92. Latest Midical Miricles

Emporium Current Essays 417 'iff n ^p^'fii^P1 ifcjff'i la AYES T Ml MIR M pi jijum^iiiiLfiii Consider the wonder of a one-time flu-shot, a vaccine that offers protection against virtually all strains of flue virus and may be required only once in a lifetime. Or a memory pill made of a compound that so increases one's ability to learn that if may help put an end to Alzheimer's and other dementia-related diseases. These are just some of the new drugs being investigated at universities and hospitals nation-wide. In the past several years the Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to drug companies and researchers to test not only these, but dozens of new medications for everything from heart disease to brain injury, multiple sclerosis, depression, chronic pain and more. Many could be available as early as 1998. In the meantime, there's no shortage of medicinal miracles available right now. What follows is a sampling of some of the newest wonder drugs on the market todayand the medical miracles they can perform. Cholesterol Zocor (simvastatin) ~ Merck and Co. Eight weeks ago, this medication received FDA approval as the first and only cholesterollowering drug to save lives and prevent heart attacks. Studies showed that for this with heart disease, simvastatin could cut the risk of death by 30 per cent over five years, while significantly decreasing the risk of a second heart attack and reducing the risk of a fatal cardiac arrest. Unlike other cholesterollowering medications -- which can increase the risk ef accident and suicides ~ simvastatin did not. Heart attack Reo Pro (abciximab) - Centocor BV, Eli Lilly and Co. Nearly 30 per cent of patients undergoing angioplasty are at high risk for abrupt artery closure right after surgery. This drug will significantly reduce that risk while reducing the risk of certain acute cardiac complications following surgery, including heart attack. It works by inhibiting the formation of blood clots. While considered a420 Emporium Current Essays up to one year following kidney transplantation. Approved for marketing less than two months ago, doctors are hailing this drug as one of the most important new advancements in organ transplantation therapy.

Organ transplant Neoral (cyclosporine) - Sanoz Pharmaceutical. A new formulation of cyclosporine, Neoral uses microcmulsion, a novel technology that provides increased and more reliable absorption of the medication. Approved by the FDA on month ago, it is expected to make all organ transplants, especially kidney and liver, better tolerated and more successful. Alcoholism Revia (naltrexone) - Du Pont Merck Pharmaceutical Co. The first new medication in almost 50 years to win FDA approval as a treatment for alcoholism, this drug works on the area of the brain responsible for cravings. Long used -as a treatment for drug addiction, new studies show it also can make it easier to stop drinking. Used in conjunction with psychotherapy, Revia is said to take relapses less likely for those already on the road to recovery. Glaucoma Trusopt (CIA) -- Merck Pharmaceuticals. A breakthrough in the treatment of glaucoma, Trusopt is the first topical form of the carbonic anhydrse inhibitor the drug that doctors often turn to when other treatments lose their efficacy. More than 40 years in the making, this recently approved form of CIA is said to eliminate many f the side effects of the oral version, as well as those associated with other classes of glaucoma medications, including potentially dangerous effects of increased heart rate and/or blood pressure. Migraines Oral sumtriptan -- Treating a migraine headache just got easier - with this new oral version of sumatriptan, one of the most successful migraine drugs to date. Formerly available only as an injection -- difficult or impossible for some people to use -- the new pill form is said to work as fast and as effectively to stop the pain of migraine, even when taken in the midst of a headache. Oral sumatriptan has just been approved by the FDA and will be available by prescription beginning this month. Emporium Current Essays 421 Osteoporosis Miacalcin Nasal Spray (calcitnin) -- Sandoz Pharmaceutical. For postnicnopau.su! women who can't or don't want to take oestrogen replacement therapy, this new nasal spray form of the drug calcitonin could offer easy protection from osteoporosis. The only treatment other than oestrogen and the calcium/vitamin D combination to win FDA approval for the treatment of osteoporosis, calcitonin was previously available only in injection form, administered as often as once a day and often requiring a doctor's

assistance. Both form of calcitonin work by inhibiting the metabolic process that leads to loss of bone mass. Arthritis Methotresate/cyclosporine -- Various manufacturers. Individually, these drugs initially were used to treat cancer (methotrexate) and stop the rejection of transplanted organs (cyclosporine). Now the Arthritis Foundation reports that when combined, and administered in very low doses, the new two drug punch can be highly effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Because the dosages are much lower than what is used for cancer or organ transplant, side effects are minimal. Depression Serzone (nefazodone HCI) - Bristol Meyers Squibb. Structurally different from other anti-depressant medications, Serzone, approved by the FDA less than six months ago, works by blocking a chemical receptor in the brain linked to depression. Improvement of symptoms is said to be evident within weeks. Side effects associated with other antidepressants, including tremor, anxiety and sexual dysfunction, are said to be low with Serzone. It also is thought to improve sleep quality and eliminate depression-related insomnia. Heartburn Tagamet-Smith Kline Beeeham. Pepcid AC- Merck Pharmaceuticals. While the drugs themselves are not new-they've been available by prescription for years-they are the first of the newer treatments for heartburn to become available as over-thecounter drugs. Unlike antacids, which neutralise stomach upset, both these medicines work by reducing the amount of acid made by the stomach, thereby reducing the amount available to reflux back into the oesophagus and cause the burning, aching chest pain we know as heartburn.