World Health Organisation urges greater focus on child medicines

World Health Organisation urges greater focus on child medicines
A doctor treats a Mozambique infant who is suffering from severe diaorrhea. The World Health Organisation has warned that millions of children die each year from preventable diseases because they do not have access to the right medicines.(AFP/File)GENEVA (AFP) - Millions of children die each year from preventable diseases because they do not have access to the right medicines, the World Health Organisation warned on Thursday.
About two thirds of the 10 million children under five expected to die in 2007 could have been saved if they had been treated with child-specific medicines, the WHO said.
"Children metabolise differently from adults. They therefore need different dosage forms... child-specific medicines are those manufactured to suit the age, physical condition and body weight of the child taking them," the WHO said in a statement.
There is a need for greater research into, and development of, child-specific medicines, as well as greater access when such products do exist, said Hans Hogerzeil, the WHO's director of medicines policy and standards.
The WHO has launched a four to six-year programme to tackle the issue by increasing the number of studies into the development of paediatric medicine; simplifying registration and regulatory requirements for new medicines; and ensuring greater efficacy and transparency in clinical trials.
The problem is particularly acute in developing countries, where otherwise healthy children can still die from easily preventable diseases such as diaorrhea, WHO assistant director general Howard Zucker told journalists.
"In the developing world, you have millions of children dying as a result of something as simple as diaorrhea and dehydration, and that's just a terrible situation which we should surely be able to reverse," he said.
Diaorrhea can be easily treated with oral rehydration salts plus zinc, but there is little interest in manufacturing this product by major pharmaceutical companies because of the lack of demand in the developed world, the WHO official noted.
He called on pharmaceutical manufacturers, governments and health authorities to all give greater priority to this problem, saying it is a case where a different marketing model is required.
WHO scientist Sue Hill noted that both the United States and European Union had developed "incentive" schemes to encourage research and development into child medicines where an obvious profit motive might not exist.
"When you combine that with the technological advances you have in developing medicines right now... there are a lot of things coming together in the mix that make this an opportune time to try and really push for medicines for children over the next few years," she said.

Most Medicare Recipients Ignore Colorectal Cancer Screening

Most Medicare Recipients Ignore Colorectal Cancer Screening
MONDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of Americans inMedicare aren't getting screened for colorectal cancer, a major killer,even though the screening is free, a new study finds.
In fact, the percentage of enrollees in Medicare, the federal healthinsurance program for older Americans, getting screening tests such ascolonoscopies has declined since the program began paying for them, thestudy said.
An assessment of 153,469 Medicare members identified in 1998 found that29.2 percent of them were screened for colorectal cancer between 1991 and1997, when Medicare began paying for screening tests. Only 25.4 werescreened between 1998 and 2004, after screening was covered by Medicare,the study found.
Failure to get those tests costs lives, said study author Dr. GregoryCooper, interim chief of gastroenterology at University Hospitals CaseMedical Center in Cleveland.
"We know that the survival curve is strongly related to the state atwhich the cancer is diagnosed," he said. "For the mostly fairly healthypeople in this cohort, early detection would bring a benefit."
Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in theUnited States. The American Cancer Society estimates that 147,000 newcases will be diagnosed in this country this year, with 57,000 deaths.
The new study, published online Dec. 10 in the journal Cancer,looked at a variety of screening tests. They included barium enemas,methods of detecting fecal blood, and colonoscopy, which is regarded asthe most definitive test. By detecting polyps before they becomemalignant, a colonoscopy can help prevent cancer. Colonoscopies arerecommended every 10 years for adults, starting at age 50.
The public, doctors and the Medicare system itself are all responsiblein different ways for failures to screen for colorectal cancer, said Dr.Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
"Many physicians do not have a preventive mindset as yet," Brawleysaid. "People go to the doctor overwhelmingly because they are hurt andhave a medical problem. No one goes to the doctor with a preventiveintention."
Medicare does allow for an initial patient visit with a new doctor,"but it is designed to be all discussion, not for physical examinations,"Brawley said. "During that discussion, they [patients] may be told thatthey have this benefit, but it is up to them to ask for it."
And there's something about colorectal cancer that makes people shyaway from discussing it, Brawley said.
"Prostate cancer screening has not been shown to save lives, and peopleask for it," he said. "Colon cancer screening has been shown to savelives, and people don't ask for it."
The ultimate responsibility lies with the patient, Cooper said. "If thephysician doesn't bring it up, often the patient has to remind them," hesaid.
The new study findings are troubling, in light of research published inthe Journal of the American Medical Association last December thatfound that since Medicare began paying for colon-cancer screenings, morepatients' tumors are being diagnosed at an early, more curable stage.
The new findings also don't reflect a federal report released in Marchthat found that national goals for colorectal cancer screenings are ontarget with the Healthy People 2010 initiative.

