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Researchers examine effects of antirejection drugs in kidney transplant patients

Modern medicine's ability to save lives through organ transplantation has been revolutionized by the development of drugs that prevent the human body from rejecting the transplanted organ.

10 Oct 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim receives FDA approval for COMBIVENT RESPIMAT to treat COPD

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved COMBIVENT RESPIMAT, a new, propellant-free inhaler product that uses a slow-moving mist to deliver the same active ingredients of COMBIVENT Inhalation Aerosol in a metered dose inhaler.

10 Oct 2011

Merck receives FDA approval for JUVISYNC to treat type 2 diabetes

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved JUVISYNC(sitagliptin and simvastatin), a new treatment for type 2 diabetes that combines the glucose-lowering medication sitagliptin, the active component of JANUVIA (sitagliptin), with the cholesterol-lowering medication ZOCOR.

10 Oct 2011

Caffeine may predict risk of drug abuse

Parents of young caffeine consumers take heed: that high-calorie energy drink or soda might present more than just obesity risk. In fact, according to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that examined responses to stimulants, an individual's subjective response to caffeine may predict how he or she will respond to other stimulant drugs, possibly reflecting differences in risk for abuse of other more serious drugs of abuse, such as amphetamine and cocaine.

10 Oct 2011

Experts take study on contraceptive use, HIV risk seriously but warn about drawing conclusions prematurely because of study's 'methodological weaknesses'

In this post in RH Reality Check, Jodi Jacobson, editor-in-chief of the blog, responds to an article published in the New York Times on Tuesday regarding a study suggesting that "HIV-negative women using injectable contraception might face a two-fold risk of acquiring HIV from their infected partners, and that HIV-positive women using injectable contraceptives may be twice as likely to pass the virus on to their uninfected partners."

10 Oct 2011

First combination drug to treat type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol receives FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Juvisync (sitagliptin and simvastatin), a fixed-dose combination (FDC) prescription medication that contains two previously approved medicines in one tablet for use in adults who need both sitagliptin and simvastatin.

7 Oct 2011

MSF calls on Brazilian government to step up production of only drug for Chagas disease

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has called on the Brazilian government "to ensure its state-owned drug company steps up production of the only drug for Chagas disease, which affects 10 million people in Latin America," Guardian Health Editor Sarah Boseley writes in her "Global Health Blog" (10/6).

7 Oct 2011

PEPFAR ART cost model data presented to PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board

"For every 1,000 patient-years of PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment provided, 228 fewer HIV patients die, 449 fewer children become orphans, 61 fewer sexual HIV transmissions occur and 26 fewer 'vertical' transmissions (e.g. mother-to-child) occur," John Blanford of the CDC told the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., on September 14, according to a post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog.

7 Oct 2011

CNBC.com examines counterfeit pharmaceuticals in special report

In a special report, CNBC.com examines "the world of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, from the dangers they pose and where they're made, to what is being done to combat them."

7 Oct 2011

Bedtime consumption of blood pressure medications improves control of hypertension

Patients who take certain popular types of blood pressure medication once a day are able to achieve somewhat better control of their hypertension if they take their daily dose at bedtime, according to a new systematic review.

7 Oct 2011

Calcium supplementation does not benefit pregnant women, except for hypertension

Most physicians instruct pregnant women to increase their calcium intake, but a new evidence review of potential benefits of calcium supplementation for mom and baby found none, except for the prevention of pregnancy-related hypertension.

7 Oct 2011

House lawmaker looks into drug shortages, price markups

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has begun an investigation into 'gray market' drug distributors and how they may be driving up costs and adding to the nation's current shortage of cancer and critical-care products.

7 Oct 2011

Keeping HIV patients on ART will have long-term economic benefits, study shows

Investments to keep 3.5 million people living with HIV on antiretroviral drugs provided by programs co-financed through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria through 2020 will cost an estimated $14.2 billion, but "the financial savings would amount to between $12 billion and $34 billion," according to a study published in the journal PLoS One, Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog" in the Guardian.

7 Oct 2011

Cannabidiol could prevent onset of pain associated with chemotherapy drugs

A chemical component of the marijuana plant could prevent the onset of pain associated with drugs used in chemo therapy, particularly in breast cancer patients, according to researchers at Temple University's School of Pharmacy.

7 Oct 2011

Tips on how to prevent unnecessary medication/supplement mishaps

Navigating the supplement and medication maze can get confusing especially when you have multiple prescriptions. It is important to organize yourself with your medications and supplements to prevent unnecessary mishaps.

7 Oct 2011

Link between marijuana use and crash risk among drivers

Over 10 million people age 12 or older are estimated to have driven under the influence of illicit drugs in the prior year, according to a 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

7 Oct 2011

Blue Shield of California refuses to pay for breast cancer drug Avastin

In a new development, health insurer Blue Shield of California has decided not to pay for Roche Holding's drug Avastin to treat breast cancer after health advisers said it was not safe or clinically beneficial. Blue Shield of California with around 3.3 million members, said in a notice posted on its web site that the drug would no longer be covered as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer beginning October 17. It said exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

4 Oct 2011

Merck wins fourth FOSAMAX trial

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today said a federal court jury in New York found in its favor in the Secrest v. Merck case, rejecting the claim of a Florida woman who blamed her dental and jaw-related problems on her FOSAMAX use.

4 Oct 2011

Canada Supreme Court rules Vancouver's safe drug-injection site can stay open

"Vancouver's Insite clinic, the only such safe-injection site for people who use drugs in North America, can stay open, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday in a landmark defeat for the federal government," Reuters reports.

4 Oct 2011

Quick injection of cortisone can prevent PTSD

As soldiers return home from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, America must cope with the toll that war takes on mental health. But the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is becoming increasingly expensive, and promises to escalate as yet another generation of veterans tries to heal its psychological wounds.

4 Oct 2011