Dr. Susan Sharma: This is Insidermedicine in 60. From Maryland, the FDA is evaluating reports of increasing suicidal ideation and increasingly erratic and aggressive behavior in patients taking the smoking cessation medicine, Chantix. Reports also suggest that the medicine may cause excessive drowsiness. The agency is urging doctors to monitor anyone taking the medicine for behavior and mood changes and for those using the drug to be cautious while driving or operating machinery.
From Wisconsin, in what is being called a monumental breakthrough is stem cell research, two research teams working independent of one another, have shown that mature skin cells can be used to create stem cells. Prior to this discovery the source for stem cells was embryos. These findings may eventually lead to advancements in the management of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes.
And finally, from Baltimore, new guidelines are being recommended by the American Academy of Neurology for the management of epilepsy, based on a review of published literature. The guidelines are placing new emphasis on imaging the brain to rule out pathology like a tumor or vascular lesion, which is seen in 10% of cases and an EEG, which is abnormal in a third of cases. For Insidermedicine in 60, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.
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