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11 Aug

Popular Heartburn Drugs May Raise Dementia Risk

In a new study, people who took acid reflux drugs for more than 4.4 years were significantly more likely to develop dementia in later life.

Health News Results - 543

Poor Trial Results May Prompt Maker to Pull ALS Drug From Market

Following disappointing trial results, the maker of a controversial ALS drug may pull the medication off the market.

In a statement issued Friday, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals said that Relyvrio failed to help patients in a large follow-up study, but th...

Cyberattack Stalls Prescription Dispensing at UnitedHealth

For nearly a week, prescription drug orders have been disrupted at thousands of pharmacies as the largest health insurer in the United States tries to fully restore services following a cyberattack.

The security breach was first detected last Wednesday at Change Healthcare, a division of UnitedHealth Group, and two senior federal law enforcement officials told the New York Times...

Drug That Treats Cocaine Addiction May Curb Colon Cancer

FRIDAY, Feb. 16, 2024 (HealthDay news) -- A drug first developed to treat cocaine addiction might also help slow the spread of advanced colon cancer, a new study suggests.

The drug vanoxerine appears to suppress cancer stem cell activity by essentially rewiring gene networks critical to tumor growth, the researchers explained.

“Tumors treated with vanoxerine become more susceptibl...

Drug Used to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis May Also Help Prevent It

Philip Day loved playing soccer so much that the 35-year-old software engineer founded a website – FootballMatcher.com – to help people connect for pickup games.

The fun went on pause when Day developed joint pain so bad it kept him from his favorite sport.

“The pain got so terrible I stopped going to football, and I got lazier and felt progressively worse physically and menta...

U.S. Prescription Drug Prices Nearly Triple Those of Other Nations

Americans pay nearly three times as much for their prescription drugs as residents of other nations do, new research shows.

Drug prices in the United States average nearly 2.8 times those seen in 33 other countries, the report from RAND Health Care found.

Brand-name drugs are even more expensive, with U.S. prices...

FDA to Import Syphilis Drug From France Amid Shortage

Amid an ongoing shortage of the first-line treatment for syphilis in the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow the importation of a different syphilis drug from a French drugmaker.

In a letter from Laboratoires Delbert, the Paris-based company said it's working with the FDA to temporarily import 3.5 million ...

FDA Gives Florida OK to Import Cheaper Drugs From Canada

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday gave the nod to a Florida plan to import drugs from Canada at much lower prices than in the United States.

The approval could prove to be a major turning point for the United States' prescription drug market.

U.S. residents can now buy directly from Canadian pharmacies out of their own pockets, but state Medicaid programs have not been...

Resolve to Keep Your Allergies, Asthma in Check in 2024

If you're one of the 50 million Americans with asthma or allergies, 2024 is another year to redouble efforts to manage them.

But how?

“It's not always easy to get allergies and asthma under control,” allergist Dr. Gailen Marshall, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunol...

New Weight-Loss Drug Zepbound Is Now Available, Company Says

The newly approved weight-loss medication known as Zepbound is now available for patients to take, drug maker Eli Lilly announced Tuesday.

"Today opens another chapter for adults living with obesity who have been looking for a new treatment option like Zepbound," Rhonda Pacheco, group vice president of Lilly Diabetes and Obesity, U.S., said in a company

  • Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
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  • December 6, 2023
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  • New Postpartum Depression Drug Comes With Hefty Price Tag

    WEDNESDAY, Nov. 8, 2023 (Healthday News) -- A new drug to treat postpartum depression will cost nearly $16,000 for a 14-day course of treatment, a price tag that has doctors worried that some patients won't be able to afford the medication.

    Zurzuvae (zuranolone) was first ...

    FDA Advisors to Weigh New Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Anemia

    Patients with sickle cell disease may soon have two new treatments to try.

    On Tuesday, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee will weigh the merits of a new gene therapy for the painful, inherited condition, which typically strikes Black people.

    The agency is expected to make a decision on that therapy in early December, and it also plans to decide on a second new tr...

    Amazon to Test Drones to Deliver Prescriptions to Your Door

    Soon, you may be able to step out on your front porch and wait for your prescription medication to drop from the sky.

    On Wednesday, Amazon Pharmacy announced that it is starting to test speedy prescription drug delivery by drones in selected locations.

    “We're taught from the first days of medical school that there is a golden window that matters in clinical medicine,”

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • October 19, 2023
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  • Americans Can Expect to Spend Half Their Lives Taking a Prescription Drug

    Americans born in recent years can likely count on taking prescription drugs for about half their life, according to new research.

