Medications are one of our most powerful weapons against germs and diseases. But sometimes when people take medications, they can have an allergic reaction. That’s when a drug causes the body’s immune system to overreact. They may not be able to use the drug again without risking more serious consequences. Any drug can cause an… Continue reading Drug Allergies: What You Need to Know
Tag: drug
Substance Abuse and COVID-19
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that people with substance use disorders (SUDs) are more susceptible to COVID-19 and its complications. The research, published in Molecular Psychiatry, was co-authored by Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The findings suggest that health care providers… Continue reading Substance Abuse and COVID-19
Battling the Overdose Crisis
Whether it’s due to opioids, alcohol poisoning or the overconsumption of another drug, there’s a public-health crisis involving overdoses. People of all ages, from all backgrounds, are unintentionally dying from overdoses due to addiction as well as misuse or abuse of substances like opioids and alcohol. In 2017, more than 190 million prescriptions were written… Continue reading Battling the Overdose Crisis
Hypertension Drug May Hold Promise for Alzheimer’s
Seeking new treatments to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found the blood pressure drug nilvadipine increased blood flow to the brain’s memory and learning center among people with Alzheimer’s disease without affecting other parts of the brain, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension. These findings indicate that the… Continue reading Hypertension Drug May Hold Promise for Alzheimer’s
If You’re Thinking of Taking Red Yeast Rice, Read This First
Although red yeast rice, a traditional Chinese culinary and medicinal product, is marketed in the U.S. to help lower blood levels of cholesterol and related lipids, red yeast rice products may not be safe. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), some… Continue reading If You’re Thinking of Taking Red Yeast Rice, Read This First
Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse
From the experts at SeniorHealth, a division of the National Institute on Aging, strategies on how to control potential drug abuse: Whether it’s prescription or illicit drugs, can have serious consequences, particularly for older adults. That is why prevention is key. However, there are many different reasons why people abuse drugs and become addicted to… Continue reading Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse
Patient Advocacy Groups Don’t Often Disclose Industry Ties
A large proportion of patient advocacy organizations have funding or other connections with drug or medical device manufacturers, but don’t adequately disclose the link, according to new research. The study, led by medical ethicists at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests… Continue reading Patient Advocacy Groups Don’t Often Disclose Industry Ties
A Safe Painkiller?
Researchers working from scratch have developed a new opioid drug candidate that blocks pain without the dangerous side effects of current prescription painkillers. The international team — led by scientists at UC San Francisco, Stanford University, the University of North Carolina (UNC), and the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany — explored more than four trillion… Continue reading A Safe Painkiller?
A “Double” Drug for Diabetes
Researchers are developing a new class of drugs that could treat both Type 2 diabetes and bone fractures – a hazard associated with diabetes. In addition to its more obvious ills, type 2 diabetes is a condition closely associated with bone fractures, A new study, co-led by Patrick R. Griffin, a professor on the Florida… Continue reading A “Double” Drug for Diabetes
Another Purpose for A Lifesaving Cancer Drug
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai say that tiny doses of a cancer drug may stop the raging, uncontrollable immune response to infection that leads to sepsis and kills up to 500,000 people a year in the U.S. The new drug treatment may also benefit millions of people worldwide who are… Continue reading Another Purpose for A Lifesaving Cancer Drug
Glaucoma Drug Appears to Fight TB
A medicine used for glaucoma could also be used to treat tuberculosis – even the drug-resistant kind, research shows. Robert Abramovitch, a Michigan State University microbiologist, along with graduate student Benjamin Johnson, have discovered that ethoxzolamide, a sulfa-based compound found in many prescription glaucoma drugs, actually turns off the bacterium’s ability to invade the immune… Continue reading Glaucoma Drug Appears to Fight TB
Treatment for Stroke Shows Wide Regional Variations
According to a new study, treatment for stroke varies sharply from region to region – and thousands of people a year may end up unnecessarily disabled as a result. In the July issue of the journal Stroke, University of Michigan Medical School researchers report the results of a study that for the first time shows… Continue reading Treatment for Stroke Shows Wide Regional Variations
Defeating Aggressive Cancers
Researchers are drawing closer to a drug that attacks cancer stem cells in some forms of the disease. That medicine could treat an element in tumors that is believed responsible for metastasis and drug resistance. The team of investigators, led by experts from the Cancer Research Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), in… Continue reading Defeating Aggressive Cancers
A Drug that May Stop Osteoporosis
A previously overlooked group of cells may be crucial to the process of bone loss in post-menopausal women, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins. The investigators said that the discovery makes the cells, known as preosteoclasts, a likelier subject for further research. It also sheds lights on the success of an osteoporosis drug that’s in… Continue reading A Drug that May Stop Osteoporosis