Peggy Peck

Results of the PRECISION study are embraced by some and soundly criticized by others. What would you tell your osteoarthritis patients?

Although results of the hypertension portion of HOPE-3 were disappointing, many caveats are offered to explain the outcome.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Bristol-Myers Squibb said its metastatic breast cancer drug ixabepilone (Ixempra) has received FDA approval for treatment of women with metastatic or locally advanced treatment-resistant breast cancer.

PHILADELPHIA -- The FDA has approved topotecan (Hycamtin) capsules for treatment of relapsed small-cell lung cancer, GlaxoSmithKline has announced.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA said today it has received 30 reports of acute pancreatitis in patients taking exenatide (Byetta) for treatment of type 2 diabetes.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Fractures of Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads have triggered a voluntary move by Medtronic to stop selling them, a decision that was promptly endorsed by the FDA.

Cancer death rates fell by about 2.1% per year from 2002 to 2004, compared with a 1.1% per year decline from 1993 though 2002, according to annual report to the nation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and the North american Association of Central Cancer Registries.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. -- The FDA has approved raltegravir (Isentress) as part of a combination regiment for treatment for multi-resistant HIV-1 infection in adults, according to an announcement from Merck.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- An FDA advisory panel voted unanimously to recommend approval of a zotarolimus-eluting coronary stent made by Medtronic.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has alerted physicians to the need for children with cochlear implants to be fully immunized against bacterial meningitis, citing two recent deaths that might have been prevented.

WASHINGTON -- Makers of 14 over-the-counter cough and cold medicines labeled for use in children younger than two said today they are voluntarily pulling their products from store shelves.

BOSTON -- Patients enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans are less likely to achieve good blood pressure control, receive breast cancer screening, or have timely prenatal care than similar patients enrolled in commercial plans.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Three researchers, including two U.S. scientists, who were pioneers in gene targeting, will share the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Olanzapine (Zyprexa) labeling will be altered to include stronger warnings about weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia, according to a statement from Lilly.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Cancer patients are not waiting longer for chemotherapy, nor are they traveling greater distances to receive treatment, despite predictions of access issues when Medicare reduced payment for infusion therapy.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA will convene a public hearing next month to consider formalizing a dispensing category that would make drugs available without a prescription, but only after consultation with a pharmacist.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved terbinafine oral granules (Lamisil), which can be sprinkled on food, for treatment of tinea capitis in children four years and older.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA today ordered makers of more than 200 unapproved hydrocodone-containing cough syrups to remove them from the market.

BOSTON -- When a patient dies during a "code call" in the hospital, the residents, nurses, and technicians who responded to the emergency might stop for just a moment and pay respects to the life that was lost, suggested a Harvard internist.

ATLANTA -- The breast cancer mortality rate in the U.S. has been edging down by 2% a year since 1990 and the incidence of new cases has declined by 3.5% per year from 2001 to 2004, according to the American Cancer Society/

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA said bottles of Baby's Bliss Gripe Water, which is marketed as a remedy for "colic, hiccups, and teething," may be contaminated with a parasite that causes severe diarrhea.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has expanded the indications for FluMist, a nasal influenza vaccine, to include children ages two to five.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved a genetic test to identify patients who have a higher risk of bleeding with warfarin (Coumadin).

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has issued a safety alert warning physicians that haloperidol (Haldol) given intravenously or at higher than recommended doses may increase the risk of cardiovascular events including sudden death, QT prolongation, and Torsades de Pointes.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved the osteoporosis drug raloxifene (Evista) for prevention of invasive breast cancer in high-risk or osteoporotic postmenopausal women.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Adverse events including deaths have been linked to Fentora, a drug for breakthrough pain in cancer patients who are opioid tolerant, according to the FDA.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA called today for sunscreen labels to include a warning about skin cancer and add information about ultraviolet A (UVA) protection as well as the ultraviolet B (UVB) ratings that are now standard.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA approved risperidone (Risperdal) today for schizophrenia in adolescents and for bipolar I disorder in pediatric patients as young as 10.

WASHINGTON -- Medicare has told hospitals that they will soon be responsible on their own for the expenses that incur from many common preventable mistakes they make.

EAST HANOVER, N.J. -- The FDA has approved a once-yearly intravenous formulation of zoledronic acid (Reclast) for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, Novartis announced.