Pharmacology

Figuring Out The Mystery Of Thalidomide

In the 1950s and 1960s, pregnant women with morning sickness were often prescribed thalidomide. Shortly after the medicine was released on the market, a reported 10,000 infants were born with an extreme form of the rare congenital phocomelia syndrome, whi ...

Article - News Staff - May 1 2014 - 11:00am

ADHD Medication Misuse Isn't Cheating, It's A Competitive Advantage- If You're Rich

In the 1960s, "speed freaks", people hooked on amphetamines, still avoided Ritalin. It was too dangerous. In the 1990s, Ritalin suddenly became a medication. For kids diagnosed with ADD, it sped them up so much it basically slowed them down. But ...

Article - News Staff - May 3 2014 - 9:30am

50 Percent Of M.D.s Believe ADHD Stimulant Sharing Among Teens Is A Problem

ADHD stimulant medications are being shared among high school and college students with peers who don't have the condition, to try to improve their academic performance,  Two recent studies examined physicians' perceptions and knowledge of diver ...

Article - News Staff - May 4 2014 - 4:30am

Steroids Are Ineffective And Possibly Harmful In Pediatric Liver Disease

A clinical trial involving 14 sites provides new evidence on a growing controversy in the medical community – whether treating infants with steroids to augment surgery improves outcomes.  ...

Article - News Staff - May 4 2014 - 8:19pm

New Cancer Therapies Linked To High Blood Pressure

New cancer therapies, particularly agents that block vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling, have been successful and are now used as a first line therapy for some tumors, but almost 100% of patients who take VEGF inhibitors (VEGFIs) develop ...

Article - News Staff - May 6 2014 - 12:32pm

Mexican Magic Mushroom Component Psilocybin Inhibits Negative Emotions

Emotions like fear, anger, sadness, and joy are how we know people to adjust to their environment and react flexibly to stress and strain. They are the vital signs of cognitive processes, physiological reactions, and social behavior. How emotions are proc ...

Article - News Staff - May 7 2014 - 9:40am

Are Hepatitis C Drugs Too Expensive?

After 20 years of grueling research, unimaginably effective drugs to treat hepatitis C are hitting the market. They are so good that cure rates (aka sustained virological response, or SVR) —defined as the absence of detectable hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA s ...

Article - Josh Bloom - Nov 16 2014 - 2:17pm

Calcium Supplements Don't Increase Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease In Women

Calcium supplements are widely taken by women for bone health and some studies have suggested that calcium supplements bring with them an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. A new study examined supplemental calcium use and incident cardiovascular d ...

Article - News Staff - May 9 2014 - 12:12pm

Why Worker Ants Turn Into Warrior Queens: Dopamine?

Gamergates look like ordinary workers but inside things are changing: their brains shrink by 25 percent, their ovaries expand to fill their abdomens and their life expectancy jumps from months to years. Why? Researchers wanted to find out. So they took so ...

Article - News Staff - May 12 2014 - 10:54am

Resveratrol's Fall Continues: No Link To Reduced Deaths, Heart Disease Or Cancer

A study of Italians who consume a diet rich in resveratrol — the compound found in red wine, dark chocolate and berries — finds they live no longer than and are just as likely to develop cardiovascular disease or cancer as those who eat a regular diet. ...

Article - News Staff - May 12 2014 - 5:37pm