The Oceanside Post: Obesity is as bigger threat to United Kingdom women as TERRORISM

Obesity is as bigger threat to United Kingdom women as TERRORISM 

The Oceanside Post 



"The Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies has asked the government to treat obesity in women as a national risk, effectively placing it on the same level as terror and cyber attacks."





http://oceansidepost.com/2015/12/17/obesity-is-as-bigger-threat-to-united-kingdom-women-as.html

Psychol Trauma. 2015 Dec 14. [Epub ahead of print]

Deployment Stress, Tobacco Use, and Postdeployment Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Gender Differences.

Japuntich SJ, Gregor K, Pineles SL, Gradus JL, Street AE, Prabhala R, Rasmusson AM.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Epidemiological research has demonstrated that tobacco use and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur and are highly prevalent among Veterans; research with female Veterans is limited. Given the increasing numbers of women deployed to combat zones in recent conflicts, the objective of the current study was to examine gender-specific associations between deployment stress, tobacco use and postdeployment PTSD symptoms.

METHOD:

Two thousand thirteen Veterans deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq (50.9% female; mean age = 35.53) completed a postdeployment, mailed survey that assessed tobacco use before, during, and after deployment, deployment stressors, and postdeployment PTSD symptoms.

RESULTS:

Warfare stress was associated with initiation and increases in tobacco use during deployment in both men and women, whereas harassment stress was associated with initiation and increases in tobacco use in women only. Only among women was continued postdeployment tobacco use associated with postdeployment PTSD symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS:

We found a dose-dependent relationship between deployment stress and adoption and escalation of tobacco use; the stressors that provoked initiation and escalation of tobacco use differed by gender. Continued tobacco use after deployment was associated with PTSD in women suggesting that women used tobacco more selectively than men to regulate negative affect. Implications of this work are that training before combat and during combat on healthy means of coping with deployment stress is needed to prevent tobacco use. For women, reducing harassment stress during deployment and early treatment of acute stress and PTSD during and soon after deployment may prevent intractable tobacco use.

Cancer. 2015 Dec 15. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29827. [Epub ahead of print]

The rise of concurrent care for veterans with advanced cancer at the end of life.

Mor V1,2, Joyce NR1,3, Coté DL1, Gidwani RA4,5,6, Ersek M7,8, Levy CR9, Faricy-Anderson KE1,10, Miller SC1,2, Wagner TH4,5,6, Kinosian BP7,11, Lorenz KA5,6,Shreve ST12,13.

Author information

• 1Center of Innovation, Providence Veterans Health Administration (VA) Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island.
• 2Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.
• 3Department of Health Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
• 4VA Health Economics Resource Center, VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Palo Alto, California.
• 5Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Palo Alto, California.
• 6School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
• 7Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 8National Performance Reporting and Outcomes Measurement to Improve the Standard of Care at End-of-Life (PROMISE) Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC.
• 9Eastern Colorado VA Healthcare System, Denver, Colorado.
• 10Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
• 11Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 12Hospice and Palliative Care Program, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC.
• 13Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Unlike Medicare, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) health care system does not require veterans with cancer to make the "terrible choice" between receipt of hospice services or disease-modifying chemotherapy/radiation therapy. For this report, the authors characterized the VA's provision of concurrent care, defined as days in the last 6 months of life during which veterans simultaneously received hospice services and chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

METHODS:

This retrospective cohort study included veteran decedents with cancer during 2006 through 2012 who were identified from claims with cancer diagnoses. Hospice and cancer treatment were identified using VA and Medicare administrative data. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the changes in concurrent care, hospice, palliative care, and chemotherapy or radiation treatment.

RESULTS:

The proportion of veterans receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy remained stable at approximately 45%, whereas the proportion of veterans who received hospice increased from 55% to 68%. The receipt of concurrent care also increased during this time from 16.2% to 24.5%. The median time between hospice initiation and death remained stable at around 21 days. Among veterans who received chemotherapy or radiation therapy in their last 6 months of life, the median time between treatment termination and death ranged from 35 to 40 days. There was considerable variation between VA medical centers in the use of concurrent care (interquartile range, 16%-34% in 2012).

