New and Noteworthy Information

Women ages 65 and older with retinopathy are more likely to have cognitive decline and larger ischemic lesion volumes, researchers reported in the March 14 online Neurology. Using fundus photography to assess retinopathy and the modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) to assess cognitive performance over time, the investigators studied 511 women who were enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study and the Sight Examination Study. After a 10-year follow-up period, women with retinopathy had lower 3MSE scores, 47% larger ischemic volumes in the total brain, and 68% larger ischemic volumes in the parietal lobe. According to the researchers, the association between retinopathy and cognitive impairment, as well as larger ischemic lesion volumes, “strengthens existing evidence that retinopathy as a marker of small vessel disease is a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease that may influence cognitive performance and related brain changes.”
Regular use of statins is associated with a modest reduction in the risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a study in the March Archives of Neurology. The prospective study included 38,192 men and 90,874 women participating in two ongoing US cohorts. Those enrolled were followed for 12 years, during which 644 cases (338 women) of Parkinson’s disease were documented. The investigators found that current statin users had a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, compared with nonusers. Furthermore, participants younger than 60 at baseline had a significant association between Parkinson’s disease risk and statin use, while those who were older did not have such an association. “The possibility that some statins may reduce Parkinson’s disease risk deserves further consideration,” the study authors stated.

Labels for statin drugs will now include information about memory loss and confusion side effects experienced by some patients, according to changes issued by the FDA. The statin drugs include atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, lovastatin extended-release, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin, as well as combination products. According to the FDA, the cognitive effects experienced by patients taking statins were usually not serious and were reversed by stopping statin use. In addition to describing cognitive effects, label changes to the statins will provide information on blood sugar increases experienced by some patients and regarding a greater risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The updated labels also identify contraindications for lovastatin and remove the recommendation for routine periodic monitoring of liver enzymes in patients taking statins. The FDA emphasized that health care professionals and patients should be aware of the most current information on statin risks, while remaining assured that statins provide an important health benefit.

The FDA has approved the Avonex pen and a new dose titration regimen for once-a-week treatment of Avonex in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients may experience less injection anxiety and pain by using the Avonex pen, which has an automated injection device and a smaller needle than the currently available Avonex Prefilled Syringe. Data from an open-label, multicenter, phase IIIb study showed that approximately nine of 10 patients successfully used the device, and 94% of patients preferred the Avonex pen to the Avonex Prefilled Syringe. In addition, a randomized, phase I study found that the new dose titration regimen, which gradually escalates the dose of Avonex (Biogen Idec; Weston, Massachusetts) at treatment initiation, reduced the incidence and severity of flulike symptoms.

Women who have multiple pregnancies may have a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to research published in the March 7 online Neurology. Investigators reviewed the cases of 282 men and women who had a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination between 2003 and 2006. These 282 patients (ages 18 to 59) were compared with a matched control group of 542 patients who did not have a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination. Among women, having a higher number of offspring was associated with a lower risk of a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination. “These findings are consistent with a cumulative beneficial effect of pregnancy,” the study authors stated. They speculated that societal trends toward having children at a later age and having fewer children overall may help explain the increasing rate of MS cases in women.

Women ages 65 and older with retinopathy are more likely to have cognitive decline and larger ischemic lesion volumes, researchers reported in the March 14 online Neurology. Using fundus photography to assess retinopathy and the modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) to assess cognitive performance over time, the investigators studied 511 women who were enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study and the Sight Examination Study. After a 10-year follow-up period, women with retinopathy had lower 3MSE scores, 47% larger ischemic volumes in the total brain, and 68% larger ischemic volumes in the parietal lobe. According to the researchers, the association between retinopathy and cognitive impairment, as well as larger ischemic lesion volumes, “strengthens existing evidence that retinopathy as a marker of small vessel disease is a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease that may influence cognitive performance and related brain changes.”
Regular use of statins is associated with a modest reduction in the risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a study in the March Archives of Neurology. The prospective study included 38,192 men and 90,874 women participating in two ongoing US cohorts. Those enrolled were followed for 12 years, during which 644 cases (338 women) of Parkinson’s disease were documented. The investigators found that current statin users had a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, compared with nonusers. Furthermore, participants younger than 60 at baseline had a significant association between Parkinson’s disease risk and statin use, while those who were older did not have such an association. “The possibility that some statins may reduce Parkinson’s disease risk deserves further consideration,” the study authors stated.

