Latest Drug News

• Common Meds May Help Spur Antibiotic Resistance

  Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, in Germany, tested about 1,000 medicines on 40 species of gut bacteria. Of 923 non-antibiotics tested, 250 affected the growth of at least one of species of gut bacteria.

• Recall: Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine

  Bayer is voluntarily recalling some kinds of Alka-Seltzer Plus because the ingredients listed on the box may not be what’s actually in the product.

• Is Herbal Drug Kratom a Health Friend or Foe?

  Disagreement centers largely upon the herb's ability to activate opioid receptors in the brain, experts say.

• Antidepressants Do Work, Some Better Than Others

  The researchers analyzed data from 522 trials -- published and unpublished -- that included more than 116,000 participants. Of the 21 antidepressants studied, all of them worked better than a placebo.

• Your Tax Dollars Fund Research on Hundreds of New Meds

  Nearly $64 billion of that spending was for the development of 84 first-in-class drugs that use new biological mechanisms or targets.

• Widely Used COPD Meds Tied to Higher Fracture Risk

  COPD -- often linked to smoking -- is a combination of emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It is a progressive, debilitating illness that currently has no cure.

• Opioid Maker To Stop Marketing Painkillers to Docs

  The company is slashing its sales force in half to 200, and the remaining representatives will no longer visit doctors to market Purdue's opioid products, the Los Angeles Times reported.

• Do Over-the-Counter Painkillers Alter Emotions, Reasoning?

  The studies focused on how nonprescription painkillers might temporarily alter emotions such as empathy, or even a person's reasoning skills.

• Roll Kids' Sleeves Up, Again, for Mumps Protection

  During a mumps outbreak, doctors can provide an optional third dose of mumps vaccine, according to the 2018 recommended immunization schedule from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

• FDA Bans Opioid-Containing Cough Meds For Kids

  These prescription medicines involve any that include codeine or oxycodone, the FDA said.

• High Costs Keep Many Cancer Patients From Needed Drugs

  Cancer drugs have become so pricey that U.S. patients often can't afford them, a new study finds.

• FDA to Remove Boxed Warning From Some Asthma Meds

  The FDA will remove a Boxed Warning from certain inhaled medications used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

• Drug May Help Surgical Patients Stop Opioids Sooner

  When patients received a non-opioid medication called gabapentin before and after surgery, the need for continued opioid painkillers was reduced by 24 percent, said researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine.

• Hopes Raised Over Huntington's Drug

  The first drug to target the known cause of Huntington's disease has reportedly passed acceptable safety tests.

• Often, Opioid Abuse Becomes a Family Affair

  If someone is taking prescription opioids for pain, such as OxyContin, it's more likely that others living in the home will also get an opioid prescription, the researchers found.

• Powerful Clot-Busting Drugs Not Useful For DVT

  Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) - the development of a clot in the lower legs - can prove deadly, since the clot can travel to the heart and lungs

• New Breast Cancer Drug May Help Younger Women, Too

  Adding a new drug to standard treatment can slow the progression of advanced breast cancer in younger women, a new clinical trial has found.

• FDA Approves Drug That Helps Diabetes, Weight Loss

  The once-a-week injection drug Ozempic (semaglutide) is approved for people with type 2 diabetes

• HIV Is Gaining Resistance to Lifesaving Drugs

  A new study warns of a potential return to the "bad old days" when there were no effective drugs to fight HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

• FDA Approves Monthly Dose of Opioid Addiction Treatment

  A once-monthly injection of the opioid addiction drug buprenorphine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

• New Migraine Drugs Show Promise

  The drugs were designed specifically to target a pathway believed to be important in these headaches.

• Too Few Seniors Know Risks of Multiple Medications

  Many older Americans take multiple medications -- but only about one-third ever discuss possible interactions between drugs, a new poll finds.

• Kids Still Get Risky Painkiller Post-Tonsillectomy

  Despite safety warnings from drug regulators, some U.S. children are still being given a risky painkiller after having their tonsils removed, a new study finds.

• Psychedelic Drug Might Ease Depression, Alcoholism

  A powerful psychedelic drug out of South America might help battle both depression and alcoholism, a new British survey suggests.

• Could a Common Blood Thinner Lower Cancer Risk?

  A pill widely taken to prevent heart attack and stroke may also guard against cancer, new research suggests.