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Drug

Prescription drugs, vaccines and their risks and benefits.

Drug

Findings Could Alter Breast Cancer Care

One study found lumpectomy, a standard breast cancer treatment, does not prolong survival or prevent recurrence for certain women. Another found that a single dose of radiation delivered to the tumor site right after surgery matched six weeks of daily radiation.

Drug

Too many elderly men receive PSA testing - study

Among 9,000 U.S. men aged 76 or older with no prostate cancer history, 60 percent reported a PSA test in the past year, despite 2008 task force guidance against screening men 75 and older.

Jun 21, 2010

Drug

Would You Use a Home DNA Kit?

Pathway Genomics planned to put $20 to $30 Insight saliva collection kits, which predict disease risk and drug reactions, into 6,000 Walgreens stores until the FDA objected and the plan went on hold. Similar tests were already sold online by 23andMe and Navigenics.

Jun 20, 2010

Drug

Abuse of Prescription Painkillers on the rise

CDC figures show emergency visits for nonmedical use of opioid painkillers rose 111 percent, from 144,600 in 2004 to 305,900 in 2008, led by oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone. Benzodiazepine visits rose 89 percent, with the steepest increases among people aged 21 to 29.

Jun 20, 2010

Drug

No treatment needed for low-risk prostate cancer

Reuters reports on a Journal of the National Cancer Institute analysis pooling 10 studies of Swedish men: after 8 years, 20 percent of untreated men had died versus twice as many of the treated. The untreated men were actually sicker, and predicted 10-year deaths still favored watching.

Jun 19, 2010

Drug

ER visits linked to pain pill abuse double in 4 years (MMWR)

CDC and SAMHSA found emergency department visits for nonmedical use of opioid analgesics rose 111 percent from 2004 to 2008, from 144,600 to 305,900, with benzodiazepine visits up 89 percent. Oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone drove the highest counts.

Jun 19, 2010

Drug

Does the Pink Viagra work?

An FDA advisory committee will consider flibanserin for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women. In pooled Phase III trials, satisfying sexual encounters rose from 2.7 to 4.5 a month on the drug; placebo took women to 3.7 a month.

Jun 17, 2010

Drug

FDA may not approve Human Genome hepatitis C drug

Human Genome Sciences says the FDA is unlikely to approve its hepatitis C drug Zalbin at the proposed 900-microgram dose, after a discipline review letter questioned the risk-benefit assessment. The application is still under review; partner Novartis withdrew the European filing in April.

Jun 14, 2010

Drug

Common blood pressure drugs linked to cancer risk

A Lancet Oncology meta-analysis found 7.2 percent of patients on angiotensin-receptor blockers received a new cancer diagnosis over four years against 6 percent of others, with lung cancer at 0.9 versus 0.7 percent. Most took telmisartan; its maker disputes the finding.

Jun 14, 2010

Drug

FDA Advisors Okay Novartis AG's MS Pill

An FDA advisory panel recommended Novartis's Gilenia (fingolimod) as an initial treatment option for multiple sclerosis while cautioning that more data on its serious side effects is needed and that patients should be told about them. Approval is expected in September.

Jun 12, 2010

Drug

New Bombshell of Disastrous Side Effects from Statins…

Researchers who tracked more than two million patients in England and Wales over six years linked some statin doses and types to liver problems, acute kidney failure, muscle weakness and cataracts, and urged doctors to weigh prescriptions more carefully.

Jun 12, 2010

Drug

Glaxo Testing Paxil on 7-Year-Olds Despite Suicide Risks

Dr. Mercola reports that GlaxoSmithKline is recruiting children as young as seven in Japan for a trial testing Paxil against placebo, though the drug is already approved and carries a black box warning that it doubles the chance of lethal thoughts compared with placebo.

Jun 12, 2010

Drug

Overuse of Antibiotics Spurs Vicious Cycle

Patients over-prescribed antibiotics for coughs and flu-like illness may carry resistant bacteria for up to a year, Reuters reports. Mercola argues the cycle starts at home, with requests for antibiotics for every minor infection and with eating factory-farmed meat.

Jun 10, 2010

Drug

Will You Take An Immune Drug To Prevent Fractures? Amgen Hopes So.

FDA approved Amgen's Prolia (denosumab) for fracture prevention in women with osteoporosis two months ahead of schedule. The piece notes cancers, cellulitis and pneumonia among trial subjects, that 20 of 27 similar monoclonal antibodies carry Black Box Warnings, and Amgen's 1,000 sales reps.

Jun 9, 2010

Drug

Sea Sponge Drug Fights Breast Cancer

In a trial of 762 women whose breast cancer had returned or spread, those given eribulin lived over 13 months against under 11 months for the comparison group. The drug, a synthetic analogue of a sea sponge compound, caused fatigue, low white cell counts, numbness and hair loss.

Jun 7, 2010

Drug

Radiotherapy helps prostate cancer patients

In a Canadian trial of 1,200 men with prostate cancer severe enough to warrant hormone therapy, 74 percent of those given radiation alongside hormones were alive at seven years against 66 percent on hormones alone — an average gain of about six months.

Jun 7, 2010

Drug

White Hair Means Better Prognosis for Melanoma Patients

In a 48-patient trial led by Anna Pavlick, 17 melanoma patients responded to ipilimumab or tremelimumab. All nine whose hair turned completely white six months to a year into treatment had a complete response, with no tumors detectable on CT scans.

Jun 6, 2010

Drug

Breast cancer patients may need only one dose of radiation

In the TARGIT-A trial of 2,000 patients at 28 centres, a single 30-minute dose of radiotherapy given during surgery matched weeks of standard radiation: six recurrences against five over four years, a difference that was not statistically significant, with similar side effects.

Jun 6, 2010

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