Entries from July 2007 ↓

US states have been told they do not have to pay to provide the impotence drug Viagra to convicted sex offenders.

The move comes after an audit found 198 convicts in New York state had been reimbursed by Medicaid for the drug between January and March 2000.

Their crimes included offences against children as young as two.

The Medicaid programme, whose cost is shared by states and the federal government, provides health care for the poor.

The federal Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services said they should not pay for erectile dysfunction drugs for sex offenders.

Spokesman Gary Karr said "states already have the power to determine if a drug is not medically appropriate for a certain patient or certain class of patients", the Associated Press news agency reported.

"Public risk"

The New York audit, conducted by Comptroller Alan Hevesi, did not cover other states, but Mr Hevesi said states are required by law to include Viagra in Medicaid programmes covering prescription drugs when medically necessary.

He said the policy raised "serious policy considerations and has the potential to place the public at risk" and asked the government to take administrative action or amend the Medicaid law.

On Monday, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said that Medicaid had paid $93,000 to provide Viagra to 218 sex offenders in that state over the last four years, AP reported.

New York Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton have both indicated they back a change in policy.

Sen Schumer said: "It is just mind-boggling to think that Level 3 sexual offenders can get Viagra, which may indeed help them perpetrate other horrible crimes.

"Giving convicted sex offenders government-funded Viagra is like giving convicted murderers an assault rifle when they get out of jail," Schumer said.

Originaly from Source

In recent weeks spam has rolled on—clumsy, repetitive come-ons for cut-rate Viagra, bank loans, urgent appeals for help moving money out of Nigeria, strident demands that you “verify” your bank account information, and on and on.

Then on May 30, Federal authorities arrested the man they called the Spam King: 27-year-old Richard Alan Soloway. In a Seattle courtroom he was arraigned on charges of mail fraud, fraud in connection with electronic mail, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.

And last week, with Soloway sequestered, the flow of spam rose 8 percent.

Communications security firm Postini Inc. of San Carlos, CA, which posts the number of spam it filters for its clients on an ongoing basis, tallied 2.8 billion spams over the most recent seven day period, as opposed to 2.6 billion in the seven days previous to that when the Spam King was still at large. (Huge as the numbers are, they involve only the e-mail bound for Postini’s corporate clients. Postini figures that about 82 percent of e-mail traveling the Internet is spam, so the actual figure is approximately 100 billion daily.)

Royal spammers

It turns out that, despite press announcements put out by the Department of Justice

Department of Justice, the Spam King was actually barely a member of the Spammer Royal Family.

According to data tabulated by the London-based Spamhaus Project, an international anti-spam organization, about 80 percent of the world’s spam is generated by a coven of about 130 separate spammers or gangs. Soloway was on the list, but he was not in the top ten, which consists of four Russians, two Ukrainians, and an Israeli, an Australian, an American, and a Hong Kong resident. One of the Ukrainian operations has its own bogus online bank.

The American was not Soloway, incidentally, but a Californian who operates servers that host other spam operations.

The wages of gullibility

But why do they bother? What profit can there be in sending out torrents of misspelled “Viagra” promotions?

“The vast majority of recipients throw it away, but spam is so cheap to send that the spammers can make money even with an infinitesimally small response rate—maybe one in a million,” John Levine of Trumansburg, NY, co-author of “Fighting Spam for Dummies,” told LiveScience. “Soloway supported himself for years sending spam, and reportedly made $700,000 per year at it."

While e-mail dispenses with the expense of paper, envelopes, and stamps, spammers go one step beyond that and use other people’s computers—infected machines that spew out spam in the background, Levine explained. Doing so multiplies the amount of spam that they can send, to the point that they can send millions of messages daily. The tactic also makes it harder to track the original spammer down.

Some of the larger spammers listed by Spamhaus also specialize in pump-and-dump schemes, where they send out spam touting a little-known stock that they have bought. Almost invariably, enough recipients buy it so that the price goes up, allowing the spammer to sell at a profit.

