Rhabdomyolysis

For cancer patients, maintaining muscle is vital to health and treatment, but staying strong is complicated

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 4, 2024
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Nearly one-third of cancer patients die from a side-effect you’ve likely never heard of: cancer cachexia.

Key Points: 
  • Nearly one-third of cancer patients die from a side-effect you’ve likely never heard of: cancer cachexia.
  • With cachexia, a patient loses a significant amount of weight due to their disease, with considerable losses of muscle mass.

What exactly is cancer cachexia?

  • Cancer cachexia is an unintentional loss of body weight that mainly affects muscle.
  • It is diagnosed when a cancer patient loses more than five per cent of their body weight over six months.
  • Cancer cachexia is complex, and is likely caused by many factors working together.
  • Inflammation from cancer or chemotherapy, reduced appetite and food intake, or even specific interactions between a tumour and muscle could all play a role.

The impact of cachexia on patients

  • Cancer cachexia can have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life and prognosis.
  • Patients with cachexia tend to have lower treatment tolerances than those of healthy body composition.
  • Cachexia patients report struggling with body image, loss of independence and becoming a burden to their loved ones.

Treating cachexia


Unfortunately, Canada lacks standardized options for treating patients with cancer cachexia. Research suggests that treating cachexia should use a multi-targeted approach. Nutritional interventions are essential for combating cachexia and should be started as soon as possible with consultation from a registered dietitian.

  • Exercise could be a very powerful tool to treat cachexia.
  • Studies on pharmacological compounds to treat cachexia have produced varied results, and many are still in early phase clinical trials.

Diagnosing and detecting cachexia

  • Perhaps the biggest limitation in treating cachexia is detecting it early enough to intervene.
  • Diagnosing cachexia is largely based on weight-related measures.
  • Integrating strength assessments as well as body composition scans across all points of the cancer journey could help capture the whole picture of cachexia development and progression.

Where to go from here

  • The sooner it is detected, the better chance there is to manage it.
  • Management should involve a multi-disciplinary team that can help with diet, exercise and psycho-social aspects of the condition.
  • It will likely be years before these reach the clinic, so early interventions with nutrition, exercise and regular monitoring are critical.


Meghan McCue receives funding from the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.

Endo Launches Colchicine Capsules, Generic Version of MITIGARE®

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Aplastic anemia, Patient, Abdominal pain, Clarithromycin, Food, Fatal, Thrombocytopenia, Vomiting, Diarrhea, OTC, Colchicine, Endo, Regulation of food and dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Nausea, Bone marrow suppression, Endo International, Senior, Ciclosporin, Rhabdomyolysis, Risk, Capsule, Leukopenia, Pancytopenia, Safety, Pain, Granulocyte, Death, Pharmaceutical industry, Dairy, Dietary supplement, CYP3A4

DUBLIN, Nov. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Endo International plc (OTC: ENDPQ) announced today that one of its operating companies, Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., has begun shipping colchicine 0.6 mg capsules, a generic version of Hikma's MITIGARE®.

Key Points: 
  • DUBLIN, Nov. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Endo International plc (OTC: ENDPQ) announced today that one of its operating companies, Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., has begun shipping colchicine 0.6 mg capsules, a generic version of Hikma's MITIGARE®.
  • This is the first generic colchicine capsule approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  • Patients with renal or hepatic impairment should not be given colchicine with drugs that inhibit both P-glycoprotein and CYP3A4 inhibitors.
  • Combining these dual inhibitors with colchicine in patients with renal or hepatic impairment has resulted in life-threatening or fatal colchicine toxicity.

Endo Launches Colchicine Capsules, Generic Version of MITIGARE®

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Aplastic anemia, Patient, Abdominal pain, Clarithromycin, Food, Fatal, Thrombocytopenia, Vomiting, Diarrhea, OTC, Colchicine, Endo, Regulation of food and dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Nausea, Bone marrow suppression, Endo International, Senior, Ciclosporin, Rhabdomyolysis, Risk, Capsule, Leukopenia, Pancytopenia, Safety, Pain, Granulocyte, Death, Pharmaceutical industry, Dairy, Dietary supplement, CYP3A4

DUBLIN, Nov. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Endo International plc (OTC: ENDPQ) announced today that one of its operating companies, Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., has begun shipping colchicine 0.6 mg capsules, a generic version of Hikma's MITIGARE®.

