Focus on

Light and shadows of natural products
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2016;94(9):1
These products are generally considered completely harmless, but their active ingredients exert a biological function in the organism and can, therefore, have side effects or interact with drugs. Non-conventional medicines in Italy Non-conventional therapies are therapeutic practices,...
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Biosimilar epoetins under safety scrutiny
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2016;93(3):7
Chronic renal failure represents nowadays one of the biggest public health issues worldwide: it is estimated that in Italy one person over seven people has a moderate impairment of the renal function, i.e. a halved renal functionality, or more than halved, in comparison with the norm.1 Chronic...
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Course on medication errors
The International School of Pharmacology of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture (EMFCSC) in Erice, Sicily organizes a Course on "Medication Errors" from 2nd to 6th May 2016. A medication error is an unintended failure in the treatment process that leads to, or has the...
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Nello Martini cleared from charges after seven years
Nello Martini, ex director and founder of the Italian Agency of Medicines (AIFA, in Italian) previously committed for trial by the state’s attorney of Turin Guariniello with the charge of “involuntary disaster” (literal translation of an Italian legal term) for the delayed update of 20 drug...
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Our website toward the future
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2015;90(9):4
Our website www.farmacovigilanza.eu (and its English version www.pharmaco-vigilance.eu) continues to grow. The number of users has doubled in the last year. With only two months left from the end of 2015 we can estimate that in December we will have reached and passed 200,000 yearly visitors. This...
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The risks of new oral medications for the treatment of multiple sclerosis
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2015;90(9):3
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that usually affects young people with a peak in incidence between 20 and 40 years of age and whose manifestations are focal and diffuse damage from its onset; symptoms vary according to the affected area of the...
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Adverse effects of chronic cannabis use
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2015;89(8):3
In Europe, according to the European Monitoring Centre (EMCDDA, 2013)1, 22% (70 million) of those aged between 15 and 64 years have used cannabis preparations (mainly marijuana) for recreational purposes at least once in their lifetime, 7% (23 million) within the last year, and 4% (14 million)...
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Spontaneous reports in Italy during 2014
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2015;88(5):3
We have analysed the spontaneous report situation in Italy during 2014. As with last year, the data will be published in detail by AIFA in the OSMED Report, which will be available from next September, but in this review, we can disclose the most relevant data. In 2014, aside from over 4,000...
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Adverse reactions to cancer drugs: spontaneous reporting and detecting signs
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2015;87(4):3
Although spontaneous reporting is considered the most effective tool for identifying adverse reactions to known- and clinically significant drugs, in several areas of medicine this method can have limitations linked to the peculiarities of the patients being treated and the drugs used. One such...
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The hidden phenomenon of high dose benzodiazepine use
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2015;86(1):3
For over 50 years, benzodiazepines have been a veritable "best seller". The key to their continued success is due not only to their easy management and widespread prescription, but also to their potential to induce dependence and tolerance, which is why their use is only recommended for a very...
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