ppp 08-21-06

Quote of the day: Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning. George Carlin (1937 - )

We are now in the hottest part of the year. This is also when practice begins for Fall sports; specifically Soccer and football. "Two a days" are common (morning practice, break, afternoon practice) and separates those in shape from those about to be in shape. Coaches need to be medically informed as well as mentally tough. The biggest danger is not the stiff, swollen muscles or the blisters… it is dehydration. This can happen in any climate but worst in hot weather. The Minnesota Viking lost a played to heat a few years ago and have changed how the practice. Players can lose more thas 10 pounds in a session if they are not hydrating. Water or sports drinks? Whatever goes down. A study showed that kids were more likely to drink more of the flavored drinks than water but either is just fine. You may wish to "load up" on water before the first practice of the day and pound the water in between. Ibuprofen and other NSAIDS can cause reduced renal function. Taking the drugs while dehydrated would be expected to aggravate the situation. So make sure you are producing "clear and copious" amounts of urine before medicating with the pain killers. If you stop sweating you are in major trouble- not just dehydration but heat stroke., Know the difference between heat prostration and heat stroke…. http://www.umm.edu/non_trauma/dehyrat.htm Stay cools and bottoms up!

ps. Best answer this week to the question "How are you?" was "Gargantu-a-tabulous"

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

TEVA is shipping sertraline (generic for Zoloft). While you may see a modest initial saving the real money happens in about 6 months when other companies can join the fray and drive prices lower.

FDA drug directory lists tens of thousands of drugs that are no longer available but missed a mere 9,000 of the drugs actively marketed.

(They could always contact First Data Bank for an accurate list … or I have Fridays available if they want to do it on the cheap).

MK-0518 (not exactly a catchy name for a drug) can be given to HIV patients who have exhausted all other treatments. The drug acts through a different mechanism than others. The drug is in the "late stages" of investigation so it make soon get a real name!

4) State worries about compliance when they see how much money they could save.

In days gone by States (and other payers) looked the other way on non-compliance because they thought they were saving money on prescription drugs. Now they realize that non-compliant patients get sicker and cost them even more money.

FDA wants to again allow testing of drugs on prison inmates. With a slowing of volunteerism and acceleration of drugs requiring testing this may make sense. It allows inmates to earn some money and helps address the shortage of "normal" volunteers. It also gives the inmates something to do besides watch TV and exercise.

Website now lists the top 100 drugs and generics to assist seniors in shopping for drugs. This is especially important for those who fell into the "donut hole".

Not just a line from the a new action movie but something that should happen when a AED(automated external defibrillator) is employed. A recent JAMA article is elaborated upon by the FDA. While I am all for quality…. having the devices so readily available has save many lives. Now we can work on making sure that they work all of the time.

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