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Supplementation with folic acid and vitamin B12 over an extended period does not have a beneficial effect on vascular outcomes in individuals who have had a myocardial infarction, but it also poses no excess cancer risk, according to a study in the June 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, HealthDay News reported.

An FDA advisory panel voted 20?12 to recommend that the agency allow rosiglitazone (Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline) to remain on the market. However, most panelists want to see tougher warnings on the diabetes drug?s label, according to various media reports.

Purdue Pharma has awarded the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Foundation a $100,000 grant to advance its efforts to stimulate community-pharmacy-based research that helps improve patient care and education.

FDA is once again tackling the naming, labeling, and packaging practices connected with drugs and biologics, according to a top official.

The Healthcare Distribution Management Association has recognized Sandoz Inc. with a 2010 Distribution Industry Award for Notable Achievements in Healthcare (DIANA) in the Best New Generic Product Introduction Award category.

Phil Hagerman, RPh, president and CEO of Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Michigan and Northwest Ohio region. He was honored June 10 at an awards ceremony in Dearborn, Mich.

A systematic review assessing the comparative effectiveness of oral anti-diabetic drugs for preventing patients at high risk from progressing to type 2 diabetes has found glitazones (pioglitazone, rosiglitazone), biguanides (metformin), and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs; acarbose, voglibose) reduced the relative risk of diabetes by as much as 63%, whereas insulin secretagogues (sulfonylureas and glinides) had no effect.

Sens. Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) have introduced The Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Expanded Benefits Act, a bill that will allow seniors with one chronic illness to thoroughly review all their medications with a pharmacist in a one-on-one session.

FDA has announced that the agency is currently evaluating whether the use of the angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) olmesartan (Benicar, Daiichi Sankyo; also sold in combination with hydrocholorothiazide as Benicar HCT) was associated with increased cardiovascular mortality.

Pharmacists speak out about the personal touch, personalized medicine, and "personality kids"

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) skin patches containing low doses of estrogen carry less risk of stroke than oral therapy and may represent a safer alternative.

Switching from branded to generic drugs for epilepsy did not cause increased incidents or utilization changes among patients, according to new study results.

For male pharmacists, anyway, the 1970s were good times, with a sense of fraternity among professionals. What happened to the group spirit?

In the first of its "FDA Drug Info Rounds," a new series of educational videos for pharmacists, FDA is tackling unapproved dispensing of colchicine.

Inhaled insulin may be making a comeback. That's the hope at MannKind, a California-based biopharmaceutical company developing a rapid-acting inhaled insulin known as Afrezza (insulin human rDNA origin).

A survey of new Rx, new generic, and new OTC products

The Drug Enforcement Administration has released its long-awaited interim final rule for electronic prescribing of controlled substances.

A ballot initiative moving toward approval in North Dakota could open the doors to chain pharmacy in the state.

Pharmacists now have another way to obtain continuing education credits for diabetes management.

The first non-drug treatment for severe asthma that is not well controlled by anti-inflammatory medicines won FDA approval April 27.

In the business world, it just seems like common sense that you dictate to your customers at your extreme peril. Even when you think God is on your side.

Bumps, bruises, and scrapes happen - especially during the summer months when knees and elbows are bare and so much time is spent outdoors. Many first-aid products can help.

The relationship between prescribing practitioners and nurses working in a long-term-care (LTC) facility is of significant concern to the LTC facility when controlled substances are needed.

Pharmacy directors who want to - or have to - operate 24/7 but don't have the staff to cover all 3 shifts have a new ally, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

The number of e-prescriptions filled last year soared 181% to 191 million, according to "Advancing Healthcare in America," a report issued by Surescripts in Alexandria, Va.

As Americans increasingly turn to vitamins and herbal supplements as alternatives to prescription drug use, medical professionals and government leaders worry that few realize the implications.

At 5 years? follow-up, intensive blood-pressure reduction to a target systolic blood pressure (SBP) less than 120 mm Hg did not reduce the risk of a composite cardiovascular outcome, compared with a target SBP of less than 140 mm Hg in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of cardiovascular events, although it did reduce the incidence of stroke, said William Cushman, MD, who presented the results from the blood pressure portion of the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) study to a gathering at the 70th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Orlando, Fla.

Five-year data from a seminal study in patients with type 2 diabetes who are at especially high risk of heart disease show that intensive glucose control does slow the progression of microvascular disease, but mortality is increased and there is no benefit on macrovascular complications.