Pharmacology

After 50 Years, Niacin Called Too Dangerous For Routine Cholesterol Therapy

Niacin has been a mainstay cholesterol therapy for 50 years but it should no longer be prescribed for most patients due to potential increased risk of death, dangerous side effects and no benefit in reducing heart attacks and strokes, according to an edit ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2014 - 5:33am

Combination Drug Therapy Cures Hepatitis C In Patients Co-infected With HIV

A multicenter team of researchers report that in a phase III clinical trial, a combination drug therapy cures chronic hepatitis C in the majority of patients co-infected with both HIV and hepatitis C. "In many settings, hepatitis C is now a leading c ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 20 2014 - 10:00am

Ketamine, The Emergency Room Wonder Drug

Ketamine has been used by emergency departments for analgesia, sedation and amnesia for rapid, life-saving intubation in critically ill patients but decades-old studies suggested it raised intracranial pressure.  A systematic review of 10 recent studies c ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 23 2014 - 12:30pm

Methoxychlor Pesticide Linked Linked To Ovarian Disease And Obesity 3 Generations Later

The pesticide methoxychlor has been linked to adult onset kidney disease, ovarian disease and obesity- generations after rats were exposed.   Methoxychlor, also known as Chemform, Methoxo, Metox or Moxie, was invented in 1948 and became popular in the 197 ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 25 2014 - 4:30am

Heparin Ineffective At Preventing Blood Clots In Pregnant Women

For two decades, women at risk of developing placental blood clots have been prescribed the anticoagulant low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) but it's ineffective, according to a clinical trial published today in The Lancet. As many as one in 10 preg ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 25 2014 - 1:30am

1 Percent: Antibiotic Research Is Dying In The UK

Pharmaceutical companies are in a tough position; they are highly regulated, trials are expensive, new products fail most of the time, and if they are successful, everyone complains the cost is too high while the company tries to make money before it goes ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 24 2014 - 9:02pm

Artemisinin Resistance: Malaria Drug Changes Need To Be Made

Resistance to artemisinin, the main drug to treat malaria, has become widespread throughout Southeast Asia. Resistance among the Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) parasites that cause the disease is likely caused by a genetic mutation in the parasites ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 30 2014 - 10:00pm

Spicy Chili Pepper Chemical Inhibits Gut Tumors

Dietary capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers, produces chronic activation of a receptor on cells lining the intestines of mice, triggering a reaction that ultimately reduces the risk of colorectal tumors, finds a study in The Journal of Clini ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 2 2014 - 7:30am

Herbal-Based Anti-Malarial Drug Artesunate Also Helps Control Asthma- Study

Artesunate, a common herbal-based anti-malarial drug, can be used to control asthma, with better treatment outcomes than other drugs currently available, according to a paper by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS). The authors write ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 2 2014 - 11:16am

Cancer Prevention Benefits Of Aspirin Are Worth It

Aspirin has been linked to a significant reduction in the risk of developing – and dying from – the major cancers of the digestive tract, i.e. bowel, stomach and esophageal cancer in a recent Annals of Oncology paper. Some have been concerned about side e ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2014 - 10:00pm