During the turn of the 20th century, most people died from communicable diseases. According to the World Health Organization, in 2000, non-communicable diseases cause approximately 60 percent of the world’s deaths. More than 7,000 attendees at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting will discuss the world’s unmet medical needs and share new technologies, clinical research and the latest drug therapies that are expected to impact this century’s greatest health needs.
The AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition: “Unmet Medical Needs: Therapies for a New Millennium” will be held Oct. 29 – Nov. 2 in Indianapolis. In addition to roundtable discussions, more than 1,800 scientific research studies will be presented. Here is a sampling:
Warning to Consumers Taking St. John’s Wort – It is estimated that one out of five people using prescription anti-depressant medications also take the popular dietary supplement St. John’s Wort in hopes of additional mood elevation (JAMA, 1998: 280, pgs. 1569-1575). A new study released at the AAPS Annual Meeting shows that the effect of many prescription medications may be dramatically reduced when combined with St. John's Wort. In fact, this study shows a staggering 50 percent of all prescription and over-the-counter medications, when combined with St. John’s Wort, become ineffective. Most at risk are those taking birth control pills, heart medications, antibiotics, sedatives, protease inhibitors (used by AIDS patients) and others.
About AAPS PharmSciAll abstracts presented at the AAPS Annual Meeting are published in a supplement to AAPS PharmSci (www.pharmsci.org), the organization’s peer-reviewed, online journal. AAPS PharmSci offers a forum for the rapid exchange and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the pharmaceutical sciences.
About AAPSAAPS is a professional, scientific society of more than 11,000 members employed in academia, industry, government and other research institutes worldwide. Founded in 1986, AAPS aims to advance science through the open exchange of scientific knowledge, serve as an information resource and contribute to human health through pharmaceutical research and development. For more information about AAPS, visit AAPS online at www.aaps.org.
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Editor’s Note: For more information on the above research or to set up interviews with researchers, contact Marie Bertot at 305-573-9955, ext. 210 ([email protected]). All abstracts presented at the Annual Meeting can be previewed in a fully searchable database at http://view.abstractonline.com/aaps/abstractViewer.asp. For complete up-to-date meeting information, visit the AAPS Annual Meeting News Room at http://www.aaps.org/annualmeet/AM_PressInfo.htm. To register for the meeting, contact Debbie Werfel at AAPS, 703-248-4743 or [email protected]. For the period of October 29 - November 1, contact Marie Bertot or Debbie Werfel at the press room in Indianapolis at 317-262-2820.
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