The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved the marketing of G-CSF (recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, generic name filgrastim, Neupogen - Amgen) and GM-CSF (recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, generic name sargramostim, Leukine - Immunex, Prokine - Hoechst-Roussel). G-CSF is approved for use after cancer chemotherapy in patients with non-myeloid malignancies to decrease the incidence of infection. GM-CSF is approved for acceleration of myeloid recovery after autologous bone marrow transplantation in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,...

Gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin are now available for once-daily treatment of patients with community-acquired pneumonia, acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, or acute sinusitis.

Oxcarbazepine, which is chemically similar to carbamazepine, and levetiracetam, a pyrrolidine acetamide chemically unrelated to other antiepileptic drugs, are the sixth and seventh drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in the last five years for oral use in partial seizures.

Meloxicam, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with some cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selectivity in vitro, has been approved by the FDA for treatment of osteoarthritis.

Testosterone is now available in a 1% gel (AndroGel - Unimed) for treatment of hypogonadism in men. AndroGel, which is rubbed on the skin, is the fourth transdermal preparation of testosterone to be marketed in the USA.

Anticonvulsants are now widely used for treatment of psychiatric illnesses, particularly bipolar disorder. Lithium is the standard drug for treatment of bipolar disorder, but it can cause severe toxicity, serum concentrations must be monitored, and it is not effective in some patients.

Fluticasone propionate, an inhaled corticosteroid, and salmeterol xinafoate, a long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist, are now available together in a dry-powder inhaler for maintenance treatment of patients with asthma. The new combination is not recommended for treatment of acute bronchospasm or for treatment of children less than 12 years old.

FluMist (MedImmune), the first live-attenuated and first intranasally administered influenza vaccine, has been approved by the FDA to prevent influenza in healthy people 5-49 years old. Given as a nasal spray, it stimulates immunity by viral replication in the upper respiratory tract. This vaccine apparently will be advertised directly to the public as a "needle-free" alternative to intramuscular influenza vaccine.

Improved glucose meters and 2 sensing systems for continuous monitoring have become available for management of diabetes.

A recent supplement to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, titled "The Expert Consensus Guideline Series: Optimizing Pharmacologic Treatment of Psychotic Disorders," concluded that most experts endorsed use of second-generation (atypical) antipsychotics rather than first-generation drugs, with risperidone (Risperdal - Janssen) the top choice for first episodes, multiple episodes or switches from another drug (JM Kane et al, J Clin Psychiatry 2003; 64 suppl 12:5). The supplement was sponsored by Janssen.