    For males born in 2019, it's about 48% of their lives. For women, it's 60% of their lifetime, the study found.

    “The years that people can expect to spend taking prescription drugs are now higher than they might spend in their first marriage, getti...

    Rite Aid Pharmacy Chain Files for Bankruptcy

    The drugstore chain Rite Aid has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, due largely to competition and thousands of lawsuits for its role in allegedly filling unlawful opioid prescriptions.

    The company filed a notice Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission saying it would not be able to file its latest quarterly financial report before filing for bankruptcy on Sunday, CNN<...

    In Study, Diabetes Drug Mounjaro Helped Dieters Shed an Average of 60 Pounds

    A new trial demonstrates the power of the diabetes drug Mounjaro in fighting obesity, helping folks who used the medication lose about 60 pounds.

    "In this study, people who added tirzepatide [Mounjaro] to diet and exercise saw greater, longer-lasting weight reduction than those taking placebo," Dr. Jeff Emmick<...

    Wegovy, Ozempic Help Folks Lose Weight, But How?

    As many doctors and patients hail the advent of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy as the perfect fix for obesity, some experts are urging caution.

    The drugs are not well-tolerated by everyone struggling with obesity. For some folks, the weight piles back on as soon as the medication stops. There are also financial and ethical considerations, according to a commentary published onl...

    Cancer Drug Shortages Persist Across U.S.

    U.S. cancer centers continue to have shortages of commonly used chemotherapy drugs, a new survey shows, though the medications are not as scarce as they were last June.

    The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a nonprofit alliance of leading cancer centers,

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • October 5, 2023
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  • Major Drug Companies Agree to Price Negotiations With U.S. Government

    Pharmaceutical companies that make the 10 prescription drugs chosen to be the first for price negotiations for Medicare patients have agreed to talks with the government.

    The Biden administration announced Tuesday that the drugmakers, including Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson, will take part in price negotiations despite ongoing lawsuits over this same requirement, N...

    Despite New Long-Term Options, People Still Prefer Daily PrEP Pill to Prevent HIV

    New ways to deliver drugs that prevent infection with HIV are out there, but many people still prefer the standard daily PrEP pill, a new study shows.

    “The oral pill is very efficacious when people take it every day, and it really has the potential to curb HIV transmission in the country and play a key role in ending the HIV epidemic,” said

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • October 3, 2023
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  • FDA Panel Says No to Experimental ALS Drug

    An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday voted resoundingly against recommending a stem cell-based experimental treatment for ALS.

    Although the FDA isn't bound by the votes of its advisory panels, agency scientists have already penned a scathing review of the drug, called NuOwn.

    Th...

    ADHD Drug Errors Among Kids Have Quadrupled in 20 Years

    Over 3 million American children now take medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but new research shows medication errors have spiked nearly 300% in the past two decades for these kids.

    The increase in ADHD medication errors parallels the increase in ADHD diagnoses, said study co-author

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • September 18, 2023
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  • In Small Study, Ozempic Helped People With Type 1 Diabetes Quit Insulin Treatments

    The blockbuster drug Ozempic has become a household name for its ability to spur weight loss. Now an early study hints at an intriguing possibility: The drug might allow people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to drop their daily insulin shots.

    Experts emphasized that the findings

    Heart, Diabetes, Cancer Drugs on List for Medicare Price Negotiations, White House Says

    The Biden administration on Tuesday named the first 10 medicines that will be subject to price negotiations between Medicare and participating drug companies.

    The list represents the first step in a landmark program aimed at reducing the government's drug spending, and potentially U.S. drug prices in general. However, six major drug companies are already challenging the program in court.<...

    Wegovy May Be Valuable New Option for Heart Failure Patients

    Weight-loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) and its diabetes-focused cousin, Ozempic, have already upended the treatment of both obesity and diabetes, with sales of both drugs skyrocketing.

    Now, injected Wegovy could prove a boon for many patients battling heart failure, a new study suggests. The trial results were presented Friday in Amsterdam at the annual meeting of the European Society of C...

    Most Alzheimer's Patients May Be Ineligible for Newly Approved Drugs

    Two recently approved treatments offer newfound hope for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, but most people who could benefit will likely be deemed ineligible, a new study finds.

    Alzheimer's affects about 6.7 million Americans age 65 and older. But only about 8% to 17% of older adults with early signs of the disease meet the eligibility criteria as determined by cl...

    Amid Shortages, Maker Says Restrictions on Wegovy Will Continue Into 2024

    As demand for the wildly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy continues to climb, drug maker Novo Nordisk said Thursday that it will continue restrictions on starter doses of the medication into 2024.

    The new plan extends by months existing restrictions and means patients who are not already taking the medication will have to wait to start.

    “We are going to continue to supply the marke...

    After U.S. Warns of Counterfeit Pills Laced With Fentanyl, Mexico Shuts Down 23 Pharmacies

    Following a four-day raid, Mexico has closed 23 pharmacies in Caribbean resorts of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum for irregular pill sales.

    Last spring, the United States warned of dangerous pill sales to foreigners and tourists where counterfeit drugs contained fentanyl, her...

    Amid Shortages, Federal Agencies Ask Drugmakers to Boost Output of ADHD Meds

    While demand for prescription stimulants is surging, a shortage of the drugs persists, so federal officials have stepped in and asked drug companies to ramp up production of the medications.

    Officials from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the joint request.

    “The FDA and DEA do not manufacture drugs and cannot requir...

    The Earlier MS Is Treated, the Better

    Patients who get treatment for multiple sclerosis at the earliest signs of disease may have a lower risk of disability later, new research suggests.

    Among nearly 600 patients, there were lower odds of disability and progression among people diagnosed and treated within six months of symptoms onset, researchers report in their new study, published recently in the journal

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • July 26, 2023
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  • Are These Pricey New Alzheimer's Drugs Worth It?

    Breakthrough new drugs that clear amyloid beta plaques from the brain are shaking up the field of Alzheimer's disease research.

    The fact that patients' mental deterioration slows when they're on anti-amyloid drugs is solid proof that abnormal amyloid proteins are one of the culprits behind Alzheimer's, essentially ending decades of debate over the so-called “amyloid hypothesis.”

    Major Drug Shortages Not Likely After Tornado Damages Pfizer Plant, FDA says

    Tornado damage to a Pfizer drug-making plant in North Carolina is unlikely to trigger drug shortages across the country, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

    "We do not expect there to be any immediate significant impacts on supply, given the products are currently at hospitals and in the distribution system," FDA Commissioner

  • Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
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  • July 24, 2023
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  • Risk of Suicidal Thoughts With Popular Weight-Loss Drugs Being Investigated by European Regulators

    The European Medicines Agency is investigating concerns that popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Saxenda may be linked to suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self-harm.

    Three case reports from Iceland spurred the agency's safety committee to conduct a medication review, CNN reported Monday. The EMA is Europe's equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    The...

    In Study, Almost Half of Obese Teens Were No Longer So After Taking Wegovy/Ozempic

    The drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are all the rage for weight loss these days, and now a new study shows these injections may be game-changers for obese teenagers, too.

    This trial, funded by drug maker Novo Nordisk, found that nearly half of all adolescents on semaglutide (Wegovy/Ozempic) were able to achieve a healthy weight in about 17 months.

    Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor...

    Fewer Kids Are Being Prescribed Antipsychotic Meds

    The use of antipsychotic medication in children is continuing to plummet, likely because of better policies and education, new research shows.

    The study found a 43% drop in antipsychotic prescriptions for Medicaid-enrolled children in 45 states, a stark contrast from the sharp rise in the 2000s.

    “The decline we observed likely reflects the convergence of multiple state safer-use p...

    New Competitor to Wegovy Shows Promise in Clinical Trials

    An experimental drug appears to outperform the trendy medications Wegovy and Ozempic for both weight loss and diabetes control, a pair of early clinical trials shows.

    Retatrutide helped people with obesity drop about one-quarter of their starting weight, on average, during 48 weeks taking the drug, according to phase 2 trial results published online June 26 in the

  • Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
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  • June 27, 2023
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  • Treatment-Resistant High Blood Pressure May Be More Common Than Thought

    One in 10 people with high blood pressure suffer from a treatment-resistant type of hypertension, yet these patients aren't always getting the right medication, a new study finds.

    "Apparent resistant hypertension [aRH] is more common than many would anticipate," said researcher Dr. Joseph Ebinger

    What Medications Are Used to Treat Alzheimer's?

    While there is no cure for Alzheimer's, there are medications that can help ease symptoms and slow the progression of this devastating disease.

    Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting over 5.8 million Americans, according to the

  • Sue Benzuly, RN HealthDay Reporter
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  • June 21, 2023
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  • Pfizer Warns of Looming Shortage of Long-Acting Penicillin for Kids

    Pfizer Inc. warned doctors this week of an impending shortage of Bicillin, its long-acting, injectable form of penicillin.

    The medication is not commonly used for children because alternatives such as amoxicillin are preferred over the Bicillin shot, the company explained in a stat...

    Chinese Company May Help Ease U.S. Shortage of Cancer Drug

    With the United States facing a high number of drug shortages, a Chinese company may help to boost the supply of one in particular, the chemotherapy agent cisplatin.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with the Chinese drugmaker Qilu Pharmaceutical to import the widely used cancer drug. The Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex will distribute the medication in 50-milli...

    Wegovy, Saxenda Help Folks Lose Pounds They Regained After Weight-Loss Surgery

    When people regained weight after obesity surgery, it wasn't entirely clear what to do next. Now, it appears the weight-loss medications Wegovy and Saxenda can help.

    Both work by controlling appetite and satiety. Wegovy (semaglutide), however, may be superior to Saxenda (liraglutide), a new study finds.

    “Our research found that newer anti-obesity medications are effective for trea...

    Drug Might Help Slow Nearsightedness in Kids

    There is no cure for nearsightedness, but medicated eye drops can slow down its progression in children, a new trial finds.

    The study tested the effects of eye drops containing a very low dose of the drug atropine — the same medication used to dilate the pupils during an eye exam.

    Researchers found that when children with nearsightedness used the drops every day for three years, t...

    ER-Based Pharmacies Could Improve Kids' Care, Pediatricians' Group Says

    When parents rush their kids to an emergency room in the dead of night for an asthma attack or high fever, they are often discharged with a prescription. The problem is, there may be nowhere to fill it promptly.

    Now, a new report fro...

    Traveling? Here's Your Family Medical Checklist

    When going on vacation, there's a lot to remember, but it's a good idea if you add one more item to the to-do list.

    Baylor College of Medicine in Houston suggests creating a family travel medical checklist, to be sure that you and your loved ones stay healthy and safe while you're away.

    “Traveling can expose families to different environments, climates and potential health risks. ...

    The Most Common Depression Medications, Explained

    You've been diagnosed with depression. What's next?

    The cornerstone of treatment remains antidepressants, so it's likely your doctor will prescribe one for you, but which one might be best?

    You will join millions around the world who struggle with how to treat the mental health disorder. An estimated 3.8% of the global population experiences depression, according to the

  • Ann Schreiber HealthDay Reporter
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  • May 26, 2023
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  • HIV Infections Continue to Decline Among Young Americans

    HIV infection numbers in the United States are down, public health officials announced Tuesday.

    Declines in young people are driving the overall decrease.

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed an overall 12% decline between ...

    1 in 5 U.S. Seniors Now Skip Meds Because of Cost

    Many seniors skip or stretch prescription medications due to costs despite being insured by Medicare, a new U.S. study finds.

    Roughly 20% of older adults reported taking less medication than prescribed or not taking medication because of cost, the researchers found.

    "We also found that most respondents wanted to talk with their doctors about medication costs and would want their d...

    Wegovy Shows Weight-Loss Effectiveness in Real-World Study

    It's a social media darling and one of the hottest prescription medications on the U.S. market. But does Wegovy really help patients lose weight?

    Yes, a new study suggests.

    Investigators analyzed data on more than 100 people using Wegovy (semaglutide). They found that after a year participants had shed more than 13% of their body weight on average.

    “This medication sh...

    FDA Approves First Pill to Treat Moderate-to-Severe Crohn's Disease

    Patients with Crohn's disease have a new treatment option, following U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of a pill called Rinvoq (upadacitinib).

    Rinvoq is meant to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease who have not had success with TNF (tumor necrosis factor) blockers. The daily pill is the first oral treatment for this group of patients.

    Crohn's is ...

    A Swallowable Gastric Balloon Helps People Shed Pounds

    Combining a swallowable gastric balloon with a weight loss drug may be a way to lose significant body weight, a new study suggests.

    In about eight months of combination treatment, participants lost an average of 19% of their body weight, and significantly reduced their body mass index (BMI), researchers report.

    "Combination therapy gives providers much flexibility and further ...

    Get Relief With the Most Common Asthma Medications

    Receiving a diagnosis of asthma may be frightening, but learning what the treatment options are can help alleviate the anxiety that comes with diagnosis.

    Depending on the severity, certain asthma medications may help you manage your symptoms. Here, experts break down the most common long-term and quick-acting medications for asthma, how they work and potential side effects.

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