Nature Medicine | Spoonful of Medicine

The Daily Dose – Friday Flashback

Yesterday doesn’t seem so far away when there are updates right in front of you. Here’s the latest on a few stories we’ve been following.


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— Those superstar statins we featured in February seem to have more side effects than previously thought. A study of more than 2 million people in the UK revealed an increased risk of liver dysfunction, renal failure, myopathy, and cataracts across five types of drug. The authors emphasize the need to develop networks for further monitoring of side effects. (Reuters)

— Our feature from January of last year looked at the possibility that genetics may predispose individuals to infectious disease. Now, researchers have identified five risk variants in the CISH gene, claiming that just one of these variants can increase the risk of contracting either malaria or tuberculosis by 18%. Having four or five of these variants, the study estimates, can increase the risk of either disease by more than 80%. (Reuters)

— Counterfeit medicines, our April news focus, are generating controversy — but not in the way you’d expect. Much like the dispute we covered in Uganda, some are concerned that the fight against counterfeits has also become a war on drugs that are off-patent in certain countries. India and Thailand called on the World Health Organization earlier this week to dissolve its International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force because of potential conflicts of interest that would target generics. (Pharmalot)

— Personal genetic tests are inching their way closer to the mainstream, even with disputes over patents and accuracy, as we’ve covered. But last week, Pathway Genetics halted plans to make its test kit available at Walgreens stores; the US Food and Drug Administration and Congress both showed concern over safety. And now, Counsyl Genetics says it will no longer provide its prenatal carrier-screening test without physician permission. (GenomeWeb)

Image by LittleMissPip via Flickr Creative Commons

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