http://bmartinmd.com/ For the love of disease. en Copyright 2012 Wed, 16 May 2012 08:53:45 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification A remarkable, unprecedented development. Roche's anti-amyloid MAb, crenezumab (for which there are no entries at PubMed—!), will be given in an attempt to stave off familial Alzheimer disease. According to Reuters and the NYT, the experimental drug will be studied... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/novel-antiamyloid-mab-pre-ad.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/novel-antiamyloid-mab-pre-ad.html Neurology Neuropsychiatry Pharma Alzheimer's disease Wed, 16 May 2012 08:53:45 -0600 The FDA has revised its recommendations for cardiovascular monitoring after the initiation of Gilenya (fingolimod), Novartis's oral drug for relapsing-remitting MS. The new recommendations, which extend the post-dosage monitoring for bradycardia from 6 to 24 hours, are based on the... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/fda-extends-gilenya-monitoring.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/fda-extends-gilenya-monitoring.html Cardiology FDA Neurology Neuropsychiatry multiple sclerosis Tue, 15 May 2012 07:52:01 -0600 This morning, the FDA has finally stepped in and is warning healthcare professionals and MS patients alike about death and other injuries associated with the so-called "liberation procedure" (ugh), which amounts to either angioplasty or stenting of (typically) jugular veins.... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/fda-warns-of-risks-with-liberation-procedure.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/fda-warns-of-risks-with-liberation-procedure.html Ethics FDA Neurology Neuropsychiatry multiple sclerosis Thu, 10 May 2012 09:58:26 -0600 For the Internet's edification, the phase 3 trials of MAbs in AD are tabulated by drug (bapineuzumab, solanezumab) and expected completion date. Although the phase 3 trial of bapineuzumab in APOE Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /*... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/phase-3-mab-trials-in-ad.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/phase-3-mab-trials-in-ad.html Neurology Neuropsychiatry Pharma Alzheimer's disease Thu, 03 May 2012 10:14:45 -0600 Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is neither common, nor more common, in patients with multiple sclerosis, say investigators at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. According to 2 preliminary reports presented at the recent annual meeting of... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/studies-fail-to-replicate-zamboni.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/05/studies-fail-to-replicate-zamboni.html Neurology Neuropsychiatry multiple sclerosis Wed, 02 May 2012 09:10:24 -0600 Small Town Murder Songs (2010): A heavy and heavily mustachioed Peter Stormare (the kidnapping guy from Fargo) plays Walter, a born-again cop who investigates the local murder of a stripper in his rural Canadian town. However, director Ed Gass-Donnelly places... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/kickback-friday-198.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/kickback-friday-198.html Kick-Back Friday Kick-Back Friday movies Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:59:50 -0600 http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/physicians-regret-career-choice.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/physicians-regret-career-choice.html Health care Media Medical education medical education Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:03:13 -0600 Law professor Mark Hall (Wake Forest) makes predictions in the latest NEJM about the Supreme Court's decision on the recently argued Affordable Care Act (ACA)—specifically with respect to the constitutionality of the individual insurance mandate. (Although frankly, anyone who's been... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/predicting-supremes-votes-aca.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/predicting-supremes-votes-aca.html Health care Legal Legislation healthcare reform PPACA Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:51:20 -0600 The use of Avid/Lilly's newly approved amyloid tracer, Amyvid, hinges on the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) during life. If the historic accuracy of a clinical diagnosis of AD is generally high—meaning the correlation... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/accuracy-clinical-diagnosis-alzheimer.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/accuracy-clinical-diagnosis-alzheimer.html Neurology Neuropsychiatry Alzheimer's disease amyloid Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:56:04 -0600 Much to my disquiet, the FDA approved Amyvid (florbetapir), an amyloid imaging agent, late last Friday. The radiolabeled tag for amyloid-beta, which is intended to be used with PET scanning, latches onto the stuff of neuritic plaques in the brains... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/fda-approves-amyvid.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/fda-approves-amyvid.html FDA Neurology Neuropsychiatry Pharma Alzheimer's disease amyloid Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:49:04 -0600 And at least one questionable wholesaler, Thomas Houghton through his UK-based River East Supplies, appears to be involved in both the February and most recent transactions.The WSJ traces the route of fake Avastin that cropped up in the United States... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/wsj-traces-murky-path-of-fake-avastin.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/wsj-traces-murky-path-of-fake-avastin.html FDA Legal Oncology Pharma Avastin pharma Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:43:14 -0600 From the FDA. The facts (ma'am):A counterfeit version of bevacizumab, disguised as Roche's Altuzan—a brand that is approved in Turkey but not the United States—was recently discovered.The product "contained no active ingredient," although the agency didn't reveal what it did... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/more-counterfeit-avastin-pops-up.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/more-counterfeit-avastin-pops-up.html FDA Legal Oncology counterfeit drugs FDA Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:23:40 -0600 With an emphasis on "may." Newly published post-hoc data from bapineuzumab's phase 2 studies indicate that the anti-amyloid MAb reduces CSF levels of tau—a traditional downstream marker of neurodegeneration in AD (as well as in similar diseases). These data appear... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/antiamyloid-mab-may-affect-tau.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/antiamyloid-mab-may-affect-tau.html Neurology Neuropsychiatry Pharma Alzheimer's disease amyloid Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:17:12 -0600 Presumably powered on expectations about bapineuzumab and its phase 3 results—which are expected to be released later this year (possibly at the AAIC in mid-July). But see Adam Fuerstein's article of March 19th for an appropriate, cautionary reminder.Bapineuzumab, an anti-amyloid... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/runup-on-elan-continues.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/04/runup-on-elan-continues.html Neurology Neuropsychiatry Pharma Alzheimer's disease amyloid Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:20:25 -0600 The Guard (2011): John Michael McDonough, brother of Martin, directs the outstanding Irish character actor Brendan Gleeson in a wry, self-aware homage to the provincial Irish cop, or Garda. Gleeson is a highly unconventional officer who partners up with a... http://bmartinmd.com/2012/03/kickback-friday-197.html http://bmartinmd.com/2012/03/kickback-friday-197.html Kick-Back Friday Kick-Back Friday movie Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:24:49 -0600