Mulford Library Blog

A wide variety of safety information about prescription drugs can now be accessed though a single FDA Web page , Postmarket Drug Safety Information for Patients and Providers.

Links are provided in these areas:
* Drug labeling, including patient labeling, professional labeling, and patient package inserts
* Drugs that have a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) to ensure that their benefits outweigh their risks
* A searchable database of postmarket studies that are required from, or agreed to by, drug companies to provide the FDA with additional information about a drug’s safety, efficacy, or optimal use
* Clinicaltrials.gov, a searchable database of clinical trials, including information about each trial’s purpose, who may participate, locations, and useful phone numbers
* Drug-specific safety information, including safety sheets with the latest information about the drug as well as related FDA press announcements, fact sheets, and drug safety podcasts
* Quarterly reports that list certain drugs that are being evaluated for potential safety issues, based on a review of information in the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS)
* Warning Letters, Import Alerts, Recalls, Market Withdrawals, and Safety Alerts
* Regulations and guidance documents
* Consumer information about using medications safely and disposing of unused medicines
* Instructions how to report problems to the FDA through its MedWatch program
* Consumer articles on drug safety
* The FDA’s response to the Institute of Medicine’s 2006 report on the future of drug safety.

Please do not hesitate to contact Mulford Reference Assistance if there are any questions or if we may be of further assistance.

This year’s edition, according to a recent press release, covers a wide array of laboratory, human studies, and observational studies.
The bibliography provides a snapshot of basic, observational, clinical, and translational research published on dietary supplements, citations where these papers appeared, and funding sources. Among the findings reported in the 2007 bibliography are:

** the role of vitamins in the management of risk for venous thromboembolism
**folic acid on hearing loss in adults
**omega-3 fatty acids in the management of risk for type 1 diabetes
**genistein on bone mineral density
**and botanicals in the management of risk factors for diabetes.

Earlier bibliographies may be found here.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Mulford Reference Assistance.

This week marks the first meeting of the Neuroethics Society, attended 200 academic researchers, students, lawyers, and others gathered in Washington, DC.
Among the issues being discussed--

** Should drugs be used to enhance IQ?
** Have advances in brain studies shown that free will does not exits?
** Are large number of US children being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder,and then being treated with drugs that could impair their ability later on to inhibit their problem behavior?
**Should brain powers be enhanced with drugs (as Ritalin)
**Is it ethical to treat PTSD with beta blockers (which seem to reduce the emotional intensity of memories)?

For further assistance, please contact Mulford Reference Assistance.

The Nature Publishing Group has recently posted a useful set of links to a range of scientific and biomedical resources. 

The present fourteen (14) titles include –

*Nature Protocol -an online resource for protocols, including authoritative, peer-reviewed ‘Nature Protocols’ and an interactive ‘Protocols Network’. The two create a dynamic forum for scientists to upload and comment on protocols.

 *Signaling Gateway -designed to facilitate navigation of the complex world of research into cellular signaling. Information and data presented here are freely available to all. It is powered by the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC).

*Nature Reports Avian Flu - A regularly updated collection of research advances, news and background information on avian flu and the H5N1 virus, with the associated Avian Flu blog

*Pathway Interactions Database -An authoritative, peer-reviewed database of signaling pathways in human cells. The database is a collaboration between the U.S. National Cancer Institute and NPG.

*Structural Genomics Database  - Research data and resources from the Protein Structure Initiative, complemented with structural biology updates from Nature Publishing Group.

*Nature Reports Climate Change - covers the news behind the science and the science behind the news of global climate change

*Pathway Interaction Database - An authoritative, peer-reviewed database of signaling pathways in human cells. The database is a collaboration between the U.S. National Cancer Institute and NPG.

Please do not hesitate to contact Mulford Reference Assistance for further information or assistance with your informational and research needs.

A recent pilot study suggests that Lifestyle Changes May Affect Cell-Level Processes Related to Disease.

Positive lifestyle changes seem to include:
* Improved nutrition (a very low-fat diet supplemented with soy, fish oil, selenium, and vitamins C and E)
* Moderate aerobic exercise
* Stress management (yoga, breathing, meditation, imagery, and progressive relaxation techniques)
* Increased social support.

However, the researchers emphasize that additional research is needed and recommend larger randomized controlled trials to confirm the findings.

This study was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Please do not hesitate to contact Mulford Reference Assistance for further information.

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recently launched a patient safety exchange site which focuses on improving the quality and safety of medical care for patients with metabolic and endocrine disorders. Their goal is to reduce medical errors as the practice of medicine becomes more comples. Although the website is targeted to the endocrinologist and other health care professionals, the public is welcome.

Practical information that is central to improving patient safety may be found in the following areas:
• Case studies
• Editorials
• Library (citations to books and articles by topic)
• Webcasts by experts in the field
• Current News
• Interactive Ask the Experts area

Please do not hesitate to contact Mulford Reference Assistance if there are any questions or if we may be of further assistance.