0000000000247688
AUTHOR
Iris Plug
The timing of introduction of pharmaceutical innovations in seven European countries
RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Differences in the performance of medical care may be due to variation in the introduction and diffusion of medical innovations. The objective of this paper is to compare seven European countries (United Kingdom, the Netherlands, West Germany, France, Spain, Estonia and Sweden) with regard to the year of introduction of six specific pharmaceutical innovations (antiretroviral drugs, cimetidine, tamoxifen, cisplatin, oxalaplatin and cyclosporin) that may have had important population health impacts. METHODS: We collected information on introduction and further diffusion of drugs using searches in the national and international literature, and questionnaires to …
Pain in adult patients with Pompe disease
article i nfo Background: Pompe disease is a rare hereditary metabolic myopathy caused by a deficiency of acid-α-glucosidase. We investigatedthe presence and severity of painand its interference with dailyactivities in a large group of adults with Pompe disease, who we compared with an age-matched control group. Methods: Data were collected in a cross-sectional survey in Germany and The Netherlands. Pain was assessed using the short-form brief pain inventory (BPI). Patients also completed the Short Form-36 item (SF-36v2), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Rotterdam Handicap Scale (RHS). Results: Forty-five percent of the 124 adult Pompe patients reported having had pa…
Innovations in medical care and mortality trends from four circulatory diseases between 1970 and 2005
Background: Governments have identified innovation in pharmaceuticals and medical technology as a priority for health policy. Although the contribution of medical care to health has been studied extensively in clinical settings, much less is known about its contribution to population health. We examine how innovations in the management of four circulatory disorders have influenced trends in cause-specific mortality at the population level. Methods: Based on literature reviews, we selected six medical innovations with proven effectiveness against hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, heart failure and cerebrovascular disease. We combined data on the timing of these innovations and cause-spe…