Medical Discount Blog

MONDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) — Free prescription drug samples distributed to pediatric patients may be unsafe, research suggests.

The study, published in the October 2008 issue of Pediatrics, examined data on 10,295 children and adolescents from the 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

The researchers found that one in 20 American children received free drug samples in 2004.

(Read the full post about ‘Free Prescription Drug Samples Pose Risk to Kids (HealthDay)’…)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Early data from a 4-year clinical trial show no increased risk of stroke in patients given Pfizer Inc's lung drug Spiriva compared with placebo, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday.

Favorable results from the trial contrast with retrospective pooled analyses of dozens of previous studies that had suggested a higher risk of stroke among patients seizing the once-daily inhaled medicine.

The FDA said a clearer picture of the drug's safety will not be available till it receives and analyzes final data from the new formal study, which involved almost 6,000 patients by chronic obstructive pulmonic disease (COPD).

(Read the full post about ‘Data show no stroke risk with Pfizer lung drug: FDA (Reuters)’…)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Former President Jimmy Carter said on Friday the "atrocious economic policies" of the Bush administration had caused the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Carter told reporters on a stopover in Brussels that "profligate spending," massive borrowing and dramatic burden cuts since President George W.

(Read the full post about ‘Ex-president Carter slams Bush on market crisis (Reuters)’…)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Asthma patients who are black tend to have more severe disease than asthma patients who are white, leading to more asthma control problems, higher rates of emergency department visits, and overall worse quality of life. These findings point to genetic differences that lead to poor responses to drug therapy as the source of these racial disparities.

Based data obtained from The Epidemiology and Natural History of Asthma: Outcomes and Treatment Regimens (TENOR) study, Dr.

(Read the full post about ‘Genes may explain racial disparities in asthma (Reuters)’…)

FRIDAY, Oct. 10 (HealthDay news) — Blacks and the poor have worse outcomes when it comes to adverse and neck cancer, researchers say.

In a new study, published in the Nov. 15 issue of Cancer, researchers examined the data on diagnosis, coexisting conditions, and procedures performed among 20,915 cases of head and neck cancer.

The erect a worse prognosis was associated with race, poverty, age, gender, tumor site and stage, treatment type, and history of smoking (blameless quit smoking - try stop smoking patch) and alcohol consumption.

Specifically, the survival time among blacks was 21 months after being diagnosed with head and neck cancer, compared to 47 months among Hispanics and 40 months among whites.

(Read the full post about ‘Racial Disparities Exist in Head and Neck Cancer Outcomes (HealthDay)’…)

TUESDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay news) — A new analysis of existing scrutiny finds little evidence that circumcision protects gay men from infection with the AIDS venom, but the issue is still far from settled.

For one thing, studies conducted prior to the age of potent AIDS drugs showed that circumcision did be in possession of a preventive effect. For another, no one has launched the most definitive type of research into the effects of circumcision on AIDS rates amidst gay men.

"There corpse an open question as to whether circumcision will actually be a public health tool in the fight against AIDS for men who have sex with men," said Dr.

(Read the full post about ‘Role of Circumcision in Reducing HIV Risk Still Unclear (HealthDay)’…)

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Drug-resistant HIV strains are turning up in parts of China similar to the virus stretches beyond high-risk groups and gains a stronger foothold in the general population, a leading Chinese AIDS researcher said.

Chen Zhiwei, director of the AIDS Institute in Hong Kong, described the trends as "alarming" and warned that Chinese AIDS patients could get in trouble because there were very few HIV drugs available in China.

"All these drug-resistant mutations are in China now, they are emerging in Chinese patients.

(Read the full post about ‘Drug-resistant HIV strains turning up in China (Reuters)’…)

NEW YORK - A court says a man’s escapade in New York with a decommissioned missile emblazoned with “Viva viagra” is a dud.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Arye Sachs’ antics infringe on a trademark held by means of Pfizer Inc.

Sachs was ordered to stop displaying anything with Viagra logos.

He towed the 25-foot rocket last month to various spots in Manhattan, including Pfizer’s headquarters.

His plan b was to invoke Viagra at the same time that distributing politically themed condoms.

(Read the full post about ‘Man’s ‘Viva Viagra’ missile misfires in NYC court (AP)’…)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although men are at high risk of acquiring human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, most last no more than a year, about the same time this sexually transmitted disease persists in woman (try women’s health), researchers report in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. (Read the full post about ‘HPV infection rates similar in men and women (Reuters)’…)

In his bid to become the next governor of Missouri, Rep. Kenny Hulshof survived a bitter primary that at the same point saw the candidates bashing each other for supporting public funding for drugs such as viagra.

Then came the catastrophe on Wall Street. Now the economy has become the overriding issue that is tightening governors races across the nation.

“It’s going to be the No.

(Read the full post about ‘Economy is overriding issue in governors’ races (AP)’…)