AED's compared head to head to standard therapy eg. carbamazepine
< div dir= " ltr " style= " text-align: left; " trbidi= " on " > < script type= " text/javascript " > var gaJsHost = (( " https: " == document.location.protocol) ? " https://ssl. " : " http://www. " ); document.write(unescape( " %3Cscript src= ' " + gaJsHost + " google-analytics.com/ga.js ' type= ' text/javascript ' %3E%3C/script%3E " )); < /script > note this is a test done by EU & gt; & gt; FDA < br / > < br / > < br / > favorably compare: & nbsp; < br / > < br / > < br / > oxcarbazepine < br / > eslicarbazepine < br / > lamotrigine < br / > gabapentin < br / > topiramate < br / > levetiracetam < br / > zonisamide ...
Source: neurologyminutiae - August 21, 2015 Category: Neurology Source Type: blogs
Epidural steroid injections compared with gabapentin for lumbosacral radicular pain: multicenter randomized double blind comparative efficacy study – BMJ 16 April 2015
Last week we had oral steroids for radiculopathy. This week we have epidural steroids. Still no difference. This surprises me, …Continue reading → (Source: Aspirations of a Joint Doc)
Source: Aspirations of a Joint Doc - June 1, 2015 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Carpus Tags: Unfiled Source Type: blogs
Explaining Hilary
Megan McCardle goes a long way in explaining Hilary for me. One of the things I object to is academic high mindedness about the relationship of pharmaceutical companies to doctors. In part this is, for me, about profitable interchange of ideas that may occur at dinners to promote a product. For instance I learned more about the physiology of pain at a talk on Neurontin. Or it may just be about things that make life a little easier or more fun. For instance I weigh patient's on an Equetro branded scale. I didn't know about the type of scale it is an example of. These things are now not apparently permissible. Many politicia...
Source: a psychiatrist who learned from veterans - May 8, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
To Spur Medical Innovation, Make Corporate Cheaters Pay
The past decade has seen a relatively constant rate of newly approved drugs every year. The number has even jumped in the past few years. Yet, despite such encouraging trends, we are actually facing a crisis in drug innovation today. That is because many of these new products do not offer substantial improvements over already available alternatives.
At the same time, novel and effective treatments for many diseases---both rare and common---remain elusive. For example, there is widespread concern over the lack of development of new antibiotics aimed at multidrug-resistant infections. Therapeutic innovation for central nerv...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - April 30, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Aaron Kesselheim Tags: Drugs and Medical Technology Health Policy Lab Medicaid and CHIP Medicare corporations Cost FDA legislation Marketing medical innovation Medical Innovation Act NIH Pharma price Source Type: blogs
Wheat Belly and inflammation
Sophia shared this enlightening and wonderful story of relief from inflammation and half a dozen anti-inflammatory drugs by eliminating the cause, grains:
“Morning from Berkshire, UK. This is me now [on the right], 3 and a half months into Wheat Belly. No drugs, no sarcoidosis, no osteoarthritis, no gastric spams, no joint inflammation, no brain fog, no redness of skin. Still ongoing disc problems but decided to wean myself off of all drugs and manage the pain with exercise, yoga, cycling and then rest.
“By drugs: omeprozole, naproxen, gabapentin, tramadol, diazepam, prednisolone, gastric drugs.
“I have l...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - April 15, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Success Stories acid reflux gluten grains iinflammation joint pain sarcoidosis Source Type: blogs
Does Insurance Cover Botox Injections for Migraine Headaches?
Unfortunately no insurance company covers Botox therapy for generic headaches. Many will cover Botox for chronic migraines, which have been unresponsive to standard preventative therapies. In 2011, the FDA approved Botox for treating chronic migraines which have been unresponsive to an adequate trial of preventative medications. Preventative medications do not include the use of any narcotic pain killers. Insurance companies have made it difficult for patients to obtain Botox payment authorization, by putting in place numerous qualification barriers – if they cover Botox at all.
Insurance companies do require e...
Source: Sarasota Neurology - March 3, 2015 Category: Neurology Authors: Dan Kassicieh, D.O. Tags: Migraines / Headache Boto for headaches Botox covered by insurance botox for headaches Botox Headaches Insurance Source Type: blogs
TechTool Thursday 059 PediPain
TechTool review PediPain by The Hospital For Sick Children on iOSPediPain is an app to provide you with correct paediatric dosing guidelines for administering effective pain management for children. It’s been developed by the Department of Anaesthesia at the Hospital for Sick Kids in TorontoWebsite: – iTunes – WebsiteDesignThe design looks ok, but I wouldn’t say they’ve pushed the boat out on the graphics. It works smoothly and doesn’t crash. The only irritating part of the user interface is when you are asked to add the weight and age – this part isn’t intuitive and no matter how many times I u...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - November 27, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tessa Davis Tags: Review Tech Tool PediPain Source Type: blogs
A Little Sunshine Peeking Through the Clouds? - the Sunshine Act is Finally Implemented, Sort of
"Conflicts of interest" is probably the most frequently used Health Care Renewal tag. We believe conflicts of interest are a major causes of health care dysfunction. Therefore, I felt that one of the truly reformative aspects of the US Accountable Care Act (ACA, "Obamacare") could be the "Sunshine Act," a provision championed by Iowa Senator Grassley (R) and his staff investigator, Paul Thacker, that would require public reporting of most financial interactions among health care corporations and health care professionals and hospitals. The roll-out of Sunshine Act implementation occurred this week, and not unex...
