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Medications news

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Scientists discover powerful new antibiotic class to tackle deadly superbugs

Scientists at the University of Liverpool, working with international collaborators, have discovered Novltex, a groundbreaking new class of antibiotics with potent activity against some of the world's most dangerous multidrug-resistant ...

Medications

Smartphone app boosts drug safety reporting in Uganda, trial finds

Results from a new trial published in The Lancet Global Health show that a mobile application, Med Safety, improved the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by health care workers in Uganda.

Medications

A forgotten opioid has resurfaced as a lethal street drug

Nitazenes—a class of highly potent synthetic opioids—are rapidly emerging as a major contributor to the overdose crisis, according to a Pain Medicine review published today by authors from Vanderbilt University Medical ...

Medications

Beta blockers: Why are celebrities name-checking this drug?

A little blue pill is creating a stir in Hollywood—and no, it's not Viagra. It's propranolol, a beta blocker originally designed for heart conditions, that's now making its way into dressing rooms, award ceremonies and ...

Medications

Taking semaglutide turns down food noise, research suggests

New research being presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15–19 September) shows that individuals who are taking semaglutide for weight loss experience ...

Medications

Under Trump, FDA seeks to abandon expert reviews of new drugs

FDA leaders under President Donald Trump are moving to abandon a decades-old policy of asking outside experts to review drug applications, a move critics say would shield the agency's decisions from public scrutiny.

Medications

The quest to reinvent anesthesia

Before 1846, surgery was a crude and brutal undertaking, typically performed on conscious patients lashed to their beds. Then a Boston dentist publicly demonstrated that the highly flammable chemical diethyl ether—commonly ...

Medications

A drug for extreme hunger offers clues to obesity's complexity

Ali Foley Shenk still remembers the panic when her 10-year-old son, Dean, finished a 20-ounce box of raisins in the seconds the cupboard was left unlocked. They rushed to the emergency room, fearing a dangerous bowel impaction.

Medications

Kinder, smarter leukemia treatment is transforming lives

Personalized drug treatments have outperformed chemotherapy for leukemia patients in a trial led by Leeds researchers. Newly published, long-term results of the UK-wide FLAIR trial could transform treatment for chronic lymphocytic ...

Medications

Peers and private norms drive doctors' antibiotic prescribing

Doctors' decisions to prescribe antibiotics are strongly influenced by their own use of and attitudes toward antibiotics—and even more so by their beliefs about their peers' behavior. A new study published in Kyklos shows ...

Medications

Common antibiotic found 99.9% effective against typhoid

Cornell researchers have identified an antibiotic, rifampin, that is 99.9% effective against Salmonella Typhi, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever. Researchers also predict that rifampin will work on other life-threatening ...

Medications

FDA approves polypill Widaplik for hypertension

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved George Medicines' Widaplik (telmisartan, amlodipine, and indapamide) for the treatment of hypertension in adults.

Medications

How toxic are softgel capsules?

Softgel capsules—the smooth, easy-to-swallow form of many medications and supplements—are increasingly popular for delivering everything from vitamins to omega-3s. These capsules, made of a liquid center inside a soft, ...

Medications

Germany's BioNTech to buy CureVac to boost cancer research

Germany's BioNTech is buying domestic rival CureVac for $1.25 billion, the companies said Thursday, bringing together two pharmaceutical firms specialized in mRNA technology with the goal of advancing cancer treatments.