end-of-life care." Opioid-tolerant patients are those who use "60 mg of an opioid per day, Sharon Hertz, MD, deputy director of the Division of Anesthesia, Analgesics, and Rheumatoid Products at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said." To gain approval, Roxane Laboratories "needed to establish a safety profile...to address the risks of morphine misuse, abuse, and overdose."
The AP (1/26) reported that the FDA "says it has confirmed the safety of a widely-used formulation of morphine that was previously unapproved." Regulators "approved Roxane Laboratories' Morphine Sulfate oral solution for patients with moderate to severe chronic pain." The agency "issued warning letters to Roxane and eight other drugmakers" last March "ordering them to stop distributing their morphine drugs."
MedPage Today (1/26, Petrochko) reported that Roxane's drug "is indicated for opioid-tolerant patients with moderate-to-severe acute and chronic pain, as well as end-of-life care." Opioid-tolerant patients are those who use "60 mg of an opioid per day, Sharon Hertz, MD, deputy director of the Division of Anesthesia, Analgesics, and Rheumatoid Products at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said." To gain approval, Roxane Laboratories "needed to establish a safety profile...to address the risks of morphine misuse, abuse, and overdose."
Teen Pregnancy Update
New study finds dramatic increase in teen pregnancies.
An alarming analysis from the Guttmacher Institute regarding the rate of teen pregnancy received national attention yesterday, with a total of more than three minutes combined devoted to the subject on the nightly news broadcasts. ABC World News (1/26, story 5, 0:30, Sawyer) reported, "Teen pregnancies are on the rise again, after several years of decline." The teen pregnancy rate "rose 3% in 2006," which "means about 7% of American teenage girls got pregnant in that year." NBC Nightly News (1/16, story 7, 0:30, Williams) reported, "The rate was up among all ethnic groups with the rate for black and Hispanic teenagers significantly higher than for whites." The CBS Evening News (1/26, story 5, 2:15, Couric) interviewed researcher Lawrence Finer, who "blame[s] the uptick on sex education in the classroom or the lack of it." Finder notes that the increase occurred "at the same time that we've seen a substantial increase in funding for abstinence-only education programs." CBS also covered the story on their website.
Finer's claim was echoed by Heather Boonstra, a Guttmacher senior public policy associate. According to Time (1/27, Luscombe), Boonstra pointed to "a strong body of research" which demonstrated that "these programs do not work." She added that the "heyday of this failed experiment" had been defeated by "the enactment of a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative that ensures that programs will be age-appropriate, medically accurate and, most importantly, based on research demonstrating their effectiveness." However, as the Orange County Register (1/27, Hall) points out in their "Healthy Living" blog, the Senate version of the healthcare reform bill contains "$50 million a year for abstinence-only programs, a provision tucked in even after the Obama administration had hacked out funding for abstinence-only programs in favor of other teen pregnancy-prevention programs."
An alarming analysis from the Guttmacher Institute regarding the rate of teen pregnancy received national attention yesterday, with a total of more than three minutes combined devoted to the subject on the nightly news broadcasts. ABC World News (1/26, story 5, 0:30, Sawyer) reported, "Teen pregnancies are on the rise again, after several years of decline." The teen pregnancy rate "rose 3% in 2006," which "means about 7% of American teenage girls got pregnant in that year." NBC Nightly News (1/16, story 7, 0:30, Williams) reported, "The rate was up among all ethnic groups with the rate for black and Hispanic teenagers significantly higher than for whites." The CBS Evening News (1/26, story 5, 2:15, Couric) interviewed researcher Lawrence Finer, who "blame[s] the uptick on sex education in the classroom or the lack of it." Finder notes that the increase occurred "at the same time that we've seen a substantial increase in funding for abstinence-only education programs." CBS also covered the story on their website.
Finer's claim was echoed by Heather Boonstra, a Guttmacher senior public policy associate. According to Time (1/27, Luscombe), Boonstra pointed to "a strong body of research" which demonstrated that "these programs do not work." She added that the "heyday of this failed experiment" had been defeated by "the enactment of a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative that ensures that programs will be age-appropriate, medically accurate and, most importantly, based on research demonstrating their effectiveness." However, as the Orange County Register (1/27, Hall) points out in their "Healthy Living" blog, the Senate version of the healthcare reform bill contains "$50 million a year for abstinence-only programs, a provision tucked in even after the Obama administration had hacked out funding for abstinence-only programs in favor of other teen pregnancy-prevention programs."
Sunday, January 24, 2010
New Hope for Hearing Loss
GenVec teams with Novartis to develop hearing-loss product.
