Results for search "Prescription Drugs".
03 Feb
A new study finds while some antidepressants help certain pain conditions, others are either ineffective or the evidence is inconclusive.
With the United States facing a high number of drug shortages, a Chinese company may help to boost the supply of one in particular, the chemotherapy agent cisplatin.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with the Chinese drugmaker Qilu Pharmaceutical to import the widely used cancer drug. The Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex will distribute the medication in 50-milli...
When people regained weight after obesity surgery, it wasn’t entirely clear what to do next. Now, it appears the weight-loss medications Wegovy and Saxenda can help.
Both work by controlling appetite and satiety. Wegovy (semaglutide), however, may be superior to Saxenda (liraglutide), a new study finds.
“Our research found that newer anti-obesity medications are effective for tr...
There is no cure for nearsightedness, but medicated eye drops can slow down its progression in children, a new trial finds.
The study tested the effects of eye drops containing a very low dose of the drug atropine — the same medication used to dilate the pupils during an eye exam.
Researchers found that when children with nearsightedness used the drops every day for three years, t...
You've been diagnosed with depression. What's next?
The cornerstone of treatment remains antidepressants, so it's likely your doctor will prescribe one for you, but which one might be best?
You will join millions around the world who struggle with how to treat the mental health disorder. An estimated 3.8% of the global population experiences depression, according to the
HIV infection numbers in the United States are down, public health officials announced Tuesday.
Declines in young people are driving the overall decrease.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed an overall 12% decline between ...
Many seniors skip or stretch prescription medications due to costs despite being insured by Medicare, a new U.S. study finds.
Roughly 20% of older adults reported taking less medication than prescribed or not taking medication because of cost, the researchers found.
"We also found that most respondents wanted to talk with their doctors about medication costs and would want their d...
It’s a social media darling and one of the hottest prescription medications on the U.S. market. But does Wegovy really help patients lose weight?
Yes, a new study suggests.
Investigators analyzed data on more than 100 people using Wegovy (semaglutide). They found that after a year participants had shed more than 13% of their body weight on average.
“This medication ...
Patients with Crohn’s disease have a new treatment option, following U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of a pill called Rinvoq (upadacitinib).
Rinvoq is meant to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease who have not had success with TNF (tumor necrosis factor) blockers. The daily pill is the first oral treatment for this group of patients.
<...
Combining a swallowable gastric balloon with a weight loss drug may be a way to lose significant body weight, a new study suggests.
In about eight months of combination treatment, participants lost an average of 19% of their body weight, and significantly reduced their body mass index (BMI), researchers report.
"Combination therapy gives providers much flexibility and further ...
Receiving a diagnosis of asthma may be frightening, but learning what the treatment options are can help alleviate the anxiety that comes with diagnosis.
Depending on the severity, certain asthma medications may help you manage your symptoms. Here, experts break down the most common long-term and quick-acting medications for asthma, how they work and potential side effects.
If you suffer from allergies, you know how bothersome and uncomfortable the sneezing and itchy eyes can be. These symptoms are more than irritating — they impact day-to-day activities like work, school, sports, sleeping and even eating.
Not only that, but allergies can also cause more serious health problems such as asthma and even anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction.
<...The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday issued a six-month extension for people seeking to fill controlled medication prescriptions via telehealth.
That ability had been set to expire along with the ending of the pandemic public health emergency on May 11.
“These medications, i...
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk said Thursday it will limit distribution of its low-dose versions of the wildly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, to ensure that people already taking the drug will have enough supply.
The medication is one of three drugs from a class known as GLP-1 agonists. These medications have been shown in studies to be effective for weight loss but have faced shortages...
It's standard for heart attack survivors to take beta blocker medications for years afterward, but a new study suggests that may be unnecessary for people who've had a milder heart attack.
Researchers found that among heart attack survivors whose hearts still had normal pumping ability, there was no added benefit from using beta blockers for more than one year. They were no less lik...
As more Americans try to get their hands on the prescription medication Wegovy while they try to shed significant amounts of weight, an even more powerful obesity drug is poised to enter the fray.
On Thursday, drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. anno...
A new study finds that Americans over 50 are interested in cutting back on prescription medications, dovetailing with a movement toward “deprescribing.”
About 67% said they would seek their doctor's advice before dropping a pill, according to Michigan Medicine's National Poll on Healthy Aging.
Yet more than one-third of older adults said they had quit taking a medication they ha...
