Plos One
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Following initial regulatory approval of prescription drugs, many factors may influence insurers and health systems when they decide whether to add these drugs to their formularies. The role of political pressures on drug funding announcements has received relatively little attention, and elections represent an especially powerful form of political pressure. We examined the temporal relationship between decisions to add one class of drugs to publicly funded formularies in Canada's ten provinces and elections in these jurisdictions. ⋯ Impending elections appeared to affect the timing of drug funding announcements in this case study. Despite an established structure for evidence-based decision-making, drug funding remains a complex process open to influence from many sources. Awareness of such influences is critical to maintain effective drug policy and public health decision-making.
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To assess the efficacy of pregabalin by showing differences in the neuronal activities of fibromyalgia (FM) patients before and after longitudinal treatment using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). ⋯ Our findings confirm that pregabalin influences aspects of the whole pain matrix, using fMRI, inducing longitudinal changes in neuronal activity during the pain state, and that it reduces pain and other core symptoms of FM. This method could be applied to other longitudinal clinical trials of pharmacological treatments for FM.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Long-term effects of statin treatment in elderly people: extended follow-up of the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER).
The PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER), a placebo-controlled trial of pravastatin, demonstrated a 19% reduction in coronary outcomes (p=0.006) after a mean of 3.2 years, with no impact on stroke outcomes or all-cause mortality. However, there was a suggestion of increased cancer risk. Our aim is to determine the long-term benefits and safety of pravastatin treatment in older people using post-trial follow-up of the PROSPER participants. ⋯ Pravastatin treatment of elderly high-risk subjects for 3.2 years provided long-term protection against CHD events and CHD mortality. However, this was not associated with any increase in life expectancy, possibly due to competing mortality with deaths from other causes. There was no evidence of long-term increased risk of cancer.
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Comparative Study
Reliability of FEV1/FEV6 to diagnose airflow obstruction compared with FEV1/FVC: the PLATINO longitudinal study.
A 6-second spirometry test is easier than full exhalations. We compared the reliability of the ratio of the Forced expiratory volume in 1 second/Forced expiratory volume in 6 seconds (FEV1/FEV6) to the ratio of the FEV1/Forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) for the detection of airway obstruction. ⋯ The FEV1/FEV6 is a more reliable index than FEV1/FVC because FVC varies with the duration of the forced exhalation. Reporting FET and FEV1/FEV6
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Prenatal vitamin d supplementation and child respiratory health: a randomised controlled trial.
Observational studies suggest high prenatal vitamin D intake may be associated with reduced childhood wheezing. We examined the effect of prenatal vitamin D on childhood wheezing in an interventional study. ⋯ Prenatal vitamin D supplementation in late pregnancy that had a modest effect on cord blood vitamin D level, was not associated with decreased wheezing in offspring at age three years.