Source: Health Care Renewal - October 3, 2014 Category: Health Management Tags: biotechnology conflicts of interest DHHS health care reform medical devices pharmaceuticals Source Type: blogs
Chronic Daily Headache: What is the cause? (2014 Am Fam Physician review)
What is the definition of chronic daily headache?Chronic daily headache is defined as the presence of a headache on 15 days or more per month for at least 3 months. What are the causes?The most common types of chronic daily headache are chronic migraines and chronic tension-type headaches. If a red flag for a secondary cause of headache is present, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head should be performed. All patients should be asked about medication overuse, which can increase the frequency of headaches. Patients who overuse medications for abortive therapy for headache should be encouraged to stop the medications...
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - September 9, 2014 Category: Universities & Medical Training Tags: Neurology Source Type: blogs
Big Pharma pushes the Snake Oil approach
FDA has free-speech, safety issues to weigh in review of ‘off-label’ drug marketing rulesShould a pharmaceutical sales rep be allowed to tell a doctor that Topamax, a drug approved to treat seizures and prevent migraine headaches, might also help combat alcohol dependence? Or suggest the epilepsy drug Neurontin could also help treat bipolar disorders or insomnia? Or offer data showing that any number of other drugs could have uses beyond those listed on their labels?For decades, the answer overwhelmingly has been no. The Justice Department has aggressively pursued companies that run afoul of rules agains...
Source: PharmaGossip - July 10, 2014 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Health Care Corruption, "No Dirty Little Secret," but "An Open Sore" - Lessons from India for the US
Health care corruption is widely prevalent around the globe, but remains the great unmentionable.Introduction: Global Health Care Corruption We have discussed health care corruption whenever we have an opportunity, but rarely does the topic appear in the English language media or in English language medical and health care journals, particularly in the US. Some might think that this is because health care corruption is not so prevalent in the US and other "developed" countries. However, our most read post of all time was about a Transparency International global survey that found that fully 43% of Americans bel...
Source: Health Care Renewal - July 1, 2014 Category: Health Management Tags: conflicts of interest economism health care corruption kickbacks neoliberalism Source Type: blogs
A Hot Topic
A 58-year-old man presented unresponsive following a seizure at home. His brother stated that he became progressively confused over the course of a few hours and then started shaking. EMS reports tonic-clonic seizures that resolved following administration of 5 mg of midazolam IM.
The patient was unresponsive and hyperthermic on arrival. He was intubated for airway protection, covered with ice packs, and administered normal saline intravenously. His rectal temperature is 41.9˚C (107.4˚F), blood pressure is 94/45 mm Hg, heart rate is 160 beats/minute, and the respiratory rate is 16 breaths/minute with an oxygen saturat...
Source: The Tox Cave - June 23, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
A Hot Topic
A 58-year-old man presented unresponsive following a seizure at home. His brother stated that he became progressively confused over the course of a few hours and then started shaking. EMS reports tonic-clonic seizures that resolved following administration of 5 mg of midazolam IM.
The patient was unresponsive and hyperthermic on arrival. He was intubated for airway protection, covered with ice packs, and administered normal saline intravenously. His rectal temperature is 41.9˚C (107.4˚F), blood pressure is 94/45 mm Hg, heart rate is 160 beats/minute, and the respiratory rate is 16 breaths/minute with an oxygen saturatio...
Source: The Tox Cave - June 23, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
The Role Of Sales Representatives In Driving Physicians’ Off-Label Prescription Habits
Off-label prescribing is widespread in Canada and the United States (U.S.). One in nine prescriptions for Canadian adults are for off-label uses with the highest percentages coming from anticonvulsants (66.6 percent), antipsychotics (43.8 percent), and antidepressants (33.4 percent). Overall, 79 percent of the off-label prescriptions lacked strong scientific evidence for their use.
For 160 drugs commonly prescribed to U.S. adults and children, 21 percent were for off-label indications totaling 150 million prescriptions. In this case, 73 percent had little to no scientific backing and once again psychoactive drugs such as ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - June 19, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Joel Lexchin Tags: All Categories Patient Safety Pharma Physicians Public Health Source Type: blogs