Summer is almost here, and its arrival brings opportunities for many people -- including those who suffer with allergies and asthma — to plan vacations away from home.
A recent article titled “Allergies don't take a vacation” in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology encourages those ...
Arthritis is a common disease that causes pain and inflammation in different body joints, making it difficult to enjoy everyday tasks and physical activity.
Fortunately, there are many different medications for arthritis. Depending on what type of arthritis you have and its severity, an arthritis medication may help you manage pain and other symptoms. Here is a breakdown of the most comm...
A "morning after" dose of a common antibiotic can greatly lower the chances of sexually transmitted bacterial infections in high-risk people, a new clinical trial has found.
Researchers discovered that taking the antibiotic doxycycline within 72 hours of unprotected sex slashed the risk of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis by two-thirds among gay and bisexual men and transgender women who...
New mothers who gave birth early in the pandemic filled far more opioid prescriptions than American women did previously, raising concerns about the potential for narcotic misuse.
About 38% of more than 460,000 women who gave birth from July 2018 through December 2020 were prescribed opioids for postpartum pain management, according to the University of Georgia study.
But there was ...
Prescriptions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new government report shows.
The trend may reflect both greater awareness among adults of ADHD symptoms and increased stress driving people to get the care they need.
“This report shows there is this growing population of adults who have been diagnosed with ADHD, an...
Endless worry, irritability and insomnia are all symptoms of a possible anxiety disorder.
Luckily, there are numerous anxiety medications that can help ease the condition.
Joy Alonzo, a specialist in the pharmacotherapy of mental disorders at Texas A&M's College of Pharmacy,
Migraine sufferers will soon have a new treatment option that works more quickly and may be safer for people at risk of heart attack or stroke.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Pfizer Inc.'s zavegepant (Zavzpret), a nasal spray meant to treat severe headache pain, the company announced Friday.
“The FDA approval of Zavzpret marks a significant breakthrough for pe...
Many older adults with depression don't respond to their first antidepressant, so doctors will switch them to another one to see if that does the trick.
Now, new research suggests that the best strategy for these folks may instead be to add the antipsychotic drug Abilify (aripiprazole) to the original antidepressant.
“This is good news for older adults with difficult-to-trea...
Ongoing shortages of a medication that hospitals and emergency rooms rely upon to treat breathing problems are likely to worsen in coming days and weeks, experts warn.
That's because one of the two major U.S. suppliers of liquid albuterol, Akorn Pharmaceuticals, abruptly laid off its entire workforce and closed plants in New Jersey, New York and Illinois in late February.
“We're d...
Acetaminophen, a popular over-the-counter medication for millions struggling with pain and fever, can also be found in prescription painkillers that combine acetaminophen and an opioid into one pill.
The problem? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has long known that high dosages of acetaminophen (Tylenol) can harm the liver. So, in 2011 the FDA set new safety limits on exactly how muc...
Pregnant women will no longer have any drug to prevent preterm birth after the maker of the only available treatment announced Tuesday that it will withdraw its product, Makena, from the market.
Covis Pharma Group's decision follows a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel vote last October that concluded the drug does not actually benefit newborns.
“While we stand by M...
A new study is raising questions about the effectiveness of medications long used to prevent painful kidney stones, but experts say there's no reason for patients to toss their prescriptions out at this point.
Anyone who has ever passed a kidney stone would prefer to avoid a repeat experience. And for many years, doctors have prescribed thiazide diuretics as one preventive tactic.
B...
When Black patients struggle with dementia, they are less likely to receive helpful medications than their white peers, a new study warns.
Researchers looked at how often patients received one or more of five classes of medications commonly given to dementia patients living at home.
The study builds on prior research that has identified a racial gap in use of dementia medicine among...
The wildly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy has become hard to find, but that could soon change.
Novo Nordisk, which makes the medication, said Wednesday that it has increased production to meet demand.
“We know for a fact that patients have been lined up,” CEO Lars J...
Mila Clarke started taking Ozempic in 2020 to help manage her diabetes, but was pleasantly surprised to find herself soon shedding pounds.
“I was like, this is really weird because I'm not having to try very hard to do this,” said Clarke, who has been diagnosed with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and chronicles her diabetes journey on her
The U.S. government could save billions every year once Medicare begins negotiating drug prices in 2026, new research suggests.
The Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress last year allows Medicare to bargain with drug companies on the prices of 10 of the highest-priced drugs in 2026 before ...
Nearly 20% of American adults use a drug to help them sleep, either occasionally or regularly, health officials reported Wednesday.
