Posts Tagged ‘medication’

In the current issue of Nature Medicine, scientists have proven what they long suspected – that HIV can hide in our bone marrow and avoid eradication by HIV drugs. Current medications can reduce HIV levels in the blood to an undetectable amount. But, the virus can often come surging back when one stops taking medication because our current drugs do not attack the bone marrow cells which harbor dormant viruses. Why not? Because if we completely kill off all our marrow cells our body cannot produce blood, which would essentially be fatal. However, we now have a new target for future medications to act. And, who knows, we may discover even more places where the virus is able to hide and evade attack. [via HealthDay]

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A new UCLA study shows that patients who choose to use mail-order pharmacies demonstrated higher rates of adherence to their prescribed medications than those who used traditional pharmacies. Nearly 85% of mail-order pharmacy patrons took their medications as prescribed by their doctor, compared to 77% of traditional pharmacy patrons. As well, more people who used mail-order pharmacies chose to do so because of financial incentives (mail-order pharmacies are often able to offer very competitive prices, compared to traditional pharmacies). The researchers studied people with chronic diseases – diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure – which is important since management often requires lifelong pharmacotherapy. “Our findings indicate that mail-order pharmacies streamline the medication acquisition process, which is associated with better medication adherence,” said lead researcher, Dr. O. Kenrik Duru. [via Yahoo! News]

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Another year, another medication recall. Johnson & Johnson has voluntarily recalled all product lots of their Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the red EZ-Open Cap after consumers complained of a musty, mildew-like odor which has caused nausea, vomiting, upset stomach and diarrhea. Johnson & Johnson states the odor originates from trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole, which is believed to result from the breakdown of another chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging material. The company says the side effects have all been “temporary and non-serious.” The health effects of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole is currently unclear. If you have any bottles of the medication, it’s advised that you do not take it. Those who are seeking a refund or replacement can call J&J at 1-888-222-6036. [Associated Press via Yahoo! News]

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The latest issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine reports that fatal medicine errors (FMEs) occuring from mismanagement of medication by patients at home has been increasing, presumably because more and more medications are now consumed outside of hospital and clinics. An examination of FMEs from 1983 to 2004 (nearly 225 thousand) showed that the greatest number of accidental deaths involved alcohol and/or street drugs. The researchers suggest that the number of these deaths can be reduced by focussing on interventions that occur outside of clinical settings. Full story.

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