Entries from August 2007 ↓

Chinese and US Customs officials say they have broken a major pharmaceuticals smuggling ring.

Eleven Chinese citizens and an American man have been arrested in a counterfeit medicine scheme that spanned 11 countries.

It involved around $4m-worth of fake drugs, officials of both countries have said.

But it is a rare success in China's attempts to safeguard intellectual property rights.

The arrested men are accused of manufacturing fake versions of well-known drugs including Viagra and the cholesterol-reducing Lipitor.

The drugs were made in China, sold on the internet and delivered by mail to customers in Britain, America and Israel.

It was a tip-off from the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, that led to the investigation.

Both US and Chinese officials have made much of the arrests.

China has promised to put the counterfeiters out of business and respect intellectual property rights in advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

But still the country is awash with counterfeit goods. DVDs, designer handbags and even well-known food brands are pirated here in enormous quantities.

Originaly from Source

TUESDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) — Worried about jet lag? Researchers think they might have just the ticket to perk you up: Viagra.

While it's too early to know if it will work in humans, Argentinean researchers are reporting that the drug sildenafil — better known by the brand name Viagra — appears to reduce symptoms of jet lag in hamsters.

Viagra does come with potential side effects, and some men might not appreciate experiencing a temporary respite from erectile dysfunction at 30,000 feet. Still, a sleep specialist called the research promising. Continue reading →

A GP has designed a way to help patients understand why they are taking particular medications.

Dr Nigel Masters, from Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire, adds phrases such as "to lower cholesterol" to prescriptions.

He said it helps patients, particularly those on a number of drugs, understand why they should keep taking them.

Developing Patient Partnerships said the idea would help people be more involved in looking after their health.

The idea has been nominated for this year's Medical Futures Innovations Awards.

Dr Masters had the idea for labelling drugs with the reasons they were being given around three years ago when he was writing out repeat prescriptions for elderly people and having to double-check what some of them were for.

"I thought 'if I can't remember, how can the patient?'"

"Patients were taking these medications on trust, and compliance can be an issue.

"But people need to know why they are taking something."

Dr Masters began by putting information on repeat prescriptions for the elderly.

He then added explanations to prescriptions for people with diabetes and asthma, before deciding to expand the idea to all those who needed repeat prescriptions.

Health checks

Dr Masters has compiled a list of almost 600 drugs and reasons for taking them.

For example, a prescription for the drug amlodipine carries the label "to lower blood pressure". Diclofenac gel can be given "for arthritis pain".

Where conditions may be more sensitive, the wording is less direct.

The cancer drug tamoxifen carries the explanation "to prevent recurrence of disease" while sildenafil, better known as Viagra (Sildenafil Citrate), is labelled "to prevent ED" - erectile dysfunction.

Prescriptions also carry health check reminders. So a prescription for the contraceptive pill will say "check blood pressure yearly", reminding the doctor, patient and pharmacist of the need for regular tests.

Dr Masters said patient confidentiality was an issue.

He said patients could choose not to have the explanations on their prescriptions.

But he added: "Very few have done so. And this idea has been well received by staff here and at the pharmacy."

Dr Masters, whose five-doctor practice has 5,800 patients, said: "Virtually every repeat prescription in the practice now has this labelling."

He said that for the scheme to be more widely used, the system needed to be computerised so more practices could make use of it.

"It needs to be an automated and standardised system."

His idea has already won an enterprise award voted for by GPs.

Dr David Wrigley, a GP from Lancashire and deputy chairman of the Developing Patient Partnerships, said: "This simple approach offers patients the opportunity to be more involved with their health and to take more control over managing their medicines as well as improving safety.

"There may issues around confidentiality but the control this gives to people could far outweigh these concerns."

Originaly from Source

Thieves broke into a surgery in Greater Manchester and escaped with 3,000 Viagra tablets worth about 16,000.

The robbery was carried out at the Shawville Medical Practice on Longshut Lane, Shaw Heath, Stockport.

Police have issued a warning telling members of the public not to take the virility drug without a prescription.

