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Statins are for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease….really?
Well, well, well…….even pharmacy publications are now casting doubts over the effectiveness of statin therapy in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. What does this mean to the pharmacist when a patient asks “do I really need to take this medicine for my cholesterol?” and goes on to describe a fuzzy memory, aching muscles and generally…
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OMNS News Service – Vitamin C and Sepsis
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, May 24, 2017 Vitamin C and Sepsis: The genie is now out of the bottle The enormous effectiveness of vitamin C in helping to resolve any of a wide variety of infections comes as no surprise to anyone who has made at least a minimal effort to study the large body of…
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Dementia – can we educate and reduce risk?
At the inaugural Swisse Preventative Health Symposium held in Melbourne last Friday, I was privileged to hear a fascinating address by Professor David Smith, Professor Emeritus, University of Oxford on “the role of nutrition in the prevention of cognitive impairment”. He classes dementia as a disease – not an inevitable part of ageing and certainly…
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A4M Proposes a $1 trillion health cost save for US – why not Australia?
The American Academy for Anti-Ageing (A4M) is a medical group researching and treating the ageing process through utilising the concept of Integrative Medicine. They have come up with a simplified 10 point proposal designed to slash major costs from the health bill in the US – they say reductions of up to $1 trillion are…
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Fracture – are we involved enough?
The Journal of Internal Medicine has published some views on hip fracture. The statistics behind this unfortunate and common injury is ignored as we dispense bisphosphonates to many of our female patients – fearful of the adverse effects after reading about them, and fretting after getting feedback from their friends. Do we do enough when…
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Orthomolecular News – Niacin Rescues Cannibalistic Hamsters The Historical Significance of 1940s Mandatory Niacin Enrichment
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, February 28, 2017 by W. Todd Penberthy, PhD In a newly published research study, Tissier and colleagues at the Universite ‘ de Strasbourg, France, identified wild hamsters that were eating primarily corn monoculture diets and exhibiting siblicide and maternal infanticide. Cannibalism was one of the theories for the decline of their…
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What can we learn from Thyroid Pharmacist?
It was just over a year ago, when I was starting out in a busy suburban pharmacy as a professional services pharmacist, when I noticed something a bit weird…literally every second person I spoke with for about a full week was on thyroxine tablets. I stared back at these patients. A lot of them were…
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Do we exclude our oldest customers?
People over the age of 85 are significantly more likely to suffer social exclusion than those in the 65 to 85-year-old bracket, according to new research. We know that a loss of social contact can damage physical and mental health, and furthermore, older people are more likely to need care from external providers. Let’s look…
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Health Self Service in Kiosk Format
Self service through health kiosks has had a presence in Australia for at least 15 years, but it does not seem to have a high profile in the pharmacies in which it is promoted. Possibly because it is viewed as a “no win” situation because it is rarely used to generate a new revenue stream…
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Magnesium Decreases Hyperactivity in ADHD Children
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, November 23, 2016 Magnesium deficiency is found more frequently in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than in healthy children. In one study of ADHD children, magnesium deficiency was found in 95 percent of those examined (1). Does this warrant magnesium supplementation for hyperactive children? The answer is yes. Supplementation…