For National Birth Defects Prevention Month, CDC urges women who are pregnant or planning to be to discuss every prescription, over-the-counter and herbal product with a doctor and never to start or stop one alone. Thalidomide and isotretinoin cause serious birth defects.
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Drug
Prescription drugs, vaccines and their risks and benefits.
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Drug
WikiLeaks Exposes Pfizer's Strong-arm Tactics to Cover up Deaths of Innocent Children
US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks indicate Pfizer hired investigators to find corruption evidence against Nigeria's attorney general while fighting a $2 billion suit over Trovan meningitis trials. Nigeria said the tests killed 11 children; Pfizer settled for $75 million.
Drug
UK Finally Makes Smart Decision to Protect Children… Why Doesn’t the US?
UK ministers and senior advisers again ruled against flu vaccination for children under five, saying it would bring no significant gains, and revived the 'Catch it, Bin it, Kill it' hygiene campaign instead. Mercola calls the decision wise.
Drug
Sleep drugs cause falls and impair thinking
Of 25 healthy adults given zolpidem, 58 percent of the older and 27 percent of the younger participants lost balance significantly on a beam walk two hours after waking, though none had stepped off the beam drug-free. Their cognitive impairment doubled compared with placebo.
Drug
False positive mammograms lead to anxiety, lower quality of life
Among 385 Dutch women with abnormal mammograms, the 233 with false positives reported more anxiety and lower quality of life than the 152 diagnosed with breast cancer, with effects lasting at least a year. Lead author Lideke van der Steeg says anxiety-prone women fared worst.
Drug
Hair loss drugs may cause sexual problems
A review in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found 5a-reductase inhibitors, prescribed for enlarged prostate and hair loss, caused prolonged sexual side effects including lost libido, erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction and possible depression. Lead author Abdulmaged Traish urges frank talks first.
Drug
Acetaminophen boosts blood pressure
The FDA now caps acetaminophen at 325 mg in prescription painkillers. A 2010 Circulation study of 33 coronary artery disease patients found therapeutic doses raised mean ambulatory blood pressure to 125.3/75.4 mmHg from 122.4/73.2, without changing heart rate or platelet function.
Drug
Baldness Drug Risks Men's Sexual Health
Merck's anti-baldness drug Propecia lowers DHT by blocking 5 alpha reductase, but doctors quoted by BBC News say impotence is not unusual even among men who stop taking it. Merck has changed the labeling and says other causes may explain such cases.
Drug
FDA wants less acetaminophen in prescription painkillers
The FDA will limit acetaminophen to 325 mg per tablet or capsule in prescription combination painkillers such as Percocet and Vicodin, and require a boxed warning about severe liver injury. Over-the-counter products like Tylenol are not covered; makers get three years to reformulate.
Drug
Genetic tests help diagnose hundreds of diseases
Among 2,037 people who completed follow-up after buying the Navigenics Health Compass, researchers found no significant change from baseline in anxiety symptoms, dietary fat intake or exercise. Test-related distress did correlate with the average estimated risk returned.
Drug
Paracetamol prescriptions to come with new warnings
The FDA will require warnings about severe liver injury on prescription products containing acetaminophen and cap the ingredient at 325 mg per tablet, phased in over three years. Officials say the risk arises mainly when patients exceed 4,000 mg in 24 hours.
Drug
Blood test for Down Syndrome could help avoid invasive procedures
A BMJ study of more than 750 high-risk pregnancies found maternal plasma DNA sequencing could avoid about 98 percent of invasive tests such as amniocentesis. The 2-plex protocol detected trisomy 21 with 100 percent sensitivity and 97.9 percent specificity; the 8-plex protocol caught 79.1 percent.
Drug
Antibiotics fight ear infection faster - study
In a Pediatrics trial of nearly 300 children aged 6 to 23 months with acute otitis media, 80 percent given amoxicillin-clavulanate for 10 days had symptoms resolve by day 7 against 74 percent on placebo, and clinical failure was far less common. Diarrhea and diaper rash were more frequent.
Drug
Drug Tied to high blood pressure and obesity marketed for depression
Martha Rosenberg traces Seroquel's spread from schizophrenia to bipolar disorder, add-on depression treatment and some children, and lists the scandals around it: a backer jailed over a research scheme, paid company speakers on an FDA committee, and reported links to troop deaths.
Drug
Breaking News: Popular Cancer Drug Declared More Harmful Than Helpful
The FDA said Avastin should be phased out for metastatic breast cancer after studies failed to show patients lived longer and serious side effects emerged, including high blood pressure, internal bleeding and heart failure. Its approval for other cancers is unaffected.
Drug
Placebo Pill vs. Antibiotic Rifaximin, Which is Better for Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
In a trial of 1,260 people with irritable bowel syndrome but no constipation, 40 percent given two weeks of rifaximin reported relief against 32 percent of the untreated, and the benefit lasted only 10 weeks. A separate trial found 59 percent improved on a sugar pill.
Drug
20% patients not qualified for Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators
Of more than 100,000 ICD recipients in a national registry, 22.5% got the device for a non-evidence-based indication, a JAMA study found. Those patients died in hospital three times as often as the rest, 0.57% versus 0.18%, and had a higher complication rate after the procedure.
Drug
Skin-lightening creams may contain mercury says EPA
The Illinois EPA warns that skin-lightening creams may contain mercury, banned in such products under state law. A Chicago Tribune test of 50 creams found mercury in five made in Asia, and officials in California, Virginia and New York City reported similar findings.
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