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Healthcare online Keeping you up-to-date
VOL.  5     ISSUE:  10    October 25, 2007 Medical Services Department

SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

EDITORIAL

Dear Doctor,

Welcome to this edition of 'e-SQUARE'. We are sure that you are enjoying this online healthcare bulletin.

Our current issue focused on some interesting features like -

"Vitamin D Helps Pain !", "Ovarian Cancer Prevention !", "Folic Acid Lowers Arsenic !", "Hypertension Triples Diabetes Risk",
 "Malaria Vaccine !", "Bird Flu Alert !".

In our regular feature, we have some new products information of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd. as well.

We will appreciate your feedback !

Click on to reply mode.

Yours sincerely,

 

Editorial Team

Reply Mode      : e-square@squaregroup.com

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of its editor or SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
 Vitamin D Helps Pain !

  Getting Enough Vitamin D May Help In Control Chronic Pain

About one in four patients who have chronic pain also have inadequate blood levels of vitamin D, which might contribute to their pain. Patients who did not have enough vitamin D also needed higher doses of morphine for a longer period of time, a new research revealed. The study kept track of the serum vitamin D levels of 267 adults getting outpatient treatment for chronic pain. It also looked at the dose and duration of the morphine they took for pain relief. In patients with a vitamin D deficiency, the morphine dose was nearly twice that of the group with adequate levels of vitamin D. They also used the pain medication for an average of 71.1 months, compared to 43.8 months, and had lower levels of physical functioning as well as a poorer view of their overall health. Researchers’ noted that it has been known for a long time inadequate levels of vitamin D can cause pain and muscle weakness. But according to the lead researcher, this is the first time they have established the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy among a diverse group of chronic pain patients. He also mentioned that the implications are that in chronic pain patients, vitamin D inadequacy is not the principal cause of pain and muscle weakness, however, it could be a contributing but unrecognized factor.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire, October 2007

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 Ovarian Cancer Prevention !

Cutting Fat May Prevent Ovarian Cancer

A healthy diet could reduce the risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women, a previous research discovered. Recently, researchers have found the same correlation between a healthy diet and preventing ovarian cancer. Nearly 50,000 postmenopausal women were studied. One group of about 20,000 women was randomly assigned to the diet modification group. This group was to reduce their fat intake by 20 percent, eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day, and six servings of whole grains a day. The remaining 30,000 women studied were not to modify their diet at all. Researchers followed study participants for an average of eight years. During the first four years, the risk for ovarian cancer was similar between the two groups. In the following four years, women in the diet modification group had a lower risk of ovarian cancer. The women who saw the greatest risk reduction were the ones who had the highest fat intake prior to the study.

SOURCE:  Ivanhoe Newswire, October 2007

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 Folic Acid Lowers Arsenic !

Folic Acid Lowers Blood Arsenic Levels

A new study revealed that folic acid supplements can dramatically lower blood arsenic levels in individuals exposed to arsenic through contaminated drinking water. This toxic element, naturally present in some aquifers used for drinking, is currently a significant public health problem in at least 70 countries, including several developing countries and also parts of the U.S. Chronic arsenic exposure is associated with increased risk for skin, liver and bladder cancers, skin lesions, cardiovascular disease, and other adverse health outcomes. The researchers found that treatment with 400 micrograms a day of folic acid, the U.S. recommended dietary allowance, reduced total blood arsenic levels in the study population by 14 percent. Folate, a B vitamin found in leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains, can also be taken as a vitamin supplement, and in the U.S., is added to flour and other fortified foods. The researchers found that folate deficiency is very common in Bangladesh, where the study was conducted. Folic acid increased the methylation or detoxification of arsenic in the body, allowing the body to change some of its more toxic metabolite, or methylarsonic (MMA) acid, to a form that could more easily be excreted from the body, thus lowering the levels of arsenic found in the blood. Chronic arsenic exposure currently affects 100 million persons worldwide, including populations in Bangladesh.
SOURCE: EurekAlert, October 2007

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 Hypertension Triples Diabetes Risk !

Hypertension Triples Women's Diabetes Risk

Compared to women with optimal blood pressure, those with high blood pressure are up to three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, a new study found. The lead researcher said that the link between high blood pressure and diabetes risk was independent of factors known to increase the odds of getting diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They tracked the health of more than 38,000 female health professionals for more than 10 years. At the start of the study, the women (all free of diabetes or cardiovascular disease) were divided into four groups based on their blood pressure: optimal -- below 120 mm/Hg systolic, 75 mm/Hg diastolic; normal -- 120-129 mm/Hg systolic, 75-84 mm/Hg diastolic; high-normal -- 130-139 mm/Hg systolic, 85-89 mm/Hg diastolic; and high blood pressure -- at least 140 mm/Hg systolic, 90 mm/Hg diastolic, and/or a self-reported history of hypertension or treatment for the condition. After 10 years, 9.4 percent of the women in the high blood pressure group had developed type 2 diabetes, compared with 5.7 percent in the high-normal group, 2.9 percent in the normal group, and 1.4 percent in the optimal group. After adjusting for a number of factors such as age, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, exercise, and family history of diabetes, the researchers concluded that the women with high blood pressure still had a threefold increased risk of diabetes compared to women with optimal blood pressure.
SOURCE: HealthDay, October 2007

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 Malaria Vaccine !

Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise

Initial findings from tests of a malaria vaccine are encouraging, said the researchers who tested the shot's safety and effectiveness in infants. The 214 children received either three doses of the RTS,S/AS02D vaccine or a hepatitis vaccine (as a control) at ages 10 weeks, 14 weeks, and 18 weeks. They also received routine immunization vaccines at ages 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks. The researchers found that the malaria vaccine was safe and reduced the risk of contracting new malaria infections by 65 percent whereas a previous study found that the vaccine reduced the risk of new malaria infections by 45 percent in children ages 1 to 4. The study provides evidence of a strong association between vaccine-induced antibodies and a reduced risk of malaria infection, the researchers said. 

SOURCE: HealthDay News, October 2007

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 Bird Flu Alert !

Key Viral Change Could Help Bird Flu Spread

In a new study, the researchers said that they have spotted a crucial step the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus must take in order to spread easily in humans. Since H5N1 first appeared in 1997, there have been more than 250 human infections. Of those, 150 were fatal. Most of the human infections were the result of close contact with infected birds. So far, the virus has not developed the ability to spread easily among humans. But now, researchers have pinpointed a single change in a viral protein that helps H5N1 infect the cells of the upper respiratory system in mammals. The adaptation could enable the virus to infect a wider range of cell types and spread more easily among humans, the researchers said. They noted that being able to establish itself in the upper respiratory system enables easy transmission of the virus through coughing and sneezing. However, other yet-to-be identified changes would have to occur before the H5N1 virus could potentially trigger a flu pandemic.
SOURCE: MedlinePlus, October 2007

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New Products of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
  Product Cholinor®
  Generic Name Ezetimibe INN
  Strength 10 mg 
  Dosage form Tablet
  Therapeutic Category Lipid lowering
  Product Xripa®
Generic Name

Nefopam HCl INN
Strength

30 mg Tablet & 20 mg/ml Injection
Dosage form Tablet & Injection
Therapeutic Category Non narcotic analgesic
  Product Zesup Forte Syrup
  Generic Name Zinc sulphate USP
  Strength

20 mg/5 ml
  Dosage form Syrup
  Therapeutic Category Other mineral supplements

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