• Record-Setting Spam Effort Turns Computers into Zombies
• Virtual Virus is First Simulation of an Entire Life Form
• Top 10 Aphrodisiacs

• Original Story: Spam King Gone, Spam Rolls On

Visit LiveScience.com for more daily news, views and scientific inquiry with an original, provocative point of view. LiveScience reports amazing, real world breakthroughs, made simple and stimulating for people on the go. Check out our collection of Science, Animal and Dinosaur Pictures, Science Videos, Hot Topics, Trivia, Top 10s, Voting, Amazing Images, Reader Favorites, and more. Get cool gadgets at the new LiveScience Store, sign up for our free daily email newsletter and check out our RSS feeds today! Continue reading →

Retired New Jersey firefighter is reporting decreased insulin doses and lower blood glucose levels within one month after his adult stem cell treatment for diabetes (type 2), diabetes induced erectile dysfunction and peripheral artery disease in Cologne, Germany.

Cologne, Germany (PRWEB) June 19, 2007 — Retired Fire Captain, Calvin Miller of Union City, New Jersey is reporting decreased insulin doses and lower blood glucose levels within one month after his adult stem cell treatment for diabetes (type 2) , diabetes induced erectile dysfunction and peripheral artery disease in Cologne, Germany.

Mr. Miller was recently treated at the XCell-Center using adult stem cells derived from a small amount of his own bone marrow. The stem cells were introduced directly into his pancreas using a minimally invasive catheter procedure via the right femoral artery. To battle the common diabetes complications of peripheral artery disease and erectile dysfunction, stem cells were also introduced into his thighs and calves, and into the arteries that supply the penis, respectively.

"Before scuba diving this past Sunday morning, I injected only 32% of my normal insulin dose. During the day, I ate normally - for a diabetic - without injecting any more insulin. That evening, I measured my blood sugar and I was astounded that it was only 126. A month ago, even with my full insulin doses, I never had readings below 170," said Miller.

These are the third, fourth and fifth diseases in two years for which Mr. Miller has chosen to undergo stem cell therapy. After being treated with stem cells for coronary artery disease in January 2005, he was featured in BusinessWeek Magazine (June 2005) . In September 2005, he was treated for ischemic cardiomyopathy using minimally invasive surgery.

"Actually, what really got my attention this past weekend was that I also felt a regeneration of heart function…and that was after a 3 km swim," Miller added with a grin.

About the XCell-Center
The XCell-Center is the first privately-owned center in Europe to specialize in regenerative medicine using autologous adult stem cell therapy. Newly completed in 2006, the XCell-Center features the latest medical equipment and technology. The XCell-Center is a fully licensed clinic with German specialized physicians working in accordance with German law and European guidelines. It is located on the second floor wing of the Eduardus Hospital in Cologne, Germany.

The XCell-Center currently treats Diabetes and its complications (Erectile Dysfunction and Peripheral Artery Disease), Stroke, Spinal Cord Injuries, Ischemic Heart Disease and degenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Before the end of this year, the XCell-Center will publish clinical data coming from their SCIDEM I and II trials. In these trials, diabetes (type I and II) patients will be treated with their own stem cells and compared with a control group receiving traditional therapy. The findings will be presented at different international scientific meetings. Later this year, another clinical trial for stroke patients will commence.

For more information on Stem Cell Therapy:
XCell-Center Website: http://www.xcell-center.com

Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes Blog: http://www.stem-cell-diabetes.blogspot.com

XCell-Center GmbH
at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Custodisstrasse 3-17
Cologne, Germany 50679

E-Mail: info @ xcell-center.de

Phone: 1-866-680-8202 (USA Toll-Free) or (+49) 0221-802-5095 (Germany)

Fax: 1-713-583-9322 (USA) or (+49) 0221-2921-2550 (Germany)

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XCell-Center GmbH
Ruud de Jong
+49 0221-802-5095
E-mail Information
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Smokers trying to quit the habit were mistakenly prescribed anti-impotence drug Viagra by doctors.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the error was due to a computer glitch at two city GP practices.

When GPs selected anti-smoking pill Zyban, computers selected sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra.

A health board spokeswoman said: "At no time was patient care affected by this as all prescriptions are subject to stringent double checking."

