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Results for search "Prescription Drugs".

Health News Results - 227

Medicare Low-Income Drug Benefit Saves Lives, Study Says

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries are more likely to die if they lose access to crucial medication coverage, a new study says.

More than 14 million poor Medicare beneficiaries receive the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), which further reduces their drug costs, researchers said in background notes.

People who lose LIS eligibility are 4% more likely to die than those who keep...

HIV Pills Might Prevent Alzheimer's

Drugs that battle HIV and hepatitis B might be able to help people avoid Alzheimer’s disease, a new study says.

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are used to prevent HIV and hepatitis B from replicating and spreading...

Too Much Cinnamon May Interfere With Some Medications, Study Shows

Consuming too much cinnamon might affect how your body absorbs some medications, new research shows.

The study -- published in the June issue of the journal Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences -- looked at how cinnamon and its key ingredients affect the way the body processes drugs, The ...

Florida Seeks Patient Prescription Data

Florida’s insurance regulator is demanding detailed prescription data on millions of patients, raising alarms over patient privacy.

In January, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation asked pharmacy benefit managers -- companies that manage prescription drug plans -- to hand over highly personal data about prescriptions filled in the state last year.

The data request includ...

Trump Ends Push To Slash Prescription Drug Costs

With a sweep of the pen, President Donald Trump has ended a Biden administration effort to lower the cost of prescription drugs for people on Medicare and Medicaid.

Trump's order, signed shortly after his inauguration on Monday, targets policies his administrations calls "deeply unpopular" and "radical," NBC News reported.

One of those now-cancelled policies directed Medi...

DOJ Alleges CVS Facilitated Unlawful Sales, Violating Federal Opioid Regulations

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil complaint against CVS Pharmacy Inc., accusing the nation’s largest pharmacy chain of unlawfully filling prescriptions for highly addictive opioids and violating federal health care laws.

According to a news release published Dec. 18, 2024, the complaint also accuses CVS of seeking reimbursement for these prescriptions from feder...

Most U.S. Seniors Prescribed at Least 1 Drug, But Many Skip Meds Due to Cost

Too many U.S. seniors are skipping their prescription meds due to cost, and the problem is most acute among the poor and chronically ill, new data shows.

Almost all (88.6%) Americans age 65 or older have been prescribed at least one prescription medicine, according to 2021-2022 data from an annual federal survey.

That percentage rises from 86.9% among folks aged 65 to 74 to more th...

New Deals Will Cut Medicare Costs for Expensive Drugs

The Biden administration said Thursday that it has signed deals with drug companies that will lower the prices on 10 of the most popular and expensive drugs used by American seniors.

Taxpayers should save $6 billion because of the new prices, while seniors using Medicare could save roughly $1.5 billion on their medications, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a new...

How Common Drugs, Lotions Can Worsen Sunlight's Harm to Your Skin

Most folks know that a good sunscreen can guard against the sun's harmful rays, but many might not realize that some medications and creams can undo some of that protection.

“There are multiple reasons we should be mindful of excessive sun exposure aside from skin cancer, although that’s certainly important,” said Dr...

Summer's Heat Can Damage Your Medicines: Keep Them Safe

As scorching temperatures continue to plague the United States this summer, millions of Americans are at risk for dehydration and heat-linked illness.

But what about their medications? Can rising temperatures render those useless and leave patients vulnerable?

Yes they can, so it's important to understand the effects of heat and humidity on certain drugs, said 

  • Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
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  • July 27, 2024
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    • Big Drop in U.S. Kids, Teens Misusing Prescription Meds

    Misuse of illicit prescription drugs is falling dramatically among U.S. high school students, a new study says.

    The percentage of seniors who say they’ve misused prescription drugs in the past year has dropped to 2% in 2022, down from 11% back in 2009, researchers reported July 24 in the ...

    New Drug Tames Stress Incontinence in Clinical Trial

    An experimental drug appears to help women deal with stress incontinence, clinical trial data show.

    The drug, for now dubbed TAS-303, reduced the frequency of leaks related to stress incontinence by about 58%, compared with 47% reduction in a placebo group, trial results show.

    Further, about 65% of patients taking TAS-303 had their stress incontinence episodes drop by at least half,...

    FDA Approves New Drug to Treat Alzheimer's

    A new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday.

    In clinical trials, donanemab (Kisunla) modestly slowed the pace of thinking declines among patients in the early stages of the memory-robbing disease. But it also carried ...

    Medicare Warnings Stop Nursing Homes From Overusing Antipsychotic Meds

    Warning letters sent by Medicare officials can prompt a decline in antipsychotic prescriptions for seniors with dementia, a new study finds.

    Letters sent to heavy prescribers of quetiapine (Seroquel), the most popular antipsychotic in the United States, led to a significant decline in drugs handed out to seniors, researchers reported Apr...

    Dietary Changes May Beat Meds in Treating IBS

    The right diet may be the best medicine for easing the painful symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), new research shows.

    In the study, two different eating plans beat standard medications in treating the debilitating symptoms of the gastrointestinal disease. One diet was low in "FODMAPs,"a group of sugars and carbohydrates found in dairy, wheat and certain fruits and vegetables, wh...

    Weight-loss Drug Zepbound Eases Sleep Apnea in Company Trials

    Zepbound, one of the wildly popular weight-loss drugs that millions of Americans now take, eased sleep apnea in obese adults in two company trials, drug maker Eli Lilly announced Wednesday.

    First approved to treat obesity by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last Nov...

    Mouse Study Shows Microplastics Migrating From Gut to Other Organs

    Microplastics could be migrating from the digestive tract into the kidneys, livers and brains of human beings, a new mouse study suggests.

    Lab mice exposed to microplastics in their drinking water wound up with the tiny plastic particles lodged in a number of different organs, researchers reported April 10 in the journal Environ...

    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 susceptible ...

    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 mentally,"Day, ...

    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 Immunology (...

    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, getting...

    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 market,...

    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 require ...

    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."

    "We...

    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...