Labels for statin drugs will now include information about memory loss and confusion side effects experienced by some patients, according to changes issued by the FDA. The statin drugs include atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, lovastatin extended-release, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin, as well as combination products. According to the FDA, the cognitive effects experienced by patients taking statins were usually not serious and were reversed by stopping statin use. In addition to describing cognitive effects, label changes to the statins will provide information on blood sugar increases experienced by some patients and regarding a greater risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The updated labels also identify contraindications for lovastatin and remove the recommendation for routine periodic monitoring of liver enzymes in patients taking statins. The FDA emphasized that health care professionals and patients should be aware of the most current information on statin risks, while remaining assured that statins provide an important health benefit.

The FDA has approved the Avonex pen and a new dose titration regimen for once-a-week treatment of Avonex in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients may experience less injection anxiety and pain by using the Avonex pen, which has an automated injection device and a smaller needle than the currently available Avonex Prefilled Syringe. Data from an open-label, multicenter, phase IIIb study showed that approximately nine of 10 patients successfully used the device, and 94% of patients preferred the Avonex pen to the Avonex Prefilled Syringe. In addition, a randomized, phase I study found that the new dose titration regimen, which gradually escalates the dose of Avonex (Biogen Idec; Weston, Massachusetts) at treatment initiation, reduced the incidence and severity of flulike symptoms.

Women who have multiple pregnancies may have a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to research published in the March 7 online Neurology. Investigators reviewed the cases of 282 men and women who had a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination between 2003 and 2006. These 282 patients (ages 18 to 59) were compared with a matched control group of 542 patients who did not have a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination. Among women, having a higher number of offspring was associated with a lower risk of a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination. “These findings are consistent with a cumulative beneficial effect of pregnancy,” the study authors stated. They speculated that societal trends toward having children at a later age and having fewer children overall may help explain the increasing rate of MS cases in women.

Women ages 65 and older with retinopathy are more likely to have cognitive decline and larger ischemic lesion volumes, researchers reported in the March 14 online Neurology. Using fundus photography to assess retinopathy and the modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) to assess cognitive performance over time, the investigators studied 511 women who were enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study and the Sight Examination Study. After a 10-year follow-up period, women with retinopathy had lower 3MSE scores, 47% larger ischemic volumes in the total brain, and 68% larger ischemic volumes in the parietal lobe. According to the researchers, the association between retinopathy and cognitive impairment, as well as larger ischemic lesion volumes, “strengthens existing evidence that retinopathy as a marker of small vessel disease is a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease that may influence cognitive performance and related brain changes.”
Regular use of statins is associated with a modest reduction in the risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a study in the March Archives of Neurology. The prospective study included 38,192 men and 90,874 women participating in two ongoing US cohorts. Those enrolled were followed for 12 years, during which 644 cases (338 women) of Parkinson’s disease were documented. The investigators found that current statin users had a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, compared with nonusers. Furthermore, participants younger than 60 at baseline had a significant association between Parkinson’s disease risk and statin use, while those who were older did not have such an association. “The possibility that some statins may reduce Parkinson’s disease risk deserves further consideration,” the study authors stated.

Labels for statin drugs will now include information about memory loss and confusion side effects experienced by some patients, according to changes issued by the FDA. The statin drugs include atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, lovastatin extended-release, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin, as well as combination products. According to the FDA, the cognitive effects experienced by patients taking statins were usually not serious and were reversed by stopping statin use. In addition to describing cognitive effects, label changes to the statins will provide information on blood sugar increases experienced by some patients and regarding a greater risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The updated labels also identify contraindications for lovastatin and remove the recommendation for routine periodic monitoring of liver enzymes in patients taking statins. The FDA emphasized that health care professionals and patients should be aware of the most current information on statin risks, while remaining assured that statins provide an important health benefit.

The FDA has approved the Avonex pen and a new dose titration regimen for once-a-week treatment of Avonex in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients may experience less injection anxiety and pain by using the Avonex pen, which has an automated injection device and a smaller needle than the currently available Avonex Prefilled Syringe. Data from an open-label, multicenter, phase IIIb study showed that approximately nine of 10 patients successfully used the device, and 94% of patients preferred the Avonex pen to the Avonex Prefilled Syringe. In addition, a randomized, phase I study found that the new dose titration regimen, which gradually escalates the dose of Avonex (Biogen Idec; Weston, Massachusetts) at treatment initiation, reduced the incidence and severity of flulike symptoms.

Women who have multiple pregnancies may have a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to research published in the March 7 online Neurology. Investigators reviewed the cases of 282 men and women who had a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination between 2003 and 2006. These 282 patients (ages 18 to 59) were compared with a matched control group of 542 patients who did not have a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination. Among women, having a higher number of offspring was associated with a lower risk of a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination. “These findings are consistent with a cumulative beneficial effect of pregnancy,” the study authors stated. They speculated that societal trends toward having children at a later age and having fewer children overall may help explain the increasing rate of MS cases in women.