As Drug Deaths Rise, Millions of Narcotic Prescriptions Filled | Oklahoma Watch.
State specific statistics for Oklahoma
underwriting
Drugs That May Cause Memory Loss – AARP
Drugs That May Cause Memory Loss Side Effect – AARP.
Nice article and summary of prescription medications that may cause memory loss as a side effect. Please share this link far and wide with our colleagues.
Yogurt and Diabetes
Eating yogurt can reduce the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes by 28 percent, compared with consuming none, according to a study published today by Diabetologia. Higher consumption of low-fat fermented dairy products, such as yogurt and some cheeses, also lowered the relative risk of diabetes by 24 percent overall, the study showed.
via Yogurt May Be an Ally in Fight Against Diabetes: Study – Bloomberg.
Update 03.28.14
I’ve started eating yogurt every day.
PodMed From Johns Hopkins 01.31.14
Testosterone Treatment and MI Risk
Filling a prescription for testosterone therapy was associated with a greater risk of having a nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) in the next 3 months, a large observational study showed.
The risk after a prescription was filled was more than doubled in men 65 and older overall compared with that in the year before the prescription (rate ratio 2.19, 95% CI 1.27-3.77), according to Robert Hoover, MD, ScD, of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues.
The study was limited, however, by the observational design, the use of administrative data that lacked information on indications for treatment, and the inclusion of nonfatal MIs only.
via Study Feeds Concerns About MI Risk With Testosterone Tx.
Acetaminophen Prescription Combination Drug Products with more than 325 mg: FDA Statement – Recommendation to Discontinue Prescribing and Dispensing
ISSUE: FDA is recommending health care professionals discontinue prescribing and dispensing prescription combination drug products that contain more than 325 milligrams (mg) of acetaminophen per tablet, capsule or other dosage unit. There are no available data to show that taking more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per dosage unit provides additional benefit that outweighs the added risks for liver injury. Further, limiting the amount of acetaminophen per dosage unit will reduce the risk of severe liver injury from inadvertent acetaminophen overdose, which can lead to liver failure, liver transplant, and death.
You like your liver? You can keep your liver.
Body-Mass Index and Mortality among Adults with Incident Type 2 Diabetes — NEJM
Conclusions
We observed a J-shaped association between BMI and mortality among all participants and among those who had ever smoked and a direct linear relationship among those who had never smoked. We found no evidence of lower mortality among patients with diabetes who were overweight or obese at diagnosis, as compared with their normal-weight counterparts, or of an obesity paradox.
via Body-Mass Index and Mortality among Adults with Incident Type 2 Diabetes — NEJM.
FDA Drug Safety Labeling Changes – December 2013
Safety Information > December 2013.
Memory permitting I will link to this FDA webpage on a regular basis. From my perspective the adverse reactions are the most interesting nuggets of information.
Farxiga (dapagliflozin) – Think Diabetes
The FDA has approved dapagliflozin (Farxiga) for treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults, along with diet and exercise, the agency said in a statement.
The approval comes with strings, however: drugmakers Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca must conduct six post-market studies, which include a cardiovascular outcomes trial in patients with baseline cardiovascular disease risks, a bladder cancer risk trial, an animal study looking at drug-induced urinary flow and bladder tumor promotion, two trials on risks in pediatric patients, and an enhanced pharmacovigilance program to study liver abnormalities and pregnancy outcomes.
Cardiologists Should Mind Radiation Doses, ESC Says
Because radiation used in imaging tests is proven to cause cancer, they wrote, “cardiologists should make every effort to give ‘the right imaging exam, with the right dose, to the right patient.’
via Cardiologists Should Mind Radiation Doses, ESC Says.
We are seeing more applicant/patient initiated cardiac scans. I recently became aware of a life insurance application where the underwriter requested a repeat cardiac CT scan. The applicant’s cardiologist flatly rejected this course of action in an a asymptomatic patient with a correspondingly low CHD risk score.
Now you understand the cardiologist’s thinking.
Did I hear someone say “litigation risk”?
lifeunderwriter.net 
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