-
So Long, 2008—and Farewell, Cheap Asthma Inhalers
Tweet Share on Facebook December 31, 2008 Comment (63)The last day of 2008 means more than the dawn of a new year for asthmatics. For those told to carry albuterol inhalers with them to use in the event of an asthma attack, it's also the last day that the chlorofluorocarbon, or CFC, inhalers that they'd long been accustomed to can legally be sold in the United States. CFCs are harmful to the environment, so they are being replaced in inhalers with environmentally friendlier hydrofluoroalkane, or HFA. Unfortunately, the new, eco-sensitive inhalers are not yet available in generic form.
I made the trip to my pharmacy about two weeks ago to pick up my prescription for HFA albuterol inhalers. Like other asthmatics, I was dismayed by the cost: a $30 copay for two inhalers under my insurance (which paid $43.72 toward the cost). In the past, my copay had been just $10 for each pair of generic albuterol inhalers containing CFCs. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the following HFA inhalers: ProAir HFA Inhalation Aerosol, Proventil HFA Inhalation Aerosol, and Ventolin HFA Inhalation Aerosol; also, another HFA inhaler that contains levalbuterol, a medication similar to albuterol, is sold as Xopenex HFA Inhalation Aerosol.
-
Flexible Approach to Vaccinations Comes Under Fire
Tweet Share on Facebook December 29, 2008 Comment (33)The American Academy of Pediatrics rolled out its new immunization schedule for kids in its latest issue of the journal Pediatrics , released today. The big change for this year is a new recommendation for an annual flu vaccine for all kids ages 6 months to 18 years—which follows the new guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Along with this policy statement and numerous research papers, the journal contains a "special article" that quite frankly shocked me for its one-sided treatment of a very important issue with regard to vaccinations. The article is an attack on doctors who take a flexible approach to vaccinations, working with parents who, say, don't want their 2-month-old to get vaccinated against eight different diseases at once, which is what's recommended on the AAP schedule.
-
Getting Enough Sleep? Consider Your Heart
Tweet Share on Facebook December 23, 2008 Comment (3)As a 30-something, I hereby resolve to sleep more in 2009. And published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association is a well-timed finding to motivate my New Year's resolution: Longer sleep duration for people in their 30s and 40s may decrease the risk of coronary artery calcification, a predictor of atherosclerosis and heart disease. In fact, the study showed that one extra hour each night lowered the estimated odds of having such gunk in the vasculature by 33 percent. According to the study authors, getting that extra hour brings a benefit, cardiovascularly speaking, similar to that of lowering systolic blood pressure (the top number in the blood pressure ratio) by 17 points.
Diane Lauderdale, study director and associate professor of health studies at the University of Chicago, noted that the results need to be replicated by further research. But she says the 30s and 40s are "a time when many people start on a trajectory leading to coronary disease risk." Certainly, that's not how I think of myself at age 32. Subjects' coronary calcification was found in the study by imaging tests (not typically given to this age group) and considered subclinical, meaning not yet developed into full-blown disease.
-
Why Statins Don't Work Well in 1 in 5 Users
Tweet Share on Facebook December 17, 2008 Comment (4)Often hailed as "wonder drugs" for their ability to lower cholesterol and reduce heart attack risk, statins actually don't work that well in about 20 percent of users. Turns out, these people may have certain genetic mutations that lower the drugs' effectiveness, according to a new study from Duke University Medical Center. Those who carry a specific mutation in the ABCA1 gene, which is responsible for cholesterol transport into and out of cells, had a 24 percent decline in their "bad" LDL cholesterol levels after going on a low-dose statin compared with a 32 percent reduction in those who didn't carry the gene mutation.
These folks might need to switch to a more powerful statin, study author Deepak Voora tells me. Or perhaps they might want to try combining a statin with a cholesterol-lowering fibrate drug. A new one, called TriLipix, was approved yesterday.
-
Vaccination Rates Overreported in Developing Countries
Tweet Share on Facebook December 11, 2008 Comment (10)When it comes to vaccinating kids in developing countries, immunization rates have long lagged behind those in the United States—which means a significant number of children are still dying from infectious diseases. Efforts by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and others have dramatically improved immunizations against such diseases as diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, but the increase in vaccination rates may have been greatly exaggerated. Foreign governments—which get paid $20 for each child vaccinated against DTP by a global alliance of health organizations—may be overestimating how well they get the job done, according to a study published today in the journal Lancet.
University of Washington researchers funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (which is a member of the alliance) discovered from household surveys that about 7.4 million children were vaccinated against DTP in 51 countries from 1999 to 2006. The countries, though, reported vaccinating 13.9 million. That indicates they received overpayments to the tune of $140 million.
-
So What if Adults Aren’t Getting Their Flu Shots?
Tweet Share on Facebook December 11, 2008 Comment (4)The news out today warns that more than half of adults have no intention of getting a flu shot. It's based on a Rand survey of 4,000 U.S. adults that shows the following:
- Fifty-three percent of all adults surveyed have no intention of getting the flu vaccine this year, while 17 percent say they haven't yet but will at some point.
- Seventy percent of healthy adults under age 50 have no intention of being vaccinated, while 16 percent say they will at some point but haven't yet.
advertisement
Get the Guidebook
Best Hospitals 2013
The definitive guide to U.S. hospitals, featuring extensive rankings, the latest on autism and pain management, and much more.
advertisement