The e-Formulary computer system used by GPs automatically selects a list of the most popular drugs when doctors fill out prescriptions.

Some patients went to the pharmacy with a prescription for the anti-impotence drug instead of tablets to help them stop smoking.

The health board was made aware of the problem on Tuesday and alerted all its GPs to the problem.

It is not thought anyone left a chemist with the wrong medication.

A health board spokeswoman said: "A computer glitch was discovered by two Glasgow GP practices that use the Glasgow e-Formulary, following a recent update of the online GPass system used throughout Scotland.

"As a precaution an advisory e-mail and memo was issued to all practices which use GPass and have installed the e-Formulary to alert staff."

Originaly from Source

SUNDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) — Gene therapy using nerve growth factors reversed erectile dysfunction in rats within four weeks, say University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects between 15 million and 30 million men in the United States. Many men suffer nerve damage-related ED after surgery for prostate cancer.

The Pittsburgh team found that the genes for the "glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor" (GDNF) and the GDNF family ligand, called neurturin, were both effective in treating erectile dysfunction in the rats. The genes were placed in a genetically engineered herpes simplex virus, which was then injected into the rats' damaged cavernous nerve. Continue reading →

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The male impotence drug Viagra may be useful for treating jet lag as well, according to Argentine researchers who gave it to hamsters made to feel like rodent globe-trotters.

The researchers manipulated the schedule of turning lights on and off to induce jet lag in the laboratory animals, they reported on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Sciences.

Adult male hamsters given Viagra, also called sildenafil, recovered from jet lag up to 50 percent faster than hamsters that were not given it, the researchers said.

The scientists stopped giving the hamsters the highest dose they had been using in the experiment due to a certain side effect.

"However, we used the intermediate dose for the rest of the experiments because at that dose animals did not manifest the effects of sildenafil-induced penile erections," they wrote.

Flying across multiple time zones can confuse one's sleep-wake cycle, resulting in the condition called jet lag, marked by insomnia, sleepiness and difficulty concentrating.

Researchers Patricia Agostino, Santiago Plano and Diego Golombek of the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes in Buenos Aires gave doses of Viagra to the hamsters at night, then switched on bright lights six hours early to simulate eastbound flight.

They judged how well the hamsters adjusted to the changes by observing when they began running on exercise wheels.

The drug helped the rodents cope with jet lag only when given before the equivalent of an eastbound flight, not the reverse when they delayed turning on lights to simulate westbound travel, the study found.

The researchers said the findings suggested that Viagra could be useful to help people cope with jet lag or shift work. They said the dose needed for such uses could be lower than the one used for treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Viagra interferes with an enzyme that lowers levels of a naturally occurring compound that plays a role in the regulation of the circadian cycle, the body's internal clock, the researchers said.

Viagra is marketed by Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Food and Drug Administration approved it to treat erectile dysfunction in 1998. Continue reading →

The rise and rise of Viagra has created a 1.5bn worldwide market in anti-impotence pills.

Now rivals are fighting for a share of the spoils and it is becoming a recreational drug of choice for some in the party generation.

Last week, Pfizer's chief executive Henry McKinnell warned that Chinese made counterfeits posed a threat to its business and urged the country's authorities to clamp down on the copycats.

New research

Pfizer, the world's biggest pharmaceutical company, stumbled on the drug by accident at their research labs in Sandwich, Kent.

In the late 1980s, they had been developing a new treatment for angina, but noticed a strange side-effect in trials - increased erections among volunteers.

The effect on their sex lives was so marked that once the angina trails were over the volunteers wanted to keep on taking the medication.

Pfizer decided to commission some new research.

In 1989 they approached Clive Gingell, one of Britain's top Urological Surgeons, based in Bristol.

He had spent his whole career trying to treat and improve the lives of thousands of men suffering from impotence.

In those days, commonly used treatments included the fitting of implants directly into the penis, a vacuum pump and self injection.

Most sufferers were thoroughly put off and consigned themselves to a life without sex.

Viagra arrives

Mr Gingell ran a new series of trials, and the results impressed him.

