Guideline-specific management of atrial fibrillation
May 1st 2010Each pharmacologic management strategy for atrial fibrillation has limitations and more research is needed to determine which agents are equally effective, yet safer alternatives. Providing thromboprophylaxis to decrease risk of ischemic stroke is a well-validated approach. However, deciding between rhythm or rate control may not be as straightforward.
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FDA panel recommends continued use of Rotarix and RotaTeq vaccines despite viral DNA contamination
May 1st 2010Despite known contamination with porcine circovirus type 1, an FDA advisory panel recently agreed that Rotarix (GlaxoSmithKline) and RotaTeq (Merck), two approved vaccines to prevent rotavirus infection, should continue to be used.
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Chemoprevention with dutasteride (a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor or 5-ARI), given at a dose of 0.5 mg daily, reduced the risk of incident prostate cancer detected on biopsy and improved outcomes related to benign prostatic hyperplasia, according to the results published in the April 1, 2010, edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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According to a systematic review in the April 13, 2010 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, noninsulin antidiabetic drugs show similar reductions in glycosylated HbA1c when used in combination with metformin in type 2 diabetics, but differ in their rates of hypoglycemia and weight gain.
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Clinical studies of patients with both ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes have shown that ticagrelor, when compared with clopidogrel, reduces the rates of vascular death and myocardial infarction while increasing the rate of non-coronary artery bypass graft-related major bleeding. Ticagrelor was also associated with a higher incidence of dyspnea and ventricular pauses.
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First-time generic approvals May 2010
May 1st 2010Generic drugs approved by FDA (through April 2010): Losartan potassium tablets in 25-mg, 50-mg, and 100-mg, Losartan potassium and hydrochlorothiazide tablets in 50 mg/12.5 mg, 100 mg/12.5-mg, and 100 mg/25 mg, Hydromorphone hydrochloride injection, Mesna injection
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