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British Public Putting Their Eyesight At Risk
- Nearly two thirds (59%) of the British public are neglecting
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Pennsylvania Secretary Of Health Urges Pennsylvanians To Get Immunized
Department of Health Secretary Everette James stressed the importance of immunizations in observance of National Immunization Awareness Month.
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Arizona, North Carolina Legislatures Take Action On Abortion, Sex Education Measures
The following summarizes news coverage on women"s health-related legislation in Arizona and North Carolina. ~ Arizona: The Arizona Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee on Wednesday voted 4-3 to approve a bill (S.B. 1206) that would place several restrictions on abortion rights and allow pharmacists or other health care providers to refuse to distribute emergency contraception based on religious or moral objections, the AP/Arizona Daily Star reports. The state House passed an identical bill in March. The measure would impose a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortion procedures and mandate that doctors inform women about risks and alternatives. It also would toughen an exisiting parental consent requirement for minors seeking abortion. The bill requires an in-person consultation before the 24-hour waiting period, which would increase costs for women who are forced to travel to a clinic twice, according to Planned Parenthood of Arizona President Bryan Howard. The Legislature approved bills with similar restrictions in recent years, but the measures were vetoed by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano (D). Current Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has said she supports mandatory disclosures and a 24-hour waiting period (Billeaud, AP/Arizona Daily Star, 6/10).~ North Carolina: The North Carolina Senate Mental Health and Youth Services Committee this week approved a bill (S. 221) that would require all public school systems to offer information on the use of contraceptives to students in grades seven through nine, the AP/Raleigh News & Observer reports. The information would be presented as part of a larger reproductive health education program that would maintain the abstinence-only education curricula currently taught at nearly all of the state"s 115 school districts. Parents would be permitted to prevent children from participating in the classes with contraceptive information. The measure is a revised version of state House-approved legislation (H.B. 88) that would have required schools to teach two separate abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education tracks. If the full state Senate passes the new bill, the two chambers will meet to negotiate a compromise (Robertson, AP/Raleigh News & Observer, 6/11).
Nutrition

Early Combination Of Enbrel(R) (etanercept) And Methotrexate Halts Radiographic Progression In 90% Of Patients During Second Year Of The COMET Study

New data presented this week during the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Meeting in Copenhagen demonstrated that sustained combination therapy (etanercept and methotrexate) was consistently superior to continuous methotrexate monotherapy in providing clinical remission and radiographic non-progression over two years in patients with early active rheumatoid arthritis.1 These new data add to the body of evidence supporting the benefits of early intervention with a biologic treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The new data from the COMET (COmbination of Methotrexate and ETanercept in Active Early Rheumatoid Arthritis) study show the percentage of patients in clinical remission after two years was significantly greater in the continued combination therapy (EM/EM) and delayed combination therapy groups (M/EM), than in the continued methotrexate monotherapy group (M/M) - 57% and 58% vs 35% (pNotes The COMET study The COMET study (COmbination of Methotrexate and ETanercept in Active Early Rheumatoid Arthritis) is a 24 month, randomized, double blind, two period study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of etanercept and methotrexate and methotrexate alone in subjects with early rheumatoid arthritis. The study compared the clinical efficacy and safety of etanercept and methotrexate combination therapy with methotrexate alone, in patients with early active rheumatoid arthritis1. After one year, the original combination group either continued combination (EM/EM; n=111) or received etanercept monotherapy (EM/E; n=111); the original methotrexate monotherapy group either received combination (M/EM; n=90) or continued monotherapy (M/M; n=99). About Enbrel2 ENBREL is a fully human soluble tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor antagonist. ENBREL was first approved in the UK in 2000 for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and has since been used in nearly 500,000 patients worldwide across indications. Enbrel in combination with methotrexate is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adults when the response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, including methotrexate (unless contraindicated), has been inadequate. Enbrel can be given as monotherapy in case of intolerance to methotrexate or when continued treatment with methotrexate is inappropriate. Enbrel is also indicated in the treatment of severe, active and progressive rheumatoid arthritis in adults not previously treated with methotrexate. Enbrel, alone or in combination with methotrexate, has been shown to reduce the rate of progression of joint damage as measured by X-ray and to improve physical function. References 1. Emery P. et al. Clinical remission and inhibition of radiographic progression with combination ENBREL-methotrexate therapy versus monotherapy in active, early rheumatoid arthritis: 2-year results from the COMET trial. Abstract OP-0149 from the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual European Congress, 10-13 June 2009. 2. Enbrel® Summary of Product Characteristics, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, www.medicines.org.uk 3. NICE Clinical Guideline 79. Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adults. February 2009 Wyeth


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