Sleep medications, sold both over-the-counter and by prescription, are a common treatment for sleep problems, said senior report author Lindsey Black
New research suggests that there's one potential way to reduce demand for prescription codeine: legalizing recreational cannabis.
Exactly what brought scientists to that conclusion? States that legalized cannabis use saw a significant reduction in pharmacy-based distribution of codeine, an opioid with a high potential for misuse.
“A reduction in the misuse of opioids can save live...
It doesn't matter which water pill you're prescribed to treat your heart failure, because new trial data shows that one works as well as the other.
Two diuretics widely used to treat heart failure, furosemide and torsemide, showed no difference in their ability to improve patient survival, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored trial.
“We're not saying...
Television ads for drugs are filled with glowing images of people living their best lives, all thanks to that new med they've been prescribed.
But drugs being touted on TV often have little to no benefit compared to other treatments, a new study published online Jan. 13 in JAMA...
Not all prescription drugs and dietary herbal supplements work well together.
It's important to be aware of possible drug/supplement interactions that could be harmful, according to the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a part of the National Institutes of Health.
The ...
American adults who have epilepsy and are Black or Hispanic are less likely than white adults to be prescribed the latest medications, according to new research.
“While finding the right medication is often a trial-and-error process that is based on the individual, studies have shown that use of newer medications improves outcomes, and some newer medications have fewer side effects,” ...
Could a simple letter prompt doctors to prescribe opioids more safely?
Yes, claims new research that found reminding doctors to check a prescription database before doling out opioids increased their engagement with the program, having the potential to create more informed prescribing.
The study enrolled clinicians in Minnesota who prescribed opioids with benzodiazepines or gabapent...
A leading pediatricians' group has issued new guidelines on treating obesity in children and teens that, for the first time, call for early, aggressive intervention that can include weight-loss drugs and surgery.
“There is no evidence that ‘watchful waiting' or delayed treatment is appropriate for children with obesity,” Dr.
One low-cost intervention could make a difference in America's epidemic of opioid overdoses, a new study suggests.
When health care providers were notified that one of their patients had died from an overdose, they wrote fewer opioid prescriptions for up to a year later.
The University of Southern California (USC) study built upon earlier findings that letters like these could reduc...
COVID-19 patients could soon have a new antiviral pill they can take to guard against severe disease.
The treatment, called VV116, worked as well as Paxlovid in people who were at high risk of severe disease in a phase 3 trial in China.
The trial was a “great success,” study co-author Ren Zhao, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, said in a
As doctors have tried to steer their chronic pain patients away from highly addictive opioids, many have turned to two antiseizure drugs, but a new review finds they are only "modestly effective" at treating pain.
Gabapentin and pregabalin are being prescribed to manage all types of pain, but clinical trial data shows that the drugs have limited effectiveness, said lead researcher
Doctors are notorious for criticizing patients who don't take medications as prescribed.
But physicians and their families are themselves less likely than everyone else to comply with medication guidelines, a new, large-scale study has found.
People tend to adhere to medication guidelines about 54% of the time, while doctors and their families lag about 4 percentage points behind th...
Shortages of the ADHD drug Adderall are expected to continue for months, forcing families to scramble for ways to deal with their children's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The shortage has caused headaches and hassles for parents like San Diego mom Jackie Meader, who has been "flustered, rushed and out of sorts" since her 16-year-old son's prescription ran out about a mo...
An attempt to block California's flavored tobacco ban was stopped Monday when the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
That now means the ban will go into effect on Dec. 21.
The ban includes everything from candy flavors to menthol in a wide range of tobacco products including vape ...
The antiviral Paxlovid has kept people from getting really sick and dying from COVID-19 since it became available -- at no cost to them.
But by the middle of next year, the U.S. government will stop subsidizing the medication. Instead, it will be billed for like many other medications.
While the Biden administration has paid about $530 for each course of the medication by buying 2...
One of the two most common drugs used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) appears better than the other, a new, small study suggests.
Among 106 patients with "wet" age-related macular degeneration, 50% of those treated with aflibercept (Eylea) could be weaned off the drug after one year, compared with only 17% of those treated with bevacizumab (Avastin), researchers found.
The EpiPen is a known lifesaver when someone with a serious food allergy eats something they can't tolerate.
Yet the auto-injection treatment is greatly underused in the United States, according to a new survey.
Just over half of at-risk adults said they had ever been prescribed the device, researchers found. And more than one-third of severe allergy sufferers mistakenly believe th...