CONCLUSIONS:

Concurrent receipt of hospice and chemotherapy or radiation therapy increased among veterans dying from cancer without reductions in the receipt of cancer therapy. This approach reflects the expansion of hospice services in the VA with VA policy allowing the concurrent receipt of hospice and antineoplastic therapies. Cancer 2015. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

J Med Philos. 2015 Dec 14. pii: jhv037. [Epub ahead of print]

Conjoined Twins: Philosophical Problems and Ethical Challenges.

Savulescu J1, Persson I2.

Author information

• 1University of Oxford, Oxford, UK University of Oxford, Oxford, UK julian.savulescu@philosophy.ox.ac.uk.
• 2University of Oxford, Oxford, UK University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Abstract

We examine the philosophical and ethical issues associated with conjoined twins and their surgical separation. In cases in which there is an extensive sharing of organs, but nevertheless two distinguishable functioning brains, there are a number of philosophical and ethicalchallenges. This is because such conjoined twins: 1. give rise to puzzles concerning our identity, about whether we are identical to something psychological or biological;2. force us to decide whether what matters from an ethical point of view is the biological life of our organisms or the existence of our consciousness or mind;3. raise questions concerning when, if ever, it is morally acceptable to sacrifice one of us to save another;4. force us to reflect on the conditions for ownership of organs and the justification of removal of organs for transplantation which causes the death of the donor;5. raise questions about who should take decisions about life-risking treatments when this cannot be decided by patients themselves. We examine and suggest answers to these questions.

Cancer kills Kentuckians at highest rate in nation

“It’s really been driven by three major things: obesity, smoking and lack of screening,” said Louisville gastroenterologist Dr. Whitney Jones. “Our state is completely inundated with risk factors.”

Cracking the Code of Human Diseases Using Next-Generation Sequencing

Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:161648. Epub 2015 Nov 19.

Cracking the Code of Human Diseases Using Next-Generation Sequencing: Applications, Challenges, and Perspectives.

Precone V1, Del Monaco V1, Esposito MV2, De Palma FD1, Ruocco A1, Salvatore F3, D'Argenio V1.

Author information

• 1CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, Via G Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy ; Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples Federico II, Ed. 19, Via Sergio Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy.
• 2CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, Via G Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy.
• 3CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, Via G Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy ; Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples Federico II, Ed. 19, Via Sergio Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy ; IRCCS-Fondazione SDN, 80143 Naples, Italy.

Abstract

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have greatly impacted on every field of molecular research mainly because they reduce costs and increase throughput of DNA sequencing. These features, together with the technology's flexibility, have opened the way to a variety of applications including the study of the molecular basis of human diseases. Several analytical approaches have been developed to selectively enrich regions of interest from the whole genome in order to identify germinal and/or somatic sequence variants and to study DNA methylation. These approaches are now widely used in research, and they are already being used in routine molecular diagnostics. However, some issues are still controversial, namely, standardization of methods, data analysis and storage, and ethical aspects. Besides providing an overview of the NGS-based approaches most frequently used to study the molecular basis of human diseases at DNA level, we discuss the principal challenges and applications of NGS in the field of human genomics.

Less than 7 hours sleep a night could be linked to obesity

Less than 7 hours sleep a night could be linked to obesity, according to new study

"The study also found that poor sleeping habits can lead to poor eating habits, with those sleeping less snacking more between mealtimes, and particularly at night when tiredness sets in, leading to cravings for sugary foods to boost energy. This snacking is also partly due to the hormonal disturbances that lack of sleep causes."

EGEMS (Wash DC). 2015 Nov 23;3(1):1190. doi: 10.13063/2327-9214.1190. eCollection 2015.

Consumer Engagement in Health IT: Distinguishing Rhetoric from Reality.

Gold M1, Hossain M1, Mangum A1.

Author information

• 1Mathematica Policy Research.

Abstract

RATIONALE:

Policymakers want health information technology (health IT) to support consumer engagement to help achieve national health goals. In this paper, we review the evidence to compare the rhetoric with the reality of current practice.

CURRENT REALITY AND BARRIERS:

Our environmental scan shows that consumer demand exists for electronic access to personal health information, but that technical and system or political barriers still limit the value of the available information and its potential benefits.

CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS:

There is a gap between current reality and the goals for consumer engagement. Actions that may help bridge this gap include: (1) resolving technical barriers to health information exchange (HIE); (2) developing more consumer-centric design and functionality; (3) reinforcing incentives that attract provider support by showing that consumer engagement is in their interest; and (4) building a stronger empirical case to convince decision makers that consumer engagement will lead to better care, improved health outcomes, and lower costs.

"Above all, Paglia, who some have called the anti-feminist feminist, has remained a staunch defender of individual freedom."

FEMINIST TROUBLE

"Above all, Paglia, who some have called the anti-feminist feminist, has remained a staunch defender of individual freedom. She has argued against laws prohibiting pornography, drugs and abortion. And, when political correctness was cutting a swathe through a host of institutions during the 1990s, she stood firmly on the side of free speech. So, what does she make of the political and cultural state of feminism today?" 

Bioessays. 2015 Dec 10. doi: 10.1002/bies.201500102. [Epub ahead of print]

The dawn of active genetics.

Gantz VM1, Bier E1.

Author information

• 1Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Abstract

On December 18, 2014, a yellow female fly quietly emerged from her pupal case. What made her unique was that she had only one parent carrying a mutant allele of this classic recessive locus. Then, one generation later, after mating with a wild-type male, all her offspring displayed the same recessive yellow phenotype. Further analysis of other such yellow females revealed that the construct causing the mutation was converting the opposing chromosome with 95% efficiency. These simple results, seen also in mosquitoes and yeast, open the door to a new era of genetics wherein the laws of traditional Mendelian inheritance can be bypassed for a broad variety of purposes. Here, we consider the implications of this fundamentally new form of "active genetics," its applications for gene drives, reversal and amplification strategies, its potential for contributing to cell and gene therapy strategies, and ethical/biosafety considerations associated with such active genetic elements.

Donald E. Henson and Philip M. Grimley (2015) Pathology Education: Moving On. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine: December 2015, Vol. 139, No. 12, pp. 1480-1481.

EDITORIALS

Pathology Education: Moving On

Donald E. Henson, MD; Philip M. Grimley, MD

From the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics (Dr Henson) and Pathology (Dr Grimley), The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hebert Medical School, Bethesda, Maryland.

"We emphasize that image integration based in pathology and radiology should occur concurrently with convergent images specifically selected to highlight pathogenesis and natural history."

Chunyan Liu, Kristi Pepper, Heather Hendrickson, Philip T. Cagle, and Bryce P. Portier (2015) Clinical Validation of a Novel Commercial Reverse Transcription–Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Screening Assay for Detection of ALK Translocations and Amplifications in Non–Small Cell Lung Carcinomas. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine In-Press.

Early Online Release

Clinical Validation of a Novel Commercial Reverse Transcription–Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Screening Assay for Detection of ALK Translocations and Amplifications in Non–Small Cell Lung Carcinomas

Chunyan Liu, MD, PhD; Kristi Pepper, MB (ASCP); Heather Hendrickson, MB (ASCP); Philip T. Cagle, MD; Bryce P. Portier, MD, PhD

Reprints: Bryce P. Portier, MD, PhD, Roche Tissue Diagnostics/Ventana Medical Systems (ROCHE Group), 1910 E Innovation Park Dr, Tucson, AZ 85755 (e-mail: portierbp@gmail.com).

Context.— EGFR mutations and Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocations have significant biologic and therapeutic implications in lung cancers, particularly lung adenocarcinomas. ALK translocations are less frequent compared with EGFRmutations; interestingly, these two abnormalities are most commonly mutually exclusive. The 2013 College of American Pathologists/Association for Molecular Pathology/International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer molecular testing guideline for lung cancers recommend a testing algorithm in which detection of ALK translocations using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is to be performed following testing for EGFR mutations. Such an algorithm is cost-effective but potentially slows down turnaround time; and as a secondary test, ALK FISH assay may not be completed because it requires the use of additional tissue, and the small biopsies or cytology specimens may have been exhausted in the extraction of nucleic acid for EGFR mutation screening.

Objective. —To provide efficient testing of both EGFR and ALK genetic alterations in small biopsies and cytology specimens.

