Researchers determined that carotid artery stenting (CAS) with embolic protection is an economically attractive alternative to endarterectomy (END) for patients at increased surgical risk. The study, based on data from the Stenting and Angioplasty w…
Toronto — Faster approval times for generic drugs will get them into consumers’ hands quicker, but may not make the price any better, a pricing and marketing researcher has found.
A mathematical model created by Andrew Ching shows that fewer f…
Gaithersburg, MD — On December 14-15, 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened an Advisory Panel to discuss several scientific issues that may affect the regulation of dental amalgam. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Panel v…
PHILADELPHIA – The potential for harmful side effects associated with anti-psychotic medications for treating schizophrenia is a frustration for mental-health professionals who must balance this with the positive benefits of drugs. For example, the …
Diabetes experts at a meeting convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) took the next step in advancing efforts toward the development of an artificial pancreas: putting forth clinical recomm…
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 — Can skin cancer be treated with light? Scientists at the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), believe so. They’re exploring new ways to image cancerous lesions using LEDs that might advance a technique for treating c…
Washington, DC, SEPTEMBER 14, 2010 — A widely prescribed class of drugs is highly effective in reducing common bone fractures in people with osteoporosis, but an expert panel announced today that these same drugs — when used long term — may be …
A BMJ investigation into the top-selling diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) raises concerns about its safety and the whole system by which drugs are evaluated, regulated, and promoted around the world.
BMJ Editor in Chief, Dr Fiona Godlee, bel…
New findings by McMaster University researchers contradict earlier reports that people with a certain genetic make-up don’t benefit from the blood-thinner clopidogrel, also known as Plavix.
After researchers from the United States, France and Germ…
OAK BROOK, Ill. — Some nuclear-based breast imaging exams may increase a woman’s risk of developing radiation-induced cancer, according to a special report appearing online and in the October issue of Radiology. However, the radiation dose and ris…
Protamine, a drug used for more than 40 years immediately after coronary artery bypass surgery to return thinned blood to its normal state, has been shown to have more potential negative side effects than previously appreciated, according to researchers. Although they found that small blood pressure changes that often occur with protamine?s use are associated with increased mortality, they do not advocate any change in the clinical use of the drug. However, they do emphasize that their findings should spur development of alternatives for protamine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Effexor XR for the treatment of patients with social anxiety disorder, a condition which may affect up to 13 percent of Americans at some point in their lives. EFFEXOR XR, already approved for the treatment of depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), is the first available serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), and is believed to increase the levels of two key brain chemicals thought to be deficient in individuals suffering from depression and anxiety disorders.