GLG News by Synagis Prescribers (US)

Children have long been therapeutic orphans, often relying on off-label use of new drugs which have only been tested on adults. This legislation seeks to remedy that inequality, by encouraging pharmaceutical companies to do more testing in pediatric populations.

With Abbott being such a major player in the infant formula market, will this lead to more promotion of statins in the pediatric office, especially given the recent (although controversial) recommendation for possible statin use in children as young as 8 years old? And since they are involved in the...

Cervical cancer is real, and has the potential to cause significant morbidity and mortality. Yet the incidence in developed countries is relatively small, when compared with the developing world. There is a real, although small, benefit in the US, and while the vaccine is effective, the cost per prevented...

Finally, a recommendation that an available test and treatment NOT be used, under circumstances where there is little to be gained and much to be lost.

Just like expensive, do-everything end-of-life care, like unlimited imaging studies, like newest drugs, patients want it all. This is one of the attitudes which causes the US to spend far more than other developed countries for far less efficient and cost-effective health care.

(There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.) Just like the electronic devices which claim to stimulate constant muscle contractions, these pills seem to produce increased muscle metabolic activity, making the muscle "think" that it has been exercising. The animals in the study had increased endurance...

There is not much new here for those involved in clinical care of children, but it is good to have statistical support for what we have always taught about pollution and allergic disorders, especially asthma.

Treatment of atopic dermatitis has always been frustrating. Flare-ups, which are all too common, can be treated with topical steroids, but these cannot be used for prolonged periods without significant downside. And lubrication of the skin, the mainstay of maintenance therapy, is not always effective...

While the need for urgent care does not disappear during tough economic times, patients are far more selective about when they consider themselves sick enough to require medical care. With higher copayments, often $25-50, patients think twice before going to a physician for minor complaints--they might...

As in so many other instances, some potential side effects will only show up once the number of patients has grown far beyond the number studied in pre-marketing studies.