Design.— We validated a highly sensitive ALK reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay as a screening tool for ALK translocations and amplifications.

Results. —We performed a retrospective review of cases previously tested by FISH and found that all FISH ALKtranslocation–positive specimens were RT-qPCR positive, and all FISH ALK translocation–negative cases were RT-qPCR negative (the sensitivity and specificity of the ALK RT-qPCR assay were 100%).

Conclusion.— This assay allows rapid identification of ALK alterations, can be performed in conjunction with EGFR testing, and does not require use of valuable additional tumor tissue.

Reducing Portion Sizes Cited as Key to Obesity Control

Pam Harrison

December 14, 2015

"We consistently found that 14% to 33% of customers accepted the downsizing offer, and they did so whether or not they were given a nominal 25% discount."

"It sounds a bit counterintuitive because we think of fast-food consumers as 'value maximizers' — they are there to get as much food as possible," Dr Schwartz told Medscape Medical News.

"But people recognize that portions are too big, and if you just offered people smaller portions, I think some percentage of customers would really welcome this change, and they might be more willing to come into a fast-food restaurant because they know they can get smaller portions and not feel sick about overeating."

Updates Surg. 2015 Dec 9. [Epub ahead of print]

Consequences of defensive medicine, second victims, and clinical-judicial syndrome on surgeons' medical practice and on health service.

Pellino IM1, Pellino G2.

Author information

• 1, Via Giotto 60, 81031, Aversa, CE, Italy. liapellino@gmail.com.
• 2Unit of General Surgery, Department of Medical, Surgical, Neurologic, Metabolic and Ageing Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy. gipe1984@gmail.com.

Abstract

Increased knowledge in disease causes and progression, along with technological and technical advancements in their diagnosis and treatment, have led to increased expectations from physicians by patients and their relatives. The condition of "second victim" is known to affect caregivers that commit an error, and seriously impairs private life and subsequent practice. Besides, a condition has been described, the clinical-judicial syndrome, affecting caregivers at any moment during a medical litigation. In this scenario, physicians have started to practice "defensive medicine", aimed at protect themselves from liability rather than actually advancing care of patients. This paper represents the first review on defensive medicine with specific focus on surgery in an Italian setting. We reviewed the literature on the topic, with particular focus on surgeons and Italian current status, and provide the readers with a snapshot on these relevant issues, proposing strategies to prevent and reduce the practice of defensive medicine, and to support patients and physicians suffering from medical errors.

Melisma

Jingle Hell

The debasement of Christmas songs

Dec 21, 2015 | By ANDREW FERGUSON

"To convey her depth of religious feeling, Christina borrows her mentor's signature vocal trick, using several notes to sing a single syllable. Musicologists call it melisma. It is an old technique, common to Gregorian chants from long ago, but it's more familiar to contemporary audiences through the vein-popping exertions of the late Whitney Houston and countless singers who have kneecapped our national anthem before televised sporting events. As the singer slides around in search of the note to match the syllable, melisma can sound to the amateur ear—mine anyway—like someone handed a pennywhistle to a meth-head."

"...what was new in the 17th century, he suggests, was a new respect for experimentation as a path to knowledge and a new 'experimental network' for knowledge-sharing."

A true scientific revolution: the triumph of mathematicians over philosophers

The moment it was accepted that Aristotle had not been right about everything was a crucial turning point in the history of science.

Other concepts, Wootton points out, could and did exist before their words were coined. Scientific experiments were performed (by Ptolemy, Galen, Alhazen, and so on) before the term “experiment” became commonplace; but what was new in the 17th century, he suggests, was a new respect for experimentation as a path to knowledge and a new “experimental network” for knowledge-sharing. On the other hand, as Wootton shows, the idea of “laws of nature” really was new and depended on the idea of a law-making God. Scientific notions of facts and evidence are shown to have emerged from the law courts. Overall, Wootton justifies nicely his argument that we “tend to overestimate the importance of new technology and underestimate the rate of production and the impact of new intellectual tools”.

Anti-obesity message aimed at preschoolers and toddlers

CARLEEN FROSTThe Daily Telegraph

Ms Burrell said parents needed to stop taking such a “laissez-faire” attitude towards their child’s weight and allowing them constant snacks and sugary drinks.