Pfizer chief executive McKinnell says copycats pose a threat

He describes Viagra as "a wonder drug".

"The thought of having a pill that would cure impotence was amazing to me," he says.

"I never thought I would see it in my lifetime."

"There has been a kind of Holy Grail idea associated with curing impotence," Pfizer's Mariann Caprino tells the Money Programme.

"And here it was in a little blue pill."

Colossal market

When Viagra was launched in 1998, Pfizer's share price doubled. It was apparent that there was a huge previously untapped market out there.

Doctors claim that half of all men over 40 become impotent at some point in their lives.

That is more than 150 million worldwide, with two million sufferers in Britain alone, so the potential market for drugs like Viagra is colossal.

Overnight Viagra made Pfizer famous. "We discovered the mass production of penicillin, yet it was Viagra that put Pfizer on the map," says Ms Caprino.

Embarrassing subject

Nevertheless, despite the highly successful launch, the company faced a huge potential problem in selling Viagra.

Men were simply not willing to talk about impotence, they were ashamed.

If they were not prepared to discuss their impotence, how could they be persuaded to ask their doctor for a prescription?

Ray Reynolds, who suffered from impotence for 30 years, had simply given up hope of ever being able to have sex again.

"I thought well, I'll just put it to one side and remain a eunuch for the rest of my life," he says.

Celebrity endorsement

To overcome the problem, Pfizer came up with a series of marketing ploys.

Pfizer sponsors NASCAR, America's top spectator sport

Firstly, they asked the Vatican, and other world religious leaders, for their blessing. This headed off possible moral and religious objections.

Secondly, they employed big name celebrities to encourage men to seek treatment for impotence.

Pele, the legendary footballer, headed a men's health campaign about erection problems, and 75 year old former US Presidential candidate Bob Dole went public for Pfizer about his own impotence problem.

American men rushed to their doctors.

Leon Steinberg, an 84-year-old impotence sufferer living in a retirement community in Florida, was impressed by Mr Dole's courage in coming forward.

"When I saw it on TV, I admired him for it," he says.

"You might say he was my idol."

Withdrawal of campaign

Pfizer decided not to use the term "impotence" in the advertisements, instead replacing it with a more bland technical term "erectile dysfunction".

Pfizer's Mike Suesserman says the new term "allowed us to make the condition a household name".

Pfizer reasoned that few men may admit to impotence, which employs a complete loss of ability, but a lot more may own up to erectile dysfunction, which suggests a much broader range of symptoms.

But Pfizer's aggressive marketing campaign has recently run into trouble.

A recent television advertisement has been criticized in the United States for suggesting that Viagra might be better and more effective for patients than the clinical experience suggests.

The Food and Drug Administration ordered its withdrawal.

Efficient sex

There are potential problems, too, in the increasing use of Viagra as a recreational drug.

Half of all men over 40 become impotent at some point

"For a lot of gay people it is just a normal way of life," says Gary Mercado, who runs the Elysium Resort, the largest gay hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

When Viagra is taken with amphetamines, "you forget about having protective sex, so there are huge capabilities of transmitting all sorts of sexual diseases", he says.

Pfizer says that a very small percentage of people abuse Viagra, but accepts there is great potential in developing the market for sexual pharmaceuticals.

Meika Loe, author of the book The Rise of Viagra, agrees: "In the Viagra era, sexuality is subject to the cult of efficiency. It's become almost McDonald's-ised. Serve it up fast and hot."

The Money Programme: Viagra: The Hard Sell was broadcast at 2200 GMT on Wednesday, 9 February on BBC Two .

Originaly from Source

By Anick Jesdanun

NEW YORK (AP) - Junk e-mail continued to hit mailboxes around the world Thursday, despite the arrest a day earlier of a man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers.

Even if Robert Alan Soloway is ultimately convicted and his operations shuttered, spam experts say dozens are in line to fill the void. Continue reading →

After a two year investigation into the murky world of on line pharmacies and Internet "cheap cigarettes", Americas Watchdog and its Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants have a worldwide recommendation to all consumers. This can be summed up in three words: "Don't Do It". The investigation concluded that the "on line drugs and cigarettes could be lethal or you could get charged for something you never get". By doing business with a on line cigarette or drug "retailer", a consumer may have just given their credit information to the Russian Mafia or organized crime.

