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Articles by Afsaneh Gray
Calling the shots: the pharmacists combatting vaccine misinformation
Virginia Chachati, a pharmacist who works in public health and medical communication, has had her fair share of patients challenging her about vaccines. “Somebody will come in and say, ‘I don’t think you should be offering the flu vaccine, I think it does more harm than good’.” Her response? “I’ll say, ‘Where have you got your information from?’ Often, they’ll say ‘I got it online’.” Chachati’s experience illustrates a wider trend: vaccine hesitancy is on the rise (see Figure).
A quest for hope: is endometriosis finally being taken seriously?
“My symptoms began shortly after I reached puberty,” says Ashita, a 29-year-old applied behaviour analysis tutor. “I recall episodes of severe pain and heavy bleeding during my early teenage years.” Over time, Ashita (who asked to keep her surname private) developed additional symptoms — “bloating, lower back pain, mood swings, anxiety” — all of which progressively affected her quality of life. “Initially, my complaints were often addressed with painkillers,” she remembers.
Would UK approval of lecanemab be a game changer for people with Alzheimer's disease?
Lecanemab, a new monoclonal antibody treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is currently being considered by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) under its accelerated ‘Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway’ (ILAP), which is aimed to fast track patient access to cutting-edge medicines.
Depression and 'the pill': untangling the evidence
Use of the contraceptive pill in England is on the decline. NHS data published in June 2023 show that community pharmacies dispensed 7.2 million items of progestogen-only contraceptives and combined hormonal contraceptives in 2022/2023, a significant jump down from the 8.5 million dispensed in 2014/2015. In that time, studies have raised concerns about the connection between ‘the pill’ and an increased risk of mood disorders.
Monoclonal antibody treatment for ulcerative colitis twice as effective as placebo, study shows
The results of two phase 3 trials of the monoclonal antibody mirikizumab have shown that the drug is better than placebo at inducing and maintaining remission in adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 28 June 2023, randomly assigned 1,281 patients at 383 sites in 34 countries, to receive intravenous mirikizumab 300mg or placebo in a 3:1 ratio as part of the induction trial.
Statin alternative may be as effective in cutting risk of heart attack and stroke, shows research
An analysis of data from the ‘CLEAR Outcomes’ trial has revealed that statin-intolerant patients taking bempedoic acid had a reduced risk of experiencing a major cardiac event, compared with those on placebo. Data from the trial, which enrolled 13,970 statin-intolerant patients, have showed that the lowered risk level was comparable to that seen on statins for the same extent of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction.
Community pharmacy delivers more than 5 million flu vaccinations for the first time
Community pharmacies administered 5,007,578 flu vaccinations in England during the 2022/2023 flu season, the first time the number has topped 5 million since the service was launched in 2015. The Advanced Service Flu Report, published by the NHS Business Services Authority, showed the number of vaccinations delivered between September 2022 and March 2023 under the National Flu Vaccination Service.
Metformin may reduce the risk of developing long COVID, research suggests
People who took metformin for nearly one year after SARS-CoV-2 infection showed a 41% decrease in the incidence of long COVID compared with placebo, finds a new analysis of data.
Government scraps plans to raise qualifying age for free prescriptions to 66 years in England
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that it will not proceed with a proposal to increase the upper age exemption for prescription charges in line with the state pension. In a statement published on 15 June 2023, the government said that its consultation, which ran for 9 weeks, received more than 117,000 responses and that “the majority of which were opposed to a rise in the upper age exemption”.
Do long-term antibiotics for acne fuel antimicrobial resistance?
With rates of antimicrobial resistance continuing to rise, the need to conserve antibiotics is becoming increasingly urgent. In the case of acne, a limited number of alternative treatments means that antibiotics are frequently prescribed first-line, often for prolonged periods and, unsurprisingly, experts are becoming concerned about the effect this could be having on antimicrobial stewardship efforts.
The man and his 'illegal' van trying to fix Glasgow’s drug problem
A van providing a safe space for drug users to inject is being piloted in Glasgow but, despite backing for the idea of such a facility from the Scottish government, Westminster says that it is illegal.
the apocalypse smells like cut grass | a space to isolate in
Written by Afsaneh Gray and performed by Shane Zaza
The hunt for an effective treatment for COVID-19
As researchers around the globe drop everything to find a treatment for COVID-19, we look at the likely frontrunners for managing this deadly disease. Source: Mclean Researchers are looking at several ways of treating COVID-19, including trialling antiviral drugs and modulating the immune system When I speak to Carl Heneghan, he is not feeling his best. “I’m on day six now,” he says, of his brush with COVID-19.
Going against type: the new class of cancer therapies targeting mutations rather than tissues
‘Tumour agnostic’ drugs offer a more effective and tolerable therapy for a wide range of people with cancer, so why has the NHS rejected its first one? Source: Mclean/Science Photo Library In June 2019, Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, described ‘tumour agnostic’ drugs as “game-changing” and announced the NHS’s desire to fast-track their approval for people with cancer[1].
