Re: Egrifta, Serostim and Medicare Part D

[Guest guest]

Thanks much for this - I'm taking it to my doctor next visit, as I saw an endocrynologist last week who has the opinion that diabetes is an acceptable side-effect of managing HIV disease. My attitude is that after surviving full blown AIDS and preventing OI's for about 10 years now, but being on the edge of diabetes with lipodystrophy, it's time to address quallity of life and the disability that comes with this condition. - Good news! (I found out about the pre-diabetic condition from a Serostim study I applied for - most applicants had pre-diabetic issues and were excluded) - Bill Gaul

EGRIFTA IS APPROVED BY THE FDAThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee has unanimously endorsed approval of tesamorelin acetate (Egrifta; Theratechnologies, Inc, Montreal) to induce and maintain a reduction of excess visceral abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy.HOW EGRIFTA WORKSEgrifta is an injectable drug which stimulates the pituitary gland to make human growth hormone (hGH). Growth hormone is key to maintaining adequate levels of testosterone and other hormones that encourage formation of lean muscle mass and reduce and reverse the lipodystrophy fat storage. Which has far fewer side effect then other drugs in this class.EGRIFTA COVERED BY MEDICARE PART D & MEDICAIDI spoke with my doctor about this and was informed that it IS now covered by Medicare/Medicaid as well as many other insurance carriers. However, your doctor may need to submit some extra paperwork (TAR) to Medicare for them to cover this drug showing the "medical necessity and not simply cosmetic" for Medicare/Medicaid to cover it.HOW SEROSTIM WORKSA twelve-week course of therapy has shown that Serostim "can' increase your lean body mass and body weight, when compared with patients not receiving the medication. These studies are not absolute; however, they are thought to be predictive of a medical benefit. The importance of using drug therapy to increase lean body mass and weight is also not completely understood. There are further studies being performed to determine whether increasing lean body mass with a twelve-week course of Serostim improves other things, like your strength and ability to keep up with daily tasks. SEROSTIM NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTSSerostim—a synthetic version of hGH approved to treat HIV-related wasting and weight loss—also reversed abnormal fat deposits in both the belly and the upper neck in clinical trials. Its benefits, however, came with a price. Among other side effects, the treatment also highly and significantly increased the risk of users developing diabetes and was not approved or recommended for use in people already with diabetes. Egrifta does not impact diabetes.SEROSTIM MEDICARE PART D COVERAGE?In both I and my partners July 2010 Medicare Part D drug formulary's (Medicare drug approved coverage list) we both were informed that our Medicare Part D is no longer covering the cost for the drug "Serostim" which for a twelve-week course of Serostim is close to the cost of a small car but many healthcare plans contract with Serono Labs to negotiate this cost. Medicaid also covers it in some (not all) states.ONLINE REFERENCES USED FOR THIS SUMMARY http://www.thebody.com/content/art32199.htmlhttp://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/722647http://www.poz.com/articles/hiv_egrifta_tesamorelin_401_18474.shtmlhttp://www.poz.com/search/index.shtml?query=%22Egrifta%22http://www.revolutionhealth.com/drugs-treatments/serostimHope this information helps!Dr. Conley Ph.D., Th.D., IACPcc: POZIAM Community Group at > http://www.community.poziam.com/MEDICAL INFORMATION NOTICE: ANY medical or psychological advice contained in this e-mail is for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of content found in this e-mail or on an Internet Website including Websites dedicated to health issues and health related research.