(PRWEB) May 21, 2007 — Americas Watchdog is one of the premier consumer advocacy groups in the United States. The group has formed a piracy & counterfeiting task force to take on sellers of "on line" counterfeit drugs or cigarettes. The group is warning all consumers worldwide to avoid doing business with "on line" pharmacies or cigarette "retailers" unless they can provide credentials. Aside from potential lethal counterfeit drugs or cigarettes, consumers expose them selves to possible identity theft or paying for something they never get. "Who wants to do business with the Russian Mafia or organized crime"? Americas Watchdog's Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants are seeking corporate partnerships to curb this growing worldwide problem with buy operations designed to expose the counterfeiters or their "retail" outlets. The two areas to be targeted are:

*Counterfeit Cigarettes
British American Tobacco has reported that more than one in 20 cigarettes smoked worldwide is either smuggled or counterfeit.

The cigarette industry, like many other industries, faces an unprecedented challenge from counterfeit products. The WCO estimates that 190 billion counterfeit cigarettes are produced each year in China, making it "a major source country for European/US markets".

Americas Watchdog and its Global Piracy & Counterfeit Consultants warn that counterfeit cigarettes, which may look identical to those purchased legitimately over the counter, can contain hazardous levels of damaging toxins, including arsenic. The black-market cigarettes have higher levels of tar, nicotine and carcinogenic chemicals from contaminated tobacco leaves. In other words, counterfeit cigarettes could be dangerous.

Americas Watchdog and its Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants are warning consumers not to purchase counterfeit cigarettes or "on line cigarettes" as they could be a serious health hazard. In addition by purchasing counterfeit cigarettes a consumer may actually be enriching terrorists or organized crime. Americas Watchdog would welcome the opportunity to work directly with British Tobacco, the Altria Group, Reynolds American, Altadis or other cigarette manufacturers in order to curb and or disrupt the manufacturing or distribution of counterfeit cigarettes.

*Counterfeit Drugs
The FDA recommends that consumers who have purchased drugs from certain web sites not use the products because they may be unsafe. Laboratory analyses are underway for intercepted products that were destined for the U.S. market. Preliminary laboratory results to date have found counterfeits of the following drug products: Lipitor" /> News | News Photos | Images | Web

" />

Lipitor, Diovan, Actonel, Nexium, Hyzaar, Ezetrol (known as Zetia in the United States), Crestor, Celebrex, Arimidex and Propecia. All of these medications require a prescription from a licensed health care provider to be legally dispensed.

DRUG NAME
USE(S)

LIPITOR
Cholesterol disorders

CRESTOR
Cholesterol disorders

ZETIA (US name) / EZETROL (Canadian name)
Cholesterol disorders

DIOVAN
High blood pressure

HYZAAR
High blood pressure

ACTONEL
Osteoporosis in postmenopausal women

NEXIUM
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

CELEBREX
Arthritis-related pain

ARIMIDEX
Breast cancer

PROPECIA
Male-pattern baldness

According to the FDA, drug counterfeiters defraud consumers by selling products that resemble legitimate drugs but may contain inactive or incorrect ingredients; contain improper doses of active ingredients; or be otherwise contaminated. Purchasing ED products on line from illegitimate websites involve risks such as::

— Fake or "generic" ED drugs may be manufactured in unregulated factories, often in regions of the world that do not share the same rigorous standards for pharmaceutical manufacturing applied in the U.S.

— The drugs may contain dangerous additives

— The illegal drugs may not work as claimed, or at all

— Illegitimate pharmacies may take payment but not ship ordered products, or shipped products may be seized by the U.S. government because they are illegal

— Web sites that distribute counterfeit ED pills, including "generic Viagra", Cialis and Levitra have been found to abuse credit card information.

