Safe Disposal of Unwanted/ Unused Medications

For the past 4 years, the DEA made it easy with their National "Drug Take Back Days". But the final DEA collection was last fall, so now what? We still have them, unused medications. So what should responsible people do? There is a lot of outdated and erroneous information on-line. But I feel confident in directing you to the following 3 sources below:

DEA - The Drug Enforcement Agency has a search feature: www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov
Enter your zip code and it will list approved public disposal locations. In Massachusetts the two primary locations were Mass General Hospital in Boston and Beth Israel Deaconess in Plymouth. There were no locations listed in Maine.

FDA - A few weeks ago the US Food and Drug Administration posted guidelines "How to Dispose of Unused Medicines": http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm101653.htm
They explain why it is NOT appropriate to flush many prescriptions and they also recommend removing labels from the bottles, or at least marking them up so they are illegible.

Local Police - Probably the easiest. I called my local police station. The very nice sergeant I spoke to said they have a drop box in the main lobby of the police station, and all I had to do was walk in and drop off any unwanted medication. He also told me that the most local police stations have them.

Promising Trials in Field of Alzheimer's Research

I had the pleasure of attending the Alzheimer's Association Spring Research Forum last week, naïve as it may seem for me to use the word pleasure in the same sentence as Alzheimer's disease, there was a real sense of hope throughout the audience listening to the panel of research doctors discuss their updates, findings and breakthroughs.

Alzheimer's disease has had a lot of media coverage recently, with staggering statistics: Over 5 Million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's, but only 45% of people diagnosed are told they have the disease; the 2015 estimated cost of caring for people with ALZ or other Dementias is $226 billion; Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in Massachusetts and currently we have no proven cure, treatment or prevention. This is where the story will change.

The forum I attended was a pleasure, because the over reaching atmosphere was one of hope. I listened to 10 different research doctors, giants in their field of study, discuss many aspects of the disease, preventative care being in the forefront. There was a lot of discussion around recent studies showing that lowering amyloid protein build up in the brain can slow memory loss and degradation! Bringing us to a very exciting preventative clinical trial called the A4 Study.

The A4 Study (Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s) is testing whether an anti-amyloid antibody, can slow memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid is a protein normally produced in the brain that can build up in older people, forming amyloid plaque deposits. Scientists believe this buildup of deposits may play a key role in the eventual development of Alzheimer’s disease-related memory loss. The overall goal of the A4 study is to test whether decreasing amyloid with antibody investigational treatment can help slow the memory loss associated with amyloid buildup in some people. Source: A4study.org

Clinical Trials are essential to getting drugs on the market.

There are many trials going on, 225 across the USA (hosted at over 700 different sites) and over 30 in Massachusetts. The Alzheimer's Association has feature on their website: www.alz.org called TrialMatch where you fill out a questionnaire and they pair you up with a study or trail which fits your situation. The A4 study is currently looking for participants aged 65-85, who do not show any signs of memory loss. It is a nationwide study, locally conducted through the Brigham and Women's Hospital.

 

Keeping the Cold and Flu Away this Winter

'Tis the season for sniffles and coughs, but here are some thoughts and tips to help keep you healthy this winter.



1) Flu Vaccine - The CDC expects the flu season to continue for several weeks, according to their website: www.cdc.gov/flu/ And they recommend getting vaccinated, if you haven't already, despite the low effectiveness against H3N2, which is apparently most prevalent strain this season. 



2) Ask your Doctor about Antiviral Medications - If you do get the flu, the CDC further recommends pursuing a prescription Antiviral Drug like Tamiflu or Relenza, especially if you are at risk for getting serious complications from the flu. Ask your doctor what is best for you.

3) Keep noses Warm - The results from a team of researchers at Yale, determined that our immune system becomes weaker in a cold nose, giving the Rhinovirus (most frequent cause of the common cold) more opportunity to replicate. The BBC spoke with Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, who recommended keeping your nose warm and avoiding cold air in your nasal cavity: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30685732
So bundle up with scarves when heading out on cold days!