“The issue we have is that we are considering big kids to be normal — we are just used to seeing much bigger kids,” she said. “And it’s a big issue because parents are so defensive about it.”

J Ambul Care Manage. 2016 Jan-Mar;39(1):87-94.

The Role of Primary Care Practices in Advancing Population Health.

Goldberg DG1, Feng LB, Kuzel A.

Author information

• 1Department of Health Policy, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia (Dr Goldberg and Ms Feng); and Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond (Dr Kuzel).

Abstract

Improving population health requires the contribution of many entities including state and local governments, hospitals, community organizations, health centers, and private practices. Primary care practices have the potential to play a key role in improving population health. While sporadic, primary care practices engage in a spectrum of practice- and community-based population health activities. Community-based activities are largely driven by altruistic motivations of physicians and staff. Patient and disease registries and access to comprehensive patient data are critical to improving population health. Guidance is needed for practices to engage in population health initiatives and appropriate incentives to motivate practices to address population health issues.

Health Promot J Austr. 2015 Dec 10. doi: 10.1071/HE15047. [Epub ahead of print]

A missing ethical competency? A review of critical reflection in health promotion.

Tretheway R, Taylor J, O'Hara L, Percival N.

Abstract

Issue addressed: There is increasing emphasis in the health promotion literature on the ethical imperative for the profession to move towards critical practice. A key challenge for health promotion is that critical practice appears both under-developed and under-practiced. This is evident in the omission of critical reflection from Australian and international competencies for health promotion practitioners.

Methods: A narrative literature review was undertaken to explore the current use of critical reflection in health promotion. Critical reflection models relevant to health promotion were identified and critiqued.

Results: There was a dearth of literature on critical reflection within health promotion, despite recognition of its potential to support critical practice. The discipline of critical social work provided literature on the use, effect and outcome of critical reflection in practice. The interdisciplinary critical reflection model was identified as the model most applicable to health promotion. Underpinned by critical theory, this model emphasises both critical and ethical practice.

Conclusions: Critical reflection is a core competency for health promotion practitioners to address the ethical imperative to move towards critical practice. There is a need to explore the application of a critical reflection model in health promotion to determine how it may support critical and ethical practice.

So what?: If health promotion is to meet its ethical responsibilities, then critical reflection needs to be articulated as a core health promotion competency and a model for its application in health promotion developed.

"70 out of every 100 Saudis suffer from obesity and it has become one of the country’s leading causes of preventable death."

Globally, The Public Underestimates The Extent Of Obesity

Niall McCarthy 

"In the United States, participants guessed that exactly half of all Americans are overweight. The real number is higher; 66 percent of American adults are classified as being overweight. The most notable underestimations occurred in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. In the latter, the average guess was quite low, only 28. In reality, however, the Saudi obesity rate is shocking. 70 out of every 100 Saudis suffer from obesity and it has become one of the country’s leading causes of preventable death."

From U Edinburgh: Providing ethical guidance for collaborative research in developing countries

Res Ethics. 2015 Dec;11(4):211-235.

Providing ethical guidance for collaborative research in developing countries.

Morris N1.

Author information

• 1University of Edinburgh, UK.

Abstract

Experience has shown that the application of ethical guidelines developed for research in developed countries to research in developing countries can be, and often is, impractical and raises a number of contentious issues. Various attempts have been made to provide guidelines more appropriate to the developing world context; however, to date these efforts have been dominated by the fields of bioscience, medical research and nutrition. There is very little advice available for those seeking to undertake collaborative social science or natural science research in developing countries and what is there tends to be held within disparate sources. Charting the development of a set of ethics documentation for future use by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme research community, this paper outlines past and present attitudes towards ethics procedures amongst this community and suggests ways in which ethics procedures might be made more relevant and user-friendly to researchers working in this area.

"This is the discussion we should be having on college campuses, while we still have the freedom to do so."

The Importance of Free Speech on Campus

By Andy Puzder
December 09, 2015

"Rather than labeling dissenting views as hate speech or trigger warnings, colleges would better serve their students by emphasizing that a free society can only remain free if there is genuine respect for open thought and free expression. That you can only achieve genuine diversity when people are free to say what they think regardless of political correctness. Otherwise, our campuses will become bastions of conformity rather than learning.

