Facebook ads spreading misinformation about anti-HIV drugs

Using Facebooks and Instagrams targeted advertising programs, various law firms are attempting to recruit gay and bisexual men who use Truvada PrEP as an HIV preventative to join a lawsuit, claiming that the drug has caused harmful side effects in this patient population, specifically bone density and kidney issues.

San Francisco: Fake ads on Facebook are spreading rumours about the ill-effect of anti-HIV drugs, targeting LGBTQ Facebook and Instagram users and are causing significant harm to public health, a non-profit organization GLAAD has written in a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

"We are urgently reaching out to Facebook and Instagram regarding factually inaccurate advertisements which suggest negative health effects of Truvada PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). ....read more

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Healthcare News Monitor

FDA panel votes unanimously in favor of Horizons thyroid eye disease drug

ET Healthworld- Reuters

Independent advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday voted unanimously in favor of Horizon Therapeutics Plcs experimental treatment for active thyroid eye disease, taking the drug closer towards potential approval. If approved, teprotumumab, a type of immunotherapy, is expected to become a standard of care for the vision-threatening autoimmune disorder, which currently has no approved therapies. The panel voted 12-0, when asked if the treatments benefits outweighed its risks considering it caters to an unmet need. Thyroid eye disease usually occurs in people with Graves disease, an immune system disorder that results in overproduction of thyroid hormones. TED begins with an active phase that may last for up to three years, after which damage to the eyes can be irreversible. With the FDAs blessing, Horizon will be able to tap into a market with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 patients suffering from moderate to severe forms of the disease. The addition of teprotumumab, which analysts expect could bring in U.S. sales of over $700 million at peak, is expected to expand Horizons best-performing unit that made up nearly three-quarters of its revenue in the latest reported quarter.

FDA approves first fish-oil drug for cutting cardiac risks

ET Healthworld- AP

U.S. regulators on Friday approved expanded use of a fish oil-based drug for preventing serious heart complications in high-risk patients already taking cholesterol-lowering pills. Vascepa was approved years ago for people with sky-high triglycerides, a type of fat in blood. The Food and Drug Administration allowed its use in a far bigger group of adults with high, but less extreme, triglyceride levels who have multiple risk factors such as heart disease and diabetes. In patient testing, it reduced risks of potentially deadly complications including heart attacks and strokes about 25%. Amarin, the drugs maker, set a list price of $303.65 per month. What patients pay will vary by insurance, and Amarin said it will offer financial help. The Irish drugmaker estimates the new approval makes Vascepa, which is pronounced vas-EE-puh and also is called icosapent ethyl, appropriate for up to 15 million U.S. patients.

Patna: Medanta Jaiprabha hospital may get ready before February

ET Healthworld- TNN

State health minister Mangal Pandey said on Friday that Medanta Jaiprabha Superspecialty Hospital at Kankarbagh is likely to be made operational either by last week of January or first week of February next year. The minister made an announcement in this regard at a press meet he jointly addressed with Dr Naresh Trehan, chairman and managing director of Gurugram-based Medanta-The Medicity. Medanta has been working on a contract to develop a superspecialty hospital at the erstwhile Jayprabha hospital here. “The state government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Medanta group to build the upcoming Medanta Jaiprabha Superspecialty Hospital. While a part of the hospital with 100 beds will be ready either by last week of January or first week of February, the entire hospital with 300 beds and all superspecialty services is targeted to be ready by August 15 next year,” Pandey said, adding that 25% of the beds will be reserved for the poor people. “Payments would be made as per rates of the Central Government Health Scheme. Also, all beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat scheme will get treatment at subsidized rates here,” he said.

Dehradun: Doctors construct food pipe of 1-year-old

ET Healthworld- Ishita Mishra

Paediatrics at Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital constructed a major portion of the food pipe of a one-year-old boy who was born without it. In the six-hour-long esophageal atresia operation, doctors used the skin of his stomach to construct the food pipe, which they claim would grow with age. The boy Zaid, son of Azad Colony-resident Aayat Ahmed, was earlier being fed via artificial pipe for almost a year. In medical terms, his condition is called “Pure-Esopahgeal Atresia”. A team of experts led by Dr Madhukar Maletha performed the operation on Zaid. “When Zaid’s mother tried to feed him milk for the first time, he couldn’t gulp it. The initial investigation revealed that the baby was born without food pipe. Ordinarily, food pipe-related diseases impact one in every 3,500 babies,” said Dr Maletha who added that Zaid’s case was even more critical as a major portion of the food pipe was not there in the body and hence the food pipe was made right from the throat till the stomach. Besides his own team of surgeons, nurses, and paramedics, Dr Maletha also congratulated parents and family of Zaid who prevented him from infections.