ppp 04-02-07

Quote of the day: Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical.

Yogi Berra (1925 - )

Spring is in the air and baseball season is about to start in earnest. The grapefruit league has wound down, rosters have been set and you can almost smell the hot dogs. Opening day is the best day to see a ball game because the players are all excited to start even in the race for that World Series ring, the seats aren't sticky yet and the hot dogs have not been reheated!

Brian Harper, a catcher at the time for the World Series Champion Minnesota Twins, was putting on a baseball clinic one Saturday at the Metrodome. Brian was notorious while at bat for stringing the count out and making the pitchers "come to him". While he did give the kids a few good playing pointers he said something that was even more important about how to approach the game. He took an extra 30 minutes of batting practice before each game.. Why? The practice gave him at least one "extra" pitch for each at bat if he could at least make contact. That one pitch could mean one more hit per game. That hit could lead to one more base runner and even one more run per game. Another run….maybe another win per series. That "extra" series per season could lead to a playoff birth. One more playoff game might mean a pennant. One more pennant could lead to one more ring..

Brian's point was to strive to do your best in everything you do each day, the little things and the big ones, and you, and those who depend upon you, will prosper. How about you? Will helping out one more "customer" (nurse, pharmacist, doctor, patient) with your best efforts change the course of history? No. But it make make a big difference for that one person. Do that consistently and pretty soon there are literally hundreds of people out there who are better off due to your everyday efforts. This may not win you the World Series but could just score some points in the "Otherworld Series"… the one beyond this life and the one that really counts!

pps. Occasionally, some of the links require FREE registration.... I'm sure you can handle THAT slight inconvenience.

Zelnorm is being taken off of the market due to safety concerns (serious cardiovascular effects). This has been used in women only for constipation predominant irritable bowel syndrome. No more young women with writing on their bellies for you!

Pergolide (permax), used against parkinson's disease in combination with other drugs, is being voluntarily withdrawn from the market due to heart valve problems. This was not a fastball but a slider. Will be withdrawn over time so that patients can switch to other therapies. Abrupt discontinuation is to be AVOIDED for safety reasons.

FDA wants more data on rimonabant (Acomplia) before considering for approval. This "superpill" was to cut obesity, aid in smoking cessation, and increase "good" cholesterol.

New drug does not have a name yet but Pfizer is banking on this new eye medication, for galaucoma- which causes blindness. I once saw the organist thrown out of a baseball game… he played "Three Blind Mice" and the ump pointed at him and gave "the sign"!

Patients balk at taking their medications as prescribed. About half of patients with chronic diseases do not take their medications and researchers are baffled. I expect side effects would be a common reason; if the drugs make you throw up or impotent then "It just ain't gonna happen" will flash through the patient's mind. Denial of disease is another place to look (those daily pills are a reminer that things aren't right). Interestingly, medications costs were not even considered (I guess Part D is doing its job).

6) It's a Long fly ball. It's back… it's back….. caught on the warning track!

Merck quits new insomnia trials after investing a lot of time, money and effort into it's research. Most dangerous side effect was tachycardia, an increase in heart rate. Patients also reported dizziness, headaches, hallucinations and vomiting. Would YOU be compliant?

Merck just won FDA approval of Janumet which combines two marketed antidiabetic drugs into one pill. Don't expect them to bring home the pennant with this one. I expect that this will not catch on and will be scrapped in about 3 years.

Disclaimer: "Pepin's Pharmaceutical Prattle" (AKA "The Prattle") is the property of PHARMWORKS, LLC and Steven M. Pepin, Pharm. D, BCPS. The opinions expressed are those of the bald-headed author. To start or stop any drug without the advice and supervision of your physician would be stupid. So don't do anything based upon what you read here without professional advice. To be added to or removed from the distribution list please e-mail your request to spepin@pharmworks.com . All insightful comments from readers are thoughtfully considered (the rest are callously discarded). Copyright 1998-2007 PHARMWORKS, LLC all rights reserved.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------