prescription drugs

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FDA OKs 1st Lupus Drug in 50 Years

But Benlysta was only slightly effective in clinical trials

(Newser) - The FDA has approved the first new drug to treat lupus since 1955, reports the New York Times , giving sufferers sanctioned options beyond aspirin, a malaria drug, corticosteroids, and a handful of other drugs used off-label with minimal success. Benlysta will be marketed by GlaxoSmithKline at an estimated per-patient cost...

US Military Awash in Deadly Prescription Drugs

Powerful drug cocktails for stress, depression can be deadly

(Newser) - When Senior Airman Anthony Mena was found dead in his apartment, he had eight prescription medications in his blood, including three antidepressants, a sleeping pill, a sedative, and two powerful painkillers—but it was the combination of those drugs that killed him, not his own hand. The US military's medical...

Millions on Antidepressants ... Without Right Diagnosis

Patients may face side effects without benefits: researchers

(Newser) - More than a quarter of Americans on antidepressants haven’t been diagnosed with depression, anxiety order, or any other condition that the drugs are intended to treat, a study finds. That means millions could face side effects without getting the drugs’ benefits, a researcher tells Reuters . In surveys of more...

US Prescription Drugs Tested on World's Poor
US Prescription Drugs
Tested on World's Poor
INVESTIGATION
Dec 5, 2010 6:02 PM CST

US Prescription Drugs Tested on World's Poor

Drugs declared 'safe' on basis of unregulated trials abroad

(Newser) - Prescription drugs that are considered safe kill an estimated 200,000 Americans a year, and investigative reporters Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele have exposed a massive loophole that could help explain why. Some 6,485 clinical trials were conducted abroad in 2008—more than 20 times as many...

FDA Pulls Darvon, Darvocet
FDA Pulls Darvon, Darvocet
Nov 19, 2010 6:05 PM CST

FDA Pulls Darvon, Darvocet

Popular painkillers cause abnormal heart rhythms

(Newser) - The painkillers Darvon and Darvocet are being pulled off the prescription drug market because they can trigger potentially fatal heart rhythm abnormalities, CNN reports. The FDA requested that the drug behind both popular brands, propoxyphene, be yanked after a trial study found the side effect. "The drug's effectiveness in...

Prescription Drugs Found in Dead Surfer's Room

Friends say addiction not plausible

(Newser) - Speculation is swirling around the death of surfing great Andy Irons after police found a variety of prescription drugs in his Dallas hotel room. Police reports indicate that Irons had generic versions of Ambien and Xanax, and the county medical examiner told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that one of the bottles...

FDA Restricts Diabetes Drug Over Heart Risk

But regulators stop short of an outright ban on Avandia

(Newser) - The FDA today put severe restrictions on Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline’s embattled diabetes drug, but stopped short of banning it outright. The once-popular drug will now only be available only as a last resort to type 2 diabetes patients who can’t control their glucose levels with any other medication, the...

DEA: Hand Over Your Drugs
 DEA: Hand Over Your Drugs 
PRESCRIPTION-MED SWEEP
Sep 20, 2010 1:10 PM CDT

DEA: Hand Over Your Drugs

Agency collecting expired, unwanted meds Saturday

(Newser) - You know that 6-year-old bottle of antibiotics sitting in your medicine cabinet left over from that really bad case of strep throat? The DEA wants it. No, really. This Saturday, it's offering Americans a chance to safely dump their expired or unwanted prescription meds in what it's calling a "...

When Clinical Trials Kill
 When Clinical Trials Kill 
Sep 13, 2010 11:36 AM CDT

When Clinical Trials Kill

Journalist sees danger in industry-funded tests

(Newser) - Dan Markingson was a happy, smart 26-year-old from Minnesota, until the day his mother visited him in Los Angeles and found him delusional, even murderous. He was hospitalized in November 2003 and would have been involuntarily committed—but he was granted a stay, on the condition that he comply with...

