PJ, 20 June 2015, Vol 294, No 7867

Repositioning existing drugs for cancer treatment

Scientists are using systematic approaches to identify non-oncology drugs that can be used to treat cancer, but access to drugs and commercial challenges are hindering progress.…

Studies linking statins and memory loss may be flawed

Researchers suggest that detection bias may be the reason why statins have been associated with memory impairment.…

Don’t overlook opportunities to repurpose existing drugs

More needs to be done to incentivise research into new indications for existing medicines.…

Asthma treatment failure linked to older age but not gender

Asthma patients aged 30 years and over are nearly twice as likely to experience treatment failure compared with younger sufferers.…

Stop funding treatments with insufficient evidence of efficacy

Local NHS health bodies around the UK should follow Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group’s decision to review spending on homeopathy, a treatment that lacks any reasonable supporting evidence of effectiveness.…

Failure to restart ARB therapy after surgery linked to higher mortality

Researchers have identified a link between higher mortality and a failure to restart angiotensin receptor blocker therapy after non-cardiac surgery.…

Pharmacist prescribers improve blood pressure in hypertensive patients

In a randomised controlled trial, pharmacist-managed patients were twice as likely to achieve their target blood pressure as control patients.…

Proton pump inhibitors are associated with increased risk of heart attack

Data mining research shows common heartburn drugs are linked to cardiovascular events.…

Local practice forum events: 8 July – 28 September 2015

Wednesday 8 July: South London Local practice forum event, ‘Minor ailments’. Kingston University, Penhryn Road, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE. Event 7.30–9.30pm. Book via the RPS website. Wednesday 15 July: South London Local practic…

NHS England announces ‘huge investment’ for new hepatitis C treatments

The NHS in England has agreed to increase the budget available to fund new treatments for chronic hepatitis C to £190m, a rise from the budget of approximately £40m made available in 2014.…