U.S. Pharmacist - December 2016

Issue: December 2016 • Archive

In This Edition		Featured Article		Featured CE
• Editor's Notebook • Counseling Pearls • It's the Law • Clinical Corner • TrendWatch • Educational Spotlight • Quick Poll – 21st Century Cures Act		Drug-Induced Liver Injury: An Overview This potentially fatal cause of liver disease is associated with certain medications and supplements.		Pharmacologic Management of HIV-Associated Wasting Syndrome The key goals are to promote weight gain and prevent further reduction of lean body mass.

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Editor's Notebook

Pathway to Provider Status

Medication adherence is the foundation of cost-effective healthcare.

Counseling Pearls

A Review of Diabetic Gastroparesis for the Community Pharmacist

This condition is often suspected in poorly controlled patients who present with nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal pain, early satiety, or postprandial fullness. Management involves blood glucose control, nutritional support, and prokinetic and antiemetic use.

Standards of Care for GERD

While symptoms are generally bothersome, if left untreated, they can become more than just a nuisance and cause serious complications. Lifestyle modifications and acid suppressants remain first-line treatment for GERD despite limited data.

It's the Law

Legal Aspects of Biosimilars

The introduction of these agents necessitates an understanding of FDA and state regulations.

Clinical Corner

Implications of Bariatric Surgery on Absorption of Nutrients and Medications

These procedures have increased significantly as a viable long-term treatment for severe obesity or obesity with certain comorbid conditions. Malabsorption of medications caused by surgical GI-tract changes is a potential problem.

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome

Chronic use of cannabis sometimes results in intractable nausea and vomiting. The only treatment that successfully resolves this condition is abstinence from cannabis, although haloperidol is being studied as a potential option.

TrendWatch

Ambulatory Care Services for Digestive Diseases

In 2009, a primary diagnosis of digestive disease led to 48 million ambulatory care visits.

Educational Spotlight

Care and Treatment of Dementia

As the population ages, the human and economic costs of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are significant.

Expanding Access to Naloxone: Role of the Pharmacist

To ensure safe usage, pharmacists must understand state regulations concerning distribution.

Zika Virus and Its Effects in Pregnancy

Patient counseling and education are essential for successfully managing the current outbreak.

Newswire

One in Six U.S. Adults Takes Psychiatric Drugs
Alexandria, VA, and Ottawa, ON—
In a research letter published online by JAMA Internal Medicine, Institute for Safe Medication Practices and Risk Sciences International investigators noted that approximately one in six adults in the United States reported taking psychiatric drugs at least once in 2013. Data from the 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were used to calculate percentages of adults taking antidepressants; antipsychotics; and anxiolytics, sedatives, and hypnotics (ASHs). Antidepressant use was reported by 12% of participants, 1.6% reported antipsychotic use, and 8.3% reported filling prescriptions for ASHs. The use of psychiatric drugs increased with age, and women were more likely than men to report that they took psychiatric drugs. Use may be underestimated because prescriptions were self-reported.

Narcolepsy Drug Could Curb Food Addiction
Coventry, England—
Researchers at the University of Warwick have discovered that modafinil, which is used to treat narcolepsy and other sleep disorders, could also reduce the impulse for food in overweight persons. Physical addiction to foods high in sugar and fat can be a contributor to obesity. Impulsive behavior is a factor in food addiction, and because modafinil can also reduce impulsivity, researchers believe it may reduce the impulse for food. In a series of trials in 60 healthy men aged 19 to 32 years, subjects who took modafinil had a significantly lower level of impulsivity compared with those who took placebo or atomoxetine, another drug used for impulse disorders. Researchers theorize that modafinil could be even more effective for food addiction.

Teens' Use of Substances Other Than Marijuana Has Declined
Ann Arbor, MI—
According to a national study conducted by the University of Michigan, teens' use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco decreased significantly in 2016, at rates that are at their lowest since the 1990s. Marijuana use, which dropped sharply in 8th-graders and declined somewhat in 10th-graders, remained elevated in 12th-graders, however. The Monitoring the Future study, which has been ongoing for 42 years, surveys about 45,000 public-school and private-school students (in grades 8, 10, and 12) each year. This year's improvements were especially concentrated in 8th-graders and 10th-graders. The overall percentage of teens using any illicit drugs other than marijuana has declined gradually since the last half of the 1990s.

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