News & Features

February, 2008

February edition of M.D. Pharmacy's monthly newsletter. Articles regarding your medications, their safety, and the politics behind the price you pay for them. Please share this with your neighbors.

Arthritis Drug May Help Treat Alzheimer's

A U.S. study documents the therapeutic effectâ€”within minutesâ€”of the drug etanercept injected into the spine of an Alzheimer's patient. Etanercept, known as Enbrel is used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Its action is to inactivate excess tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or TNF, which regulates the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain. Excess TNF-alpha has been documented in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's. The article discusses one patient, but many other patients with mild to severe Alzheimer's received the treatment, and all have shown sustained and marked improvement.

FDA Warns of Risks of Osteoporosis Drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning doctors to watch out for patients reporting severe and sometimes incapacitating bone, joint, or muscle pain, who are taking bisphosphonates (Actonel, Fosamax, Boniva, Zometa and Reclast). Although severe pain is included in the prescribing information for doctors, the association between bisphosphonates and severe musculoskeletal pain may be overlooked by health care professionals, delaying diagnosis, and prolonging pain and/or impairment for the patient. The pain may occur within days, months or years after starting a bisphosphonate. Doctors should consider whether bisphosphonate use might be responsible for these symptoms, and consider temporary or permanent discontinuation of the drug.

Prices Under Medicare Drug Plans Questioned

The publisher of Consumer Reports magazine says many Medicare Part D plans are raising prices well in excess of the rate of inflation. The non-profit Consumer's Union said that proves senior citizens and taxpayers aren't getting a good deal on Part D, which it says costs taxpayers about $60 billion annually. Another study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine also argues that Part D is not a good value, and that patients are paying only $8 or $9 less for drugs than they would have without the Plan. One of the criticisms of Part D is that, while seniors are locked into their plan for a year, the plans can and do raise prices whenever they want. Consumer's Union said that some of the biggest increases involved Aetna plans. One of the causes is the onerous provision in the 2003 law that created Part D, which prohibits Medicare from negotiating volume discounts on behalf of seniors. This part of the law of course, was bought and paid for by the insurance and pharmaceutical manufacturer's lobbyists, who spent millions of your dollars to ensure their profitability.

Many Drug Web Sites Falsely Claiming Certification

The Better Business Bureau and other professional groups are complaining to federal regulators that some internet pharmacies are falsely claiming they are certified by their organizations, leaving dissatisfied consumers with nowhere to turn. The FBI has received

reports about false trademarks and certifications from the certifying agencies and consumers. The law enforcement agency has started a special investigation of internet pharmacy practices, including the trademark violations and other issues. Detecting the phonies can be tricky, as some sites copy the letterhead and seal from legitimate certifying agencies. Others make up bogus organizations, such as the "American Drug Administration", a nonexistent agency whose mock red, white and blue seal mimics that of the U.S. FDA.

Statins Could Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

Cholesterol-lowering drugs might also reduce the risk of prostate cancer, say researchers. The drugs known as statins appear to have the greatest effect in more aggressive forms of the disease, which accounts for one in five of all new male malignancies, with more than 30,000 new cases a year. Oregon Univ. researchers found statin use was associated with a 62 per cent reduction in the risk of cancer.

Medicare Private Plan Abuses

Heavily subsidized private Medicare plans are continuing to prey on elderly Americans despite state, federal and industry efforts to stop them. These plans are a financial drag on Medicare, as the government pays them about 12% more, on average, than the same services would cost in the traditional Medicare program. All too often, the private plans are an ethical horror as well. (New York Times editorial)

The pharmacists and staff at M.D. Pharmacy, your neighborhood pharmacy.

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