ppp 10-02-06

Quote of the day: What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end,

of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.

John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

The Minnesota Twins win of the Central Division Championship on Sunday brought back some memories from 1991 when they won the World Series. My 11 year old daughter was discussing some of the Twins players with my 8 year old son. She stated with the certainty that only an 11 year old could muster, "Shane Mack and Chili Davis are brothers but one of them got married". To her, they both looked alike and she assumed they were brothers. The next leap was to try to explain why they didn't have the same last name. We still laugh about that one. When I was in grade school, I understood, without anyone ever having to tell me, that God, indeed, performed miracles. I knew that it was a miracle that God choose those women who were not going to have babies to become nuns. The evidence was explained logically. Finding money under a pillow after placing a lost tooth there reinforced the belief in the tooth fairy.

In George Washington's time the practice of blood letting was popular. It was assumed that a sick person had bad humors in the blood and that the only way to extract them was by letting the blood out. Some historians believe that old George would have lived longer had he not been so weaken by the blood letting. The Native Americans were more scientific in their quest for health. They OBSERVED that chewing willow bark reduced fevers. (There is an aspirin-like substance in the bark that really works.) When I was in my residency at the VA hospital, one patient with high blood pressure was being treated with minoxidil but erupted in hair all over his body. The OBSERVANT physician went on to patent the topical use as Rogaine. Sidenafil was studied as a heart drug with dismal results. Study participants were reluctant to return unused drug back to the researchers because of an unusual OBSERVED side effect…The drug was later marketed as Viagra. The moral of the story: Make no unfounded assumptions no matter how well you can confabulate a "reason" why it should be that way but instead rely on scientific observation and fact as a basis for treatment. Evidence-based medicine anyone?

ps. Best answer this week to the question "How are you?" was "Awesomely greatness!" a grammatically challenged but very enthusiastic stock girl at Home Depot

pps. Occasionally, some of the links require FREE registration.... I'm sure you can handle THAT slight inconvenience.

Used for the kind of cancer that has spread to other areas of the body after treatment with conventional therapy. It binds to a protein called epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR. which is found in about 70% of all colorectal cancers.

The Medicare Part-D providers for 2007 will be announced today. Seniors face the daunting task of finding new plans or proving to themselves that their existing plan is best. Those that are happy are worried that they will have to change. Little do they realize that all of the plans will change ing some ways for 2007.

In Europe Pfizer will deliver drugs directly to pharmacies and physicians and forego the wholesalers. Fake Lipitor was introduced into the drug supply chain 3 times last year and enough is enough.

Non-sedating as well as sedating antihistamines used against allergies add up. Loratidine (Claritin) is a former prescription drug that is now available OTC. If you count the loss in productivity then the costs soar to $18 BILLION per year…. nothing to sneeze at.

Patients who have "heart attacks" (AKA myocardial infarct or MI) often stop taking proven, life-saving drugs once they begin to feel better. They set themselves up for a second potentially fatal MI. Health professionals are urged to make patients truly understand the SERIOUS consequences of not following through with medical treatment.

Already approved in partial seizures and manic depression, lamictal received FDA approval as an add-on therapy for major-motor tonic-clonic seizures, formerly know as "grand mal" seizures (or "big bad" as literally translated.) People understand better when I tell them that these are the "fall down and shake all over" type of seizures.

Unfortunately a new warning on Lamictal was also revealed. May increase the chances of cleft palate.

Nesfatin-1 is the name and making people feel full is the game. Will be awhile before these Japanese scientists (or others) are able to apply this in humans. Rumor has it that newly discovered chemical has a structure similar to that of a turkey dinner with potatoes, yams and pumpkin pie…. a very complex molecule at that.

Disclaimer: "Pepin's Pharmaceutical Prattle" (AKA "The Prattle") is the property of PHARMWORKS, LLC and Steven M. Pepin, Pharm. D, BCPS. The opinions expressed are those of the bald-headed author. To start or stop any drug without the advice and supervision of your physician would be stupid. So don't do anything based upon what you read here without professional advice. To be added to or removed from the distribution list please e-mail your request to spepin@pharmworks.com . All insightful comments from readers are thoughtfully considered (the rest are callously discarded). Copyright 1998-2006 PHARMWORKS, LLC all rights reserved.

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