WHO Drug Information articles from March 2002

WHO Drug Information archives from March 2002

Herbal medicinal products in the European Union. (Herbal Medicines).
March 22, 2002... European pharmaceutical law classifes herbal products as "regular" medicinal products if they claim to treat or prevent ilness or if they are to be administered with a view to restoring, correcting or modifying physiological functions (1)....

Miltefosine registered for visceral leishmaniasis in India. (Current Topics).
March 22, 2002... Scientists have developed a new treatment for visceral leishmaniasis--a disease also known as "black fever and "kala azar". The new drug, miltefosine (Impavido[R]) could potentially save most of the 60 000 people who die from the disease every...

Tetanus vaccine pre-filled injection device. (Current Topics).
March 22, 2002... UNICEF has announced concentrated efforts to deliver a vaccine against maternal and neonatal tetanus in an effort to potentially save the lives of thousands of women and their newborn children. The first campaign, begun in Mali, is being...

Nonoxinol 9 ineffective in preventing HIV infection. (Current Topics).
March 22, 2002... Spermicides containing nonoxynol-9 do not protect against HIV infection and, according to a WHO report, may even increase the risk of HIV infection in women using these products frequently (1). The report also advises women at high risk of HIV...

New formula oral rehydration salts. (Current Topics).
March 22, 2002... A new formula for oral rehydration salts (ORS), has been released by the World Health Organization. The new formula ORS, a sodium and glucose solution, is widely used to treat children with acute diarrhoea. Since WHO adopted ORS in 1978 as its...

International AIDS Society recommendations for antiretroviral treatment: adult HIV infection. (Current Topics).
March 22, 2002... Because of increased awareness of the activity and toxicity of current drugs, the threshold for initiation of therapy has shifted to a later time in the course of HIV disease. However, the optimal time to initiate therapy remains imprecisely...

Development of Chinese good clinical practices (GCP). (Good Clinical Practices).
March 22, 2002... The State Drug Administration (SDA) was established in August 1998 to enhance government administration of drug regulation and took over responsibility for regulating pharmaceutical products and medical devices from the Ministry of Public...

Statins: rhabdomyolysis and myopathy. (Safety Information).
March 22, 2002... Statins belong to a class of cholesterol-lowering agents that inhibit the liver enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. The use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors has been associated with severe myopathy, including...

Tamoxifen and risks of thromboembolic events. (Safety Information).
March 22, 2002... Tamoxifen is already a widely used hormonal treatment in women following treatment for early and advanced breast cancer. Now, in addition to its use as a treatment in cancer, preliminary results from the International Breast Cancer Intervention...

Oral contraceptives and risk of cervical cancer. (Safety Information).
March 22, 2002... The Department of Health in the United Kingdom has issued an urgent communication informing health professionals of a recent study which, although not conclusive, strengthens the evidence that oral contraceptives may contribute to the...

HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome overview. (Safety Information).
March 22, 2002... HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome (LDS) is a disorder in HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (1-3). It presents as a range of clinical (morphologic) and metabolic changes. The following clinical changes have...

Alosetron hydrochloride: restricted marketing. (Regulatory Action).
March 22, 2002... United States of America--The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) that permits marketing of alosetron hydrochloride (Lotronex[R]) with restrictions. The manufacturer of the drug will be...

Baclofen: abrupt discontinuation dangerous. (Regulatory Action).
March 22, 2002... United states of America--The prescribing information for baclofen injection (Lioresal[R] Intrathecal) has been updated to include a warning about rare cases of withdrawal that can lead to life threatening sequelae and/or death in patients who...

Irinotecan: prescribing changes. (Regulatory Action).
March 22, 2002... United States of America--Changes in the prescribing information for irinotecan (Camptosar[R]), indicated as a component of therapy for first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and...

Sodium oxybate/GHB approved for cataplexy. (Regulatory Action).
March 22, 2002... United States of America--The Food and Drug Administration has approved sodium oxybate or gamma hydroxybutyrate (also known as GHB) (Xyrem[R]) for treatment of patients with narcolepsy who experience episodes of cataplexy, a condition...

Rofecoxib: new indication and label changes. (Regulatory Action).
March 22, 2002... United States of America--The Food and Drug Administration has approved new labelling text and precautions for rofecoxib based on the results of the Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research (VIGOR) study. The VIGOR study, a prospective,...

New procedures for updating the Model List of Essential Medicines. (Essential Medicines).
March 22, 2002... At its previous meeting in 1999, the Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Drugs proposed that methods for updating and disseminating the Model List of Essential Drugs be revised with regard to (i) advances in the science of...

Who Model List of Essential Medicines.
March 22, 2002... WHO Model List of Essential Medicines Core list (revised in April 2002) 1: Anaesthetics 1.1 GENERAL ANAESTHETICS AND OXYGEN ether, anaesthetic (1c) (2) inhalation halothane (2) ...

Who Model List of Essential Medicines: complementary list.
March 22, 2002... WHO Model List of Essential Medicines: Complementary List 1: Anaesthetics 1.2 LOCAL ANAESTHETICS ephedrine (C) injection, 30 mg (For use in spinal anaesthesia ...

Genomics and world health. (Recent Publications and Sources of Information).
March 22, 2002... The report of the Advisory Committee on Health Research "Genomics and World Health" concludes that information generated by genomics will, in the long term have major benefits for the prevention, diagnosis and management of many diseases which...

Legal status of traditional and complementary medicine. (Recent Publications and Sources of Information).
March 22, 2002... National policies are the basis for defining the role of traditional and complementary/alternative medicine in national health care programmes ensuring that the necessary regulatory and legal mechanisms are created for promoting and maintaining...

Kinetoplastid research source launched. (Recent Publications and Sources of Information).
March 22, 2002... Kinetoplastid Biology and Disease (KBD) is an electronic publication which aims to strengthen ties between research and clinical/field applications, increasing dialogue between bench scientists, theoreticians and planners, and the professionals...

Endocrine disrupting chemicals. (Recent Publications and Sources of Information).
March 22, 2002... Are chemicals that have the potential to interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system threatening future generations of humans and certain wildlife species? An IPCS report concludes that further research and information is...

International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical Substances (INN).
March 22, 2002... Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with article 3 of the Procedure for the Selection of Recommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical Substances, the names given in the list on the following pages are under...