Professor David Kisor saw a need for more pharmacogenomic education for pharmacists, and he wanted to fill it. Dr. Kisor, PharmD, serves as professor and chair of pharmaceutical sciences at Manchester University’s Pharmacy Program, in Fort Wayne, Ind. He’s long been interested in the field of pharmacogenomics, or how individual genetic differences affect drug response, and has written extensively on … Read More
Illinois hospital system launches personalized medicine program
Personalized medicine can mean many things to many people. To the healthcare professionals at NorthShore University HealthSystem, it means a comprehensive approach to patient care that takes into account individual DNA and family medical history. Earlier this year, the four-hospital network in Illinois announced a personalized medicine program that “utilizes an individual’s health history and DNA to better predict, prevent … Read More
YouScript 8.0 brings user-sourced improvements to award-winning personalized prescribing software
By Sarah Trowbridge Users asked, and YouScript Personalized Prescribing Software delivered. The end of July saw the launch of YouScript 8.0, which brings new features and improvements to software functionality, usability and content based on feedback from the healthcare providers who have made the software part of patient care. The update coincides with a complete redesign of the YouScript … Read More
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: Living with a genetic rarity
Imagine not being able to pick up a pencil without your fingers hurting. Sending a letter, doing a crossword puzzle, these are just a few of the simple tasks that trigger pain in your joints on a regular basis. This can be a reality people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome face every day. Except that this pain often is felt from head to … Read More
Case Report: Common painkiller tied to ER visit, internal bleeding
A young woman’s treatment with a common prescription painkiller for her chronic bladder pain eventually landed her in the emergency room. The 24 year old had started taking the pain reliever celecoxib (Celebrex) for interstitial cystitis (IC), a chronic condition that causes pelvic pain and urinary problems. This syndrome has no cure, with treatment based on trial and error. The … Read More
FDA strengthens heart attack, stroke risk warnings for NSAID pain medications
People regularly taking a common type of painkiller called an NSAID may be at greater risk for heart attack or stroke than previously thought. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has strengthened existing warnings of potentially deadly heart attack and stroke risk for a class of pain medications known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAID labeling already warns of … Read More
Medicare coverage in the era of precision medicine
By John C. Nelson, MD, MPH I was pleased to read an insightful editorial discussing precision medicine in the June edition of the Journal of the American Medicine Association. There is great promise for patients in improving their quality of care as well as the potential to decrease the healthcare costs associated with preventable morbidity and mortality. It is, therefore, … Read More
Questions raised on codeine safety in children
The top drug safety agencies in the U.S. and Europe have raised concerns about the risks associated with codeine in children’s cold-and-cough medicine. This month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is investigating the safety of codeine-containing cold-and-cough medicine for children younger than 18 due to the risk of potentially serious side effects. These can include slowed … Read More
72 percent of heart drugs are impacted by genetics, study finds
The evidence for expanded use of pharmacogenetic data to help inform heart medication prescribing just got stronger. A comprehensive review of the scientific literature on pharmacogenomics and heart medications found that 71.8 percent of the 71 drugs studied had positive evidence for varied response or adverse effects based on genetics. The review encompassed 597 publications and identified 884 unique pairings … Read More
Case Report: Severe neurological problems tied to HIV treatment
The mental deterioration of a 33-year-old man with HIV began with vivid dreams just weeks after he began a standard course of HIV treatment. The treatment was a combination of the medications efavirenz, tenofovir and emtricitabine (Atripla). This course seemed successful, with the man’s HIV viral load decreasing to non-detectable levels within a few weeks. HIV treatment continued. Then the … Read More