This is the discussion we should be having on college campuses, while we still have the freedom to do so."

"It’s easy to see, then, why business schools continue to insist on fiction as the perfect tool for teaching empathy in the corporate world."

Better Management Through Belles Lettres

Literature at the B-school

MERVE EMRE

"It’s easy to see, then, why business schools continue to insist on fiction as the perfect tool for teaching empathy in the corporate world. The imaginative excursions into the minds of others, the invitation to identify with those who are not like us, the whole specter of make-believe—this emphasis on corporate humanism helps shore up the flailing business of management education at a moment when it is no longer necessary, not when the real money comes from starting your own hedge fund or designing a new social networking app. The “moral leader” is the perfect counterpoint to the figure of the finance drone or socially bumbling tech CEO, who responds so predictably to financial incentives that he retains no sense of individual personhood, no sense of right or wrong."

"Discretionary" foods

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter SUBSCRIBScotland must act on 'deep-rooted' poor diet: report

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Caveat emptor: Fighting trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products in Russia

Int J Risk Saf Med. 2015 Nov 27;27 Suppl 1:S37-40. doi: 10.3233/JRS-150681.

Fighting trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products in Russia.

Fayzrakhmanov NF.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products is a global socio-economic problem, which poses a serious threat to economy and health of populations of most countries, including the Russian Federation.

OBJECTIVE:

To identify the main achievements and challenges in the fight against trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products in the Russian Federation, to formulate possible solutions to these problems.

METHODS:

The study of criminal cases and statistical information about the level of crime in the Russian Federation; legal analysis of regulatory legal acts in the sphere of criminal law and turnover of medicinal products; review of scientific and practical publications.

RESULTS:

