Drug Abuse

Experts want suicide risk warning on ADHD drug

Children who take a common drug for attention deficit disorder should be warned about the risk of suicidal thoughts, U.S. pediatric health advisers said…    

FDA Rejects New Diabetes Drug for Now

It has been recently revealed that the drug for diabetes which was under trial by the FDA is not passed for authenticity for now.…    

Merck to pay $950 million to settle U.S. Vioxx charge

Merck & Co will pay roughly $950 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it promoted the painkiller Vioxx for an unapproved use,…    

Evidence supports ban on growth promotion use of antibiotics in farming

In a review study, researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine zero in on the controversial, non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in food animals and…    

Studies show no extra risk with Pfizer smoking drug

Smokers who take Pfizer’s pill Chantix to help them quit do not have a higher risk of being hospitalized for psychiatric events such as…    

Drug prevents bone loss side effects of breast cancer medication

A new study has found that an osteoporosis drug protects against the bone damaging side effects of certain breast cancer medications. Published early online…    

Medicare prescription drug abuse a problem: GAO

Prescription drug abuse by elderly and disabled beneficiaries of Medicare cost the U.S. program nearly $150 million in 2008, highlighting an area where the…    

Popular colorectal cancer drug may cause permanent nerve damage

Oxaliplatin, a platinum-based anticancer drug that’s made enormous headway in recent years against colorectal cancer, appears to cause nerve damage that may be permanent…    

More U.S. doctors facing charges over drug abuse

Michael Jackson’s doctor, accused of killing the pop star with a powerful anesthetic, has joined a small but growing number of U.S. physicians facing…    

FDA warns of allergy risk with Merck antipsychotic

The Food and Drug Administration warned on Thursday that serious allergic reactions have been reported with the use of Merck & Co Inc’s antipsychotic…    

Five VA patients blinded by Avastin injections: report

Five patients being treated for eye disease were blinded after being injected with Roche Holding AG’s Avastin at the Los Angeles Veterans Affairs medical…    

Avastin Injections Are Reported to Cause Blindness

At least 16 people in two states have gotten severe eye infections, and some have been blinded, from injections of the drug Avastin, according…    

Massage device eyed in doctor’s death

The death of Florida radiologist found strangled on Christmas Eve has prompted an FDA recall of the neck massager that led to her death.…    

FDA Urges Lowering Maximum Daily Dose Of Celexa

The Food and Drug Administration is recommending that patients taking the anti-depressant Celexa (citalopram hydrobromide) take no more than 40mg a day.

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No illegal drugs in Winehouse toxicology report

Toxicology tests showed there was alcohol, but no illegal substances in British singer Amy Winehouse’s system when she died last month aged 27, her…    

Common drug effect ups elderly death risk: study

A side effect of many commonly used drugs, including antihistamines and antidepressants, appears to increase the risk of reduced brain function and early death…    

Preventing avoidable opioid-related deaths top priority for pain medicine field

Deaths related to prescription opioid therapy are under intense scrutiny, prompting those in pain medicine—clinicians, patient advocates, and regulators—to understand the causes behind avoidable…    

No increase in severe cardiovascular events for children, adolescents taking ADHD medications

Despite recent concerns that medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could increase the risk of cardiovascular events in children and adolescents, an observational…    

Internet tied to rise in drug abuse

Access to rogue online pharmacies may be driving a rapid increase in the abuse in the United States of prescription drugs like powerful painkillers…    

Predicting serious drug side effects before they occur

All medications have side-effects from common aspirin to herbal remedies and from standard anticancer drugs to experimental immunosuppressants. However, predicting important side effects, serious…    

Painkiller prescribing varies dramatically among family physicians: study

Some physicians are prescribing opioids such as OxyContin 55 times as often as others, according to a new study led by St. Michael’s Hospital…    

Autism-vaccine researcher a “fraud”: medical journal

Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the-now disgraced British doctor who published studies linking vaccines with autism, committed an “elaborate fraud” by faking data, the British Medical…    

Regeneron pain drug put on clinical hold by FDA

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Monday that U.S. regulators placed the company’s experimental pain drug for osteoarthritis on clinical hold after a patient in…    

Intercell kills diarrhea vaccine after study

Austrian biotech company Intercell said it won’t develop its Travelers’ Diarrhea vaccine candidate and will post a much wider than expected 2010 loss, because…    

Prescriptions for teens and young adults on the rise

Adolescents and young adults are most likely to abuse prescription medications. Yet prescription rates for controlled medications, or drugs the Drug Enforcement Administration deems…