October 31, 2007

• PrecisionRx Specialty Solutions Chosen As A Distributor For Letairis
  (CNN) -- WellPoint, Inc., the nation's largest health benefits company, today announced that its wholly owned specialty pharmacy, PrecisionRx Specialty Solutions, has been selected by Gilead Sciences as one of eight pharmacies in the United States to participate in the limited distribution program for Letairis, an oral drug that treats a potentially lethal form of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
  

• Seeing The Light Of Day
  (Washington Post) -- Artificial illumination can affect more than your mental health. as daylight saving time comes to an end, what happens to our internal clocks?
  

• Declaring Treatment Failure In PAH
  (Medscape) -- How long should we wait before declaring a failure to respond to new therapy (ie, adding sildenafil to bosentan with no or very little change after 1 month in the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) or in symptoms)?
  

• Steroid Use For PAH In Scleroderma
  (Medscape) -- Does pulmonary hypertension associated with scleroderma or interstitial fibrosis/vasculitis respond to steroids? Do steroids have any role in any pulmonary arterial hypertension therapy?
  

• ImmuneWorks To Help Patients Breathe Easier
  (Indianapolis Star) -- ImmuneWorks, a life-sciences startup based at Indiana University's Emerging Technologies Center near the Downtown Canal, has developed a therapeutic product it says can help fight IPF and increase the success rate of lung transplants.
  

• How Tibetans Enjoy The High Life
  (Scientific American) -- According to new research, Tibetans avoid altitude sickness because they have broader arteries and capillaries delivering oxygen to their muscles and organs.
  

• Participants Left Uninformed In Some Halted Medical Trials
  (New York Times) -- “Trial sponsors can still choose to keep information about some trials confidential, creating serious ethical concerns,” said Dr. Deborah A. Zarin, the director of ClinicalTrials.gov, a Web site run by the National Library of Medicine.
  

• Use Of CellCept Associated With Increased Pregnancy Loss And Congenital Malformations
  (Medwatch) -- Roche and FDA notified healthcare providers that use of CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil) is associated with increased risk of first trimester pregnancy loss and increased risk of congenital malformations.

• No Benefit For Iloprost Seen In Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
  (Doctors Guide) -- Inhaled iloprost failed to show significant clinical benefit in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in a randomised, placebo-controlled study presented here at CHEST 2007, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.
  

• Medical-Bill Errors Increasingly Common
  (Yahoo/AP) -- Nora Johnson, director of education and hospital billing compliance for Medical Billing Advocates of America, who advocated for Marilyn Hess, estimates "eight out of every 10" hospital bills she scrutinizes contain multiple errors.
  

• One-Year Delay In Diagnosis Typical For Pulmonary Hypertension
  (Medscape/Reuters) -- A study shows that most patients experience a one-year delay between the onset of symptoms and a confirmed diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), researchers reported here at CHEST 2007, the scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians.
  

• Open Clinical Trials
  (NEJM) -- On September 27, 2007, President Bush signed into law the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act, which aims to improve the FDA's ability to ensure the safety of the nation's drugs and medical devices.
  

• Encysive Pharmaceuticals Announces Long-Term Study Of Sitaxsentan Presented At Chest Meeting
  (Encysive) -- The open-label study explored sitaxsentan treatment in 74 PAH patients at six Canadian PAH centers. Patients were given sitaxsentan 100 mg once-daily and were followed for at least one year. A large portion of the 74 patients, 26 of them, or 35 percent, were treated with sitaxsentan after previously discontinuing treatment with bosentan (Tracleer(r)) due to limited efficacy or liver toxicity.
  

Similar to an article posted yesterday.
• Bosentan Effective In PAH Patients Cotreated With Sildenafil
  (Doctors Guide) -- Lewis J. Rubin, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, California, United States, reported on a secondary analysis of data from the multicentre 185-patient Endothelin Antagonist tRial in miLdlY symptomatic PAH patients (EARLY).
  

• Gilead Announces New Letairis(TM) (ambrisentan) Data For The Treatment Of Patients With PAH
  (Gilead) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced the presentation of new data from the Phase III ARIES studies evaluating ambrisentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) at CHEST 2007, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, taking place in Chicago, Illinois, October 20-25.
  

• Tracleer Shows Clinical Benefit As Combination Therapy With Sildenafil For PAH
  (PharmaLive) -- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. today announced positive results from two trials demonstrating that Tracleer(R) (bosentan) may be safe and effective as a combination therapy for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  

• Hope For An Artificial Lung
  (Baltimore Sun) -- Before his transplant, McClellan lasted 107 days - almost twice as long as anyone else - on an artificial lung designed 30 years ago. For Maryland researchers who have spent years trying to improve that design, he is an inspiration.
  

• Infrared Cameras Show Promise As Sleep Apnea Tool
  (Reuters) -- An experimental infrared camera may be able to detect breathing problems in people with sleep apnea, taking at least some of the discomfort out of diagnosis of this chronic sleeping disorder, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
  

• Surgery Can Cut Sleep Apnea
  (HealthDay News) -- Researchers followed 63 patients, ages 18 to 80, for seven years and found that the procedure, called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), eliminated obstructive sleep apnea in one-quarter to one-third of the patients, depending on the definition of success.
  