The problem of trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products in the Russian Federation was publicly discussed in the late 1990s - early 2000-ies, first in the media and special editions, later this phenomenon was the subject of extensive discussions at international conferences, in public authorities and public circles. However, the most significant results in tackling this problem were achieved only in the last 5 years.Thus, in 2010, the Russian Federation first joined the annual international police operation under the code name Pangaea, held since 2008 on the initiative of Interpol and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency of the World Health Organization (MHRA WHO). From year to year, the special operation Pangea unites the efforts of many countries from different continents and aims to eliminate transnational criminal groups operating through a global network the Internet. In 2010, as a result of large-scale international inspections 1 200 Internet sites were revealed, through which the fake medicines were spread and 10,000 boxes of medicines were seized, making more than a million falsified tablets in the amount of 2.6 million USA dollars. In 2011, in a special operation Pangea IV was attended by 165 different organizations from 81 countries, including 72 customs, 30 regulators, 26 police and representatives of Interpol from 37 countries. Closed 13 495 illegal websites, seized about 8,000 packages of fake medicines, containing about 2.5 million doses. In 2015, the special operation Pangea VIII was held on the territory of 115 member States of Interpol. In the Russian Federation this operation was carried out jointly by the Ministry of internal Affairs, Federal customs service, the Federal Service on Surveillance in Healthcare of Russian Federation, the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation and their regional subdivisions. As a result of this operation 34 criminal cases were initiated in our country in connection with hard drugs, falsified and substandard medicinal products and biologically active additives under the guise of high-performance drugs. Special attention during the operation was given to uncontrolled Internet sale of medicinal products and biologically active additives at a price, which was significantly higher than the actual costs, under the guise of highly effective means of treatment for various diseases. In General, in the Russian Federation 448 administrative offences were identified, which resulted in withdrawal of more than 268 thousand units of medicines from illegal circulation, worth over 9 million rubles; 40 thousand falsified and substandard preparations Contex and Durex for personal contraception were withdrawn. The mobile laboratory has conducted screening program of quality in respect of 294 samples of medicines. It identified 20 parties of dubious authenticity. A message about 264 Internet sites which sell medicines in violation of applicable Russian legislation was sent to the coordinating headquarters of the General Secretariat of Interpol. An official statement with Internet service providers on cessation of activities at these sites was issued [1].On 26-28 October 2011, Moscow hosted an international high-level conference on counterfeiting of medicinal products, which was attended by more than 750 professionals in the field of law and pharmacy from different countries, including USA, China, countries of the European Council and the Commonwealth of Independent States. At the end of the conference the Convention on the counterfeiting of medicinal products and similar crimes involving threats to public health, was signed, which was called Medicrime [2]. The Convention was signed by representatives of Austria, Germany, Israel, Iceland, Italy, Cyprus, Portugal, Russian Federation, Finland, France, Ukraine, Switzerland. The Medicrime Convention is the first legal agreement in the field of criminal law aimed at criminalizing the trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products, as well as aimed at providing legal support for the investigation of these crimes at the international level. The positive side of the Convention of the Council of Europe Medicrime is that it is open for signature not only by member States of the Council of Europe and the European Union, but also by States that are not members of the Council of Europe, but participated in the elaboration of a Convention or have observer status with the Council of Europe. In addition, the Convention is open for signature by any other state at the invitation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The Convention introduces the responsibility for the production, storage and distribution of falsified medicinal products, active substances, excipients, components, materials and supplies; the use of falsified documents related to the trafficking of medicinal products (Articles 5, 6, 7). This legal act regulates the cooperation between the health authorities, customs, police and other competent authorities at international and national level (Articles 17, 21, 22).One of the results of the legal implementation of the rules of the Convention Medicrime in the Russian legislation was the adoption of the Federal law of the Russian Federation dated 31.12.2014 No. 532-FZ On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation on countering the trafficking of falsified, counterfeit, substandard and unregistered medicines, medicinal devices and falsified biologically active additives [3]. The law came into force on 23 January 2015. In accordance with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation Criminal Code is supplemented by three new articles: Article 235.1. Illegal manufacture of medicines and medicinal devices; article 238.1. Circulation of falsified, substandard and unregistered medicines, medicinal devices and trafficking in falsified biologically active additives; article 327.2. Forgery of documents on medicines or medicinal devices or the packaging of medicines or medicinal devices [4].Although there are some deficiencies in the wording of these penal regulations, we believe their introduction in the Criminal Code is a serious step forward by the state to neutralize the trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products, and consequently to ensure the safety of the nation's health and economic security of the country. The inclusion of these special articles in the Criminal Code will allow to analyze statistical information on their practical application by the authorities, to investigate crimes, to fully implement the monitoring, prediction and prevention of these socially dangerous acts. It will contribute to the development and implementation of effective management decisions on the identification and investigation of crimes of this type.In recent years, in the framework of the joint preventive measures to combat the circulation of falsified and substandard medicinal products there has been some constructive interaction between law enforcement and regulatory authorities, primarily by the bodies of internal Affairs and units of the Federal Service on Surveillance in Healthcare of Russian Federation. During 2010-2013 researches in the field of Economics, International and Criminal Law, Criminology, Criminalistics, Operatively-search activity, devoted to the development of measures to neutralize trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products, were developed as reserved dissertations. The legislation in the sphere of protection of public health and the turnover of medicines was updated.Thus, trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products in the Russian Federation at present is not an appeal and not a theory, but there is a real activity of specialists in the field of law and pharmacy, with a certain legal framework, scientific and methodological support.However, this problem is not yet solved. The Indicator of withdrawn from circulation of falsified and substandard drugs remains high. In Russia by the end of 2014, 1 109 batches of substandard, falsified and counterfeit medicines were detected and withdrawn from circulation. The volume of state quality control of medicines coming into circulation accounted for 16,3% [5]. A serious danger is the increased level of falsification of pharmaceutical substances, 80% of which is imported to the Russian Federation on indirect contracts from China and India without proper control at customs posts.The study of criminal cases and statistics about the trafficking of falsified and substandard medicinal products in the Russian Federation leads to the conclusion that this crime is of a latent character. Every year about 50 crimes are detected, for only 30-35 of them criminal cases are initiated, and only 15-20 of the investigated criminal cases are submitted to court. This indicates serious problems in proving the guilt of the perpetrators of these crimes and bringing them to justice. The fight against this crime requires long and reliable operational development of criminal groups, qualified investigation and trial. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)