Involving patients in all stages of health data research is a noble aim; however,
there are not too many examples of it being successfully put into practice particularly
not in real-time pandemic surveillance. In November, 2020, the Early Pandemic Evaluation
and Enhanced Surveillance of COVID-19 (EAVE II) team created a unique collaboration,
inviting a Public Advisory Group (PAG) of 15 patient and public contributors to work
alongside university and Public Health Scotland staff to provide vital perspectives
of the public on all areas of their COVID-19 research.
The Alzheimer s disease community has become accustomed to false hope, disappointment,
and controversy. With an estimated 55 million people worldwide affected by dementia,
the need for an effective treatment is undeniable. But efforts to develop a drug that
can modify the course of Alzheimer s disease, by using antibodies to clear amyloid-beta
(Aβ) from the brain, have endured numerous setbacks over the past 20 years. Almost
a decade ago, the first anti-Aβ antibodies tested in phase 3 trials, bapineuzumab
and solanezumab, did not improve clinical outcomes in mild to moderate Alzheimer s
disease.
Opioid prescriptions in the USA have fallen over the past decade or so. But the numbers
are still enormous. In 2020, US pharmacies filled more than 140 million prescriptions
for opioids, enough to medicate 43% of the population. Some 10 million Americans are
thought to misuse opioids, a category of drug that includes heroin, methadone, and
morphine.
It takes less than a quarter of an hour for Silent Pandemic to give up on the pharmaceutical
industry. First we hear from Ella Balasa, a 29-year-old American who is finding it
increasingly difficult to overcome the bacterial infections related to her cystic
fibrosis. She faces the frightening prospect that what is now difficult will soon
become impossible. We then cross the Atlantic for an interview with Sally Davies,
UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance, who notes that there is a lag of at
least 10 years between the identification of an actionable target and the entry into
the market of a drug aimed at the target.
Paediatrician who pioneered the use of oral rehydration therapy. Born on Nov 12, 1934
in what is now Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, he died on Oct 16, 2022 in Kolkata, India,
aged 87 years.