Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
FDA OKs Pneumonia Vaccine for Older Adults
A vaccine against pneumonia that's already received U.S. Food
and Drug Administration approval for use in children is getting
that approval expanded to adults aged 50 and older, the agency
announced Friday.
"It is estimated that approximately 300,000 adults 50 years of age and older are hospitalized yearly because of pneumococcal pneumonia," Dr. Karen Midthun, director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in an agency statement. "Pneumococcal disease is a substantial cause of illness and death. Today's approval provides an additional vaccine for preventing pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive disease in this age group."
Prevnar 13 is already sanctioned for use in children aged 6
weeks through 5 years for the prevention of infection with multiple
strains of
Streptococcus pneumoniae and for ear infections (otitis
media) that the bacteria can cause.
FDA's approval of Prevnar 13 for older adults was based on
studies conducted in the United States and Europe involving 6,000
people aged 50 and older. Participants received either Prevnar 13
or a pneumococcal vaccine already approved for this age group,
called Pneumovax 23.
Approval of Prevnar 13 for older adults is conditional on
post-marketing trials aimed at confirming the anticipated clinical
benefit, the agency said.
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Durezol vs. Durasal: FDA Warns of Drug Name Mix-Up
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is telling consumers to
watch out for any potential mix-up between prescription eye drops
and a common wart-removing medication that bear similar names.
According to a warning letter issued this week from the agency,
at least one patient has been seriously injured after being given a
bottle of the wart remedy Durasal instead of the eye drops called
Durezol. And there have been other reports of confusion between the
two similarly named but drastically different drugs.
Health care practitioners have also complained to the agency
about the similarity between the two drug names, the FDA said.
Although the FDA routinely screens drug names as part of its
approval process, the wart remover Durasal was never required to go
through the approval process. According to
ABC News, the label on the medication does include the warning "NOT FOR USE IN EYES."
"Health care professionals and patients are encouraged to scrutinize packaging and labeling information carefully," the FDA said.
Elorac Inc., the Illinois-based distributor of Durasal, has not
yet responded to inquiries from the FDA regarding the removal of
the product from the marketplace or its recall, the agency
said.
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Los Angeles Voters to Decide on Condoms in Sex Films
Los Angeles residents will have an opportunity during the June
presidential primaries to cast a vote on another issue: whether the
use of condoms should be mandatory for actors in the area's sex
film industry.
According to
The New York Times, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has long been pushing lawmakers to enact such legislation, which would also include fees for inspections aimed at ensuring compliance. The group managed to collect more than 70,000 signatures, many more than were needed to get the measure onto the ballot.
Still, legal hurdles remain, the
Times said, with Los Angeles city attorney Carmen Trutanich
filing court papers saying that only the state of California would
have the authority to adopt the measure. And pornography industry
businessman Steven Hirsch, founder of Vivid Entertainment, called
such laws "unrealistic."
"People will just film elsewhere and take the jobs with them," he told the Times. "And what are they going to do, have condom police out and about patrolling the set?"
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