Tag: drugs

California could be 1st state to sell own prescription drugs

California could become the first state with its own prescription drug label under a proposal that Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled Thursday in a bid to lower prices by increasing competition in the generic market. Newsom wants the nation’s most populous state, home to nearly 40 million people, to contract with generic drug companies to make

Researchers identify starting point for designing drugs that cure clostridium difficile

A newly published paper in PNAS details a research breakthrough that provides a promising starting point for scientists to create drugs that can cure C. diff—a virulent health care-associated infection that causes severe diarrhea, nausea, internal bleeding, and potentially death. The bacteria affects roughly half-a-million Americans and causes nearly 15,000 deaths in the U.S. annually.

Sainsbury's, Tesco and ASDA recall heartburn and indigestion drugs

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and ASDA recall own-brand versions of the heartburn and indigestion drug Zantac over fears they are contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical The supermarket products were among 13 new additions to an ongoing recall Products in the UK and US have been taken off shelves due to contamination Ranitidine drugs are thought to have

Gene-targeted cancer drugs, slow release overcome resistance

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a method to address failures in a promising anti-cancer drug, bringing together tools from genome engineering, protein engineering and biomaterials science to improve the efficacy, accuracy and longevity of certain cancer therapies. Using a combination of CRISPR-based targeting, a protein “depot” that allows for sustained release of the

Computer model could help test new sickle cell drugs

A team of Brown University researchers has developed a new computer model that simulates the way red blood cells become misshapen by sickle cell disease. The model, described in a paper published in Science Advances, could be useful in the preclinical evaluation of drugs aimed at preventing the sickling process. “There are currently only two

A deep-dive into the impact of arthritis drugs on gene expression

A new computational framework has revealed key differences between four rheumatoid arthritis medications and their impact on biological pathways in mice. Niki Karagianni of Biomedcode Hellas SA, Greece, and colleagues present their new approach and findings in PLOS Computational Biology. People with rheumatoid arthritis often receive medications that target and inhibit Tumor-Necrosis Factor (TNF), a

Is Your Medication Causing Hair Loss? These 11 Drugs Are Common Culprits

Here are 11 drugs that have been known to cause excessive hair loss as a side effect. 1) Cholesterol-lowering medications — atorvastatin and simvastatin Atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simvastatin (Zocor) belong to a group of cholesterol-lowering medications known as “statins”. Have hair loss is a reported side effect of both drugs. The newer statin, rosuvastatin (Crestor),

New kidney research sheds light on harms of certain drugs

Scientists have identified an enzyme that is a “master regulator” of kidney function that if excessively suppressed, can trigger renal failure. Their findings have implications for the use of existing drugs and the development of new pharmaceuticals. As reported in Nature Communications, a global research team led by the University of Bristol studied how the

Why Heroin is the deadliest of all the drugs

Heroin is the deadliest of drugs for decades and it leads the drug-related death statistics, by a large margin. The reason is that opioids, substances which are the drug of the opium Poppy, similar to that naturally occur in the brain. And you intoxicate not only that, you can also dampen important functions in the

FDA: Some Rx Drugs May Become Available Without Seeing a Doctor

TUESDAY, July 17, 2018 — A new draft guideline from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests Americans could get widely used prescription medicines for cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, and migraine headaches without having to see a doctor. The FDA says patients could use a mobile-phone app to help determine if they’re able to