News in brief - Dec. 13, 2004

AMA condemns NASCAR decision to allow liquor sponsorship - Radio frequency to help detect counterfeit drugs - Depo-Provera warning from FDA - Ovarian cancer may have early warning signs

AMA condemns NASCAR decision to allow liquor sponsorship

The American Medical Association expressed dismay at the November decision of the National Assn. for Stock Car Auto Racing to allow distilled spirits makers to sponsor the sport.

The AMA is concerned that the link will send a mixed message about drinking and driving. The move could also lead to increasing the exposure of children and adolescents to alcohol advertising, and, since NASCAR races are televised, be a backdoor to TV advertising which is not currently permitted.

"The American Medical Association is extremely troubled to learn that NASCAR will soon advertise hard liquor brands through sponsorships of race cars and teams," said AMA president-elect J. Edward Hill, MD. "Our children need less exposure to alcohol, not more. NASCAR and other major sports already bombard adult and youth audiences with advertisements and branding for beer companies. NASCAR's unwise decision only makes matters worse."

According to a statement issued by the sports association, spirit sponsorship will be allowed as of next year and must comply with the Distilled Spirits Council's Code of Responsible Practices for Beverage Alcohol Advertising and Marketing.

Radio frequency to help detect counterfeit drugs

Electronic tags are now being affixed to the packaging of some drugs to aid in tracking the medications as they move through the supply chain, the Food and Drug Administration announced on Nov. 15.

The hope is that radio frequency identification technology will help in detection of counterfeit drugs which can be substituted for the real thing as the products travel from manufacturer to several intermediary distributors and then to pharmacies.

Incidents involving counterfeit drugs have jumped from about five per year through the late 1990s to more than 20 per year since 2000. The increase has prompted the FDA to launch an initiative to combat the threat, and the electronic tracking system is one part of this initiative.

Many of the counterfeits have been "finished" medications, including best-selling drugs such as Lipitor and Viagra, which were sometimes in patients' medicine cabinets before being discovered. Previously, bulk drug ingredients were the primary targets of counterfeiters.

Depo-Provera warning from FDA

The Food and Drug Administration has placed a "black box" warning on Depo-Provera contraceptive injection because of the risk of significant loss of bone density if the drug is used for a long time.

Bone density loss is greater the longer the drug is used, and the loss may not be completely reversible after the drug is discontinued, according to the FDA. Women should use Depo-Provera for longer than about two years only if no other birth control methods are adequate.

The warning information will also be distributed in a "Dear Health Care Practitioner" letter and in patient information that is distributed with the drug.

Although the drug has been available for years and remains a safe and effective contraceptive, according to the FDA, the agency and manufacturer Pfizer have taken the action to ensure that physicians and patients are aware of the information.

Ovarian cancer may have early warning signs

When patients present with unresolved and recurrent urinary incontinence and abdominal pain, physicians should consider the possibility that these may be the early signs of ovarian cancer, according to a paper published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in October.

The early stages of the disease have long been believed to be symptomless.

Researchers reviewed the records of more than 100 women diagnosed with the disease in a county in Minnesota between 1985 and 1997. Patients with stage I and II cancers were most likely to have urinary problems and stomach pain while those with later stage tumors were likely to have pain and bloating.

Authors of the paper conceded that these symptoms were common to many conditions but advocated that if no other cause could be found, ovarian cancer should be considered a possibility.

"When a woman goes in to see her doctor with these abdominal, urinary or pelvic symptoms and the tests for the most common causes are negative, the workup needs to continue," said Barbara Yawn, MD, director of research at Olmstead Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., and the study's lead investigator.