The Washington Post (1/20, Musgrove) reports Maryland-based drugmaker GenVec "announced Tuesday that it has inked a deal with Swiss drugmaking giant Novartis to license its early-stage work aimed at reversing hearing loss." According to the agreement, "Novartis will acquire $2 million of GenVec's stock and will pay the biotech company an initial $5 million to take over research and development of a potential hearing-loss remedy." For now, the company is said to be focusing on its pancreatic cancer-treatment product TNFerade, which the FDA granted "orphan drug" status last November.
The Washington Post (1/20, Musgrove) reports Maryland-based drugmaker GenVec "announced Tuesday that it has inked a deal with Swiss drugmaking giant Novartis to license its early-stage work aimed at reversing hearing loss." According to the agreement, "Novartis will acquire $2 million of GenVec's stock and will pay the biotech company an initial $5 million to take over research and development of a potential hearing-loss remedy." For now, the company is said to be focusing on its pancreatic cancer-treatment product TNFerade, which the FDA granted "orphan drug" status last November.
Aging and Omega 3 Fatty Acids
High levels of omega-3 fatty acids may be linked to lower rate of biological aging.
The Los Angeles Times (1/19, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reported that, according to findings appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "people with heart disease who had high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had a lower rate of shortening of telomere length -- a marker for aging -- compared with similar heart patients who had the lowest levels of omega-3 fatty acids."
The Wall Street Journal (1/20, Burton) reports that the study of 608 heart patients targeted marine omega-3, which is found in fish, rather than omega-3 fatty acids typically in certain vegetable sources. But, researchers did not differentiate between patients who ate meals with fatty fish and those who took fish-oil supplements.
The study showed that "as blood levels of omega-3 went up, the rate at which telomeres shortened decreased," HealthDay (1/19, Gardner) reported. Furthermore, "to the extent that" the rate of shortening of telomeres "is a marker of biological aging, the rate of biological aging went down."
WebMD (1/19, Doheny) reported, however, that the researchers remained uncertain over whether the "effect of omega-3 fatty acids on telomere length is present in those without coronary heart disease," suggesting that telomere shortening may occur in everyone.
The Los Angeles Times (1/19, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reported that, according to findings appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "people with heart disease who had high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had a lower rate of shortening of telomere length -- a marker for aging -- compared with similar heart patients who had the lowest levels of omega-3 fatty acids."
The Wall Street Journal (1/20, Burton) reports that the study of 608 heart patients targeted marine omega-3, which is found in fish, rather than omega-3 fatty acids typically in certain vegetable sources. But, researchers did not differentiate between patients who ate meals with fatty fish and those who took fish-oil supplements.
The study showed that "as blood levels of omega-3 went up, the rate at which telomeres shortened decreased," HealthDay (1/19, Gardner) reported. Furthermore, "to the extent that" the rate of shortening of telomeres "is a marker of biological aging, the rate of biological aging went down."
WebMD (1/19, Doheny) reported, however, that the researchers remained uncertain over whether the "effect of omega-3 fatty acids on telomere length is present in those without coronary heart disease," suggesting that telomere shortening may occur in everyone.
Newspaper Questions Antidepressant Efficacy
Boston Globe urges doctors to pause before prescribing some treatments.
The Boston Globe (1/19) editorialized that a "surprising new analysis indicates that for some patients with mild and moderate depression, certain drugs work no better than placebos." While the study "remains controversial, it should give doctors pause not just about which treatments they order for depression, but also how they decide when to prescribe all manner of drugs."
The Boston Globe (1/19) editorialized that a "surprising new analysis indicates that for some patients with mild and moderate depression, certain drugs work no better than placebos." While the study "remains controversial, it should give doctors pause not just about which treatments they order for depression, but also how they decide when to prescribe all manner of drugs."
Disability Insurance
More workers purchasing disability insurance on their own.
The Wall Street Journal (1/20, Mathews) reports that more and more workers are purchasing disability insurance on their own since fewer employers are providing the benefit. Data show that only 48% of firms provided the benefit in 2009, compared to 59% in 2002. As a growing number of consumers purchases disability insurance, experts caution that the policies can be confusing, and urge workers to read the fine print carefully to ensure that certain conditions, such as mental illness, are covered.
The Wall Street Journal (1/20, Mathews) reports that more and more workers are purchasing disability insurance on their own since fewer employers are providing the benefit. Data show that only 48% of firms provided the benefit in 2009, compared to 59% in 2002. As a growing number of consumers purchases disability insurance, experts caution that the policies can be confusing, and urge workers to read the fine print carefully to ensure that certain conditions, such as mental illness, are covered.
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