European Union law prohibits companies from marketing drugs off-label. In the United Kingdom—as in some other European countries, but unlike the United States—industry self-regulatory bodies are tasked with supervising compliance with marketing rules. The objectives of this study were to (1) characterize off-label promotion rulings in the UK compared to the whistleblower-initiated cases in the US and (2) shed light on the UK self-regulatory mechanism for detecting, deterring, and sanctioning off-label promotion.
Civil registration and vital statistics systems are increasingly recognized as drivers of human rights, health, and development programs—especially for women and children. Vital statistics systems are weak in most low-income countries, precisely where the burden of maternal and child deaths is highest and, therefore, the need for up-to-date, high-quality estimates of levels and trends in maternal and child mortality is greatest.
Ashlee Earl and colleagues use whole genome sequencing and dating analysis of TB isolates from KwaZulu-Natal to identify when the mutations that confer extensive drug resistance evolved.
Current dietary guidelines recommend eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. However, based on nutrient composition, some particular fruits and vegetables may be more or less beneficial for maintaining or achieving a healthy weight. We hypothesized that greater consumption of fruits and vegetables with a higher fiber content or lower glycemic load would be more strongly associated with a healthy weight.
Mobile text messaging and medication monitors (medication monitor boxes) have the potential to improve adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment and reduce the need for directly observed treatment (DOT), but to our knowledge they have not been properly evaluated in TB patients. We assessed the effectiveness of text messaging and medication monitors to improve medication adherence in TB patients.
In 2013, a stockpile of oral cholera vaccine (OCV) was created for use in outbreak response, but vaccine availability remains severely limited. Innovative strategies are needed to maximize the health impact and minimize the logistical barriers to using available vaccine. Here we ask under what conditions the use of one dose rather than the internationally licensed two-dose protocol may do both.
Pregnancy is usually a happy time for women and their families. But, for some women, pregnancy ends unhappily. Some women lose their baby during early pregnancy (spontaneous abortion or miscarriage) or during late pregnancy (stillbirth). Others have their baby earlier than expected (preterm birth) or have a baby with low birth weight, two outcomes that adversely affect the baby’s survival and long-term health.
In May 2012, the New York City Board of Health set a limit of 16 ounces on sugary drinks sold in city restaurants, theaters, and food carts, triggering international media attention and a firestorm of opposition. A majority of New Yorkers viewed the portion cap as a “bad idea”, and three-quarters of Americans opposed it. The soft drink industry embarked on a multimillion-dollar campaign to block the rule, culminating in a successful legal challenge.
There is a paucity of information on secular trends in the age-related process by which people develop overweight or obesity. Utilizing longitudinal data in the United Kingdom birth cohort studies, we investigated shifts over the past nearly 70 years in the distribution of body mass index (BMI) and development of overweight or obesity across childhood and adulthood.
Like a growing number of rapidly developing countries, India has begun to develop a system for large-scale community-based screening for diabetes. The researchers sought to identify the implications of using alternative screening instruments to detect people with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes among diverse populations across India.
