Global initiatives formulated for tackling supply of illegal drugs

A joint operation was recently exercised to curb the supply of dangerous and illegal medicines.

This operation was made to demonstrate the dangers of buying drugs online and received significant support from the Permanent Forum on International Pharmaceutical Crime (PFIPC) the World Customs Organization, the UK's Medicines and Health Care products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Health Canada.

From News-Medical.Net:

During the operation, Internet monitoring revealed 751 websites engaged in illegal activity, including offering controlled or prescription only drugs, 72 of which have now been taken down. In addition, more than 16,000 packages were inspected by regulators and customs, 995 packages were seized and nearly 167,000 illicit and counterfeit pills - including antibiotics, steroids and slimming pills, confiscated.

Twenty-two individuals are currently under investigation for a range of crimes including illegally selling and supplying unlicensed or prescription-only medicines.

"As the very positive results of this global effort are made public, INTERPOL and its member countries will prove again that the Internet is not an anonymous safe haven for those who use it for criminal purposes. We hope that by raising public awareness about the dangers of illegal internet pharmacies, consumers will exercise greater care when purchasing medicines on the Internet," added Secretary General Noble.

"Our thanks go to the police, customs and regulatory officials in the 24 participating countries as well as to our partner international organizations such as the World Health Organization's IMPACT, the World Customs Organization and Universal Postal Union whose tireless efforts and dedication have made Operation Pangea II such a success," Noble concluded.

Operation Pangea II was coordinated by INTERPOL and the World Health Organization's International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT). The week-long initiative was highlighted by a series of arrests and seizure of thousands of potentially harmful medical products.

Identification of breast cancer type without lump

Lumps in the breast region are possible signs of breast cancer but most of us are caught unaware about a breast cancer type, inflammatory breast cancer, which is not characterized by a lump.

This cancer type warrants urgent diagnosis so that life of afflicted patients could be saved, according to Sofia Merajver, M.D., Ph.D., co-director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

From News-Medical.Net:

Inflammatory breast cancer is a very aggressive type of cancer in which the cancerous cells move rapidly throughout the breast and clog the lymph vessels in the skin, causing the breast to look swollen, red, itchy or inflamed. It's often mistaken for a rash or infection and many women are initially treated with antibiotics or steroids.
“There are many options for treating this disease. In many cases, the treatment is going to be on and off for life. There will be times of remission, but this is a serious disease that has a high chance of recurring,” says Merajver, a professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School.
About inflammatory breast cancer
* Represents 3 percent to 6 percent of the 180,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
* With treatment, 20 percent to 40 percent of patients survive 10 years. This is up from 5 percent to 10 percent 20 years ago.
* Characterized by redness, warmth or an orange-skin appearance on the skin of the breast. A persistent red breast should be biopsied promptly.
* May or may not cause a lump or mass.
* Treatment includes aggressive chemotherapy, followed by surgery and radiation therapy.

Merajver said that the U-M Inflammatory Breast Cancer Clinic would be turning into a clearinghouse for passing information related to tertiary care and advice.

Pregnant women can use steroids without side effects

According to a study, pregnant women suffering from asthma can continue using steroids without affecting growth of their unborn babies.

It was disclosed by the involved researchers that unborn babies are in far more danger from lack of oxygen than the mother making use of inhaled steroids.

From MedicalNewsToday.com:

The researchers looked at 396 pregnant women who took inhaled steroids. It did not have an effect on the growth of the fetus. There was no effect on the baby's birth weight either.
They also found that inhaled steroids are safer for pregnant women to take than steroid pills. Oral steroids have been shown to slow the fetus' growth. Oral steroids are also used to treat asthma.
The study was carried out at the Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center in San Diego. The team leader was Michael Schatz.
Schatz said 'Now, women don't have to make a choice between their health and the health of the baby. They don't have to think that making that choice is going to somehow harm the baby.'
You can read about the study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
7% of pregnant women get asthma to some degree. Some of these women use inhaled steroids. The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, (part of the Department of Health and Human Services), supports the use of steroids in pregnant women with serious asthma.
The worry asthmatic women have when they are pregnant is that the fetus is deprived of oxygen. This can sometimes lead to retardation, premature birth, low birth weight and even stillbirth.

The study results appeared in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Glue ears can be treated with topical steroid use

In order to inhibit unnecessary secondary referral and expensive surgery, many non-surgical treatment options are being used these days for otitis media with effusion (OME).

The cost efficacy of topical intranasal steroids for treating otitis media with effusion (OME) in primary care was recently evaluated by a recent study from the perspective of the UK National Health Service.

From MedicalNewsToday.com:

Epidemiological studies of OME reveal that it affects 50-80% of children by the age of five. Without effective intervention, severe OME can cause significant hearing loss, which may result in linguistic, developmental, behavioural, motor and social impairment. Although many OME cases resolve spontaneously, referral rates from primary care remain high, with approximately 1-5 per 1000 children in the general population undergoing surgery (grommets) each year.
The study was led by Dr. Stavros Petrou from the University of Oxford.
Says Dr. Petrou: "This study demonstrates that the current use of topical steroids for OME is unlikely to represent an efficient use of scare public resources."
This will be discussed in detail in Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes Research.
Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 5,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.

