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Healthcare online Keeping you up-to-date
VOL.  6     ISSUE:  7    July 09, 2008 Medical Services Department

SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

EDITORIAL

Dear Doctor,

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

Our current issue focused on some interesting features like -
"Vitamin D Prevents Diabetes !", "HIV 'Hideout' !",
"Thyroid Dysfunction Risks !", "Cholesterol And Cancer Risk !",
 "Pancreatic Cancer Alert !", "Heel Test Predicts Risk !".

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 Prevents Diabetes !

Vitamin D for Children May Prevent Type 1 Diabetes

A new analysis of current research provides "the strongest evidence to date" that giving small children supplemental vitamin D will help prevent them from developing type 1 diabetes later on, according to the researchers. Vitamin D is produced in the skin with sun exposure. Deficiency in the nutrient can lead to a host of health problems. Because breast milk typically contains little vitamin D, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends vitamin D supplements for nursing infants and UK public health authorities say that all children should receive the supplements for at least the first two years of life. There are a number of clues suggesting a link between low vitamin D levels and type 1 diabetes, according to the researcher of Stockport National Health Service Foundation Trust and of Booth Hall Children's Hospital in Manchester, UK.. The investigators reviewed all published research on vitamin D supplementation and diabetes risk. Overall, they found, infants who were supplemented with Vitamin D were 29 percent less likely to develop type 1 diabetes than children who had not received supplements. Proper clinical trials are required to determine the optimal dose and formulation of vitamin D, as well as when and for how long children should be given the supplements, the researchers conclude. 

SOURCE: Reuters Health, June 2008.

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 HIV 'Hideout' !

Scientists Discover HIV 'Hideout'

Researchers have confirmed that a certain type of cell provides a "hideout" for HIV during drug treatment and is a reservoir of HIV in humans. These follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) are located throughout the body in specialized sites known as lymphoid tissues, said researchers at Brigham Young University and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. FDCs act as "vaults" to store material needed to maintain the immune system's legions of antibodies. When there's a drop in a particular kind of antibody, FDCs release proteins that trigger an immune response to increase levels of those antibodies. The researchers discovered that FDCs have such an effective vault mechanism that HIV can remain out of reach of drugs flowing through the blood stream. This finding that FDCs harbor HIV may help scientists find ways to attack HIV taking shelter in these reservoir cells. One of the biggest obstacles in treating patients with HIV is the establishment of these reservoirs that resist treatment, said the principal investigator of Brigham Young University. Previous research has shown that two other types of cells -- macrophages and latently infected CD4+ T-cells -- are reservoirs of HIV. It was suspected that FDCs also acted as HIV reservoirs, and this new study confirmed that suspicion.

SOURCE: HealthDay News, May 2008.

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 Thyroid Dysfunction Risks !

Silent Thyroid Dysfunction Has Risks: Study

People who have an underactive or overactive thyroid without symptoms appear to have a modestly increased risk of heart disease. The data suggest that silent or "subclinical" thyroid dysfunction "might represent a potentially modifiable -- albeit modest -- risk factor for coronary heart disease and mortality, said the researchers from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Their findings are based on pooled data from 12 studies identified through a search of MEDLINE (1950 to 2008). Ten of the studies involved population-based groups that included 14,449 subjects. All of the population-based studies examined the impact of subclinical hypothyroidism on heart disease and mortality, whereas only five looked at the effect of subclinical hyperthyroidism, the report indicates. The likelihood of coronary heart disease, heart-related death, and death from any cause was higher by 20 percent, 18 percent, and 12 percent, respectively, in subjects with an underactive thyroid without symptoms -- also referred to as subclinical hypothyroidism. People with an overactive thyroid but without symptoms (i.e., silent hyperthyroidism) had a 21 percent, 19 percent, and 12 percent greater odd, respectively, of heart disease, heart-related death, and death from any cause. The researchers said that studies are needed to determine the impact of treating these two conditions on heart disease risk.

