HomePharmacology
Pharmacology
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...
Cape Town Metro clinics ignoring guidelines on antibiotics
Clinics are ignoring guidelines on prescribing antibiotics more than half of the time‚ a study has found. And almost one in five people who...
Acetaminophen over-dose risk rises in the flu season
A study reveals that acetaminophen use and over-dosing rise in cold/flu season in the US, primarily due to increased use of over-the-counter combination medications...
15% of NSAIDs' users exceed maximum recommended dosage
Chances are you or someone you know has used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) within the last month. NSAIDs, such as Advil (ibuprofen), Aleve (naproxen)...
Alzheimer's: Benzodiazepine and related drugs raise mortality by 40%
Benzodiazepine and related drug use is associated with a 40% increase in mortality among persons with Alzheimer's disease, according to a study from the...
No causal association between HPTS and birth defects — UK commission
The use of hormonal pregnancy tests (HPT), like Primodos, did not cause birth defects of miscarriages, a UK scientific review has found. The Commission...
Traditional South American drug improving wellbeing
A psychedelic drug traditionally used in South America improves people's general sense of wellbeing and may offer a treatment for alcoholism and depression, new...
Warfarin associated with lower risk of some cancers
Warfarin appeared to be associated with reduced cancer risk in a national European population, found an observational study.
Warfarin is a widely used anticoagulant prescribed...
Safety and effectiveness of 4 Alzheimer's drugs ranked
A study ranking the safety and effectiveness of four drugs taken to enhance concentration, memory, alertness and moods, found that donepezil was most likely...
All clear for a trial of Ecstasy drug in PTSD patients
According to a Science Magazine report, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated 3.4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), better known as the illegal drug ecstasy,...
Caution urged over 'new frontier' anti-inflammatory that slashes CVD and cancer risk
A pioneering drug, currently used to treat juvenile arthritis, has been found in a trial to also to cut the risk of heart attack...
OTC medication could benefit multiple sclerosis patients
Treatment options currently are limited for people suffering from secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. However, an Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) pilot study suggests...
One-third of hypertension patients not taking medication – UK/Czech study
More than a third of people with high blood pressure had not been taking their blood pressure medication, found a study on a UK/Czech sample...
Hydromorphone effectively treats opioid addiction
Hydromorphone was as effective as pharmaceutical heroin for opioid addiction treatment, but it was associated with fewer serious side-effects, according to results from the...