In order to curb the supply of dangerous and illegal medicines, Operation Pangea II was coordinated by INTERPOL and the World Health Organization’s International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT). This was for highlighting the dangers of purchase of drugs online.

This week-long global initiative saw a series of arrests and seizure of thousands of potentially harmful medical products.

From News-Medical.Net:

During the operation, Internet monitoring revealed 751 websites engaged in illegal activity, including offering controlled or prescription only drugs, 72 of which have now been taken down. In addition, more than 16,000 packages were inspected by regulators and customs, 995 packages were seized and nearly 167,000 illicit and counterfeit pills – including antibiotics, steroids and slimming pills, confiscated.

Twenty-two individuals are currently under investigation for a range of crimes including illegally selling and supplying unlicensed or prescription-only medicines.

“As the very positive results of this global effort are made public, INTERPOL and its member countries will prove again that the Internet is not an anonymous safe haven for those who use it for criminal purposes. We hope that by raising public awareness about the dangers of illegal internet pharmacies, consumers will exercise greater care when purchasing medicines on the Internet,” added Secretary General Noble.

“Our thanks go to the police, customs and regulatory officials in the 24 participating countries as well as to our partner international organizations such as the World Health Organization’s IMPACT, the World Customs Organization and Universal Postal Union whose tireless efforts and dedication have made Operation Pangea II such a success,” Noble concluded.

This operation received significant support from the Permanent Forum on International Pharmaceutical Crime (PFIPC) the World Customs Organization, the UK’s Medicines and Health Care products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Health Canada.

Tags: antibiotics, slimming pills, steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

According to a systematic review of literature published in an update of The Cochrane Library, topical quinolone antibiotics are better than systemic antibiotics for clearing aural discharge.

This complication, generally, occurs in the first five years of life but can persist to adulthood. It is important to note that untreated chronic suppurative otits media (CSOM) can lead to permanent hearing loss due to damage of small sound-transmitting bones in the middle ear.

From News-Medical.Net:

A systematic review of literature found that short courses of topically administered quinolone antibiotic drops such as ciprofloxacin were more effective at drying the ear than oral or injected antibiotics. The Review Authors were unable to find enough high quality data to assess the value of topical non-quinolone antibiotics that do not contain steroids, or of antiseptic treatments, when compared to systemic treatments.

“Less is known about the longer-term outcomes, or about treating complicated CSOM,” says lead author Carolyn Macfadyen a Research Associate at the International Health Research Group in the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK.

The Review Authors also noted that the evidence regarding safety of topical antibiotics is weak, and believe that clinicians should watch for any signs of ototoxicity when using topical treatment, particularly for non-quionlones such as aminoglycoside.

Macfadyen remarked that cost effectiveness of alternative treatments would be critical to guide both clinical practice and health policy.

Tags: antibiotics, ciprofloxacin, steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

Offices of pediatricians are now full of people complaining about skin irritations caused by toilet seats, as per a research led by Johns Hopkins Children’s Center investigator Bernard Cohen, M.D.

Cohen, director of pediatric dermatology at Hopkins Children’s, said that toilet seat dermatitis is one of those legendary conditions described in medical textbooks but young pediatricians do not see any related issues in their daily practice.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Cohen says children can develop irritation after several uses of a wooden seat or repeated exposure to residue from harsh cleaning chemicals. He urges pediatricians to inquire about toilet seats and cleaners used both at home and at school any time they see a toddler or a young child with skin irritation around the buttocks or upper thighs.

The researchers say most cases are fairly benign and easy to treat with topical steroids, but because many pediatricians don’t suspect the cause and don’t treat it properly, the inflammation can persist and spread further, causing painful and itchy skin eruptions and unnecessary misery for both children and parents. Persistently irritated skin is vulnerable to bacteria and may lead to more serious infections requiring oral antibiotics. Indeed, missed and delayed diagnoses were a hallmark of every single case described in the review.

Dermatologist Paramoo Sugathan, M.D., of Baby Memorial Hospital, Calicut, Kerala, India, was co-investigator in the study.

Tags: antibiotics, dermatitis, steroids, topical steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

Pneumonia patients have something as a relief now.

The combination of corticosteroids to the traditional antimicrobial therapy may be regarded as an effectual form of treatment for helping pneumonia patients recover faster than with antibiotics alone, as per scientists from the UT Southwestern Medical Center.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Although antimicrobials remain the primary therapy for M pneumoniae infection, there have been several reports in recent years about physicians adding steroids to the treatment regimen of patients with severe cases, Dr. Hardy said. The problem, he said, is that those were individual case reports.

“They never had a control group, so it was impossible to tell what impact the addition of steroids had on recovery,” he said.

