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Experts Disagree On Whether Healthy People Should Take Brain Boosting Drugs
It is unethical to stop healthy people from taking methylphenidate (Ritalin) to enhance their mental performance, says John Harris, Professor of Bioethics at the University of Manchester, in an article published on bmj.com today. He adds that society "ought to want [enhancement]" and that "it is not rational to be against human enhancement."
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Pre-chewed Food Could Transmit HIV
Researchers have uncovered the first cases in which HIV almost certainly was transmitted from mothers or other caregivers to children through pre-chewed food. The of HIV in the pre-chewed food was most likely the infected blood in the saliva of the people who pre-chewed the food before giving it to the children. The researchers said their findings suggest that HIV-infected mothers or other caregivers should be warned against giving infants pre-chewed food and directed toward safer feeding options.
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Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry - Highlights Regulatory Shortcomings And Need For A Strong, Effective Patent System In Europe
EFPIA, the voice of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, acknowledged publication of today"s final European Commission report into the pharmaceutical sector. It demonstrated a welcome shift away from the emotive language of the interim report, with a better balanced, more holistic view of the issues facing the sector. The final report identifies the numerous regulatory obstacles that need to be addressed to achieve more efficient innovative and off-patent pharmaceutical markets to the benefit of consumers and patients.
Public Health

Sedatives May Increase Suicide Risk In Older Patients

Sleeping tablets have been associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the elderly. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Geriatrics have shown that, even after adjusting for the presence of psychiatric conditions, sedatives and hypnotics were both associated with an increased risk of suicide. Anders Carlsten and Margda Waern from Gothenburg University carried out a case control study to determine whether specific types of psychoactive drugs were associated with suicide risk in later life. According to Carlsten, "Sedative treatment was associated with an almost fourteen-fold increase of suicide risk in the crude analyses and remained an independent risk factor for suicide even after adjustment for the presence of mental disorders. Having a current prescription for a hypnotic was associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the adjusted model". The researchers speculate that the drugs may raise suicide risk by triggering aggressive or impulsive behavior, or by providing the means for people to take an overdose. They also point out the possibility that these drugs may merely be markers for some other factor related to suicide risk, such as somatic illness, functional disability, alcohol use disorder, interpersonal problems, lack of social network or sleep disturbance. Carlsten said, "Persons with these problems might be more likely to seek health care and perhaps more likely to receive prescriptions for psychotropic drugs. However, given the extremely high prescription rates for these drugs, a careful evaluation of the suicide risk should always precede prescribing a sedative or hypnotic to an elderly individual". Reference: Are sedatives and hypnotics associated with increased suicide risk in the elderly? Anders Carlsten and Margda Waern BMC Geriatrics (in press) http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcgeriatr/ Graeme Baldwin BioMed Central


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