RFK Jr.'s Wife Busted for DUI—Again

Mary Kennedy was allegedly on drugs this time

(Newser) - Three months after her drunk driving arrest, Mary Richardson Kennedy has been charged again with driving under the influence—of prescription drugs, this time. The soon-to-be-ex-wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had her license suspended a month ago following her May 15 DUI arrest , but was allowed to drive in...

Sell the Pill Over the Counter

 Sell the Pill 
 Over the Counter 
opinion
Jun 22, 2010 12:00 PM CDT

Sell the Pill Over the Counter

It's time to end the prescription-only rule

(Newser) - After 50 years, it's time to start selling birth control pills over the counter, writes Kelly Blanchard. "The pill" has proven to be a safe, simple, and essential tool for women's contraception, but the prescription-only barrier limits its usefulness, she writes in the New York Times . It's not just...

New Program Pays People to Take Their Medicine

Cost-saving idea, or slippery slope?

(Newser) - Chiquita Parker used to sometimes forget to take her lupus medication. But now the 25-year-old single mom remembers religiously, because she’s part of a Philadelphia program that enters her to win up to $100 every time she remembers to down a pill. In six months, she’s made $300....

Xanax Is No. 1 Drug in America
 We're a Xanax Nation 
IN CASE You MISSED IT
May 2, 2010 9:50 AM CDT

We're a Xanax Nation

It's the most-prescribed psychiatric medication

(Newser) - Xanax is king in America—the anti-anxiety drug was prescribed more than any psychiatric medication in 2009, according to PsychCentral . We're a "zonked out" nation, observes Hamilton Nolan at Gawker , noting that the "first speed prescription" (amphetamine salts) doesn't show up until No. 11. Here's the top 10:...

Loaded Kennedy Cut Off After 6 Shots

He thinks Obama is better than JFK—when drunk, at least

(Newser) - Just hours after recalling his history of substance abuse—he was even introduced by his former sponsor—Rep. Patrick Kennedy got loaded at a bar and was cut off after six shots of vodka. He seemed to have a good time though—a tipster tells Roll Call that Kennedy was...

Lawyers for Doc: Michael Jackson Killed Himself

Sleepless pop star administered lethal dose of drug, defense will argue

(Newser) - Michael Jackson, foiled in his quest for sleep despite the use of a powerful anesthetic, gave himself the drug overdose that killed him, Conrad Murray's lawyers plan to argue. The pop legend's personal physician, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, will contend that Jackson was addicted to Propofol and...

'Tattletale Pill' Reports When Patients Eat It

Tiny microchip helps keep tabs on medication

(Newser) - Researchers have invented a pill that goes far beyond the usual call of duty—it helps patients and loved ones keep track of when it's taken. The pill has a tiny microchip and antenna (both nontoxic and digestible) that sends a signal when consumed to a receiver worn by the...

VA Doctors Can't Prescribe Medical Pot

New Mexico allows it for PTSD, but veterans can't get it there

(Newser) - New Mexico is the only state that explicitly allows people with PTSD to smoke pot under its medical marijuana law—and that's created a conundrum for the VA, which does not allow its doctors to prescribe pot because the drug is illegal in the eyes of the federal government. If...

Drug Ring Bust Made in Corey Haim Death

Actor obtained 'thousands' of drugs in last year

(Newser) - Police have made an arrest in a massive illegal prescription drug ring believed to be implicated in the death of actor Corey Haim. Los Angeles officials launched an investigation into the ring after they discovered that Haim had obtained thousands of prescription drugs from dozens of doctors in the past...

'Massive Prescription Drug Ring' Seen in Haim Death

Calif. attorney general launches investigation

(Newser) - Corey Haim’s death looks to be tied to a “massive prescription drug ring” being investigated by California authorities, the state’s attorney general says. Criminals have been using phony prescription pads after stealing doctors’ identities, and a chit for the painkiller OxyContin made out to the actor, who...

Americans Sleepless, Sexless

Not getting enough rest takes a toll on work, social, sex lives

(Newser) - Americans are getting by on less and less rest, a survey by the National Sleep Foundation reveals. Fewer than half of Americans say they get a good night's sleep, and average sleep times are about 2 hours shorter than those reported 40 years ago. Sleeplessness is taking a toll not...

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