WHO Drug Information articles from June 1999

WHO Drug Information archives from June 1999

Disaster relief and drug supply.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Large-scale national and international humanitarian aid operations are now launched with increasing rapidity in response to urgent needs for survival. Governments, organizations and aid agencies have acquired a significant amount of experience...

Emergency situations and controlled medicines.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... In large-scale disasters, great numbers of people suffer hardship not only from malnutrition and infectious disease but from physical injuries and extreme psychological distress. The medicines they need include strong analgesics to relieve pain...

Drug donations to Albania.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Because of the country's unsettled history, the Albanian health sector has been heavily dependent on drug donations for some time. Consequently, procedures have been set up to ensure the appropriateness and quality of donations, including...

Leishmaniasis: will new technology provide a breakthrough?(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... F. Modabber, UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases Leishmaniasis is endemic in tropical and subtropical regions and remains a serious public health problem in 88 countries where an estimated...

Nevirapine and vertical transmission of HIV.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... The recent HIVNET 012 study has confirmed a highly effective and safe drug regimen for reducing maternal transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to newborns that is both simple to administer and affordable in developing countries...

Spironolactone: severe heart failure cut by one-third.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... A new study has shown that adding spironolactone, an aldosterone receptor antagonist, to standard therapy for severe heart failure can reduce the risk of death by 30% and hospitalization by 35%. These highly encouraging results were found at...

The growing importance of drug donations.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD) is an umbrella organization representing a number of US-based pharmaceutical companies and nongovernmental organizations. Its aim is to endorse and implement the Interagency Guidelines for...

Importance of fixed-dose combinations in tuberculosis control.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Despite recommendations by WHO and the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) to use fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablets for treatment of tuberculosis, more than 75% of rifampicin used in the public sector globally...

Guidelines for the treatment of hypertension.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... The British Hypertension Society has updated its 1993 version of guidelines for treatment of hypertension using new evidence which has emerged from recent clinical trials. The guidelines emphasize the crucial role of non-pharmacological...

International comparator products for bioequivalence testing.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Multisource (generic) products need to meet the same quality, safety and efficacy standards as the original, brand-name, or innovator product they resemble [1]. In order to comply with regulatory requirements, in vivo comparative bioequivalence...

Medical products and the Internet.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... The Fifty-first World Health Assembly held in May 1998 expressed its concern at the extent of uncontrolled advertising, promotion and sale of medical products through the Internet. These practices may present a hazard for public health as well...

DNA vaccines: improvements pending.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... In recent years, researchers working in industry and academia have shown that foreign protein expressed by cells transfected with naked DNA can provoke a protective immune response in animals. This immune response has shown a degree of...

New WHO initiative in vaccine safety.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Vaccination is regarded as one of the most cost-effective public health interventions available. It is also recognized, however, that no vaccine is completely safe or protective in all vaccinated individuals due to differences in the way...

Rotavirus vaccine and intussusception.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... The manufacturer of an oral tetravalent rhesus vaccine against rotavirus infection (RRV-TV), has announced withdrawal of its product, RotaShield(r), following concern at the number of cases of intussusception associated with its use [1]. Within...

Zanamivir: inhaled treatment for influenza.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... United States of America -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved zanamivir, an inhaled neuraminidase inhibitor, for the treatment of uncomplicated influenza virus in adults and adolescents over 12 years of age. The product has been...

Oseltamivir approved for influenza.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Switzerland -- The Intercantonal Office for Medicines Control has approved oseltamivir, a neuraminidase inhibitor in pill form, designed to treat all common strains of influenza A and B. It will be available on prescription only as from October...

Synercid for certain vancomycin-resistant infections.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... United States of America -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved Synercid(r), a combination of quinupristin and dalfopristin, for the treatment of infections associated with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium bacteraemia when no...

