MDNews - Mid Penn

CORE ELECTROCONVULSIVE THER APY (ECT) YIELDS REMISSION R ATES OF CLOSE TO 70 PERCENT FOR CLINICALLY DEPRESSED PATIENTS WHO HAVE NOT RESPONDED TO ANTIDEPRESSANTS. HOWE VER, IT CAN CAUSE SIDE EFFECTS, INCLUDING CONFUSION AND RE TROGR ADE AMNESIA. NOW KETAMINE — a genera l anesthetic that has a reputation a s a pa r t y dr ug — ha s ga ined at tention for its potentia l to treat depression a mong those for whom other approaches have fa iled. Clevela nd Clinic resea rchers a re leading a study compa ring the effectiveness a nd side effects of ECT to those of keta mine. They a nd scientists from Ya le Universit y, Baylor College of Medicine a nd Ica hn School of Medicine at Mount Sina i in New York are tracking 400 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Par ticipants will receive ECT three times a week or infusions of keta mine twice a week, Cleveland Magazine repor ts. The nea rly $12 mi llion study w i ll a ssess ef f icacy a nd side effects over a two-yea r period. " Hopef u lly we ca n lea rn what kinds of patients seem to respond best, what regimen we ca n use to help them respond optimally and what impact that can have," Donald Malone, MD, Clevela nd Clinic's Chair of the Center for Behaviora l Hea lth, told the ma ga zine. "About 10 percent of ever ybody ha s a n episode of depression sometime in their lifetime. If you rea lize about 20 percent of those patients who do have depression don't respond ver y well to our traditiona l treatments, that leaves huge numbers of individua ls who a re suffering." ■ Ketamine Eyed as TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION BY STEVE BARRETT DEMENTIA KILLS 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE GLOBALLY E ACH YE AR. SO DOES TUBERCULOSIS. BUT ABOUT 300 TRE ATMENTS FOR AL ZHEIMER'S AND ONLY 80 FOR TB WERE UNDER DE VELOPMENT IN 2017, NOTES A REPORT BY THE SCHAEFFER CENTER FOR HE ALTH POLICY & ECONOMICS AT THE UNIVERSIT Y OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HIGHLIGHTING THE LINK BE T WEEN DRUG SPENDING AND INNOVATION. M O R E D E AT H S IN higher-income countries are related to dementia, whereas TB is far more common in lower-income nations, the report notes, and countries focus research dollars on their priorities. In addition, expected fi nancial returns aff ect investment decisions, according to the authors. That is a double-edged sword: While TB research may go begging, most HIV patients using antiretroviral therapies live in Africa — even though the therapies were developed in wea lthier countries. The burden of much of that development falls on the U.S., the writers argue, because Americans pay vastly more for drugs than people in poor or even other wealthy countries, creating profi ts that fund development. An analysis by the researchers suggests raising drug prices in Europe by 20 percent would yield more drug discovery and fi nancial gains on both sides of the Atlantic. "If other wealthy countries shouldered more of the burden for medical innovation, both American and European patients would benefi t," the authors write. Even poorer countries would benefit by paying more as their incomes rise and they confront increases in conditions such as diabetes and dementia: "Spending a bit more now to ensure their populations have access to eff ective treatment is in everyone's interest." ■ Innovation Tied to Drug Costs BY STEVE BARRETT STUDY: M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S M I D - P E N N ■ 2 018 1 5 I N N O V A T I O N / T E C H N O L O G Y ❰❰❰❰❰ 1 5

• Cover