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CHAPTER 10. RESEARCHING MEDICATIONS

Overview

While a number of hard copy or CD-ROM resources are available for researching medications, a more flexible method is to use Internet-based databases. Broadly speaking, there are two sources of information on approved medications: public sources and private sources. We will emphasize free-to-use public sources.

U.S. Pharmacopeia

Because of historical investments by various organizations and the emergence of the Internet, it has become rather simple to learn about the medications recommended for macular degeneration. One such source is the United States Pharmacopeia. In 1820, eleven physicians met in Washington, D.C. to establish the first compendium of standard drugs for the United States. They called this compendium the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP). Today, the USP is a non-profit organization consisting of 800 volunteer scientists, eleven elected officials, and 400 representatives of state associations and colleges of medicine and pharmacy. The USP is located in Rockville, Maryland, and its home page is located at http://www.usp.org/. The USP currently provides standards for over 3,700 medications. The resulting USP DI Advice for the Patient can be accessed through the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health. The database is partially derived from lists of federally approved medications in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Drug Approvals database, located at http://www.fda.gov/cder/da/da.htm.

While the FDA database is rather large and difficult to navigate, the Phamacopeia is both user-friendly and free to use. It covers more than 9,000 prescription and over-the-counter medications. To access this database, simply type the following hyperlink into your Web browser: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html. To view examples of a given medication (brand names, category, description, preparation, proper use, precautions, side effects, etc.), simply follow the hyperlinks indicated within the United States Pharmacopeia (USP).

Below, we have compiled a list of medications associated with macular degeneration. If you would like more information on a particular medication, the provided hyperlinks will direct you to ample documentation (e.g. typical dosage, side effects, drug-interaction risks, etc.).

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The following drugs have been mentioned in the Pharmacopeia and other sources as being potentially applicable to macular degeneration:

Verteporfin

•Systemic - U.S. Brands: Visudyne http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/500139.html

Commercial Databases

In addition to the medications listed in the USP above, a number of commercial sites are available by subscription to physicians and their institutions. Or, you may be able to access these sources from your local medical library.

Mosby’s Drug Consult

Mosby’s Drug Consult database (also available on CD-ROM and book format) covers 45,000 drug products including generics and international brands. It provides prescribing information, drug interactions, and patient information. Subscription information is available at the following hyperlink: http://www.mosbysdrugconsult.com/.

PDRhealth

The PDRhealth database is a free-to-use, drug information search engine that has been written for the public in layman’s terms. It contains FDA-approved drug information adapted from the Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR) database. PDRhealth can be searched by brand name, generic name, or indication. It features multiple drug interactions reports. Search PDRhealth at http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/index.html.

Other Web Sites

Drugs.com (www.drugs.com) reproduces the information in the Pharmacopeia as well as commercial information. You may also want to consider the Web site of the Medical Letter, Inc. (http://www.medletter.com/) which allows users to download articles on various drugs and therapeutics for a nominal fee.

If you have any questions about a medical treatment, the FDA may have an office near you. Look for their number in the blue pages of the phone book. You can also contact the FDA through its toll-free number, 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332), or on the World Wide Web at www.fda.gov.

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APPENDICES