Key Points: 
  • DUBLIN, Nov. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Endo International plc (OTC: ENDPQ) announced today that one of its operating companies, Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., has begun shipping colchicine 0.6 mg capsules, a generic version of Hikma's MITIGARE®.
  • This is the first generic colchicine capsule approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  • Patients with renal or hepatic impairment should not be given colchicine with drugs that inhibit both P-glycoprotein and CYP3A4 inhibitors.
  • Combining these dual inhibitors with colchicine in patients with renal or hepatic impairment has resulted in life-threatening or fatal colchicine toxicity.

Cape Doctor Announces Dr. Bert Kirsten's Nutrition Guide For Cape Town Athletes

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Saturday, July 15, 2023
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Cape Town, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - July 14, 2023) - Cape Doctor has released a comprehensive sports nutrition guide for athletes of all ages, written by Cape Town GP Dr. Bert Wolfgang Kirsten.

Key Points: 
  • Cape Town, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - July 14, 2023) - Cape Doctor has released a comprehensive sports nutrition guide for athletes of all ages, written by Cape Town GP Dr. Bert Wolfgang Kirsten.
  • With its newly released guide, Cape Doctor has made it easier for athletes to create a diet plan that will enhance their performance naturally and optimize recovery.
  • The guide, written by Dr. Bert Kirsten, recommends regular intake of protein, creatine, and electrolytes to assist athletes in maintaining their physique and overall health.
  • His latest guide reflects real-life cases, offering practical sports nutrition advice and tips for joint mobility.

Endo Launches First Generic Version of Noxafil® (posaconazole) Injection

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 29, 2023
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Concomitant administration of posaconazole with sirolimus increases the sirolimus blood concentrations by approximately 9-fold and can result in sirolimus toxicity.

Key Points: 
  • Concomitant administration of posaconazole with sirolimus increases the sirolimus blood concentrations by approximately 9-fold and can result in sirolimus toxicity.
  • Posaconazole may increase the plasma concentrations of ergot alkaloids (ergotamine and dihydroergotamine) which may lead to ergotism.
  • Reserve azole antifungals, including posaconazole injection, for patients receiving a vinca alkaloid, including vincristine, who have no alternative antifungal treatment options.
  • Posaconazole injection is indicated for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis in adults and pediatric patients 13 years of age and older.

Endo Launches First Generic Version of Noxafil® (posaconazole) Injection

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 29, 2023
CLL, Hypersensitivity, Lymphocytosis, Pimozide, Arrhythmia, Tacrolimus, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, SLL, Liver disease, Simvastatin, Magnesium, Atorvastatin, Antifungal, Person, QT, Sirolimus, QT interval, Ergot, Alkaline phosphatase, Plasma, Kidney, Lovastatin, Ergotism, Patient, Azole, Risk, Electrolyte, Ergotamine, Dihydroergotamine, Tumor lysis syndrome, Ciclosporin, ALT, Quinidine, Rhabdomyolysis, Potassium, AST, Venetoclax, Pharmaceutical industry, Posaconazole, CYP3A4

Concomitant administration of posaconazole with sirolimus increases the sirolimus blood concentrations by approximately 9-fold and can result in sirolimus toxicity.

Key Points: 
  • Concomitant administration of posaconazole with sirolimus increases the sirolimus blood concentrations by approximately 9-fold and can result in sirolimus toxicity.
  • Posaconazole may increase the plasma concentrations of ergot alkaloids (ergotamine and dihydroergotamine) which may lead to ergotism.
  • Reserve azole antifungals, including posaconazole injection, for patients receiving a vinca alkaloid, including vincristine, who have no alternative antifungal treatment options.
  • Posaconazole injection is indicated for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis in adults and pediatric patients 13 years of age and older.

The 'Murph' challenge: what to know about this CrossFit workout

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, June 10, 2023
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This gruelling CrossFit workout involves running one mile, doing 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats and running another mile, all while wearing a weighted vest.

