Pediapharma launches NeuroSmart
Pediapharma Inc. recently launched NeuroSmart, a brain-boosting orange drink that helps to improve children's scholastic performance.
According to Dr. Arturo Ludan, president of Pediapharma, NeuroSmart is a brain enhancer which contains docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the brain nutrient responsible for the rapid transmission of nerve signals, brain synapses, and neurotransmitter modulation. NeuroSmart also has zinc, clinically shown to improve memory activity and boost immunity in growing children; taurine, which is needed for visual function, psychomotor development, and neurotransmitter action; and magnesium, an important mineral involved in active cell metabolism.
Ludan said that the DHA found in NeuroSmart is an essential fatty acid that is the main building block of the brain. DHA is abundant in human breast milk. Now it is already added in enhanced infant formulas after it was scientifically proven to improve mental development and visual functions in infants. Moreover, it was clinically shown to enhance memory, attention, and learning behavior in toddlers.
With this unique formulation approved by the Bureau of Food and Drugs, parents can give their children a competitive advantage in learning, Ludan added. NeuroSmart is now available in Mercury Drugstores nationwide.
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Seven-day glucose monitoring device
A device that measures glucose levels continuously for up to seven days in
people with diabetes has been approved by the United States Food and Drug
Administration.
While a standard fingerstick test records a person's glucose level as a snapshot in time, the STS-7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (STS-7 System) measures glucose levels every five minutes throughout a seven-day period. This additional information can be used to detect trends and track patterns in glucose levels throughout the week that wouldn't be captured by fingerstick measurements alone. However, diabetics must still rely on the fingerstick test to decide whether additional insulin is needed.
"The STS-7 System supplements standard fingerstick meters and test strips, providing diabetics ages 18 and older with a way to see trends and track patterns," said Dr. Daniel Schultz, director of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "It can help detect when glucose levels drop during the overnight hours, show when glucose levels rise between meals, and suggest how exercise and diet might affect glucose levels."
The STS-7 System, manufactured by California-based DexCom Inc., uses a disposable sensor placed just below the skin in the abdomen to measure the level of glucose in the interstitial fluid. Sensor placement causes minimal discomfort and can easily be done by patients themselves. The sensor must be replaced weekly. An alarm can be programmed to sound if a patient's glucose level reaches preset lows or highs.
A three-day version of the device, the STS Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, was approved in March 2006.
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Cebu Institute of Medicine marks 50th
The Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM), one of the four medical schools in Cebu, will celebrate its 50th year with a grand event tagged as 50 Years of Excellence in Medical Education December 3 to 8 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.
The event will start with a thanksgiving mass and breakfast on December 3 followed by a motorcade around key streets of the city. Other activities include: a medical and surgical mission, a medical world congress, fellowship night, coronation of "Golden Jubilee Queen," the Dr. Jacinto Velez Sr. memorial lecture, unveiling of the CIM coffee table book, and class reunions.
Alumni from all over the country, the United States, and other countries will join the celebration. For details, address your inquiries to: hvty@skyinet.net.
CIM was established originally as the Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) College of Medicine by a group of doctors led by Dr. Jacinto Velez Sr. to accommodate deserving students who would not be able to pursue a medical education elsewhere in the country.
With the help of Dr. Virgilio Ramos, then the dean of the University of Santo Tomas College of Medicine and a classmate of Velez's, the pioneer members of the faculty were recruited from Manila, among them Drs. Fernando Santos (biochemistry) and Manuel Alvarez (physiology and pharmacology). The school opened its doors to 47 medical students on June 10, 1957, 33 of whom graduated in 1962.
With the establishment of Velez College in 1966, the school was spun off from CIT and was renamed CIM. From its original beginnings at the back of the Cebu Velez General Hospital (then Velez Clinic), CIM transferred to a five-story building at the corner of F. Ramos and V. Ranudo streets.
In 1968, the school shifted from a five-year to a four-year curriculum. Although it was as early as 1996 when CIM began to introduce the problem-based learning (PBL) method of teaching in some of its classes, it was in 2001 when PBL was fully implemented.
Since its founding, the school has produced almost 5,000 graduates, with 110 of them among the top placers in the medical board examinations. The school's passing rate of 85 percent makes it among the top five medical schools in the country.
In 1987, CIM was classified as level-IV medical school, the highest category based given by the Commission on Medical Education. The Commission on Higher Education recognized CIM as one of the three Centers of Excellence for Medicine in April 1996 and granted it autonomy status in September 2001.
