Currently available techniques for colorectal cancer screening include fecal occult-blood testing, flexible sigmoidoscopy, double contrast barium enema (DCBE) and traditional optical colonoscopy. Optical colonoscopy requires bowel cleansing and sedation, and involves some risk, but is generally accepted as the best available method for detection of lesions and offers the advantage that polyps can be removed when they are identified. A less invasive screening tool, computed tomography (CT) colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy (VC), offers an additional option.

Hyperphosphatemia in end-stage renal disease can lead to secondary hyperparathyroidism, renal osteodystrophy, metastatic calcification and cardiovascular mortality. addition to dietary restriction of phosphorus and hemodialysis, drugs that bind phosphates in the gut are usually needed as well. Aluminum hydroxide is no longer recommended for long-term use because of concerns about its toxicity.

Levalbuterol, the R-isomer of the beta-2 adrenergic agonist albuterol, is now available in the US as a metered-dose inhaler (Xopenex HFA - Sepracor) for treatment of asthma in patients ≥ 4 years old. Levalbuterol has been available since 1999 in a nebulizer solution for treatment of bronchospasm in patients ≥ 6 years old.1 Outside the US, albuterol is called salbutamol, and levalbuterol is levosalbutamol.

The FDA has approved an extended-release formulation of minocycline (Solodyn - Medicis) for once-daily treatment of non-nodular moderate to severe acne.

The FDA has approved an oral, fixed-dose combination (Treximet - GlaxoSmithKline) of the selective serotonin receptor agonist ("triptan") sumatriptan (Imitrex) and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) naproxen sodium (Anaprox, and others) for acute treatment of migraine attacks.

Duloxetine (Cymbalta - Lilly) is the second drug to be approved by the FDA for treatment of fibromyalgia. Pregabalin (Lyrica), which is also approved for treatment of neuropathic pain and epilepsy, was the first. Duloxetine is a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) that is already marketed for treatment of depression and diabetic neuropathy.

The bisphosphonate risedronate (Actonel - Procter & Gamble) was recently approved by the FDA in a 150- mg once-monthly oral tablet for prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The drug is also available for the same indication in 5-mg daily, 35-mg weekly and 75-mg twice-monthly tablets.

The FDA has approved the use of the 5α-reductase inhibitor dutasteride (Avodart - GlaxoSmithKline) together with the alpha₁-blocker tamsulosin (Flomax - Boehringer Ingelheim) for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Use of an alpha1-blocker with a 5α-reductase inhibitor has been a common practice for years, but FDA approval of a particular combination permits the manufacturers to add an indication for it in both package inserts, recommend dosage for combination use, and advertise the benefits of using the 2 drugs together.

The treatment of choice to prevent emesis due to highand moderate-risk emetogenic drugs used in cancer chemotherapy is aprepitant plus a serotonin receptor antagonist plus dexamethasone. Four serotonin receptor antagonists are available in the US in intravenous (IV) formulations for prevention of nausea and vomiting due to cancer chemotherapy, and 3 of these are also available for oral use. Now the FDA has approved one of these, granisetron, in a transdermal formulation (Sancuso - ProStrakan).

Continued use of a long-acting beta-2 agonist for treatment of asthma may cause down-regulation of the beta-2 receptor with loss of the bronchoprotective effect from rescue therapy with a short-acting beta-2 agonist. After a large study (SMART) found an increased risk of asthma-related deaths in patients receiving the long-acting beta-2 agonist salmeterol, a boxed warning was added to the labeling of all medications containing a long-acting beta-2 agonist. Now the FDA has completed a meta-analysis of 110 asthma treatment studies in 60,954 patients taking any of the long-acting beta-2 agonist...