Section archive

Page 18 of 63

Drug

Prescription drugs, vaccines and their risks and benefits.

Drug

Endogenous estrogens boost risk of acute myocardial infarction

Chinese researchers compared 30 postmenopausal heart attack patients with 6 controls and found higher oestrone, oestradiol, androstenedione and testosterone and lower SHBG in the cases. After adjusting for confounders, women with the highest oestradiol faced nearly five times the risk.

Drug

Antibiotic Alert: The Drug the Doctor Ordered Could Cause Deadly Side Effects

Mercola argues fluoroquinolones such as Cipro and Levaquin belong only in the most serious infections, not sinus, urinary tract and ear complaints. The FDA required black-box warnings on seven of them in 2008 for tendinitis and a three- to fourfold higher risk of tendon rupture.

Oct 20, 2012

Drug

Postoperative tamoxifen does not cut death risk in breast cancer patients

A Cochrane review of two trials covering 3,375 women found tamoxifen after surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ reduced recurrence of DCIS and of contralateral invasive breast cancer, but did not lower all-cause mortality. One follow-up tied it to more endometrial cancer.

Oct 19, 2012

Drug

Enzalutamide extends survival in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients

In a phase 3 trial of 1,199 men with castration-resistant prostate cancer after chemotherapy, enzalutamide brought median survival of 18.4 months against 13.6 months on placebo, and 54 percent of users saw PSA reductions versus 2 percent on placebo.

Oct 18, 2012

Drug

New Evidence Demolishes Claims of Safety and Effectiveness of HPV Vaccine

A Canadian team's systematic review of pre- and post-licensure HPV vaccine trials concludes the trial designs and the reading of both efficacy and safety data were largely inadequate, and finds evidence of selective reporting, leaving the vaccines' effectiveness unproven.

Oct 16, 2012

Drug

Confirmed Again: Statin Drugs Accelerate Cardiovascular Disease

Mercola cites a study in Atherosclerosis of 6,673 people with no known coronary disease in which statin use was associated with 52 percent greater prevalence and extent of calcified coronary plaque, alongside a Diabetes Care study tying frequent statin use to more calcification.

Oct 15, 2012

Drug

It Slashed Flu Deaths by 50% in 1918, What Can it Do For You Today?

Mercola interviews Dr. Robert Rowen on oxidative medicine, therapies using oxidants such as ozone, ultraviolet blood irradiation and intravenous hydrogen peroxide, which Rowen says are used for conditions ranging from viral and fungal infections to joint pain and arthritis.

Oct 14, 2012

Drug

Would You Take A Second Bone Drug From This Company?

The writer revisits Merck's 1999 predictions for Vioxx, Singulair and Fosamax, notes Vioxx's 2004 withdrawal and later warnings on the others, and describes how the company marketed osteopenia to widen the market for bone drugs now suspected of causing fractures and jawbone death.

Oct 13, 2012

Drug

Sexual Health: Antihypertensive drugs can cause sexual dysfunction

Sexual dysfunction appears more often in people with high blood pressure, and treated patients report it more than untreated ones, which the authors read as evidence the drugs contribute. Older diuretics and beta blockers are implicated; nebivolol and angiotensin receptor blockers appear neutral.

Oct 13, 2012

Drug

NSAIDs linked to high blood pressure

A survey of 2,805 people over 60 in Dubbo, Australia found NSAID use was associated with a 40 percent higher risk of high blood pressure after adjustment. A quarter of the group used NSAIDs, and the authors urge doctors to review their prescribing for elderly patients.

Oct 13, 2012

Drug

Nonaspirin NSAIDs increase lung cancer death risk

In the VITAL cohort of 785 lung cancer patients, NSAID use before diagnosis did not lower the risk of dying from the disease. Nonaspirin NSAIDs overall were linked to 20 percent higher risk of lung cancer death, and heavy ibuprofen use to 62 percent higher risk.

Oct 12, 2012

Drug

Do You Have Adult ADHD? Big Pharma Thinks So

With 4.5 million US children already labeled with ADHD, a 2008 market research release told drugmakers the adult population was twice the size and largely untapped. The piece argues the DSM-5 draft symptom list is loose enough that almost anyone can appear to qualify.

Oct 10, 2012

Drug

Chinese medicine comparable to HRT for menopause symptoms?

In a trial of 31 women, a Traditional Chinese Medicine preparation improved hot flashes and night sweats by 30 percent, the same as placebo, while hormone replacement therapy improved them by 50 percent. Researchers reported no qualitative improvement in patients' quality of life.

Oct 10, 2012

Drug

Shocking Dangers of Plavix Revealed in 2nd Comparison Study

Mercola returns to Plavix, the anti-platelet drug, saying new research on pairing it with aspirin to prevent stroke and cognitive decline confirms his earlier warning that the combination nearly doubled heart disease deaths among at-risk patients who had not had a heart attack.

Oct 10, 2012

Drug

Antidepressant drugs raise glaucoma risk

A case-crossover study of 6,470 Ontario residents aged 66 and older found those who had recently taken any antidepressant were 62 percent more likely to develop acute angle-closure glaucoma. The authors urge clinicians to watch for this uncommon but serious adverse event.

Oct 8, 2012

Drug

NSAIDs raise heart risk after myocardial infarction

Among 99,187 Danish patients treated for a first heart attack, 44 percent received NSAID prescriptions afterward. Any NSAID use was tied to a 59 percent higher risk of death at one year and 63 percent at five years. The authors advise long-term caution after a heart attack.

Oct 7, 2012

Drug

New England Compounding Center Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of All Products

New England Compounding Center recalled all products in circulation from its Framingham, Massachusetts facility on October 6, 2012, citing potential contamination risk. Clinics and providers should stop using the products, retain them and follow the faxed instructions.

Oct 7, 2012

Drug

Progestins plus estrogen not safer than estrogen alone

Drawing on Nurses' Health Study follow-up through 1992 and 1,935 breast cancer cases, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that current users of estrogen alone had a 32% higher risk and users of estrogen plus progestin 41%, versus never-users.

Oct 7, 2012

1120 stories