Washington Watch
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<ѻýҕl>FDA Panel Split Over Inhaled Antipsychoticѻýҕl>
WASHINGTON -- An FDA advisory panel punted on the question of approval for an inhaled version of the antipsychotic drug loxapine (Adasuve) to treat agitation in bipolar and schizophrenic patients, despite the risk for respiratory side effects.
Dec 12, 2011
<ѻýҕl>AMA Adopts Policies on Circumcision, Gun Safetyѻýҕl>
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates has adopted a number of new policies at its interim meeting, including policies on male circumcision, physician discussion of gun safety, and a new medical coding system that will go into effect in 2013.
Nov 16, 2011
<ѻýҕl>Parkinson's Drug Doesn't Slow Disease Progress, FDA Staff Saysѻýҕl>
WASHINGTON -- Azilect (rasagiline), which is already approved to treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease, does not appear effective at slowing progression of the neurodegenerative disease, according to an FDA review.
Oct 14, 2011
<ѻýҕl>Medicare to Keep Paying for Avastinѻýҕl>
WASHINGTON -- Medicare will continue to pay for bevacizumab (Avastin) when it's used to treat metastatic breast cancer, even if the FDA decides to remove that indication from the drug, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said.
Jun 30, 2011
<ѻýҕl>AMA: House of Delegates Backs Individual Mandateѻýҕl>
CHICAGO -- The American Medical Association's House of Delegates has reaffirmed its support of individual responsibility -- including a requirement that most U.S. residents buy health insurance -- as the foundation of universal coverage.
Jun 20, 2011
<ѻýҕl>FDA Warns of High-Grade Prostate Ca Risk With BPH Drugsѻýҕl>
WASHINGTON -- The FDA has issued a warning of an increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer with the 5-alpha reductase inhibitors finasteride (Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart), currently approved to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy.
Jun 09, 2011
<ѻýҕl>FDA Panel Recommends New Rules for Kids' Acetaminophenѻýҕl>
SILVER SPRING, Md -- For the first time since they came on the market in the 1950s, children's liquid medicines containing acetaminophen would carry dosing instructions for children younger than 2, if the FDA follows the unanimous recommendation of a federal panel.
May 18, 2011
<ѻýҕl>Primary Care Still Hard to Get in Massachusettsѻýҕl>
WASHINGTON -- More than half of primary care practices in Massachusetts are not accepting new patients, and wait times for many new patients continue to lengthen five years after the state passed its landmark healthcare reform law.
May 10, 2011
<ѻýҕl>FDA Panel: Keep ECT Devices as High Riskѻýҕl>
GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- The FDA should continue to regulate electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) machines as high-risk devices for treating depression and most other conditions for which ECT is typically used, members of the agency's Neurological Devices Advisory Committee agreed.
Jan 28, 2011
<ѻýҕl>FDA Panel Rejects Cystic Fibrosis Drugѻýҕl>
SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An FDA advisory committee has voted against approval of liprotamase (Sollpura), a pancreatic enzyme product for cystic fibrosis and other diseases that cause pancreatic insufficiency, saying there is not enough evidence that the drug works better than agents already on the market.
Jan 12, 2011
<ѻýҕl>Take Rosiglitazone Off the Market, Says FDA Staffѻýҕl>
WASHINGTON -- Rosiglitazone (Avandia) should be pulled from the market because of the "serious" cardiovascular risk the diabetes drug poses, which exceeds that of competitor pioglitazone (Actos), FDA staff reviewers again recommended.
Jul 09, 2010
<ѻýҕl>FDA Advisers Turn Down New RSV Drugѻýҕl>
WASHINGTON -- An FDA advisory committee recommended Wednesday that the agency not approve the investigational drug motavizumab to treat respiratory infections, deciding that it didn't offer any advantages over the drug already on the market, and that it may be more dangerous.
Jun 03, 2010
<ѻýҕl>New Jersey Doctor-Delegate Sees Big Trouble in Universal Coverageѻýҕl>
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Ben Chouake, M.D., of Cliffside Park, N.J., an internist and emergency medicine specialist, is the son of holocaust survivors. He is a delegate for John McCain at the Republican National Convention here.
Sep 04, 2008
<ѻýҕl>Hillary Clinton Touts Obama's Goal of Healthcare for Allѻýҕl>
DENVER -- Despite tortuous battles during the presidential primaries over the nuances of healthcare reform, Sen. Hillary Clinton was ringing in her support for Sen. Barack Obama's goals at the Democratic National Convention here.
Aug 27, 2008
<ѻýҕl>McCain Cites 'Strong Evidence' of Link Between Vaccines and Autismѻýҕl>
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, has given credibility to "strong evidence" of a link between autism and thimerosal in childhood vaccines. He cited "divided scientific opinion" on the matter.
Mar 05, 2008