• Toray and Astellas Pharma Announce the Acquisition of Marketing Approval for the PAH Agent Careload(R) LA Tablets 60mu/g In Japan
  (Japan Corporate News) -- Toray Industries Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503) today announced that Toray has obtained marketing approval for its oral PGI2 derivative prolonged release, Careload(R) LA Tablets 60mu/g (generic name: beraprost sodium), to be indicated for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) on October 19,2007. Careload will be listed in the NHI drug price list and launched in December 2007.
  

• More Doctors Welcome Dialogue About Tests And Procedures
  (Washington Post) -- An increasing number of doctors are using "shared decision-making" with their patients. Through the practice, doctors make sure their patients have a chance to learn about the pros and cons of various procedures before undergoing them.
  

• Goulet Hospitalized For Lung Ailment
  (Earthtimes.org) -- Famed Las Vegas entertainer Robert Goulet is hospitalized in Los Angeles after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a report said.
  

•   Most Back Opt-Out Organ Donation
  (BBC) -- Two-thirds of more than 2,000 people surveyed by the British Medical Association said the UK should move to an opt-out system.
  

• Sudden Loss Of Hearing Reported Following Use Of Revatio
  (Medwatch) -- FDA informed healthcare professionals of reports of sudden decreases or loss of hearing following the use of PDE5 inhibitors Viagra, Levitra, Cialis for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, and Revatio for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  

• A Profession Is Born To Help People Navigate The Health Care Maze
  (San Francisco Chronicle) -- Private health care advocacy is a new and growing field emerging at a time when an increasing number of Americans find themselves dealing with a chronic disease, aging family members or the bureaucracy of health insurance.
  

• First Successful Lung Transplant Involving Different Blood Types
  (Associated Content) -- According to an October 9 press release from the Hannover Medical School in Germany, surgeons at the schools medical clinic successfully transplanted a lung into a 21-year-old female patient in July, even though donor and recipient had different blood types.
  

• New Study: Pine Bark Extract Boosts Nitric Oxide Production
  (EurekAlert) -- A study to be published in the October edition of Hypertension Research reveals Pycnogenol, (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, helps individuals by enhancing healthy nitric oxide (NO) production which leads to an increase in blood flow and oxygen supply to muscles.
  

• CPAP for Sleep Apnea Improves Depression
  (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study from The Sleep Center at University’s Community Hospital in Tampa, Fla. reveals OSA patients who are also depressed get relief from their symptoms of depression after they keep using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
  

• Lawyers Seek Dismissal Of Fen-Phen Case Based On Privilege
  (Lexington Herald-Leader) -- Shirley Cunningham Jr. and William Gallion, in court documents filed Friday, asked a federal judge to dismiss the case or have a hearing to determine whether evidence -- shared by the defendants with their legal counsel and acquired by an FBI informant -- may be used against them. The former Lexington-area lawyers say the FBI asked the informant to attend meetings between the defendants and their attorneys.
  

• Breakthrough For Fatal Lung Disease
  (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- In the first ever trial of a gene-cell therapy for any cardiovascular disease, doctors take specialized cells from the patient's blood and grow them in the lab. The cells are altered with a gene that promotes healing in the vessels and are injected back into the patient.
  

• Hands To Hold When Health Care Becomes A Maze
  (New York Times) -- When confronting confusing health insurance statements and a maze of policies, talking to a live person can be the best remedy.
  

•   Editorial: Organ Donor System Is A Mess; A Fix Is Long Overdue
  (Times Colonist) -- In a dramatic closed-door session last month, deputy ministers of health from across the country decided on a radical reform of Canada's organ-donor service. Meeting in Toronto, the top health officials from all 10 provinces agreed to pool resources and build a unified national registry.
  

• Chronic Illness Often A Taboo Subject: Survey
  (HealthDay News) -- The survey, released Oct. 11, found that 82 percent of respondents said they knew someone with a chronic illness, but only 34 percent were likely to suggest ways for this person to better manage their care. That's about the same number who said they'd debate politics (37 percent) or religion (33 percent) with a loved one or friend.
  

• Revamped Medicare Web Site Easier To Navigate, Officials Say
  (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) -- The site (www.medicare.gov) lets beneficiaries sort plans in their communities by factors such as annual costs, the amount of premiums, and what kind of coverage the plans provide once beneficiaries have reached the so-called "doughnut hole," when coverage temporarily stops.
  

• Encysive Pharmaceuticals Launches THELIN In France
  (Encysive) -- Encysive Pharmaceuticals today announced the commercial availability of THELIN(r) 100 mg tablets in France for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  

• CPAP Devices Now Being Used By Some Paramedics
  (USA Today) -- The CPAP device often prevents the need for a breathing tube because oxygen can be given through the breathing mask to push the fluid out of the lungs and back into the bloodstream where it belongs.
  

•   Organ Donation A 'Christian Duty'
  (BBC) -- The Church of England has declared organ donation to be a Christian duty, in keeping with giving oneself and one's possessions freely.
  