The study was led by Dr. Stavros Petrou from the University of Oxford and demonstrated that topical steroids cannot be considered as a cost-effective treatment option for OME in general practice.

Some children might be 'unlucky' with asthma medications

Children and girls exposed to tobacco smoke could derive more benefit from one of the most widely prescribed medications for asthma and allergies, Montelukast.

The finding was revealed by researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center and appeared in an issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Inhaled corticosteroids are considered the first-line treatment for cases of persistent asthma. However, steroids alone do not effectively control asthma in 30 percent to 40 percent of patients and they may have some side effects, especially in children. In those cases, a secondary medication is often used. Montelukast is one such medication.
Montelukast, one of the most widely prescribed medications for asthma and allergies, blocks the action of chemicals called leukotrienes, which contribute to inflammation. However, physicians have found that montelukast is quite variable in its effectiveness, helping some patients but not others. Dr. Rabinovitch and his colleagues set out to better understand its variable effectiveness.

Two biomarkers were discovered by Associate Professor of Pediatrics Nathan Rabinovitch, MD, and his colleagues that can prove helpful to physicians in accurately determining as to which all of their asthmatic patients can benefit from montelukast.

Steroid users cheat fans, game, and themselves

A strong statement on performance enhancing drugs was issued by DeMaurice Smith, the NFLPA Chief, in the wake of the suspension handed down to Texans LB Brian Cushing.

It was remarked by Smith, "Sport is at its best when fans can witness great achievements under the rules of fair play. Players who break those rules cheat the game, cheat the fans and cheat themselves. The players want a clean game as well as a clean process for enforcing those rules. We intend to address both in the collective bargaining process to make the system better."

From Content.usatoday.com:

NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith issued a strong statement about performance-enhancing drugs on Tuesday in the wake of the suspension handed down to Texans LB Brian Cushing.

Smith said the NFLPA is committed to keeping the game free from steroids and other performance-altering substances and chastised players who break the league's policy on such substances as cheaters.

The NFL suspended Cushing for four games though the allegations were denied by the Texans LB.

GCA patients can expect extended relief

Patients suffering from giant cell arteritis (GCA) can expect to finally have some relief coming their way with a study offering hope and a practical treatment option for them.

Researchers from Emory University and the Mayo Clinic said that recently diagnosed GCA patients can considerably taper off use of an oral steroid and these patients also relapsed less in the following year with just three days of a high-dose intravenous steroid.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Faced with these ineffective new agents and with the limitations and drawbacks of the current treatment, Dr. Goronzy and Dr. Weyand turned to animal models. After implanting inflamed arteries into mice, they observed the effect of different doses of steroids on the inflammation. "We learned that the doses of steroids, although already high, really didn’t take away the disease," says Dr. Weyand. "But if we increased the dose to very high levels, we could then eradicate the inflammation."

Equipped with those initial results, they designed a double-blind human study to examine whether a brief period of pulsing with high-dose intravenous steroids soon after diagnosis could reduce the long-term need for prednisone and improve patient recovery.

As the article and an accompanying editorial report, the research showed extremely positive long-term results. Those patients who had been given the initial high dosage had fewer relapses of the disease (21, as compared to 37 relapses). Seventy-one percent were also able to reduce their daily dose of prednisone to 5 milligrams after a year of treatment (compared to only 15 percent in the control group), avoiding the need for long-term steroids.

This study was published in an issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Dana Foundation, the Mayo Foundation and the National Institutes of Health General Clinical Research Center.

Steroid therapies can be avoided after transplant

The use of modern immunosuppressive drugs can help in maintaining kidney function along with eliminating the need for steroid therapy as early as one week following a transplant surgery.

It was remarked by Steve Woodle, MD, chief of UC’s transplant surgery division, principal investigator and designer of the study that eliminating a daily dose of steroids after a transplant minimizes chronic health conditions that are common to kidney transplant recipients.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Steroids have long been the primary source of morbidity and complications following successful kidney transplantation,” Woodle says. “This study demonstrates that elimination of even small, daily prednisone (pred-ne-zone) doses does not compromise results while minimizing weight gain, diabetes and bone complications.”
Corticosteroids were the first anti-rejection drug used in transplant patients, dating back to the first transplant surgeries over 50 years ago.
Traditionally patients who have undergone organ transplantation have required life-long steroid treatments given in combination with other drugs that help suppress the body’s immune system and allow the transplanted organ to function properly.
However, the steroid treatment—given as the oral drug, prednisone—can cause serious side effects including cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and blood pressure, weight gain, diabetes, bone weakness and cataracts.

The study also involved researchers from the University of Wisconsin; the University of Utah; the Methodist Hospital, Houston; and Weill Cornell Medical College and was funded by Astellas Pharma U.S., Inc.