Diabetes Pharmacist : Diabetes Pharmacist Blog : Focus Express Mail Pharmacy : Insulin Pumps, Diabetes Supplies and Information

Coming soon to a pharmacy near you: AFREZZA, a new fast-acting form of inhaled insulin. According to recent studies, AFREZZA , will provide "glycemic control similar to standard insulin treatments with less risk of hypoglycemia and weight gain." Still waiting for FDA approval,  it also appears that AFREZZA will have a  lower risk of causing lung problems than Exubera, the first inhalable insulin on the market.

"AFREZZA is an ultra-rapid-acting insulin, and clinical studies have shown us that it has the potential to change diabetes therapy, because in the body, AFREZZA looks like the insulin that's normally in a person's body," said Andrea Leone-Bay, vice president of pharmaceutical development for MannKind Corp., manufacturer of AFREZZA.

It is intended for use at mealtimes to control rapid rises in blood sugar that occur after meals in people with diabetes. The idea of an inhaled insulin appeals to diabetics who must use insulin every time they eat.

For information on diabetes supplies or insulin pumps, click here!

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DrugWatch.com features a comprehensive list of drugs and medications that are currently on the market, or were previously available worldwide.

According to Sean McCahill, the National Awareness Coordinator for DrugWatch.com, the website is dedicated to educating the public about the details of prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as aiding in the protection of patients and consumers by informing them of any associated side effects. Also featured is updated information concerning drug recalls, medication approvals, and current developments in the medical field.

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Two weeks ago I upgraded my cellphone to an I-phone. Learning all of the different functions has been a slow process but I'm getting there and I'm loving it more every day. My son Andrew has been very helpful in this process and he has shown me how to download the"applications" that I would use everyday such as CNN, ESPN, etc.

What I didn't know was that there are applications for the I-Phone that would be valuable for pharmacists or anyone who would would like medication information available at their fingertips. Richard Hemby has posted a list of eleven top applications that are easily downloaded and very useful to pharmacists in their daily work. From the latest medication news to identifying medications to pharmacy calculations, I'm sure you'll be able to find an application that suits you.

For information on insulin pumps or diabetic medical supplies, click here!

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A recent study has demonstrated that giving mice a combination of low doses of Metformin (brand name Gluophage)  with the common chemotherapy medication Doxorubicin (brand name Adriamycin) shrank breast-cancer tumors and prevented their recurrence more effectively than chemotherapy alone.

Chemotherapy is effective against many tumors, said Kevin Struhl, a Harvard Medical School researcher and principal investigator of the study. "The problem is cancer stem cells acquire resistance" to treatment, he said. "They are able to regenerate the tumor and as a result you end up with a relapse."

Researchers said the combination of metformin and doxorubicin killed both regular cancer cells and cancer stem cells. In contrast, doxorubicin alone had limited effect on the stem cells.

For information on diabetes medications and diabetes testing supplies available through Focus Express Mail Pharmacy, click here.

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A new drug  for both Type 1 and Type II diabetes,called Exsulin, is in the "pipeline" and could be sent to the FDA for approval in a few years.  Alexander Fleming, MD, former US Food and Drug Administration official and Exsulin Corp. Chief Medical Officer, said "the drug causes the cells in the pancreas to develop into insulin-secreting cells.This is actually a natural hormone we’re developing as a therapy.”  Exsulin will be injected like insulin, but it won't have any direct effect on blood sugar. 

For information on diabetes medications and diabetes testing supplies available at Focus Express Mail Pharmacy click here!

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A newly approved diabetes drug, Onglyza, is now available in U.S. pharmacies, effective Friday August 14, 2009.

Bristol Myers-Squibb and AstraZeneca PLC, which co-developed and will co-market the drug, said that Onglyza was approved as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve blood-sugar control in adults for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

It belongs to a class of drugs known as DPP-4 inhibitors, and will compete directly with the only other such drug on the market, Merck & Co.'s (MRK) Januvia, which has had the DPP-4 market to itself since it was introduced in 2006.

Click here to learn more about diabetes medications available through Focus Express Mail Pharmacy!

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Many articles have been written about how the economy has affected people who have no health insurance and have to pay cash  for their medications and medical supplies. The high cost of prescription medications have caused many of these people to cut their pills in half or take their pills every other day instead of daily. Some are even splitting their blood glucose testing strips in half to get 2 tests from one!  Studies have shown that by not taking or by skimping on medicines, symptoms and outcomes worsened and the rates of heart attacks and strokes have increased.

Now, research is showing that even people who HAVE insurance are being affected. New studies has shown that as co-pay amounts doubled, the percentage of patients who had started their medications dropped. As an example, it was found that "five years after their diagnosis, about 82 percent of people with hypertension had begun taking the drugs they needed to get their blood pressure under control, versus only about 66 percent of those whose co-pays were twice as much"

If you are experiencing difficulty paying for your medications, shop around  for the best price. If you have insurance but pay high co-pays, search for a pharmacy that may be able to help you save money on your co-pays. Check out the website  www.FocusPharmacy.com and see if Focus can help reduce your co-pay payment.

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Ryan Haight was born on December 28, 1982 and died on February 12, 2001 from an overdose of prescription drugs he had purchased on the Internet. He was only 18 when he died.
 

The Ryan Haight Act, also known as the "Internet Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act" attempts to prevent  the growing sale of prescription drugs over the Internet without a valid prescription by:

• providing new disclosure standards for Internet pharmacies
• barring Internet sites from selling or dispensing prescription drugs to consumers who are provided a prescription solely on the basis of an online questionnaire
• allowing state attorneys general to go to federal court to shut down rogue sites.

Focus Express Mail Pharmacy has recently complied with all of the requirements of the Ryan Haight Act. If all  fully licensed, certified, and legitimate pharmacies who advertise on the internet comply with this act, families will not have to endure the loss of a child due to unscrupulous and rogue internet pharmacies again.

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Insulin, a  hormone that is produced by the pancreas in the body, helps the body utilize glucose properly. Proper amounts of insulin prevent  hyperglycemia and the complications of diabetes.

However, new research has shown that high amounts of insulin may be harmful. Researchers  have found that women with the highest levels of insulin were 50 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than women who had the lowest insulin levels.
 

Among these women, the influence of insulin on breast cancer risk was quite high," says lead author Marc Gunter, Ph.D. of the Albert Einstein School of Medicine at Yeshiva University, New York City and assistant professor of epidemiology and population health. "Women with the highest insulin levels in their blood were more than two times more likely to develop breast cancer than women with the lowest insulin levels." Moreover, "when we controlled for insulin, the association between obesity and breast cancer became much weaker," Dr. Gunter says. "This means that a large component of that obesity-cancer relationship may be mediated by insulin levels

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Researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York have found that adding an oral medication, such as Metformin or Glyburide , makes insulin more effective and lowers the risk for Alzheimer's," This  finding may help some people with Diabetes lower their risk of developing dementia.

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In a study by Chinese scientists, treating Type 2 diabetes early and aggressively with insulin therapy was able to push the disease into remission.The premise behind the therapy is that by giving the failing beta cells of the pancreas a chance to rest, one might interrupt a cycle of decline and allow for some recovery. The beta cells produce the insulin the body needs to keep blood sugar levels in check; it is the inability of those cells to meet the body's insulin needs that triggers Type 2 diabetes

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