Abortion pill 'may become available in Italy'

An Italian woman holds a sign reading "Motherhood, abortion, sexuality: women decide" during a rally in Rome in 2005. Italy's pharmaceutical watchdog in the next few months may approve sales of RU 486, a pill to end a pregnancy after five to seven weeks, the Corriere della Sera has reported.(AFP/File/Andreas Solaro)ROME (AFP) - Italy's pharmaceutical watchdog in the next few months may approve sales of a pill to end a pregnancy after five to seven weeks, the Corriere della Sera reported Monday.
The French laboratory Exelgyn is seeking authorisation to sell RU 486, an emergency contraceptive with the brand name Mifegyn, in Italy, which could give a green light to the sales by February or March, the newspaper said.
"We have pledged to make it available (in Italy)," Health Minister Livia Turco told the paper. "It is not a political choice but an administrative act."
She said no member state of the European Union could bar the distribution of a drug that is already on sale elsewhere in the 27-nation bloc.
In 2005, experimental use of RU 486 in three Italian hospitals provoked an outcry from Catholic and conservative groups.
Corriere said Promed Galileo, a US scientific organisation grouping Catholic associations and medical practitioners, had urged Italy's Medicines Agency to bar sales of the drug here.
Abortion was legalised in Italy in 1978, but as a result of pressure from the Vatican, doctors can refuse to perform abortions as "conscientious objectors."

Official: Medicine of China's ethnic minorities faces challenge ahead

BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) --While progress has been made in both the research and practice of Chinese medicine of ethnic minorities in recent years, their future development still faces challenge, said Wang Guoqiang, director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATC).
China has published over 100 works on ethnic medicines such as the Compendium of Herbs of Ethnic Minorities, a tome which documents 396 herbs of Tibetan nationality, 422 herbs of Mongolian nationality, 423 herbs of Uygur nationality and 400 herbs of Dai nationality.
Currently, 14 research institutes or universities offered courses on ethnic minority medicine to 17,000 students. Currently,156 pharmaceutical companies specialize in ethnic medicine. In addition, by the end of 2006, 15 ethnic minorities had their own hospitals.
"The special curative effects and low price of ethnic minority medicine are welcomed by ethnic minority people," Wang said.
Tibetan medicine has marked curative effects in treating altitude sickness, digestive problems and rheumatic disease. Mongolian medicine was good at curing diabetes and blood disease.
"However, the introduction of Western medicine to China and therapies that combined Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine challenged the future development of ethnic minority medicines," he said.
Wang called for greater efforts to speed up theoretical studies and research of ethnic minority medicines. He also urged medical institutes and universities to foster more talents for ethnic minority medicines.
Currently, China only has qualification exams for practitioners of four ethnic minorities medicines -- Tibetan, Mongolian, Uygur and Dai -- and 5,418 practitioners have passed the exam and received their credentials.
China is home to 56 official ethnic groups. The Han nationality, the largest group, makes up about 92 percent of the country's population. The rest, 55 ethnic minorities, share China's vast land and maintain their own traditions and customs.