Archive for the ‘Pharmacology’ Category
Monday, April 28th, 2008
There has been considerable press recently on the cholesterol lowering medicine Zetia, also known as Ezetimibe, since the release of a recent study known as the ENHANCE study. This study compared the cholesterol medication simvastatin, also known as Zocor, to the combination of Zocor and Zetia used together. It looked ...
Posted in Cardiology, Heart Attack, News, Pharmacology, stroke | 20 Comments »
Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Drugs known collectively as "statins" are widely prescribed for lowering cholesterol (for example, Lipitor) and their benefits in reducing the risk of heart attacks is generally well accepted. However, a recent study conducted in veterans showed that patients on such drugs had a 25% lower incidence of cancer. This ...
Posted in Cancer, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Heart Attack, Pharmacology, Preventative Medicine, Prostate Cancer | 2 Comments »
Friday, January 4th, 2008
A recent study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that almost 50% of internists polled in Chicago have prescribed their patients placebos during their career. Placebos are pill containing no actual medicine, just an inert substance like Dextrose ("sugar pills"). Many of those MD's ...
Posted in News, Pharmacology, Preventative Medicine, Psychiatry, Public Health | 425 Comments »
Friday, December 28th, 2007
Smoking is responsible for causing a significant amount of lung disease, noteably emphysema and chronic bronchitis. This study investigated whether Statin drugs(cholesterol lowering medication in the class HMG coA reductase inhibitors) which appear to have anti-inflammatory properties, also have the ability to preserve lung function in current and former smokers.
A ...
Posted in Lung Disease, Pharmacology, Smoking | No Comments »
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
A recent series of two studies was conducted to hopefully lend further support for the use of steroids (dexamethasone - not anabolic steroids illegally used by athletes) along with antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial meningitis. Researchers unfortunately found that the steroids were of no benefit - contradicting more positive ...
Posted in Emergencies, Infectious Disease, Neurology, Pharmacology, Public Health, Race | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007
A recent small study is the latest in a series of investigations looking at the efficacy of combining the well known generic antibiotic, doxycycline with B-interferon (brand name Avonex) in slowing the progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The study described at a recent European MS society meeting and to be ...
Posted in Multiple Sclerosis, Neurology, Pharmacology | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Recent studies done on the popular anti-acid medications such as Prilosec and Nexium raised a concern about a possible association between these drugs and the development of heart related problems such as heart attack. The Food and Drug Administration in early August released information about a formal drug review ...
Posted in Cardiology, GERD, Gastroenterology, Heart Attack, Pharmacology | 236 Comments »
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
A large study recently published looked at Emergency Department vists for older adults caused by reactions or toxicity to certain medications. Between 2004 and 2005, a total of 177,504 visits to the ER were caused by adverse reactions to drugs in patients over 65. The top three offenders were Warfarin ...
Posted in Emergencies, News, Pharmacology, Public Health, toxicology | 3 Comments »
Saturday, December 1st, 2007
Researchers from McGill University in Montreal found that simply by having physicians discuss their patients' risks for heart disease and educate them on how to reduce them, a measurable improvement was seen. Patients were randomised to either receive "usual" care, or to have specific "ongoing feedback regarding their calculated coronary risk and ...
Posted in Cardiology, Diet, Heart Attack, Obesity, Pharmacology, Preventative Medicine, hypertension | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007
Statins, a class of drugs used to treat lipid disorders, were found to not be associated with the development of breast cancer in women. Prior studies in vitro and in rodents have suggested an anti-tumor effect but analysis of data from cancer registries in several states has shown no link between ...
Posted in Breast Cancer, Pharmacology | No Comments »