Alexandria, VA November 5, 1999 More than seven thousand pharmaceutical scientists from around the world will gather in New Orleans November 14-18 to share the latest scientific research. Below are summaries of papers to be presented at the AAPS Annual Meeting "Quest for the Magic Bullet: An Astounding Century".

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Influences Doctors' Prescribing Habits -- It's been almost a decade since the American Medical Association reversed its policy regarding direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). To measure the impact of DTCA, University of Mississippi researchers polled physicians regarding how pharmaceutical ads influenced patient requests for advertised prescriptions. A few of their findings follow:

• Half of the physicians polled feel pressure to prescribe products patients have seen advertised
• On average, six patients per week ask doctors questions about a specific drug and 36% of the time they prescribe the product in question
• 77% of physicians linked patient requests to TV advertising, 51% to print

Link Between Aspirin Use and Acid Reflux Disease-- Researchers have found that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents like aspirin and ibuprofen are strongly associated with the presence of GERD or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. GERD is an involuntary reflux recently linked to throat cancer. Using Medicaid patients in Georgia as their sample, researchers also compared the incidence of GERD among different racial groups. They found that white female Medicaid patients are 57% more likely to experience GERD than their black counterparts. This new data is a red flag for patients who rely heavily on aspirin or ibuprofen for pain relief.

Contraceptive Gel Prevents Spread of AIDS, Herpes and Chlamydia -- Using cellulose sulfate (CS), a clinically proven contraceptive agent in the 1960s and 70s, scientists have developed a patented new compound that hinders sexually transmitted di
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Contact: Marie Bertot or Hannah Elinson
elinson@nixongroup.com
305-573-9955
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
4-Nov-1999