The best drugs for back pain

Did you ever look out your window, daydreaming about what’s the best treatment for acute lower-back pain? Of course you have. Now there’s an answer: If it’s not caused by something specific (e.g., cancer, kidney stones, YouTube comments) the best pharmaceutical treatment seems to be a combination of NSAIDs, acetaminophen, and myorelaxants.

So say a group of German and Italian researchers in a systemic review of lots of literature, looking for the best non-opioid solutions.

What they found: NSAIDs alone work great, and myorelaxants alone work to some extent, but acetaminophen doesn’t do much unless it’s combined with NSAIDs.

And there you have it. Back to daydreaming.

Looking for superbug stories

Have you had any run-ins with superbugs outside of Kafka novellas? If you’ve dealt with antibiotic-resistant infections, the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease (PFID) wants to hear from you. It’s collecting stories from healthcare providers for its Squash SuperBugs Day in March, and so far doesn’t have anything from pharmacists.

If you or someone you know is willing to share your story of dealing with — professionally or personally — drug-resistance, please share! Just click here for the handy-dandy (and short) form. (If they use it, you’ll be able to approve it before it appears on the site.)

Our insulin mistake

Could we be wrong about insulin’s chemistry? Those shifty Danes think so. They’ve discovered that “we’ve gotten things wrong by 200 percent” when it comes to the distribution of molecules in an insulin shot.

Insulin divides itself into either single molecules (which work quickly) or clumps of six (which are long-acting). That’s why a dose does double duty, and the ratio is taken into account by manufacturers.

Oopsie, said the Danes. “There are only half as many single molecules in insulin compared to what we thought. Conversely, there are far more six-molecule clusters than we assumed.” That means it might not be working the way we expect. That isn’t necessarily dangerous, but it does mean we can do better.

“[O]ur results may mean that when we believe to be administering a certain dose, it may mean that insulin behaves in a different way than expected and that even better insulin therapeutics can be developed.”

States aim to detox makeup

Cosmetics fall into a loophole of regulation — they aren’t covered by either the FDA or the EPA, so manufacturers are free to put all sorts of unhealthy stuff into them. With the feds not being willing to regulate them, states are stepping in.

Washington, for example, “…found lead, arsenic, and formaldehyde in makeup, lotion, and hair-straightening products made by CoverGirl and other brands.” The state legislature is considering a bill that would ban toxic ingredients in cosmetics.

Of course, once enough states start banning those ingredients (they’re already banned in Europe), the cosmetic companies will likely remove the chemicals across the country … and make a big deal about how safe they’re making their products.

A pharma social media guide

Ogilvy Health has rated 10 pharma companies’ social media efforts using its own six-category scale. Whoopdie-do, you say.

Fair enough. But what’s worth noting is how Ogilvy rated each of those six areas. The report is effectively a primer in making social media work for you, including branding, response time, mobile design, and more. Check out the full report here — it’s 10 pages of content squeezed into a 36-page PDF.

Unfriendly skies?

Should you be worried about bird flu (other than because you have chickens)? Maybe? Some recent headlines:

1. “Cambodia tests more people for bird flu after death of 11-year-old girl”
2. “Analysis: Why public health officials are not panicked about bird flu”
3. “Experts say bird flu threat small despite Cambodian fatality”
4. “Bird flu situation ‘worrying’; WHO working with Cambodia”
5. “Flu experts gather with H5N1 risk on the agenda”