The new findings not only suggest that giving antibiotics with steroids can help individuals with pneumonia get better faster, but also suggest a potentially more effective therapy for someone in the midst of an asthma attack due to M pneumoniae infection. Up to 20 percent of asthma attacks in children and adults have been shown to be triggered by this bacterium.

Dr. Robert Hardy, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics and the study’s senior author, noted that antibiotics and steroids form a synergy together. While the antibiotics kill the bugs, steroids treat lung inflammation.

Tags: antibiotics, antimicrobial therapy, corticosteroids, pneumonia, steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

Patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF) and not making use of inhaled corticosteroids show no positive or negative effects in terms of major disease factors when compared to those regularly using corticosteroids.

Disease factors include the amount of lung function decline, number of prescribed antibiotics, onset time of acute chest exacerbation or frequency of using a bronchodilator.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Oral corticosteroids slow the progression of CF lung disease, but long-term use is precluded by unacceptable side effects,” said Dr. Balfour-Lynn. “A systematic review of inhaled corticosteroid use in CF revealed 10 randomized controlled trials, with six having been published. The trials studied 293 adults and children. Although there was variable methodological quality among the studies, the conclusion was that there was ‘no evidence from existing trials to support the practice of prescribing inhaled steroids in cystic fibrosis.’”

The authors noted that 52 percent of the patients were on high-dose inhaled corticosteroids (1,000 micrograms or more per day). At those levels, the drug can lead to significant symptoms related to adrenal suppression and insufficiency. Also, among pediatric patients, slowing of linear growth has been a problem for individuals taking the drug for a year or more.

It was concluded by Ian M. Balfour-Lynn, M.D., F.R.C.P., of the Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, and six associates, that it is safe for patients to stop use of inhaled corticosteroids to reduce their drug burden for saving money as well as minimizing potential adverse side effects.

Tags: antibiotics, corticosteroids, cystic fibrosis, inhaled corticosteroid, steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

Patients suffering from pneumonia can expect quick recovery with steroids and antibiotics rather than depending upon antibiotics alone, as per scientists from the UT Southwestern Medical Center.

In a study available online, it was noted that mice infected with a type of severe bacterial pneumonia and treated with a combination of steroids and antibiotics recovered faster besides displaying reduction in the level of lung inflammation than mice treated with antibiotics alone.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Some people might think that if you give steroids, it would counteract the effect of the antibiotic,” said Dr. Robert Hardy, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics and the study’s senior author. “But it turns out you need the antibiotic to kill the bug and the steroid to make the inflammation in the lung from the infection get better. The steroids don’t kill the bugs, but they do help restore health.”

Pneumonia is a lung infection typically characterized by breathing difficulties and spread by coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include headache, fever, chills, coughs, chest pain, sore throat and nausea. Pneumonia caused by the Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacterium is generally a less severe form of the disease that can occur in any age group. It accounts for 20 percent to 30 percent of all community-acquired pneumonia cases.

In the current study, mice infected with the M pneumoniae bacterium were treated daily with a placebo, an antibiotic, a steroid, or a combination of the antibiotic and steroid in order to investigate the effect on M pneumoniae-induced airway inflammation. The animals were then evaluated after one, three and six days of therapy.

“It turns out that the group that got both the antibiotic and the steroids did the best,” Dr. Hardy said. “The inflammation in their lungs got significantly better.”

The list of other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study included Dr. Christine Salvatore, infectious-disease fellow in pediatrics; Dr. Chonnamet Techasaensiri, postdoctoral trainee in pediatrics; Dr. Asunción Mejías, assistant professor of pediatrics; Dr. Juan Torres, visiting senior researcher in pediatrics; Kathy Katz, senior research associate in pediatrics; and Dr. Ana Maria Gomez, assistant professor of pathology along with researchers from the University of Milan making contributions.

Tags: antibiotics, lung infection, pneumonia, steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

According to a recently released report, during a 6-month period, doctors went for treatment of 6 cases of serious eye injuries in young children, which were caused by squeezing capsules including liquid washing detergent.

It was revealed by study author Dr. Noel Horgan of the Children’s University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, that it appeared that children tend to instinctively grasp and squeeze these gel-liquid tablets that can burst easily in the hands and sometimes may even splash the caustic contents in their eyes.

From News-Medical.Net:

Alkali eye injuries occur when an alkaline substance, such as detergent or lime in plaster or cement, comes in contact with the eye, damaging the stem cells at the edge of the cornea.

This it seems is very significant because these stem cells provide new cells to line the surface of the cornea and are essential for clarity and normal vision.

In severe cases, stem cells can be permanently damaged, permanently affecting vision.

Fortunately, all of the children included in the report, received prompt treatment such as eye irrigation, anesthetic drops, antibiotics, and steroids to reduce inflammation, so they eventually left hospital with healed eyes and normal vision, says Horgan.

