News in brief - Dec. 6, 2004

NIAID initiates flu virus genome sequencing project - Older, generic NSAID may have lower GI complications

NIAID initiates flu virus genome sequencing project

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will collaborate with several public and private partners to discern the genetic blueprints for thousands of known human and avian influenza viruses, according to a statement issued by the NIAID last month.

The hope is that the work will provide understanding of how such viruses evolve, spread and cause illness and lead to interventions that could minimize the impact of outbreaks or possible pandemics.

"We anticipate that these data will be used to recognize patterns of genetic changes and illuminate important questions, such as how avian influenza viruses adapt to infect humans," said Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of NIAID.

The work will be led by NIAID in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Biotechnology Information, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Dept. of Health, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and the Institute for Genomic Research. The data will be publicly available on the NIH's online databases.

Another NIH institute is adding an influenza-related project. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences will be developing computer models that simulate outbreaks of avian flu to determine the best way to contain the virus.

"These models will help policy-makers design strategies to protect the public from a potentially deadly disease," said Irene Eckstrand, PhD, head of the project.

Older, generic NSAID may have lower GI complications

Patients who take etodolac, an anti-inflammatory available as a generic, have fewer gastrointestinal complications than those who take over-the-counter naproxen, and this reduction is comparable to that seen with the COX-2 inhibitors, according to a study published in the November Gastroenterology.

Researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center retrospectively analyzed the records of more than 16,000 patients over a three-year period who took either drug. According to the paper, 0.78% of patients on naproxen experienced a significant upper gastrointestinal complication while only 0.24% of those on etodolac did. The difference disappeared if the patients were also taking low-dose aspirin.

Authors suggested that this drug may be a viable option to relieve patient's pain because of the recent controversy over COX-2 inhibitors. Vioxx (rofecoxib) was pulled from the market at the end of September because of studies linking it to increased cardiovascular risk, and there is question if the other COX-2 inhibitors convey the same risk. Since etodolac is available generically, there also could be significant cost-savings.

"As much as an 80% cost-savings can be achieved if patients were to use it rather than branded medications," said Byron Cryer, MD, lead author and associate professor of Internal Medicine -- Digestive and Liver Diseases at Texas Southwestern.