Anyone with information about the overnight theft or any person offered the drug by anyone but a doctor should contact Greater Manchester Police.

The missing tablets were packaged in small boxes containing blister packs of the drug.

A spokeswoman said: "Detectives in the area would like to warn the public of the dangers associated with the drug, particularly for anyone who may suffer from heart conditions.

"Any such medication should only be taken as prescribed by a doctor and can be dangerous when taken in conjunction with any other medication."

Originaly from Source

Men have been given unrealistic expectations of the benefits of Viagra (Sildenafil Citrate), researchers have said.

Erectile dysfunction sufferers who took the drug but found it did not work were left demoralised.

A study of 40 men by the Royal Hampshire Hospital, published in the British Medical Journal, showed most had high hopes for the treatment.

The media's "sensational reporting" of Viagra (Sildenafil Citrate) was blamed for the distress caused when it failed to work.

Researchers interviewed a random sample of 40 men with an average age of 52 who had been prescribed Viagra (Sildenafil Citrate) and had attended a men's health clinic in the year before the study.

Erectile dysfunction caused serious distress to all those men who suffered from it, with marked effects on their self-esteem and well-being.

There was generally an improvement in well-being when Viagra (Sildenafil Citrate), the generic name for which is sildenafil, was successful. But when it failed the distress was severe.

Fault

Many of the men said this was the fault of media hype.

The researchers at the Royal Hampshire Hospital's men's health clinic said: "The media have had a major effect on expectations of sildenafil, and in retrospect, less sensational reporting would have lowered those expectations to the patients' benefit."

Health professionals also needed to be aware of the extreme distress erectile dysfunction could cause, they said.

Ann Tailor, director of the Sexual Dysfunction Association, said: "There was a very high expectation of Viagra. It was portrayed as a wonder drug in the press - take this and get the best sex life.

"For many people who have taken it, it has been safe and effective, but there have been a number of men who it has not worked for."

The reasons why it had not worked were not always understood, she said. The drug should not be taken after food or alcohol and sexual stimulation is still required for it to have the desired effect.

Therapy

Mrs Tailor added that if patients had psychological problems because of the failure of the treatment, or the erectile dysfunction itself, they should seek sexual therapy.

Prof Dinesh Bhugra, at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, said: "There is no doubt that people who invest a lot of hope in a particular kind of treatment, when it does not work, they feel much worse because it makes them stand out.

"They think, if it works for everyone else I must be much worse."

However, the reality was that there were a number of factors in individual cases, both physical and psychological, Prof Bhugra said.

Health professionals should consider a range of treatments suitable to the patient, he said.

Originaly from Source

Alan Ngai's pair were disqualified from three races between them, but he is appealing against the stiff penalty of a five-month ban.

Ngai reached new levels of excitement when his horse, Lovely, claimed two wins in the province during June, before Southern Hope kept the momentum going with another victory.

But it was later discovered urine samples taken from the pair - who both ran on the Flat - contained the banned substance Sildenafil, which is the main derivative of Viagra.

In a statement, the Macau Jockey Club said Sildenafil was "a human preparation which had no legitimate use in a racehorse".

The organisation concluded: "It would also have an action on the cardiovascular, nervous and reproductive systems of a racehorse and as such was a prohibited substance."

Ngai admitted the charges and was fined a total of HK$300,000 (25,000), along with the suspension.

His appeal against the penalty will be heard on Saturday, when he expects to have a solid each-way chance.

Originaly from Source

Pfizer has lost a Beijing court case over the rights to a popular Chinese translation of its drug Viagra.

A court ruled Pfizer can no longer use the name Wei Ge, or mighty brother, to market Viagra as China's Guangzhou Welman had registered the brand.

While Pfizer markets the anti-impotence pill as Wan Ai Ke in China, it is commonly called Wei Ge by the public.

The US firm has challenged firms in China for copying the look or using variations on the name of its key drug.

In a separate ruling in December, the same court ordered two other Chinese companies to stop selling anti-impotence drugs under the name Wei Ge.