Horgan and his team report that the children ranged in age from 18 months to 3 years old, and all experienced eye injuries after playing with gel-capsules of washing detergent, designed to go directly into the washing machine.

It was recommended by Horgan that warning labels by manufacturers should be made prominent and design packages must be made childproof.

Tags: anesthetic drops, antibiotics, steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

We all are aware of the fact that a lump in the breast region is a possible sign of breast cancer. But there is one more type of breast cancer, which though rare is much more fatal, that can be without any lump.

Sofia Merajver, M.D., Ph.D., co-director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, said that the disease needs immediate diagnosis to save precious lives and the mortality is very high.

From News-Medical.Net:

Inflammatory breast cancer is a very aggressive type of cancer in which the cancerous cells move rapidly throughout the breast and clog the lymph vessels in the skin, causing the breast to look swollen, red, itchy or inflamed. It’s often mistaken for a rash or infection and many women are initially treated with antibiotics or steroids.

“There are many options for treating this disease. In many cases, the treatment is going to be on and off for life. There will be times of remission, but this is a serious disease that has a high chance of recurring,” says Merajver, a professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School.

About inflammatory breast cancer

* Represents 3 percent to 6 percent of the 180,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

* With treatment, 20 percent to 40 percent of patients survive 10 years. This is up from 5 percent to 10 percent 20 years ago.

* Characterized by redness, warmth or an orange-skin appearance on the skin of the breast. A persistent red breast should be biopsied promptly.

* May or may not cause a lump or mass.

* Treatment includes aggressive chemotherapy, followed by surgery and radiation therapy.

Merajver remarked that the U-M Inflammatory Breast Cancer Clinic would be turning into a clearinghouse for communication of information relevant to tertiary care and advice.

Tags: antibiotics, breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer, steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

According to scientists at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, traditional therapy when combined with corticosteroids can prove effective for treating patients with pneumonia and the benefit is easily seen in terms of improved recovery time.

In a study available online and in a future issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, it was shown by the researchers that corticosteroids and antibiotics can prove their combined worth for treating cases of pneumonia.

From News-Medical.Net:

In the current study, mice infected with the M pneumoniae bacterium were treated daily with a placebo, an antibiotic, a steroid, or a combination of the antibiotic and steroid in order to investigate the effect on M pneumoniae-induced airway inflammation. The animals were then evaluated after one, three and six days of therapy.

“It turns out that the group that got both the antibiotic and the steroids did the best,” Dr. Hardy said. “The inflammation in their lungs got significantly better.”

Although antimicrobials remain the primary therapy for M pneumoniae infection, there have been several reports in recent years about physicians adding steroids to the treatment regimen of patients with severe cases, Dr. Hardy said. The problem, he said, is that those were individual case reports.

Dr. Robert Hardy, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics and the study’s senior author, was of the view that there is no truth in the myth that steroids can counteract the effect of the antibiotic as while antibiotics kill the bug, steroids improve lung inflammation and help in restoring health.

Tags: antibiotics, corticosteroids, pneumonia, steroid, steroids

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

According to a study by scientists from the UT Southwestern Medical Center, people suffering from pneumonia can recover at a faster pace with a combination of corticosteroids and traditional antimicrobial therapy than with antibiotics alone.

It is interesting to note here that the unlike the anabolic steroids that are used to bulk up body muscle, corticosteroids are generally used for treating inflammation related to infectious diseases.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Some people might think that if you give steroids, it would counteract the effect of the antibiotic,” said Dr. Robert Hardy, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics and the study’s senior author. “But it turns out you need the antibiotic to kill the bug and the steroid to make the inflammation in the lung from the infection get better. The steroids don’t kill the bugs, but they do help restore health.”

Pneumonia is a lung infection typically characterized by breathing difficulties and spread by coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include headache, fever, chills, coughs, chest pain, sore throat and nausea. Pneumonia caused by the Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacterium is generally a less severe form of the disease that can occur in any age group. It accounts for 20 percent to 30 percent of all community-acquired pneumonia cases.

Dr. Hardy remarked that the group that received both the steroids and antibiotics did the best.

Other researchers from the UT Southwestern included Dr. Christine Salvatore, infectious-disease fellow in pediatrics; Dr. Chonnamet Techasaensiri, postdoctoral trainee in pediatrics; Dr. Asunción Mejías, assistant professor of pediatrics; Dr. Juan Torres, visiting senior researcher in pediatrics; Kathy Katz, senior research associate in pediatrics; and Dr. Ana Maria Gomez, assistant professor of pathology. Some researchers from the University of Milan also contributed to this study.

Tags: anabolic steroids, antibiotics, corticosteroids, pneumonia, steroids, traditional antimicrobial therapy

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids