Baby boomers who have experimented with drugs in their youth, had a blood transfusion or a tattoo, are being advised to consider having a test for hepatitis C. Around 1,000 people in Forth Valley are thought to be unaware they have the virus, with the highest number believed to be in the 50 to 60 [...]
New research from the University of Birmingham has shown that flu vaccinations are more effective when administered in the morning. The findings, published in the journal Vaccine, suggest administering vaccinations in the morning, rather than the afternoon, could induce greater, and thus more protective, antibody responses. 24 general practices in the West Midlands, UK, were analysed [...]
Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW) has elected a new Chair and Vice-Chair for the forthcoming year. At its annual meeting, CPW board members elected Pembrokeshire pharmacist Phil Parry as its new Chair, a post he held for some for some 12 years prior to 2009. Phil owns and is superintendent of Drigarn Cyf which operates as [...]
Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), in partnership with colleagues at the University of Glasgow, have published the first mixed-methods study examining awareness and acceptability of a drug which prevents HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the use of antiretroviral medication by HIV negative people to reduce [...]
Calls are ongoing for Northern Ireland to follow Scotland’s lead in which Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) payments are going into a new medicines fund that covers treatments for rare and end-of-life conditions, the Belfast Telegraph reports. Implemented in 2014, the PPRS enables the pharmaceutical sector to make payments to the government depending on the [...]
A recent paper in the journal, Analytical Chemistry, by Nottingham University PhD student, Andreea Iuraş and colleagues from the LBSA in the School of Pharmacy and AstraZeneca has demonstrated a new method for detecting and mapping the physical form of a drug. Using time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS) on amorphous and crystallized forms of a number [...]
A pharmacist from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Lyn Watt, was part of a regional steering group which developed the guidance and a new e-learning tool to help midwives understand their responsibilities in terms of medicines management. Midwives and Medicines (NI) aims to give midwives up-to-date information on the latest medicines and legislation [...]
Patients receiving cancer treatment could increase their chance of survival by up to 20 per cent and help stop their cancer from spreading by taking a low-dose of aspirin, new Cardiff University research suggests. In a systematic review of the available scientific literature a team from the university’s School of Medicine found a significant reduction [...]
PSNC has urged David Cameron to reconsider his plans for community pharmacy after the Prime Minister told MPs that he wanted to see value for money from the sector following massive increases in spending. The Prime Minister’s comments followed a question from Sue Hayman, Labour MP for Workington, who asked whether the government would support [...]
Older adults might want to avoid a using class of drugs commonly used in over-the-counter products such as nighttime cold medicines due to their links to cognitive impairment, a research team led by scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine has recommended. Using brain imaging techniques, the researchers found lower metabolism and reduced brain sizes among [...]
