Sudafed maker offers new version of medicine

Sudafed maker offersnew version of medicine
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The maker of Sudafed is offering a new version of the cold and allergy medicine without an ingredient often used to produce the illegal and highly addictive drug methamphetamine in homemade labs. Pseudophedrine will be replaced with another substance, phenylephrine, in a new product called Sudafed PE, which will become available Jan. 10 in the United States, Pfizer Inc. spokeswoman Erica Johnson said Wednesday. Pfizer will continue to offer the old Sudafed, too. Johnson said the new formula will make it easier for consumers to buy the medication and could help curtail meth production. In many states, pharmacists keep Sudafed and other cold medicines used to make meth behind a counter. Oklahoma requires that such medications be distributed by a pharmacist, a step also being considered in Indiana and other states hit hard by the drug epidemic. "It's a matter of striking a balance between giving access to legitimate consumers of the medicine and preventing criminals from getting hold of the product to convert it to methamphetamine," Johnson said. Johnson said the new formula has been sold for years in Europe and has proved safe and effective.
New test for colon cancer
A new DNA test to screen for colon cancer outperformed the standard test that looks for blood in the stool, but is still far less precise than a colonoscopy, researchers reported today. Even though the new stool DNA test detected only slightly more than half the cancers in a study of more than 4,000 people aged 50 and older, cancer experts believe it offers a potential advance over the current dismal state of colon-cancer detection. Although better than 90 percent of people survive colon cancer when it's detected early, only 53 percent of Americans aged 50 and older have been screened at the recommended intervals. Colorectal cancer is expected to kill more than 56,000 people this year, the third-leading cause of cancer death among men and women. "A simple, noninvasive test that detects tumor-specific products with reasonable sensitivity and specificity might overcome barriers to screening among persons who are not willing to have a more invasive test, such as colonoscopy," said Dr. Thomas Imperiale, a professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine and lead author of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, carried out by doctors at 81 medical centers around the country, showed that the current standard screening test -- called the fecal occult blood test, which tests blood hidden in stool -- detected only 13 percent of the 31 invasive cancers among the study group, while the DNA panel found 52 percent. The DNA screen was also better at finding several earlier stages of tumors and polyps, although it still missed the majority that were detected by colonoscopy.
Fewer restraints used for nursing homes patients
WASHINGTON -- About 35,000 fewer nursing home residents are kept in restraints on a daily basis -- down 23 percent from two years ago -- according to a federal report released Wednesday that also found fewer patients in pain. The Bush administration, the nursing home industry and patient advocates said the declines show the value of the administration's 2-year-old program to tackle serious quality problems in many homes by requiring the nation's 16,400 nursing homes to disclose data on care. The information is posted to help consumers make better choices and to prompt the homes to improve their performance. It is available on the government's Web site, www.medicare.gov, or by calling (800) 633-4227. "When we made these measurements public, then people paid attention," said John Rother, policy director for the 35-million member seniors' group AARP. All the information is based on data the nursing homes must routinely collect from residents as part of their participation in the federal Medicare program. About 1.6 million people live in nursing homes daily. During a year, more than 3 million people have a nursing home stay, the report from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.
Fla. court upholds rulingon secondhand smoke
MIAMI -- A state appeals court upheld a $500,000 award to a flight attendant who blamed secondhand smoke on airliners for her bronchitis and sinus trouble -- a decision Wednesday that could clear the way for damage trials on up to 3,000 similar claims. The ruling for former TWA attendant Lynn French was a test case interpreting a $349 million settlement reached in 1997 between the tobacco industry and nonsmoking attendants. The flight attendants blamed their illnesses on smoke in the cabin before smoking was banned on domestic flights in 1990. "The court agreed with us, and we're happy with it," said Marvin Weinstein, French's attorney. "Based on this, I think there are a lot more they're going to be paying."
Governors issue pleato Bush on Medicare
WASHINGTON -- The nation's governors urged President Bush on Wednesday to spare states the costs of Medicaid in an effort to reduce the federal deficit. The bipartisan plea came six days after another letter to Bush from the health-care industry, asking him not to propose carving savings from either Medicaid or Medicare. Medicaid provides health coverage for the poor and disabled, while Medicare helps cover the medical costs of the elderly and disabled. A White House spokesman would not comment on whether Bush will propose savings from either program. Both letters underscore the political hurdles the White House faces in paying for its priorities in the 2006 budget it will unveil in February. Bush wants to cut record federal deficits in half, reduce taxes, revamp Social Security and finance the war in Iraq, anti-terrorism efforts at home and other priorities. Medicaid, expected to cost the federal government about $190 billion next year, is paid for jointly by Washington and the states. State officials have complained in recent years that their financial burden for the program has mushroomed, thanks to growing caseloads and Medicaid spending for patients in nursing homes.
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