• Arnold Palmer Using New Heart Device
  (MSN Money) -- Arnold Palmer is the third in the nation to use the technology called GORE HELEX Septal Occluder. The technology treats a condition called atrial septal defect, which is an abnormal hole in the wall between the upper chambers of the heart.
  

• Experiment Could Revolutionize Sleep Apnea Treatment
  (The Spectator) -- Known as the Advance System, the device is implanted through a small incision under the chin. It is designed to open the airway by deploying a barbed implant in the back of the tongue and connecting it by an adjustable tether to an anchor that is screwed in the jaw bone.
  

• Sleep Apnea Devices Can Make Diagnosis From Your Home
  (North County Times) -- In 2006, Progressive Medical introduced in Southern California a self-contained screening device for sleep disorders, the Watch Pat 100. Produced by Itamar Medical, a medical technology company based in Israel, the Watch Pat 100 allows patients to be tested for sleep apnea at their homes, in their beds.
  

• Omega-3 As Part Of Diet May Improve Lupus Symptoms
  (Irish Medical News) -- The study, published in this month’s Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases,, was based on the hypothesis that dietary supplementation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) would provide a therapeutic effect and also confer vascular protection through an improvement in endothelial function and a reduction in oxidative stress.
  

• On This Day In History
  In 1999, American Home Products, the makers of the diet drug combination known as "fen-phen," agreed to a $3.75 billion settlement of a class-action lawsuit stemming from the drugs' use, which was linked to heart valve problems.
  

• Study Rates Heart Health Of Popular Diet Plans
  (HealthDay News) -- Not all diet plans are equally heart-healthy, according to a study ranking eight popular weight-loss programs.
  

• The Development of Prosthetic Heart Valves
  (NEJM) -- The prosthetic heart valve was built on a foundation laid down during the first half of the 20th century with the introduction of cardiac catheterization by André Cournand and Dickinson Richards, the development of innovative surgical techniques by Alfred Blalock, the invention of the heart–lung machine by John Gibbon, and the discovery of heparin by Jay McLean and dicumarol by Karl Paul Link.
  

• Still Happy To Be Wrong – After 18 Years
  (The Herald) -- When he was offered an innovative and potentially life-saving type of lung transplant, Sam Galbraith considered turning it down. The prognosis wasn't good - two years, maybe three - and the former neurosurgeon knew better than anyone about the unpleasant side effects that went with the treatment.
  

• ZymoGenetics Gets FDA Guidance For Trial Of Atacicept
  (Reuters) -- The drug, Atacicept, is being tested for treating lupus nephritis, which is characterized by inflammation of the kidneys, ZymoGenetics said in a statement.
  

• Microsoft Rolls Out Personal Health Records
  (New York Times) -- The personal information, Microsoft said, will be stored in a secure, encrypted database. Its privacy controls, the company said, are set entirely by the individual, including what information goes in and who gets to see it.
  

• Excess Prevalence Of Thyroid Disease Seen In PH
  (Medscape/Reuters) -- "Several coexisting medical conditions predispose to or exacerbate PH," write Dr. Charles D. Burger and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. "Thyroid disease has been associated with PH."
  

• Grape Juice As Good For Heart As Wine
  (UPI) -- The researchers said the Concord grape juice stimulated the production of nitric oxide in endothelial cells, providing a vasorelaxation effect.
  

• Vaccine-like Treatment Shows Promise For Fighting Lupus
  (ScienceDaily) -- Called folate-hapten-targeted immunotherapy, the treatment greatly reduced damage to the kidneys and other tissues and also prolonged the lives of the mice by 10 months in comparison to untreated animals, the researchers say.
  

• Painkillers Linked To Sleep Apnea
  (Deseret News) -- Patients with severe pain who use opioid-based medications may suffer sleep apnea and its complications, including greater likelihood of death, according to a study in Pain Medicine, the journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.
  

• PAH Patients Can Be Safely Switched From Epoprostenol To Treprostinil
  (Medscape/Reuters) -- Subcutaneous treprostinil is effective in treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and can prevent clinical deterioration in stable patients transitioned from intravenous epoprostenol, according to a report in the September issue of Chest.
  

• Life-Saving Mission
  (Boston Globe) -- Acacia Rizzo of Carver was an athletic child, though she got winded easily. Her parents thought she had asthma. But matters worsened and in 2002, at age 10, she was diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension.
  

• Better Lupus Treatments On The Horizon
  (HealthDay News) -- High-tech research into better, safer ways to treat the autoimmune disease lupus is building up steam, a group of scientists report.
  

• Occupational Exposures May Be Linked To Death From Autoimmune Disease
  (ScienceDaily) -- A new study examined the possible associations between occupation and the risk of dying from systemic autoimmune diseases and found that occupational exposures in farming and industry may be linked to higher death rates from these diseases.
  

• Two Fen-Phen Lawyers Say They Won't Provide Records
  (Lexington Herald-Leader) -- Suspended lawyers Shirley Cunningham Jr. and William Gallion, in court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Covington, said they thought turning over financial information could violate their Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate themselves.
  

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