SOURCE: Reuters Health, June 2008.

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 Cholesterol And Cancer Risk !

Cholesterol Lowering May Also Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

Men who keep their cholesterol down might also help lower their levels of prostate specific antigen, a protein that can warn of prostate cancer, a new study says. "Prostate cancer is controlled by the male hormone testosterone. The main molecule that forms testosterone is cholesterol," said an associate professor of urology at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. "So it is known that prostate cancer is related to testosterone, and testosterone is related to cholesterol." The study's inference is that by lowering cholesterol may also lower PSA, which in turn may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, the researcher said. For the study, researchers collected data on 1,214 men taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. The researchers found that PSA levels were lower after starting the statins, and the drop in PSA was proportional to the drop in cholesterol. The results of the study confirm those of a previous study that also found that lowering cholesterol lowered PSA, the researchers noted. If confirmed, the results of the new study would provide more evidence that cholesterol plays a role in the biology of the prostate, the researchers said. It's still not clear, however, whether lowering PSA with cholesterol-lowering drugs may actually hide developing prostate cancer, the researcher added.  The study author said that bringing down the PSA levels artificially does not mean necessarily decreasing the chance of developing prostate cancer. It might just bring the blood test reading down without reducing the risk of prostate cancer. In fact, someone could miss the prostate cancer, because the PSA readings are on the lower side.
SOURCE: HealthDay News, June 2008.

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 Pancreatic Cancer Alert !

Drug Combo Improves Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Outcomes

A combination therapy of gemcitabine, capecitabine and bevacizumab improves outcomes in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, according to a multi-center study led by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y. The study of 50 patients found that this combination treatment was well-tolerated by patients, was able to prevent tumors from progressing for almost six months, and improved median survival to 9.8 months. Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer -- one of the most deadly types of solid tumors -- have a median survival of six months after diagnosis. About 37,680 people in the United States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008. While gemcitabine and capecitabine have improved quality of life for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, they haven't led to a significant improvement in survival time, according to background information in the study. Bevacizumab, which reduces blood supply to tumor, has improved outcomes when added to chemotherapy for patients with colon, lung and breast cancers.
SOURCE: HealthDay News, June 2008.

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 Heel Test Predicts Risk !

Heel Test Reveals Osteoporosis Risk

A simple ultrasound test of the heel might be a good way to predict which women are at highest risk for the bone thinning disease osteoporosis. It could also help determine which women don’t have to worry about developing the condition. Swiss researchers tested the method, known as heel-bone quantitative ultrasound (QUS), in about 6,000 women between the ages of 70 and 85 with no formal diagnosis of osteoporosis. Results of the ultrasound were then combined with typical risk factors for osteoporosis such as age, history of fractures or a recent fall. Women were then classified at a higher or lower risk for the disease. About three-fourths of the women fell into the higher risk category. The women were followed for up to 32 months. While about six percent of women in the higher risk group experienced a fracture during follow up, fractures were seen in just under two percent of those in the lower risk group. Among women who developed hip fractures, 90 percent were in the higher risk group. The authors believe the test could be a good way to identify women who could benefit from more complex screening – as well as a good way to tell which women can avoid the additional test. Heel QUS in conjunction with clinical risk factors can be used to identify a population at a very low fracture probability in which no further diagnostic evaluation may be necessary, said the study author.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire, June 2008.

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New Products of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
  Product Neurolep®Solution
  Generic Name Piracetam BP
  Strength 500 mg/5 ml
  Dosage form Solution
  Therapeutic Category Neuroleptic
  Product Timotor®  
Generic Name

Trimebutine Maleate INN
Strength 100 mg
Dosage form Tablet
Therapeutic Category Antispasmodic
  Product Nectar ®
  Generic Name Glycerol BP + Liquid Sugar Pharma Grade
  Strength (o.75 + 1.93 ml)/5 ml
  Dosage form Linctus
  Therapeutic Category Other Cough and Cold Preparation

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