Extracts made from leaves of the ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) are available in the uSA as deitary supplements, in France and Germany as licensed drugs and worldwide as herbal remedies for treatment of dementia and many other indications.

Tolterodine tartrate (Detrol - Pharmacia & Upjohn) is a new muscarinic receptor antagonist now being widely promoted for treatment of urinary frequency, urgency and urge incontinence caused by bladder (detrusor) overactivity.

Nearly 30 years after the first publication of Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution promoting a high-protein, extremely low-carbohydrate diet, patients once again are asking their physicians about the Atkins diet.

The CDC recently reported that fluoroquinoloneresistant strains of Neisseria meningitidis have been detected for the first time in the US in an area around the border of North Dakota and Minnesota (CDC. MMWR, Feb 22, 2008). These isolates were all serogroup B, for which meningococcal vaccines (Med Lett Drugs Ther 2005; 47:29) do not offer protection. Since many laboratories do not test N. meningitidis for antimicrobial susceptibility, it is possible that such resistance is more widespread. A single oral dose of ciprofloxacin (Cipro, and others) 500 mg has been used for prophylaxis after close...

The FDA has approved incobotulinumtoxinA (Xeomin – Merz) for treatment of cervical dystonia and blepharospasm in adults. It has been commercially available in Germany since 2005. Several formulations of botulinum toxin type A (Botox; Dysport) and type B (Myobloc) are already marketed for treatment of cervical dystonia. Botox is also approved for treatment of blepharospasm.

Adjuvant hormone therapy with anti-estrogen drugs has been shown to reduce disease recurrence and mortality in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. In recent years, aromatase inhibitors (AI) have become the preferred first-line hormonal treatment over tamoxifen for such patients.1,2

The FDA has approved glucarpidase (Voraxaze – BTG International) for treatment of toxic plasma methotrexate concentrations (>1 micromole per liter) in patients with delayed methotrexate clearance due to impaired renal function. Glucarpidase has been available in the US since 2007 under a compassionate use open-label treatment protocol (Clinical Trials and Consulting Services, 1-877-398-9829), which will remain in effect until the drug becomes commercially available later this year. There is currently a shortage of IV methotrexate in the US.

Belotero Balance (Merz), an injectable hyaluronic acid dermal filler, has been approved by the FDA for temporary correction of moderate-to-severe facial wrinkles and folds. Several other hyaluronic acid products are also available for this indication (e.g., Restylane, Perlane, Juvéderm). They have supplanted bovine collagen products, which persist for a shorter time and cause more allergic reactions.

The FDA has approved the oral poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza – Astra-Zeneca) as monotherapy for treatment of women with advanced ovarian cancer who have BRCA1/2 germline mutations and have received at least 3 prior lines of chemotherapy. Olaparib is the first PARP inhibitor to be approved in the US. It is approved outside the US for maintenance treatment of relapsed BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer.

The FDA has approved asfotase alfa (Strensiq – Alexion), a recombinant form of tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase, for subcutaneous treatment of perinatal-, infantile-, and juvenile-onset hypophosphatasia. Asfotase alfa is the first treatment to be approved in the US for this rare genetic metabolic disorder.