Festive Greetings!
Welcome to the current edition; there’s lot to read, understand and get updated and informed !
Spurious and unsafe medicines, a growing worldwide criminal trend that endangers patients’ life. The internet is the biggest unregulated market in the world – and a place where you can easily become the victim of dishonest online pharmacies. According to WHO, in over 50% of cases, medicines purchased over the Internet from illegal sites that conceal their physical address have been found to be spurious. Therefore, treating yourself with medicines is a responsible act, beware of fake drugs!!
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Happy Reading !
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy !
Pooja Khaitan
Chief Editor ,
The PRESCRIPTION
Partnership for Safe Medicines India.
“Dignity is one of the most daunting challenges in mental health. Dignity in mental health means steps are taken to safeguard the well-being of people with mental health conditions, thus liberating them from the shackles of self-stigma, low confidence, low self-esteem, withdrawal and social isolation”.
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia
Prof Ranjit Roy Chaudhury was a Patron and Mentor for PSM India. He was a leading medical researcher, a specialist in medical teaching and a health planner for our country. He had served as Dean at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh and in senior positions in the World Health Organization.
World Polio Day is observed on 24th October each year with the importance of ending polio. The Memorial Day was established by Rotary International in 1985 to honour the birthday of Dr. Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a polio vaccine. A public health effort to eliminate all cases of poliomyelitis (polio) infection around the world, begun in 1988 and was led by World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the Rotary Foundation. India had an impressive achievement over the deadly polio-viral disease in 2011 with utter commitment, robust oversight, technological innovations, strategies adopted and implemented by Government of India.
Ilnesses, Deaths Spur FDA Warning on Hepatitis C DrugsOctober 2015: Reports of deaths and illnesses occurring soon after use are prompting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue warnings on two drugs used to fight the hepatitis C virus.
FDA Moves to Destroy Counterfeit & Misbranded Medications Shipped Into the U.S.
A change to current laws allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to destroy misbranded medications blocked from entering the United States. Prior to this, the FDA was forced to return such drugs to the shipper.
Saint Louis Doctor Sentenced For Illegally Importing Non-FDA Approved Medications, Defrauding Patients
A Missouri doctor was sentenced for misbranded drugs charges and his Patterson Medical Clinic was sentenced for false statements charges on September 2nd, 2015 related to the purchases of non-FDA approved osteoporosis treatments. Both the doctor and his clinic face 3 years’ probation.
Frequently Asked Questions Q1. What is meant by bad and good cholesterol?
Answer: Cholesterol is a lipid molecule biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of all animal (not plant or bacterial) cell membranes required to maintain both membrane structural integrity and fluidity. It plays a vital role in how every cell works and is also needed to make Vitamin D, some hormones and bile for digestion. However, too much cholesterol in the blood can increase risk of getting heart and circulatory diseases. Cholesterol can't dissolve in the blood. It must be transported through the bloodstream by carriers called lipoproteins. Read More>>>
Q2. What PUFA means?
Answer: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are a family of lipids including some subgroups identified by the position of the last double bond in their structure. PUFA belongs to (omega) Ω -6 and (omega) Ω-3 families. Ω-3 family include alpha linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), while Ω-6 family include linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA). PUFA is important because they contain essential fatty acids that are required for body functioning but are not synthesized inside the body and therefore needs to get supplied from outside sources. Various types of oil contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Read More>>>