A 2008 Utah survey found 20.8% of adults had been prescribed an opioid painkiller in the past year. Of those, 3.2% took it more often or at higher doses than directed and 72% had medication left over, which 71% kept; 1.8% of all adults used opioids not prescribed to them.
Section archive
Page 51 of 63
Drug
Prescription drugs, vaccines and their risks and benefits.
- All desks
- Abortion
- Accutane
- Acetaminophen
- Acid Reflux
- Acidic Foods
- Acne
- Acrylamide
- Acupuncture
- Additives
- ADHD
- Adiposity
- Advisories
- Aerobic Exercise
- Aflatoxin
- Agave
- Agent Orange
- Aging
- Agriculture
- AIDS
- Air Pollution
- Airline Passengers
- Airport
- ALA
- Alcohol
- Alcoholic Beverage
- Alerts
- Allergy
- Alli
- Aloe Vera
- ALS
- Alternative Medicine
- Aluminum
- Alzheimer's
- Amalgam
- AMD
- Ampyra
- Amygdala
- Anal Cancer
- And
- Anemia
- Angiogenesis
- Animal Protein
- Animals
- Anorexia
- Anthocyanins
- Anthrax
- Anti-Angiogenesis
- Anti-Obesity
- Antibacterial
- Antibiotic
Drug
FDA: HIV drug combo leads to heart conditions
The FDA says preliminary data suggest taking Invirase with Norvir may prolong the QT and PR intervals, which can lead to torsades de pointes or heart block. Patients may feel lightheaded, faint or notice abnormal heartbeats, and the agency tells them to raise concerns with their clinician.
Drug
FDA approves leukemia drug
FDA approved rituximab with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for previously untreated and treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia, based on two randomized open-label trials. In the German CLL8 study, median progression-free survival was 39.8 months with rituximab against 31.5.
Drug
FDA: Avandia (rosiglitazone) Ongoing Review of Cardiovascular Safety
FDA said it is still reviewing primary data from the large RECORD trial and published observational studies on the cardiovascular risks of rosiglitazone, with no new conclusions yet. It will present the data at a July 2010 public meeting; patients should keep taking it unless told otherwise.
Drug
Diabetes drug Avandia may raise risk of heart attacks and stroke
A Senate committee report says GlaxoSmithKline knew for years that Avandia was tied to raised heart attack risk and failed to warn patients. A 2009 study found rosiglitazone carried a 20 percent higher cardiovascular event risk, while Actos showed no such link.
Drug
Senate report links diabetes drug Avandia to heart attacks
Senate Finance Committee investigators reviewed more than 250,000 pages and concluded GlaxoSmithKline knew of possible cardiac risks with Avandia years before the 2007 New England Journal study. The report says the company instead tried to intimidate independent physicians and downplay findings.
Drug
One aspirin a day keeps breast cancer away?
Among 4,164 nurses followed since 1976, those taking aspirin two to five days a week were 60% less likely to have breast cancer spread and 71% less likely to die of it. Ibuprofen and naproxen showed reduced risks too; acetaminophen did not.
Drug
Statins may raise diabetes risk
Pooling 13 trials with about 91,000 patients, researchers found statin users 9% more likely to develop diabetes, or roughly one extra case per 255 people treated for four years. Over that period statins also averted about 5.4 deaths or heart attacks, and as many strokes and artery surgeries.
Drug
Maalox Total Relief and Maalox Liquid Products: Medication Use Errors
The FDA warned that consumers have reached for Maalox Total Relief when they wanted a Maalox antacid. Total Relief treats upset stomach and diarrhea and contains bismuth subsalicylate, chemically related to aspirin, which can cause bleeding and is unsafe with ulcers or blood thinners.
Drug
Little evidence indicates flu vaccine works for elderly people
A Cochrane review of 75 studies found only one recent randomized trial with real outcomes; the rest were judged low quality and open to bias. Tom Jefferson said it is hard to reach clear conclusions about how well flu vaccines work in people aged 65 and over.
Drug
Japanese Data Show Vaccines Cause Autism
Mercola reprints an argument that Japanese autism rates rose and fell with the number of children vaccinated each year, which the author calls conclusive evidence of a causal link. The piece claims a 2005 Honda and Rutter paper was flawed and, once corrected, supports that conclusion.
Drug
Radiation Gone Wrong
Americans' average lifetime dose of diagnostic radiation has risen sevenfold since 1980. New York Times reporting describes radiotherapy errors from software flaws and bad programming, including 77 Florida brain cancer patients given 50 percent extra radiation for nearly a year.
Drug
New Treatment Could Cure Osteoporosis
Gerard Karsenty at Columbia tested LP533401, which blocks serotonin production in the gut, in rodents with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Six weeks of daily low doses prevented the condition in animals that did not have it and cured those that did, he reports in Nature Medicine.
Drug
Studies May Lead to Better Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes
Eastern Virginia Medical School researchers found that deleting the gene for the 12-LO enzyme prevents type 1 diabetes in mice, pointing to a possible way to protect insulin-producing beta cells. A separate Salk Institute study tied the stress hormone CRF to beta cell growth in animals.
Drug
Artificial Pancreas Aids Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Cambridge researchers tested an artificial pancreas that reads glucose in real time and pumps insulin overnight, in 17 patients aged 5 to 18 across 54 hospital nights. It held blood sugar normal 60% of the time versus 40% for standard pumps, and halved time spent in mild hypoglycemia.
Drug
Lancet Retraction Sparks Continuing Controversy
The Lancet retracted Andrew Wakefield's 1998 paper on 12 children with bowel disease and autism. Wakefield responded that the paper made no judgment about a causal link to the MMR vaccine; advocates argue the retraction was timed ahead of a primate study on the hepatitis B vaccine.
Drug
FDA: Tysabri offers more benefits than risks
The FDA alerted clinicians to reports of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in patients taking Tysabri, the drug approved for relapsing MS and Crohn's disease. After 31 confirmed cases, the agency now requires new safety information in the label and patient medication guide.
Drug
Tylenol Linked to Increased Risk of Autism
A 2008 survey study of 83 children with autism and 80 controls linked acetaminophen use after MMR vaccination to higher odds of autistic disorder, 6.11-fold in children under five, while ibuprofen showed no association. The piece also notes The Lancet's retraction of the Wakefield paper.
1120 stories