ppp 12-29-08

Quote of the day: Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again.

Wisely improve the present. It is thine.

Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

Notice: I have been rebuilding my OUTLOOK files due to a recent computer crash. If you have not received an e-mail notification to check for the PPP then please send me an e-mail at spepin@PHARMWORKS.com and I'll put you back in. If you have received the e-mail notification but had previously asked to be removed from the list then I apologize. Send me and e-mail (same address) and I'll take you off again.

The pharmaceutical industry has a tradition of shutting down between Christmas and New Years day. Their main targets , physicians, are not likely to have time for the representatives and the pizza or donuts make less of an impact when the office is drenched in cookies, candies, and holiday food.

After the last Christmas ornament of 2007 was retired my mother started her project for Christmas 2008. She gleaned her stash of family photos and set aside the best. Thirteen piles of memories, one for each grandchild, were carefully assembled into 13 photo albums. Each was different although she had a few “doubles” that she could include in several books. Each photo was labeled in her own hand with the names of the people pictured.

Each grandchild received baby pictures of “Mom’s babies” (now all over 50) as well as odd shots of vacations, fishing trips, and family gatherings. By giving the pictures to her grandchildren she accomplished a few things: 1) she engaged the grand kids interest in past family events 2) she caused a dialog between parents and children because the pictures required explanation in many cases 3) she set off a sharing frenzy because all books were different and no one wanted to be left out 4) the continuity of family lore was preserved and 5) she de-cluttered her life and was assured that those precious memories would not be lost of unknowingly discarded when she was no longer able to transmit the knowledge and artifacts. Additionally, we are all likely to get together sooner that we would have in order to share the photos with the rest of the siblings/cousins.

As you wind down 2008 you may want to plan ways of preserving your family lore and photo history. With my recent computer crash and subsequent partial recovery I am making copies of the photos from my digital picture library. The minimum is to copy the files to CD. This technology will likely change several times before I have to make my own 13 piles of memories to pass on. You can be sure that there will be many of the pictures shared this last weekend and will actually include pictures of great-great-great-grandparents.

ps. Best answer this week to the question "How are you?" was "I'm not too bad for a young old man" (same janitor who must be thinking about Father Time and the Baby New Year )

pps. Please note that some of the links may not be up for very long and that you should capture or print anything that you may wish to keep.

1) Warning is just in time for those who might try to battle those holiday calories.

The link will bring you to a list of OTC weight loss products and “dietary supplements” which contain undeclared prescription medications as active ingredients, banned substances or unhealthy amounts of drugs known to cause cancer. It might be a good idea to peruse the list.

After a recall due to overpotent tablets earlier this year, KV Pharmaceuticals is recalling all of it tablet form drugs for a similar problem. Stock plunged. Could be the end of this company.

That’s right… the company received reports that a glaucoma eye drop was causing patients’ eye lashes to grow thicker. When they investigated further they found that it could be commercialized into a prescription cosmetic. Think of it as Rogaine for eyelashes.

Five years of NSAID use (ibuprofen, aspirin or COX-II inhibitors) reduced colon cancers by 40%. Makes sense that it would because of the progression of lower bowel lesions: inflammation, polyps, and cancer. If the inflammation is reduced by the NSAIDS then the likelihood of polyps and cancer would logically be reduced. While the study is not enough to broadly recommend prophylactic use of NSAIDS it makes me feel even better about that aspirin a day.

Just 1 week until many pharmaceutical firms will no longer distribute pens, paper, coffe mugs, t-shirts, etc with their company name, drug name, or logo on it. This practice is voluntary but many “ethical” pharmaceutical companies will abide. This reminds me a little of the tobacco company prohibitions on advertizing. My feeling is that either the product is ok and it is fine to advertze it or the product is so bad that the product itself should not be sold. (Just my opinion… I could be wrong).

6) Not enough with the housing bubble or stock bubble…how about the generic bubble?

Brand name pharmaceutical companies will be losing many patents on blockbuster drugs over the next several years. It is likely that many genic forms will become available but the cut throat competition between the genics houses will squeeze any profit out of those drugs. While this may sound like a good thing for consumers in the short run I feel that many of the little guys will be crushed by this and that a lack of funds for research will hurt future drug development. If no new drugs are found then society as a whole loses.

The CIA is trying to win friends and influence warlords in Afghanistan through proving Viagra pills to those who cooperate. While the story talks about this as an unofficial practice it still involves breaking of US Federal law related to prescription drugs. Now the question remains whether or not there is a drone plane that will release nitroglycerine dust over any warlord who decides to turn away…

Disclaimer: "Pepin's Pharmaceutical Prattle" (AKA "The Prattle") is the property of PHARMWORKS, LLC and Steven M. Pepin, Pharm. D. 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 1998-2009 PHARMWORKS, LLC all rights reserved.

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