Americas Watchdog and its Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants (Http://GP-CC.Com ) strongly encourage consumers in the US and worldwide to stay away from Internet cigarette "retailers", Internet pharmacies or computer pop ups for ED or other medical conditions. According to Americas Watchdog's President, "these counterfeit drugs could actually kill you. If a consumer wants to be safe, consult a physician or a licensed pharmacy, rather than trusting someone you don't know anything about on the Internet." As a part of one of their investigations, Americas Watchdog ordered a sedative from an "on line pharmacy", and they were sent a blood thinner instead.

Americas Watchdog wants to shut down all illegal Internet pharmacies and assist in the prosecution of illegal "on line pharmacies" or counterfeit drug manufacturers and counterfeit cigarette manufactures or "retailers". If you are an executive or a law firm representing Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Astrozeneca, Aventis, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Bristol Meyers or any other pharmaceutical company or an executive or law firm representing Altria, Reynolds American, British American Tobacco or other cigarette manufacturers, please contact America's Watchdog's Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants to learn more about our global anti-counterfeiting initiatives. If you are a consumer, a law firm representing a corporate client or a corporate executive and would like more information about Americas Watchdog's worldwide counterfeiting initiatives, please contact them at their web site Http://GP-CC.Com or call 866-714-6466.

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Say the name Viagra and most people will automatically think of a drug to treat impotence.

But doctors are finding it is good at boosting parts of the body other than the penis, such as the blood vessels of the heart and lungs - as has been seen in the case of premature baby Lewis Goodfellow.

This is not altogether surprising given that Viagra was originally designed to lower blood pressure and treat angina.

Chance finding

It was during early testing that its developers noticed the drug aided the male erection - a curious and, as it turned out, very lucrative side effect.

Pfizer therefore decided to market it for erectile dysfunction, rather than as a heart drug, and after more safety tests Viagra was finally licensed as an impotence treatment in 1998.

Years later Viagra is turning full circle and doctors are re-exploring its use for treating circulatory problems involving the heart and lungs.

The drug, also known as sildenafil, does not directly give a man an erection. It works by boosting blood flow to the penis.

It does this by specifically blocking a particular enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE 5).

This action means the drug is also good at improving blood flow elsewhere in the body.

Vicky Styman of the British Heart Foundation explained: "It is a potent vasodilator, opening up the blood vessels and it was originally looked at as a heart drug."

But there have been concerns about whether it is safe for men with heart disease on particular medications that work in the same way.

Doctors are told not to prescribe Viagra along with these angina drugs called nitrates as the mix could lower blood pressure to dangerous levels.

It appears to be safe in other heart patients, but Ms Styman added: "If you have a heart condition you should check with your doctor before taking Viagra."

As erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular diseases have common risk factors, many of the patients who might benefit from Viagra also have cardiovascular diseases.

Ian Banks of the Men's Health Forum said: "It was a very attractive drug for cardiac conditions and lowering blood pressure.

"Indeed, I've noticed that when I prescribe Viagra to patients with a heart condition it actually improves their heart condition as well as their erectile dysfunction.

"It does what it originally said on the tin. But Pfizer knew they were on to a winner with the erectile dysfunction line.

"But people are still interested in using it for other conditions and I suspect we will see a generation of drugs coming out from the sildenafil group which are actually designed for working on the heart because it is so effective."

Other uses

Studies suggest the drug could treat a variety of conditions other than erectile dysfunction.

Scientists have shown it can help thicken up the lining of the womb in women experiencing fertility problems and reduce the risk of a complication of pregnancy called pre-eclampsia.

The best evidence so far of an alternative use is for treating high blood pressure in the vessels of the lungs, known as pulmonary hypertension.

There have been reports of cases where doctors have used Viagra to save the lives of babies with this potentially fatal condition.

Dr Alan Fenton, consultant neonatologist Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, has first hand experience of this.

He explains: "The problem we see in premature babies with breathing difficulties is although we can blow oxygen into their lungs to help them, there isn't enough blood supply to various areas of the lungs to take the oxygen around the rest of the body.

"What sildenafil does is open up the blood vessels so they can capture the oxygen and take it around the body."

Originaly from Source