In the latest case, the Beijing Court ruled that Guangzhou Welman had registered the Wei Ge brand correctly and should be allowed to use it.

The court ruled that the fact that "Wei Ge" is a commonly used translation for Viagra does not automatically give Pfizer any right to the name.

Originaly from Source

A convicted murderer has been cleared of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl while on day release from prison.

David Lant was serving a life sentence at Hollesley Bay open prison near Woodbridge, Suffolk, in 2004 when the attack was alleged to have taken place.

The 61-year-old, from Norwich, was jailed for life after he and another man took a patient hostage at Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire in 1977.

A jury cleared him of attempted rape and five counts of sexual assault.

Money for sex

During the trial at Ipswich Crown Court, the jury was told that Lant, who denied the charges, was jailed for life for murder in 1977.

In 2004, he was allowed out on licence from Hollesley Bay as part of a pre-release scheme.

He returned to the prison each night after working at a Salvation Army hostel in Ipswich.

The girl, who cannot be named and is now 18, told the court via a video link that she had agreed to meet Lant in October 2004 because he said he wanted to give her 50 that he owed her boyfriend.

After meeting him at a petrol station, she said Lant had persuaded her to go with him to his wife's caravan near Bury St Edmunds because, he said, he wanted to check the electricity was turned off.

The teenager alleged that Lant offered her 200 to have sex with him.

Prescribed Viagra

When she refused, she claimed that he picked up a carving knife and threw it across the caravan.

Charles Myatt, prosecuting, told the court that Lant later drove the girl to Hollesley Common, near his prison, where sexual assaults took place in the back of his car.

The court heard he eventually dropped the girl off in Ipswich, more than five hours later.

Lant told the jury the girl had agreed to take part in sexual activity.

During the trial, jurors were told that Lant had been prescribed Viagra in 2003 after a prostate operation made him impotent. But the drug was not successful in curing his impotence, the court heard.

Lant denied attempted rape and five counts of sexual assault.

Originaly from Source

By Linda Deutsch

LOS ANGELES (AP) - From the moment he saw actress Lana Clarkson's dead body slumped in a chair in Phil Spector's mansion, a gun at her feet and blood soaking her short black dress, the lead investigator sensed "sexual overtones," he testified Wednesday. Detective Mark Lillienfeld testified in Spector's murder trial that when he found a Viagra pill (Sildenafil Citrate) in the music producer's briefcase, it intensified his belief, and he seized it as evidence.

"I thought at that time, as I do today, that this murder had sexual overtones to it, and that the Viagra would prove or disprove certain facts," the detective said. Continue reading →

Tadalafil should be taken orally. This medicine is used for therapy of erectile dysfunction, or impotence, consisting in lacking of ability to reach and keep in existence a penile erection. The drug class, which Tadalafil belongs to, is called phosphodiesterase inhibitors. Sildenafil (Viagra) and Vardenafil (Levitra) belong to this drug class too. When a penis is filling up with blood there a penile erection springs up. The blood vessels, which are responsible for bringing blood to male reproductive organs, extend in size what causes filling the penis up with large quantity of blood. While the blood vessels, responsible for transporting blood away from the penis, diminish in size, what causes taking much less blood away from the penis than under usual circumstances. Sexual excitement leading to a sterling erection determines the production and ejection of nitric oxide in the male genital organs. The nitric oxide provokes the production of an enzyme called guanylate cyclase that is a necessary condition for production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). This chemical compound controls extending and reducing of the size of the blood vessels that transport blood to and from the male reproductive organs. These changes of sizes condition erection.

Afterwards one more enzyme, which is called phosphodiesterase-5, demolishes the cGMP what makes blood vessels take their usual sizes, blood go away from the penis and thus the erection is over. Mechanism of action of Tadalafil consists in preventing phosphodiesterase-5 to ruin cGMP so the last one exists longer. The extended thus life of cGMP makes blood flow to the penis for longer period of time. The U.S. FDA approved Tadalafil in November, 2003.