Pharmacoepidemiology News and Research

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The science of pharmacoepidemiology can answer a range of questions regarding how, why, when, where, and by whom a medicine is being used. It is a way of finding out the impact of a medicine as well as the usage results in a large, well-defined population. Also, it can help provide some indication as to how a particular drug is benefitting society and how it may be having a negative impact. Pharmacoepidemiology can be carried out both before and after a medicine is taken to market.

Commonly used medications may produce cognitive impairment in seniors

Many drugs commonly prescribed to older adults for a variety of common medical conditions including allergies, hypertension, asthma, and cardiovascular disease appear to negatively affect the aging brain causing immediate but possibly reversible cognitive impairment, including delirium, in older adults according to a clinical review now available online in the Journal of Clinical Interventions in Aging, a peer reviewed, open access publication.

1 Jun 2009

Marked increase in the use of herbal medicines by Australians

Australian researchers have found that the most popular herbal medicines used by Australians are aloe vera, garlic and green tea.

13 Oct 2008

Statins shown not to increase the risk of Lou Gehrig's disease

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration's analysis provides new evidence that the use of statins does not increase incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease." The analysis was reported on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.

29 Sep 2008

Removing barriers to the distribution of life-saving vaccines

Barriers to the distribution of life saving vaccines in low income countries can and should be overcome, say experts in this week's issue of the BMJ.

4 Apr 2008

FDA deadlines may compromise drug safety by rushing approval

Many medications are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the brink of congressionally mandated deadlines, and those drugs are more likely to face later regulatory intervention than those approved with greater deliberation, researchers at Harvard University have found.

28 Mar 2008

Prescription labels focus on logos not instructions

The labels on most prescription drug containers highlight the pharmacy's name or logo rather than instructions on how to take the medication, reports a new study in the September 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

12 Sep 2007

Risedronate versus Alendronate study

The largest retrospective, observational study comparing two osteoporosis therapies on the basis of fracture reduction was presented today at the Seventh European Congress on Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ECCEO) in Porto, Portugal.

3 Apr 2007

Allowing greater access to drug safety data would enable researchers to better evaluate risks

For years, pharmaceutical companies have sought to restrict public access to drug safety data collected in clinical trials on the basis that it is proprietary information, arguing that competitors could use that information in the development of their own products.

8 Mar 2007

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

Trends analysis of drug poisoning deaths has helped explain a national epidemic of overdose deaths in the USA that began in the 1990s, concludes Leonard Paulozzi and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

24 Jul 2006

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

24 Jul 2006

Warning labels on high-risk drugs ignored by doctors

In a survey of approximately 930,000 ambulatory care patients, researchers from the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention (of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care) and colleagues found that 42 percent received prescriptions for drugs with Black Box Warnings (BBW), the Food and Drug Administration's strongest label for high-risk medication.

21 Nov 2005

Epidemiological study links heart protection with non-aspirin, non-steroidal drugs

It is well known that aspirin, a non-selective, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX), reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke.

22 Aug 2005

2004 FDA drug complaints way up high

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received a record number of complaints regarding drug side effects and other related health problems in 2004, according to a published report.

14 Mar 2005

FDA clarifies it's position on Vioxx

For the past several weeks, various allegations and characterizations have circulated and been reported on regarding FDA's approval and post market review of the drug Vioxx, a "Cox-2 inhibitor," that its sponsor, Merck, voluntarily withdrew from the market September 30th, 2004.

17 Nov 2004

Antidepressant drugs prescription to children and adolescents increased 300% in the nineties

The rate at which antidepressant drugs are prescribed for the nation’s children and adolescents increased more than three fold between the early 1990s and 2001, according to a review of medical office survey data completed recently by researchers at Washington State University.

6 May 2004