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Issue:  November 2015 •  Archive  •  Subscribe •  Unsubscribe
In This Edition Featured Article Featured CE
•  Editor's Notebook
•  Counseling Pearls
•  Senior Care
•  Clinical Corner
•  Consult Your Pharmacist
•  Educational Spotlight
•  Quick Poll
   – Mandatory Flu Shots
  Photo Coexistent Mental Health Disorders in Diabetic Patients
Psychiatric comorbidities affect a person's ability to self-manage diabetes.
  Photo Antipsychotics and Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome
Treatment involves the discontinuation of the offending agent and supportive therapy.
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Editor's Notebook
Indiscriminate, Insidious

November is American Diabetes Month and, as such, is a good time to highlight the sobering statistics of this widespread disease.
Counseling Pearls
Photo Controlling Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a condition characterized by impulsiveness, mood instability, negative self-image, and episodes of self-injury and attempted suicide. Psychotherapy should be utilized as the primary treatment for BPD, although pharmacotherapeutic agents are often prescribed for the management of symptoms.
Photo Managing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in an Outpatient Setting

PTSD is a mental health condition that is triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event involving the possibility of serious injury or death. If cognitive behavioral therapy fails to control symptoms, guidelines recommend antidepressants as first-line pharmacologic treatment for PTSD.
 
Senior Care
Recognizing Antipsychotic-Induced Movement Disorders

In light of wider use of second-generation antipsychotic agents, the experience of movement disorders and residual effects induced by antipsychotics remains clinically important in vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly.
 
Clinical Corner
Photo Managing Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Traumatic Brain Injury

Various measures are employed in the hospital and ambulatory setting for individuals with traumatic brain injury that address physical or cognitive sequelae of the traumatic event. Neuropsychiatric care in patients includes the management of increased intracranial pressure, seizure occurrence, cognitive disturbances, and psychiatric disorders.
Photo Cognitive Impairment During Hospitalization: The Pharmacist's Role in Monitoring

A variety of factors can cause cognitive dysfunction in hospitalized patients, including surgery, critical illness, and medications. Pharmacists should be aware of patient-specific risk factors and actively monitor for medications that contribute to cognitive impairment.
 
Consult Your Pharmacist
Self-Care Options for Insomnia

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that affects up to 20% of adults. Nonprescription sleep aids are available that can help treat insomnia, but these products should not be used on a long-term basis.
 
Educational Spotlight
Regulatory and Safety Issues in Compounding

Recently enacted/proposed rules aim to prevent events such as the 2012 distribution of contaminated injectables by a compounding pharmacy.
Therapeutic Management of Infertility: A Pharmacist's Perspective

Various treatment options are available to improve the chances of conceiving.
Managing Hyperlipidemia in Adults With Chronic Kidney Disease

Patients should be closely monitored and treated in order to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.
 
Newswire
Autism Rate Increases to 1 in 45
Atlanta, GA—
According to a new CDC estimate, about 1 in 45 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder. The National Health Interview Survey, based on interviews of parents about their children, is the first report on the prevalence of autism in the U.S. to include data from the years 2011 to 2014. This is a significant increase from the previous estimate of 1 in 68 children, which was based on information gathered from children's medical records during 2010. These reports did not examine why the prevalence seems to be rising, but one reason could be increased awareness of autism among both parents and healthcare providers.
Type 2 Diabetes Drug Reduces Risk of Heart Failure
New Haven, CT
Research shows that a type 2 diabetes drug significantly reduces hospitalizations and death from heart failure. In the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial, patients with type 2 diabetes and risk factors for heart disease were randomized to receive once-daily doses of either the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor empagliflozin or a placebo. At the end of the trial period, investigators found that patients treated with empagliflozin experienced greater reductions in blood glucose, blood pressure, and weight compared to those on placebo. There were also significant reductions in hospitalizations for heart failure (35%) and the combined result for being hospitalized or dying from heart failure (39%). This is the first antidiabetic agent to show such benefits.
FDA Approves First Monoclonal Antibody for Multiple Myeloma
Silver Spring, MD—
The FDA has granted accelerated approval for daratumumab (Darzalex) to treat patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior treatments. Darzalex (Janssen Biotech) is the first monoclonal antibody approved for treating multiple myeloma, a cancer formed by malignant plasma cells. Safety and efficacy were demonstrated in two open-label studies, with 29% and 36% of patients experiencing a complete or partial reduction in their tumor burden. Common adverse effects include infusion-related reactions, fatigue, nausea, back pain, fever, and cough; use may also result in lymphopenia, neutropenia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia. As an option for patients who have become resistant to other therapies, the drug was granted breakthrough designation and orphan drug status.
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