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Pharmacology
America’s Veteran Affairs shuns controversial Alzheimer's drug, noting 'known safety signal'
The US Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to not include Biogen’s pricey new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm (aducanumab) on its formulary, and its Personal...
NHS England to offer breakthrough treatment for sickle cell disease
Thousands of patients in England will benefit from the first treatment for sickle cell disease in two decades, the NHS has announced.
Crizanlizumab, a “revolutionary”...
FDA gives approval to novel migraine prevention drug
Atogepant (Qulipta) has become the first oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist (gepant) specifically developed for migraine prevention to win US Food and...
Paracetamol: Precautions necessary during pregnancy — Consensus Statement
Paracetamol (acetaminophen) should be used only when medically indicated during pregnancy and at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time, according to...
Pharmacological BP reduction: Viable treatment option despite old age
Contrary to existing international guidelines on age-related blood-pressure thresholds, a meta-analysis in The Lancet found that pharmacological blood pressure reduction is effective into old...
Pharmacological BP reduction: Viable treatment option despite old age
Contrary to existing international guidelines on age-related blood-pressure thresholds, a meta-analysis in The Lancet found that pharmacological blood pressure reduction is effective into old...
At last, serious efforts to repurpose generic drugs to treat COVID-19
More than a year into the pandemic, billions of dollars have been spent on developing vaccines and expensive novel treatments, but very little on...
Meta-analysis: Beta-blockers not linked to depression or adverse mental health events
A meta-analysis of large-scale data from double-blind, randomised controlled trials does not support an association between β-blocker therapy and depression or other adverse mental...
94% of older adults are prescribed drugs that raise risk of falling
Nearly every older adult was prescribed a prescription drug that increased their risk of falling in 2017, according to new University at Buffalo research....
Pre-diagnosis aspirin use may lower colorectal cancer mortality — American Cancer Society
A study finds that long-term aspirin use before a diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) may be associated with lower CRC-specific mortality, found an American...
Azithromycin in combination may increase risk for cardiac events
While azithromycin by itself is not associated with an increase in cardiac events, if the taken with certain other drugs cardiac events increased, found...
Overlooked Soviet-era Miramistin has 'enormous potential' as antiseptic
A little-known non-toxic antiseptic developed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War has enormous potential to beat common infections, say University of Manchester...
US long-term use of muscle relaxants has skyrocketed since 2005
US doctor visits for ongoing prescribing of skeletal muscle relaxant drugs tripled from 2005 to 2016, according to a study from researchers in the...
No association between price and efficacy of cancer drugs — four-nation study
In general, for Switzerland, Germany, Britain and the US, there is no association between clinical benefit of a cancer drugs and their prices, found...
Consumers stockpile unproven drugs to self-medicate against COVID-19
Consumers worldwide are stockpiling and self medicating on drugs — chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, ritonavir and umifenovir — that have been hyped as cures on social...
Decades-old antidepressant may fend off prostate cancer's return
A MAO inhibitor drug called phenelzine represents a potential new treatment direction with fewer side effects for men with recurrent prostate cancer, researchers said....
Drug that eases symptoms of chronic cough may become first new therapy in 50 years
Effective treatments for cough are a significant unmet clinical need and the new drug Gefapixant, moving into phase-three trials, has the potential to be...
Prescribing macrolide antibiotics in first trimester increases birth defect risk
Children of mothers prescribed macrolide antibiotics during the first trimester of pregnancy are at an increased risk of major birth defects when compared with...
Yale study adds to evidence of diabetes drug's link to heart risk
Rosiglitazone was associated with a 33% increased risk of a composite cardiovascular event (heart attack, heart failure, cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular related death) compared with...
Long-term medication for schizophrenia is safe
A Karolinska Institutet data analysis suggests that long‐term antipsychotic use does not increase severe physical morbidity leading to hospitalisation, and is associated with substantially...
Two-fold increase in gabapentinoids use for cancer pain 'problematic' – study
As the opioid crisis unfolded, prescriptions for the narcotic alternative saw a two-fold increase despite unclear evidence of benefit for pain. Between 2005 and...
Interstitial cystitis medication may be toxic to the retina
A drug widely prescribed for a bladder condition for decades, now appears to be toxic to the retina, the light sensing tissue at the...
Antidepressants may reduce anxiety more than depressive symptoms
One of the most common antidepressants, sertraline, leads to an early reduction in anxiety symptoms, several weeks before any improvement in depressive symptoms, the...
Commonly used antibiotics may lead to heart problems
Fluoroquinolone antibiotic use is linked with a higher than twofold risk of aortic and mitral regurgitation, risk being highest with current use followed by...
Tramadol associated with significantly greater risk of hypoglycaemia
The opioid tramadol produced a 10-fold greater risk of developing hypoglycaemia than virtually every other opioid, found a US study.
Since its approval in 1995,...
Cannabis flower may be an effective mid-level analgesic
Using the largest database of real-time recordings of the effects of common and commercially available cannabis products in the US, researchers at The University...
Statins’ potential to treat MS unrelated to lowering cholesterol
The widely prescribed statin, simvastatin, can medically help patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) – for reasons that might be unrelated to the...
Pure Omega 3 reduces risk of total ischaemic events
Taking a high dose of icosapent ethyl – a pure and stable prescription form of the omega-3 fatty acid known as EPA – significantly...
Considerable added benefit for new drug in the prophylaxis of migraine
The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has found, overall, ndication of a considerable added benefit of erenumab, a new...
Misconceptions over penicillin allergy deprive patients of best treatment
Most patients who report having a penicillin allergy are not really allergic to this highly effective antibiotic, and they may be missing out on...
Little benefit from vitamin D supplements for over 70s
There is little benefit for those over 70 taking higher dose vitamin D supplements to improve their bone strength and reduce the risk of...
Variant of wasp venom to treat bacterial infections
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers, using toxin found in a South American wasp, have created peptide variants potent against bacteria but nontoxic to...
Alirocumab lowers risk of additional heart attacks or stroke
In a clinical trial involving 18,924 patients from 57 countries who had suffered a recent heart attack or threatened heart attack, researchers found that...
Medical cannabis provides symptom relief for a myriad of complaints
Medical cannabis can provide statistically and clinically significant relief from symptoms from dozens of health conditions with relatively minimal negative side effects, according to...
Taking ayahuasca is like having a near-death experience – study
A psychedelic drug taken as part of the South American plant brew ayahuasca produces effects that are strikingly similar to near-death experiences, a study...
Anticonvulsants ineffective in treating lower back pain
Use of anti-convulsant drugs to treat low back pain has increased more than fivefold in the past decade, but a study finds they are...
Content of illicit cannabis to treat kids with epilepsy revealed
An Australian study of illicit medicinal cannabis used to treat childhood epilepsy found parents overwhelmingly considered the extracts as effective, although most samples contained...
Aspirin with acid reducers helps acid reflux patients slow cancer advance
Taking aspirin with acid reducers can help patients with chronic acid reflux slow the advance of cancer of the oesophagus, the tube from the...
Link found between PPIs and pneumonia in older people
A large University of Exeter analysis has found a statistical link between pneumonia in older people and the use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs).
Although these...
Newly diagnosed dementia patients 'unnecessarily' over medicated
An international study led by the University of Sydney has found that medication use increases in newly diagnosed dementia patients, particularly unnecessary or inappropriate...