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FDA clears quick test for malaria
The United States Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing the Binax NOW Malaria Test, the first authorized US rapid test for malaria intended for laboratory use.
Standard laboratory tests for malaria require identifying parasites in a blood sample under a microscope, a difficult task that requires training and experience.
The Binax NOW test is significantly faster and easier to use. Results are available in 15 minutes after a few drops of whole blood are placed on a dipstick. The test can also differentiate the most dangerous malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, from less virulent malaria parasites. Results still need to be confirmed using standard microscopic evaluation.
"When used in combination with other laboratory tests, the Binax NOW test provides an additional tool to help [clinicians and laboratory personnel] diagnose this disease faster," said Dr. Daniel Schultz, director of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
People infected with malarial parasites often experience a high fever, chills, and flu-like illness. Left untreated, they may develop severe complications and die.
The Binax NOW test was 95-percent accurate compared with standard microscopic diagnosis in a multicenter study outside the US in areas where malaria is prevalent. The test is manufactured by Binax Inc., a subsidiary of Inverness Medical Innovations Inc.
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GE, Abbott scrap US$8.13 B deal
NEW YORK
Industrial conglomerate General Electric and pharmaceutical group Abbott Laboratories have abandoned a multibillion-dollar takeover deal for Abbott's diagnostics business. "GE and Abbott have agreed to mutually terminate their agreement relating to GE's acquisition of Abbott's primary in vitro and point-of-care diagnostics businesses," GE said, adding that the two companies were unable to reach agreement on final terms and conditions. "As a result, they agreed it was in the best interests of both companies to mutually terminate their agreement and discussions," GE said.
Abbott issued a similar statement. It said that the decision to cancel the deal had no impact on Abbott's previously issued earnings-per-share guidance, excluding specified items, for the full-year 2007 or the second quarter, and that its earnings outlook for 2008 also remained unchanged.
The two US companies had agreed in January that GE would buy two Abbott diagnostics business assets for US$8.13 billion in cash. The transaction was to have been completed in the first half of this year.
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Knee replacement made easy
Elena Meria suffered from osteoarthritis for years, and it got to the point where both her knees became so deformed that she could barely walk. Meria, a retired physical-education teacher who minored in folk dancing, never thought she would have the chance to dance again.
But at age 81, she is very happy to have been proven wrong. In June, she showed off her dancing skills to a group of doctors and journalists-the result of her having undergone total knee replacement last year.
Osteoarthritis affects nearly 12 million Filipinos. Of this number, 350,000 suffer so badly that they require surgery. However, only 35,000 can afford surgery. In 2005, only 140 patients out of the 35,000 were able to undergo surgery (outside Metro Manila).
The low rate of surgery may be attributed to the country's limited social security system, where most medical spending is done out of pocket. The combined cost of the hospitalization, doctors' fees, and the orthopedic implant is estimated at PhP300,000 to PhP400,000. This one-time cash demand has prevented patients from considering surgery as a viable option.
Stryker Medical & Surgical (Philippines) Inc., one of the world's largest medical-device companies, recently launched its Active Life Financial Plan to help ease the financial burden of joint-replacement surgery. The implant makes up approximately 35 percent of the surgery cost. Under their financial plan, the cost of the implant can be paid in 12 monthly installments with zero interest.
The Stryker Active Life Financial Plan, the first financing plan for orthopedic implants, allows the patient to pay via credit card or personal loan. After consulting the orthopedic surgeon, the patient may call the Active Life hotline for the requirements. If payment is made through credit card, the patient and the relatives could share the cost of the implant (one or more cards could be used), and the credit limit could be increased up to three times the present limit. The Active Life Financial Plan is not affiliated with any doctors or hospitals-meaning anyone can avail himself or herself of it. The Active Life Financial Plan is initially available in Metro Manila, although there are plans to expand to the provinces.
Manuel Arkoncel, sales manager of Stryker Medical & Surgical (Philippines), announced: "No other implant company has offered this in the world." Mr. Kevin Kim, sales and marketing director, explained that in other countries, there is no need for this kind of program since operations are shouldered by the government or by insurance. In the Philippines, medical insurance only shoulders part of the hospitalization fee and part of the professional fee. The implant alone could cost as much as PhP150,000.
M Carisa Paraz, MD
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