The Psychological Manipulation of the Consumer-Patient Population through Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising.

Drug direct-to-consumer advertisements manipulates the public through the manufacturer’s marketing practices. The goal of pharmaceutical companies is to create consumer demand for their products, and they achieve this goal by showing advertisements that portray their products as life-enhancing. This leads to an exponential increase in demand for and spending on these pharmaceutical drugs. This increased promotion of direct-to-consumer advertising affects the physician-patient relationship, while drug companies face little, if any, liability. Drug companies expend significant efforts to obtain patents to keep their products competitive on the market, and to prevent customers from switching to an inexpensive generic drug. The author explains that the learned intermediary doctrine shields drug manufacturers from liability for failure to warn claims brought by patient-recipients of their products, because the medication was only available to the consumer through a physician’s prescription. This doctrine insulates drug companies from liability because they are not held to the same regulations and penalties as other sellers who advertise directly to the public. The comment proposes that pharmaceutical companies be required by FDA guidelines to consult with the medical community before launching a drug advertising campaign. It also proposes eliminating existing loopholes in the drug patent system, as this would allow more time and resources for research and development. Finally, the author proposes reevaluating the effectiveness of the learned intermediary doctrine and shifting the potential for liability to the pharmaceutical industry. The current system of direct-to-consumer drug advertisements is manipulative to consumers and damaging to the physician-patient relationship all while shielding the pharmaceutical industry from liability

BMQ

BMQ: Boston Medical Quarterly was published from 1950-1966 by the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Memorial Hospitals

Leishmania infantum AS A CAUSATIVE AGENT OF CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS IN THE STATE OF MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRAZIL

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is caused by different species of theLeishmania genus. Leishmania(Leishmania) infantum, causing cutaneous leishmaniasis, has been described in patients living in areas where visceral leishmaniasis is endemic. In this study, it was possible to characterize this species in seven slides from cutaneous tissue imprints from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

The Psychological Manipulation of the Consumer-Patient Population through Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising (Comment)

This comment addresses pharmaceutical drug direct-to-consumer advertisements, and the manipulation of the consumer public through the manufacturer's marketing practices. Also addressed will be the influence that a patent life has on a manufacturer's decision to advertise the drug to consumers. Included in this discussion will be the marketing tactic of promoting one drug as superior to another, where the newly promoted drug is simply a revamped version of the older drug. It is questionable whether the lay consumer audience is conscious of this "improved" product promotion, when the newly marketed drug is simply a tweaked version of the original, either reformulated or further indicated in order to extend the drug's patent life. Finally, this comment will focus on the changes that should be made in the world of prescription drug manufacturer liability

Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells for treatment of AKI after cardiac surgery

AKI after cardiac surgery remains strongly associated with mortality and lacks effective treatment or prevention. Preclinical studies suggest that cell-based interventions may influence functional recovery. We conducted a phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 27 centers across North America to determine the safety and efficacy of allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in reducing the time to recovery from AKI after cardiac surgery. We randomized 156 adult subjects undergoing cardiac surgery with evidence of early AKI to receive intra-aortic MSCs (AC607; n=67) or placebo (n=68). The primary outcome was the time to recovery of kidney function defined as return of postintervention creatinine level to baseline. The median time to recovery of kidney function was 15 days with AC607 and 12 days with placebo (25th, 75th percentile range, 10-29 versus 6-21, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.53 to 1.24; P=0.32). We did not detect a significant difference between groups in 30-day all-cause mortality (16.7% with AC607; 11.8% with placebo) or dialysis (10.6% with AC607; 7.4% with placebo). At follow-up, 12 patients who received AC607 and six patients who received placebo had died. Rates of other adverse events did not differ between groups. In these patients with AKI after cardiac surgery, administration of allogeneic MSCs did not decrease the time to recovery of kidney function. Our results contrast with those in preclinical studies and provide important information regarding the potential effects of MSCs in this setting

What’s Working in Working Memory Training? An Educational Perspective

Working memory training programs have generated great interest, with claims that the training interventions can have profound beneficial effects on children’s academic and intellectual attainment. We describe the criteria by which to evaluate evidence for or against the benefit of working memory training. Despite the promising results of initial research studies, the current review of all of the available evidence of working memory training efficacy is less optimistic. Our conclusion is that working memory training produces limited benefits in terms of specific gains on short-term and working memory tasks that are very similar to the training programs, but no advantage for academic and achievement-based reading and arithmetic outcomes

Identification of Cytauxzoon felis antigens via protein microarray and assessment of expression library immunization against cytauxzoonosis

Abstract Background Cytauxzoonosis is a disease of felids in North America caused by the tick-transmitted apicomplexan parasite Cytauxzoon felis. Cytauxzoonosis is particularly virulent for domestic cats, but no vaccine currently exists. The parasite cannot be cultivated in vitro, presenting a significant limitation for vaccine development. Methods Recent sequencing of the C. felis genome has identified over 4300 putative protein-encoding genes. From this pool we constructed a protein microarray containing 673 putative C. felis proteins. This microarray was probed with sera from C. felis-infected and naïve cats to identify differentially reactive antigens which were incorporated into two expression library vaccines, one polyvalent and one monovalent. We assessed the efficacy of these vaccines to prevent of infection and/or disease in a tick-challenge model. Results Probing of the protein microarray resulted in identification of 30 differentially reactive C. felis antigens that were incorporated into the two expression library vaccines. However, expression library immunization failed to prevent infection or disease in cats challenged with C. felis. Conclusions Protein microarray facilitated high-throughput identification of novel antigens, substantially increasing the pool of characterized C. felis antigens. These antigens should be considered for development of C. felis vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics