Medication may slow progression of Alzheimer disease

A medication used to treat the symptoms of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease may actually do more – it may be able to delay progression of the disorder, according to a study conducted at the Indiana University School of Medicine. The study, which appears in the June issue of Archives of Neurology, enabled researchers to evaluate a change in cognition observed in patients who prematurely discontinued treatment with placebo or Exelon ? (rivastigmine tartrate), a medication prescribed for many patients.

Use of medication to treat pediatric insomnia is common, study finds

Despite a dearth of information about the use of medication for treating pediatric sleep disorders, about 75 percent of community-based pediatricians in a recent survey had recommended nonprescription medication, and more than 50 percent had prescribed a sleep medication to patients with difficulties falling and staying asleep.

New Tool To Help Consumers Reduce Medication Errors

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Council on Patient Information and Education today announced a new resource called Your Medicine: Play It Safe, to help consumers use prescription medicines safely. The 12-page brochure, available in English and Spanish, includes a detachable, pocket-sized medicine record form that can be personalized.

Arthritis drug suppresses cancer development by stopping action of key protein

Researchers have, for the first time, identified the molecular pathway by which a commonly prescribed arthritis medication inhibits the growth of cancer. Before this study, scientists had linked use of celecoxib capsules (commonly known as Celebrex) to prevention of cancer, but the way in which the medication acted in cancer cells was unknown. Now, investigators have found that celecoxib capsules stop a key transcription factor known as Sp1 from turning on multiple genes in cancer cells known to be associated with cancer growth.