Southern hemisphere influenza vaccine: 2000.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... World Health Organization - The composition of the vaccine for the year 2000 (southern hemisphere influenza season) has been decided and communicated to vaccine manufacturers by WHO. The vaccine will contain the following three components: ...

Olanzapine: warning of neutropenia.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Australia -- The Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee has received 327 reports related to the antipsychotic agent, olanzapine. Since marketing in 1997, the two most frequent adverse reactions have been somnolence and weight gain....

Over-the-counter emergency contraception approved.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... France -- A preparation containing two tablets of 75 [micro]g levonorgestrel, Norlevo(r), has been approved for over-the-counter marketing [1]. Several studies have shown that levonorgestrel alone is more effective and better tolerated than the...

Flutamide: change in product labelling.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... United States of America -- The manufacturer of flutamide capsules, Eulexin(r), has issued a letter warning of liver toxicity in patients taking flutamide and monitoring requirements to avoid hepatic injury. Post-marketing reports for liver...

Leukotriene receptor antagonists: suspected adverse reactions.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Canada - The leukotriene receptor antagonists zafirlukast and montelukast are marketed for the prophylaxis and chronic treatment of asthma [1, 2]. As of June 1999, the Canadian Adverse Drug Reactions Monitoring Program has received 41 reports...

Medifoxamine: hepatic injury.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... France -- Medifoxamine was marketed firstly in 1973 as an anxiolytic regulator of psychosomatic symptoms and later, in 1991, for major depression. A recent review of adverse reaction reports has revealed the possibility of rare, but...

Alendronate and gastrointestinal disorders.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Australia -- The Adverse Drugs Reactions Advisory Committee has received 331 reports of suspected adverse reactions associated with the use of alendronate since marketing in 1996 [1]. The most important effects reported were oesophagitis,...

Losartan and irbesartan: adverse reactions.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Italy -- The Italian Pharmaceutical Committee (CUE) has circulated a warning letter concerning possible cough and angio-oedema associated with use of angiotensin II antagonists. The new class of antihypertensives, losartan and irbesartan, may...

Pioglitazone to treat type 2 diabetes.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... United States of America and Japan -- A new drug in the thiazolidinedione class of drugs has been approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Pioglitazone is for use as monotherapy in patients with type 2 or adult-onset diabetes who are not...

Pimozide labelling changes.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... The manufacturer of pimozide, Gate Pharmaceuticals, has published labelling changes for the antipsychotic, pimozide Sudden, unexpected deaths have occurred in patients taking greater than 10 mg doses of pimozide. One possible reason for...

Ticlopidine and haematological reactions.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... Canada -- Since marketing in 1991, the Canadian Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Program has received 464 reports of adverse reactions associated with the use of ticlopidine, a thienopyridine derivative. Of these, 138 concerned...

Immune globulin intravenous products: risks identified.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... United States of America -- The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research has communicated an important drug warning concerning acute renal failure associated with the administration of immune globulin intravenous (human) (IGIV) products....

Aristolochia and renal failure.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... United Kingdom -- Two reports have been received of patients with end-stage renal failure associated with use of Chinese herbal medicines containing Aristolochia. In both cases the medicine was used for skin conditions. Aristolochia spp...

Essential Drugs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... WHO Model Formulary Antidotes and other substances used in poisonings All patients who show features of poisoning should be admitted to hospital whenever possible. Patients who have taken poisons with delayed actions should also be...

Measures to combat counterfeit drugs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... There is no simple or standard solution in dealing with counterfeiting of medicinal products. Each country has to develop a strategy based on its own situation taking into account the infrastructure and availability of resources. Counterfeiting...

Monographs for medicinal plants.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... During the past decade, traditional systems of medicine have become more popular and many people in developed countries have begun to turn to alternative or complementary therapies, including the use of medicinal herbs. In developing countries,...

Stability testing of drug substances and drug products.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 1999... The purpose of stability testing is to provide evidence on how the quality of a drug substance or drug product varies with time under the influence of a variety of environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and light. Stability testing...