Key Points: 
  • This gruelling CrossFit workout involves running one mile, doing 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats and running another mile, all while wearing a weighted vest.
  • The CrossFit workout changes daily, with participants typically doing a workout about three times a week, depending on their fitness level.
  • The toughest CrossFit workouts are known as “hero” workouts, dedicated to deceased soldiers such as Murphy.

The ‘Murph’ challenge


    This particular workout comprises the following, done as fast as you can:
    • The runs must be at the beginning and end of the workout, but the pull ups, push ups and squats can be split up as required.
    • For example, beginners might start with 20 rounds of five pull ups, ten push ups, and 15 squats.
    • When more advanced, this can progress to ten rounds of ten pull ups, 20 push ups and 30 squats.

A difficult workout

    • The Murph workout is challenging because it stresses most major muscle groups: the back and shoulder muscles with the pull ups, the chest with the push ups, and the legs and torso with the squats.
    • So, this workout will build excellent cardiovascular fitness while developing strength and muscular endurance in the upper and lower body.

What about the risks?

    • These findings are supported by a questionnaire of 132 CrossFit participants, that reported an injury rate of 3.1 injuries per 1,000 hours of training.
    • This rate is comparable to competitive contact sports such as rugby, as well as gymnastics, weight lifting and power lifting.
    • Injuries in CrossFit are most likely to be to the shoulders and lower back, and typically happen during either power lifting or gymnastics.

Rhabdomyolysis: a dangerous condition

    • In rhabdomyolysis, muscle is damaged causing extreme muscle soreness and the release of proteins into the blood.
    • This condition is often seen in crush victims, but rhabdomyolysis as a result of extreme, unfamiliar exercise (exertional rhabdomyolysis) accounts for almost half of cases.
    • For those looking to try Murph for the first time, perhaps have a go without the weighted vest.

U.S. FDA Approves New Indication for Merck’s PREVYMIS® (letermovir) for Prevention of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Disease in High-Risk Adult Kidney Transplant Recipients

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
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PREVYMIS is an antiviral agent that was initially approved by the FDA in 2017 for prophylaxis of CMV infection and disease in adult CMV-seropositive recipients [R+] of an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

Key Points: 
  • PREVYMIS is an antiviral agent that was initially approved by the FDA in 2017 for prophylaxis of CMV infection and disease in adult CMV-seropositive recipients [R+] of an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).
  • Increased pimozide concentrations due to concomitant administration of PREVYMIS may lead to QT prolongation and torsades de pointes.
  • Study drug was initiated between Day 0 and Day 7 post-kidney transplant and continued through Week 28 (~200 days) post-transplant.
  • The most common primary reasons for transplant were congenital cystic kidney disease (17%), hypertension (16%), and diabetes/diabetic nephropathy (14%).

Reneo Pharmaceuticals Reports Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results

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Tuesday, November 8, 2022
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IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reneo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RPHM), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with rare genetic mitochondrial diseases, today reported financial results for the quarter ended September30, 2022.

Key Points: 
  • IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reneo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RPHM), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with rare genetic mitochondrial diseases, today reported financial results for the quarter ended September30, 2022.
  • We continued to advance our REN001 development programs during the third quarter, said Gregory J. Flesher, President and CEO of Reneo Pharmaceuticals.
  • We remain on track to announce topline data from this study in the fourth quarter of 2023.
  • Furthermore, we announced positive results from the Phase 1b study in long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders (LC-FAOD) patients with nuclear DNA (nDNA) defects.

Setting the Highest Standard: 2022 Heart of Case Management Awards

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Tuesday, October 11, 2022
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This was the case for this years winners of Genexs Heart of Case Management Awards, who overcame overwhelming odds to help injured employees meet their recovery goals.

Key Points: 
  • This was the case for this years winners of Genexs Heart of Case Management Awards, who overcame overwhelming odds to help injured employees meet their recovery goals.
  • The Genex Heart of Case Management Award recognizes four case managers who have made the greatest impact on the injured employees they served.
  • Two other case managers helped a police officer and an employee overcome life-endangering COVID to reach their highest level of functioning.
  • The adjuster referred the case to Genex case management, specifically requesting Mary Meagan Campbell-Pittman due to her excellent reputation and ICU nursing background.