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Issue:  December 2012 •  Archive  •  Subscribe •  Unsubscribe
In This Edition Featured Article Featured CE
•  Editor's Notebook
•  Counseling Pearls
•  It's the Law
•  Clinical Corner
•  Annual Index 2012
•  Consult Your Pharmacist
•  Educational Spotlight
•  Quick Poll
  – OTC Oral Contraceptives		   Photo Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines Update
In June, the American Cancer Society released revised early-detection recommendations for this disease.		   Photo A Pharmacist-Only Class of Drugs: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
There are pros and cons to implementing a behind-the-counter drug class, an idea currently under FDA consideration.

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Editor's Notebook
It's Over…Now What?

Pharmacists should prepare for a shift in the way the profession is currently practiced.
Counseling Pearls
Photo Gastrointestinal Side Effects of Opioid Analgesics

Opioids' adverse-effect profile often limits use and affects patient compliance. The chief adverse reactions of these drugs are constipation and nausea.
Photo Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment Options

This disorder is hard to diagnose and does not have an established cure. Treatment is patient specific and focuses on symptom control and improved quality of life.
It's the Law
Compounding: Problem or Pariah?

The company behind the fungal meningitis outbreak was acting as a manufacturer, not as a compounding pharmacy.
 
Clinical Corner
Photo Acute Bacterial Peritonitis in Adults

With this condition, a delay in intervention can lead to damage to other bodily organs. Treatment strategies should be guided by specific etiology and comorbidities.
Photo Overview of Pancreatic Cancer

The absence of early symptoms and lack of diagnostic testing contribute to late-stage diagnosis of this disease. Surgical resection remains the only potentially curative option.
 
Annual Index 2012
Annual Index 2012

A listing of articles published in 2012.
 
Consult Your Pharmacist
Gastrointestinal Warnings on Nonprescription Products

Pharmacists must ensure that patients understand labeling contraindications against use.
 
Educational Spotlight
Cultural Competence in Behavioral Health Care

Those involved in the delivery of behavioral health care must be ready to address the cultural factors and health perceptions that can affect care.
Drug-Induced Osteoporosis: A Review of Medications That Affect Bone Mineral Density

Since most diseases treated with these agents render the occurrence of low BMD more likely, these drugs can further compromise a patient's bone structure.
Special Considerations for the Treatment of HIV in Women

Antiretroviral therapy plays an integral role in preventing perinatal transmission of the disease.
 
Newswire
HIV Drug May Defuse Staph Infections
New York, NY — The HIV drug maraviroc could be a potential treatment for Staphylococcus aureus infections, according to researchers at NYU School of Medicine. C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5), which HIV uses to enter T cells in order to replicate and cause infection, has been found to be essential to the ability of certain Staphylococcus (staph) strains to kill CCR5-containing cells, which execute an immune response against the bacteria. When cells with CCR5 were treated with maraviroc and then exposed to LukED, the staph toxin that destroys CCR5 cells, the drug completely blocked LukED's toxic effects. The goal of blocking the toxin with maraviroc or other agents is to enable the immune system to better control the infection.
Generic Drugs' Safety Labeling Often Incorrect
Indianapolis, IN— Although generic drugs are required to carry warnings identical to those on corresponding brand-name medications, a study by the Regenstrief Institute has found that more than two-thirds of generics have labeling discrepancies. Investigators reviewed more than 9,100 product labels for more than 1,500 drugs available on DailyMed, an online repository of labeling information maintained by the FDA and the National Library of Medicine. Sixty-eight of the 1,040 drugs with more than one manufacturer's label had discrepancies in their safety information. Most generics showed fairly small differences across their labels, but 9% had differences of more than 10 side effects. Errors included out-of-date information, incomplete data, and (in one case) information for an entirely different drug.
Iclusig Approved to Treat Two Forms of Leukemia
Silver Spring, MD — The FDA has approved Iclusig (ponatinib) to treat adults with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), two rare blood and bone marrow diseases. The drug was approved more than 3 months before the FDA was scheduled to complete its review of the drug application. Iclusig, which blocks certain proteins that promote the development of cancerous cells, is used to treat patients with CML or Ph+ ALL that is resistant or intolerant to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The drug carries a Boxed Warning noting the occurrence of blood clots and liver toxicity, and some of the more common side effects in clinical trials were high blood pressure, abdominal pain, and rash.