Latest Drug News

• Toxic Algae Kills Dogs Across the Country

  The killer is blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, that can be found in fresh or salt water and contain toxins that can be fatal to dogs within minutes, hours, or days of exposure.

• EPA's Methylene Chloride Ban Excludes Workers

  The EPA says it will issue a rule that bans the sale of methylene chloride to consumers, but allows for its continued use in commercial products.

• Healthy Diet Might Not Lower Dementia Risk

  In the end, people who ate their fruits and vegetables were at no lower risk than those who favored sweets and steaks.

• Rapid Test for Cancer Developed by Researchers

  The team at the University of Queensland in Australia created the test after discovering that cancer forms a unique DNA structure when placed in water, CNN reported.

• Nasal Spray Recall Expands to Hundreds of Products

  Hundreds of products including nasal sprays and baby oral gels sold at CVS, Walgreens, Dollar General, Family Dollar and other stores are being recalled because of possible contamination.

• FDA Warns of Serious Genital Infection With Diabetes Meds

  The FDA is warning about rare cases of necrotizing fasciitis – sometimes called “flesh-eating bacteria” -- of the genitals and genital area in patients taking type 2 diabetes drugs known as SGLT2 inhibitors.

• Children’s Advil Recalled Over Dosage Cup Labeling

  Pfizer Consumer Healthcare is recalling Children’s Advil Suspension in bubble gum flavor because of a potential for overdose.

• 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  The researchers analyzed data from 522 trials -- published and unpublished -- that included more than 116,000 participants.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