For the first time, cystic fibrosis patients may have a drug that treats the underlying cause of their disease rather than just its symptoms. According to a new clinical trial, the experimental drug helped patients breathe …
Pharmaceuticals
Botox Approved, Again, This Time for Urinary Incontinence
For those of you who have been keeping track, Botox, the symbol of vanity and Bravo’s Real Housewives, actually has a variety of medical uses: it’s government-approved to treat chronic migraines, muscle problems, underarm …
FDA: High Doses of Celexa May Be Dangerous for the Heart
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reduced the maximum recommended dose of the antidepressant Celexa (citalopram) to 40 mg per day, warning that higher doses may trigger potentially fatal changes in heart rhythm.
Medicare Will Continue to Pay for Avastin
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Medicare will continue paying for Avastin for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, despite a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel’s recommendation to withdraw …
Breast-Cancer Survivors Plead With the FDA for Avastin
Dozens of women with late-stage breast cancer begged a federal panel Tuesday not to pull approval for their use of Avastin, a cancer therapy that has disappointed researchers but is keeping many women alive.
FDA Restricts Use of High Doses of Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Zocor
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday restricted the use of high doses of the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin, which is sold in generic forms and under the brand names Zocor and Vytorin, because of concerns …
This Isn’t Your Mother’s Bayer Aspirin
The name Bayer has become highly recognizable, if you’re in the market for aspirin — and you’re about 60. That’s because the company has been so successful at marketing the drug for the prevention of heart attack and stroke in …
America’s 10 Most Popular Prescription Drugs
The contents of America’s medicine cabinets — as captured by IMS Health‘s new report on U.S. prescription drug use — offer an interesting snapshot of our national health. A look at the top 10 most popularly prescribed drugs, …
FDA Approves the First New Lupus Drug in 50 Years
[Post updated March 10] For the first time in half a century, lupus sufferers have a new drug that could help control their disease, and it’s the first medication that works directly on the immune cells responsible for the …
Ibuprofen May Reduce the Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
Ibuprofen is a popular painkiller, which works wonders to reduce inflammation in chronic conditions like arthritis and more discrete hurts brought about by surgery. Now researchers are hoping to add another condition to that list …
Mayo Clinic vs. WebMD: Another Perspective
The New York Times Magazine on Sunday included a rather befuddling column by departing writer Virginia Heffernan.
The Seroquel Scandal: A Minnesota Psychiatrist’s Ethical Lapses Are Suspected
In 2003, Dan Markingson, 26, was enrolled in a clinical trial at the University of Minnesota aimed at comparing several drugs to treat schizophrenia. Despite the explicit demands of his mother, Mary Weiss, to pull him out of the …
Glass Ceiling Not Always Bad? Only 3 of Top Pharma-Earning Docs Are Women
Want to avoid seeing a doctor who earns big bucks from drug companies? You might want to choose a female physician, if the statistics from ProPublica’s investigation of the doctors who earn the most money in consulting and …
