Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Physician shares lessons learned from fungal meningitis outbreak

In a new perspective piece being published Online First tonight in Annals of Internal Medicine, a physician recalls lessons learned from treating patients affected by the 2002 outbreak of Exophiala (Wangiella) dermatitidis meningitis or arthritis related to contaminated, injectable coticosteroids prepared from a compounding pharmacy.

20 Oct 2012

Most compounding pharmacies are not accredited

News outlets, following the story about a deadly meningitis outbreak linked to drugs provided by a compounding pharmacy, explore the issue of accreditation, how many more people are at risk and what leads doctors to use these drugs.

20 Oct 2012

Roundup: Va. health chief quits, citing new abortion clinic regulations; Texas will shutter women's health program if Planned Parenthood participates

Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Remley resigned Thursday over new GOP-backed regulations that could shutter most Virginia abortion providers as reproductive rights take center stage in pivotal Senate and presidential races.

20 Oct 2012

First Edition: October 19, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about how Medicare and women's health issues are playing in a number of House and Senate races.

19 Oct 2012

Lack of 'fiscal cliff' talk offers proof that the urgent issue is frozen until after election

The fact that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and President Barack Obama have not discussed looming automatic spending cuts leads this roundup of Capitol Hill news.

19 Oct 2012

Federal agents raid drug compounding center

Food and Drug Administration investigators probe the Massachusetts pharmacy linked to a meningitis outbreak that has killed 16.

19 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: 'Scrappy' debate offered little new on entitlement programs; Staring down the fiscal cliff

President Obama and Mitt Romney faced off Tuesday night in a scrappy, at times downright nasty town-hall debate that featured a feistier, more focused Obama than was seen in their first encounter and that broadened the discussion to social issues such as immigration, contraceptive coverage and gun control. ... In the end, on the domestic front, the debate performance of both has been about as disappointing as their dodging on the campaign trail.

19 Oct 2012

Views on meningitis outbreak: FDA says it is working to contain risks; USA Today says regulators had 'ample warning of the potential risks'

The ongoing meningitis outbreak and its impact on patients and their families is a tragedy, and our hearts go out to the patients and their families who have suffered as a result of these events. The FDA's top priority is to fully contain the health risks associated with the outbreak as quickly as possible, and we will continue to work tirelessly to do so.

19 Oct 2012

Additional drugs linked to meningitis outbreak

Food and Drug Administration officials said Monday that more people may be at risk as a result of contaminated drugs made by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy.

17 Oct 2012

First Edition: October 16, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about a study regarding the possible impact of premium support on Medicare premiums.

16 Oct 2012

NIAID-funded study to evaluate PPSV23 and PCV13 in Phase Iib pneumococcal trial

Researchers plan to see if a higher dose of a pneumococcal vaccine will create a stronger immune response in older adults who received an earlier generation vaccine against pneumonia and other pneumococcal diseases.

16 Oct 2012

Experts discuss recent U.S. meningitis outbreak at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2012 meeting

Four experts in anesthesiology, infectious disease and pain medicine discussed the recent U.S. meningitis outbreak in the Late-Breaking Education Panel, "The Fungal Meningitis Crisis," on Sunday, Oct. 14.

16 Oct 2012

Saint Louis University to participate in PPV23 vaccine trial for pneumonia

Saint Louis University is participating in a multi-site, National Institutes of Health-sponsored clinical trial in older adults of a new vaccine designed to protect against one of the most common types of pneumonia and related diseases such as bloodstream infections and meningitis.

16 Oct 2012

Physicians urged to think twice before they prescribe compounded drugs

The recent outbreak of meningitis in the US-and the subsequent deaths of 15 individuals-has renewed scrutiny on the contemporary practice of pharmacy compounding. The risks to patients, and associated liability risk to prescribing physicians, largely outweigh the benefits when the practice goes beyond the traditional, extemporaneous role, according to Sarah Sellers from q-Vigilance LLC and Wulf Utian from Case Western Reserve University in the US. Sellers and Utian's opinion piece appears online in the journal Drugs, published by Adis.

16 Oct 2012

Questions abound on compounding pharmacies after meningitis outbreak

Compounding pharmacies continue to face intense scrutiny over their drug preparation and lobbying habits after one in Massachusetts is suspected in distributing a steroid that led to a meningitis outbreak.

15 Oct 2012

State roundup: Minn. says health exchange will cost $40 million

Minnesota budget officials estimate it could cost the state as much as $40 million to run its health insurance exchange in 2015. The state-based online insurance marketplaces are a cornerstone of the federal health care overhaul.

12 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Wis. Senate candidates Thompson, Baldwin offer competing views of health law; 'Disturbing lack' of oversight of compounding pharmacies

The meningitis outbreak that has sickened at least 119 people and killed 11 of them has laid bare a disturbing lack of regulatory oversight of pharmacies that mix drug compounds and ship them around the country. Unless Congress passes legislation to strengthen the hand of the Food and Drug Administration, the public will continue to be at risk from contaminated products.

11 Oct 2012