Impact of pharmaceutical price controls on the cost of cardiovascular drugs: does essentiality matter?

ABSTRACT

Background

With the goal of improving the affordability of medicines, governments across the globe have instituted various forms of price controls. Since 2013, India has been regulating the prices of drugs included in its national list of essential medicines (NLEM). Here we evaluate the cost variations among available cardiovascular drugs and perform cost-analysis comparing essential and non-essential drugs.     

A pilot study of levonorgestrel concentrations and bleeding patterns in women with epilepsy using a levonorgestrel IUD and treated with antiepileptic drugs

Objectives

We explored levonorgestrel (LNG) concentrations, bleeding patterns and endometrial thickness in women with epilepsy (WWE) initiating an LNG-intrauterine device (IUD) co-administered with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs).

Aberrantly Methylated cfDNA in Body Fluids as a Promising Diagnostic Tool for Early Detection of Breast Cancer

Breast malignancies are the leading type of cancer among women. Its prevention and early detection, particularly in young women, remains challenging. To this end, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) detected in body fluids demonstrates great potential for early detection of tissue transformation and altered molecular setup, such as epigenetic profiles. Aberrantly methylated cfDNA in body fluids could therefore serve as a potential diagnostic and prognostic tool in breast cancer management. Abnormal methylation may lead to both an activation of oncogenes via hypomethylation and an inactivation of tumor suppressor genes by hypermethylation. We update the state of the art in the area of aberrant cfDNA methylation analyses as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in breast cancer, report on the main technological challenges, and provide an outlook for advancing the overall management of breast malignancies based on cfDNA as a target for diagnosis and tailored therapies.     

生髓健骨胶囊对酒精性骨质疏松大鼠骨密度、骨矿含量影响的研究

目的从基因分子水平探讨酒精性骨质疏松(alcoholic osteoporosis,AOP)大鼠的发病机制,观察生髓健骨胶囊对AOP大鼠骨密度(bone mineral density,BMD)、骨矿含量(bone mineral content,BMC)表达的影响,探讨生髓健骨胶囊对AOP大鼠模型的中药防治作用机理。方法选取成年雄性(清洁级)SD大鼠120只,称体重,随机分为4组,每组各30只,用白酒灌胃法造模,同时分别给予生理盐水、碳酸钙阿法D3、生髓健骨胶囊灌胃给药。于造模8、12、16周末取材,检测股骨上端BMD、BMC指标。结果检测造模干预8、12、16周后BMD、BMC指标变化,模型组BMD、BMC与正常组比较明显降低,且差异有统计学意义(P0.01),结果表明饮酒大鼠确实存在骨量减少,BMD、BMC降低;中药干预组BMD、BMC与模型组相比显著升高(P0.01);中药干预组BMD、BMC与西药对照组相比,明显升高(P0.05)。结论通过观察生髓健骨胶囊对AOP大鼠的实验指标,证明了生髓健骨胶囊能够提高AOP大鼠骨密度,增加骨矿含量,抑制矿物质丢失,改善大鼠的骨代谢。