FINAL RULE BANS CERTAIN OTC COUGH-COLD COMBINATION DRUGS
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule banning
over-the-counter combination oral drug products that pair a bronchodilator
with an analgesic, analgesic-antipyretic, anticholinergic, antihistamine,
antitussive or stimulant active ingredient.
BREAST CANCER MORTALITY IS NOT INCREASED IN HRT USERS
Women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are at increased
risk of developing breast cancer, but they are not more likely to
die from the disease than women who do not take HRT.
Final Rule Bans Certain OTC Cough-Cold Combination Drugs
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) Sept 26 - The US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) issued on Wednesday a final rule banning over-the-counter
combination oral drug products that pair a bronchodilator with an
analgesic, analgesic-antipyretic, anticholinergic, antihistamine,
antitussive or stimulant active ingredient.
The agency said that it knows of no currently marketed OTC drugs
that meet that description.
Oral bronchodilator active ingredients include ephedrine and related
substances. The FDA has in the past voiced strong concerns about
weight-loss dietary supplements that combine ephedrine/ephedra with
stimulants like caffeine. The new rule while applying only to
cough, cold and allergy drugs serves to fortify the agency's position
that such ingredient combinations may be unsafe.
The final rule will take effect 30 days after its scheduled publication
in Thursday's Federal Register. It is part of the FDA's ongoing
review of OTC products.
Breast Cancer Mortality Is Not Increased in HRT Users
LONDON (Reuters Health) Sept 21 - Women who take hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) are at increased risk of developing breast cancer,
but they are not more likely to die from the disease than women
who do not take HRT, doctors said on Thursday.
Dr R. Prasad and colleagues from University Hospital South Manchester
told the 7th Nottingham International Breast Cancer Conference that
prior HRT use does not adversely affect the breast cancer survival
rates in women.
The researchers studied 589 patients diagnosed with first-incident
screen-detected breast cancer between 1991 and 1997. Of these, 417
had never used HRT, while 172 had. The node status and tumour size
did not differ between HRT users and non-users.
At 10-year follow-up, Dr. Prasad and colleagues found that 91%
of those who used HRT were still alive after 10 years compared with
88% of those who had never taken HRT.
"Overall, screen-detected cancers have good prognosis,"
Dr. Prasad told conference participants. "Prior HRT use does
not adversely affect survival after diagnosis of breast cancer."
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