Non-drug interventions
E-cigarettes in smoking cessation: a harm reduction perspectiveSubscription By Chris Bullen, Carla López-Núñez, Oliver Knight-West Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are novel devices that simulate aspects of cigarette smoking and deliver nicotine to users. Evidence for their efficacy in smoking cessation, based on several randomised controlled trials of older devices, suggests a modest effect.
Before the dawn: the tough regulatory climate holding back insomnia relief
Please subscribe to support us and enjoy unlimited access to The Pharmaceutical Journal and Clinical Pharmacist and CPD modules. Use the code0516EMSB2DP for 20% discount on our annual digital subscriptions. A new class of sleep medicines, could provide relief for people living with insomnia, but pharmaceutical companies are struggling to get them to market. The Pharmaceutical Journal 5 DEC 2019By Afsaneh Gray
Before the dawn: the tough regulatory climate holding back insomnia relief
Daniel Hoyer, a pharmacologist from the University of Melbourne, recalls when, in 2006, Patrick Kennedy crashed his car into a security barricade near the capitol. Kennedy, a Democratic Party member of the US House of Representatives, insisted he was late for a vote. “It was three o’clock in the morning,” Hoyer says. “It turns out he was on zolpidem.” Hoyer notes that zolpidem, a ‘Z-drug’, works by enhancing the effect of neurotrasmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, just like benzodiazepines.
Mental Health awareness
Pharmacists in community settings should be enabled to holistically support people with mental health problems when starting out on their medicines, according to a new report published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). Image: Self Portrait 15, painted 27th June 1991 from The Self Portrait Series by Bryan Charnley. © James Charnley and SANE (www.BryanCharnley.info).
Health anxiety: currently trending
The internet can help as well as hinder. Despite good advice being available online, Googling symptoms can lead to health anxiety. Can pharmacists play a role in reducing the side effects of ‘Dr Google’? Erin Hallett was still a teenager when she saw the movie Kindergarten Cop. When it came to the famous “It’s not a tumour” line, voiced by Arnold Schwarzenegger, she remembers thinking, “I’m going to have a brain tumour”.
A strong base: the importance of foot health
Healthcare professionals are beginning to recognise the importance of keeping our feet in good working order, but does more need to be done to communicate this message to the public? Healthy feet are vital for mobility. In their lifetime, the average person walks approximately 100,000 miles. But all too often, we do not place the same emphasis on looking after our feet as we do on other parts of our body.
Octopus | Projects | Tara-Arts
“You’re an octopus. All mixed up, like me. One leg something, and one leg something else.” Octopus is an anarchic new comedy about Britishness and whether anybody knows what it is. Set in a world where how British you are is determined by the state, three women have been called in for interview. Sara looks kind of Asian. Scheherazade kind of Middle Eastern. And Sarah is kind of white and has no idea why she's here. She also keeps bursting into song.
Multiple myeloma: an expensive revolution
New treatments for this rare form of cancer have transformed patient survival rates, but the benefits have come with huge costs. Andrew Godfrey was training for the 2010 London marathon when he first hurt his back. “I went to the doctor, got some anti-spasmodic drugs and painkillers, and it went away,” he says. But before long the pain returned, leaving him unable to do his job as a fabricator in the steel industry. Next he tried physiotherapy, and improved enough to go back to work.
Octopus | Paper Tiger
Presented by Paper Tiger Productions and Greenwich Theatre in association with Fine Mess Theatre Octopus is an anarchic new comedy about Britishness and whether anybody knows what it is. Set in a world where how British you are is determined by the state, three women have been called in for interview. Sara looks kind of Asian. Scheherazade kind of Middle Eastern. And Sarah is kind of white and has no idea why she's here. She also keeps bursting into song.
Understanding irritable bowel syndrome: bugs, brains and leaky barriers
Research indicates that there are multiple causes for the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and that most of them may involve the microbiome. Matthew Chaddock first went to the doctor for trouble with his bowels when he was 13. But it wasn’t until about five years ago that he was finally diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) at the age of 26 years. “They said ‘there’s not much we can do for you, just play around with your diet’.” Chaddock felt let down.
Targeting the CGRP protein could lead to a preventative treatment for migraine
It’s been a long time coming, but a new class of drugs targeting the CGRP protein could be the first preventative treatment specifically developed for migraine to hit the market. First, Anna Andreou feels it coming: “I get speech problems, I find it difficult to say phrases”. That’s the premonitory phase. After this, the pain hits. “[It’s] really disabling.
Overcoming the challenges in developing male contraceptives
John Amory, a researcher in male reproduction at the University of Washington in Seattle, is a self-confessed “history buff”. He was reading an article about the history of andrology — the male counterpart to the field of gynaecology — when he came across a mention of a 1960 study in which a novel contraceptive was tested on male prisoners, with good results. He was intrigued.
How do we solve a problem like medicines adherence?
It is almost a cliché to say that approximately 50% of people do not take their medicines as prescribed, a statistic that dates back to a 2002 Cochrane review1. Nonetheless, this figure remains a reasonable estimate.
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