Lancet
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Unrelieved pain from cancer and HIV/AIDS is a substantial worldwide public-health problem. Inadequate pain relief is partly due to excessively strict national drug-control policies that constrain medical use of essential medicines such as morphine. ⋯ The Romanian parliament has adopted a new law that will simplify prescribing requirements and allow modern pain management. Achievement of adequate pain relief is a vital part of worldwide health and will be dependent on reform of antidrug regulations in many countries.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Efficacy and effectiveness of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine versus artesunate-mefloquine in falciparum malaria: an open-label randomised comparison.
Artemisinin-based combinations are judged the best treatments for multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Artesunate-mefloquine is widely recommended in southeast Asia, but its high cost and tolerability profile remain obstacles to widespread deployment. To assess whether dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a suitable alternative to artesunate-mefloquine, we compared the safety, tolerability, efficacy, and effectiveness of the two regimens for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum in western Myanmar (Burma). ⋯ Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a highly efficacious and inexpensive treatment of multidrug-resistant falciparum malaria and is well tolerated by all age groups. The effectiveness of the unsupervised treatment, as in the usual context of use, equalled its supervised efficacy, indicating good adherence without supervision. Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a good alternative to artesunate-mefloquine.
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Biography Historical Article
US physician-senator Bill Frist disappoints on health.