GLG News by Critical Care Physicians (US)

It is important to remember that there are many more "treatable" cancers diagnosed than curable cancers. The initiation of chemotherapy after surgical removal of a neoplasm is a signal that there may be undetectable metastatic disease.  You are therefore hoping for a cure but accepting the reality....

While functional class II (FC II) PAH patients have been included in previous clinical trials, the EARLY trial is the first study to concentrate (ie recruit exclusively) FC II PAH patients.  This is important because the definition of functional class II is that a patient has a sight...

This Circulation paper is the first peer reviewed data on the 2 pivotal Phase III trials on ambrisentan that lead the FDA to approving it for the treatment of PAH in July 2007. This paper is critically important since all new research needs to withstand the rigor of peer-review for...

Singulair helps millions of people suffering from asthma. While there are a few sporadic cases of suicide and depression among the millions of patients taking singulair, no causal link has been established and there is no clear mechanism of how singulair might even cause such effects.  In fact,...

Several questions arise about injectable Zileuton.  Inhaled steroids still remain the mainstay of theray for asthma.  Will patients accept the use of an injectable drug for asthma - if it results in infrequent dosing, it may be an acceptable option for patients.  Liver function tests...

Zyflo is a great drug in its oral fornmaulation with goiod efficacy but has failed because one has to take it multiple times a day and because one has to monitor liver function. This new IV formulation should be as effective in the ER setting, but hurdles include poor drug marketing by Critical Therapeuitcs...

This study, published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine, randomized 1,460 critically ill patients to receive erythropoietin (Epo) or placebo.  Although patients receiving Epo did achieve a statistically greater rise in hemoglobin at the end of the study period, but surprisingly...

This article suggests a novel therapeutic use for ultrasonography, which may have implications for both acute and chronic disease management.  The study showed that high-energy ultrasound may be used to effectively seal an injured and leaking lung, similar to previous demonstrations of its...

Ragweed, august september asthma worsen allergies worsen

The frequency of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) prescriptions make FDA review an important step in the long-term assessments of their risk-benefit profile.  It is important to recognize that the FDA did not change the prescribing indications or even issue a warning to physicians about the use of...