Prescription Drugs

People who take bisphosphonates, or bone-strengthening drugs for osteoporosis, may have a slightly higher risk of developing esophageal cancer, especially if they take them for several years, a study out this week in the British Journal of Medicine finds.

Recalls of prescription and over-the-counter drugs are surging, raising questions about the quality of drug manufacturing in the United States, according to CNN. The Food and Drug Administration reported more than 1,742 recalls last year, skyrocketing from 426 in 2008, according to the Gold Sheet, a trade publication on drug quality that analyzes FDA data.

Drugs commonly taken for a variety of common medical conditions including insomnia, allergies, or incontinence negatively affect the brain causing long-term cognitive impairment in older African-Americans, according to a study appearing in the July 13, 2010 print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Consumer Reports Health just published an exposé of twelve “dangerous supplements.” It’s an example of such skewed information and biased reporting from a once respected organization that we have issued a new Action Alert.

Postmenopausal women with diabetes taking thiazolidinediones (TZDS), including rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, may be at increased risk for fractures, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Two papers presented at an international obesity conference yesterday have found that a range of the most popular weight loss supplements available on the market are no more effective than a placebo. Neither of the studies, presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm, Sweden, have yet to be published. According to the author of one of the papers, the science backing a variety of weight loss supplements is lacking.

Drugs commonly taken for a variety of common medical conditions including insomnia, allergies, or incontinence negatively affect the brain causing long term cognitive impairment in older African-Americans, according to a study appearing in the July 13, 2010 print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Scientists are reporting a possible explanation for the symptoms of anxiety and depression that occur in some patients taking the popular statin family of anti-cholesterol drugs, and reported by some individuals on low-cholesterol diets.

There are several ways prescription drugs may be making us all sicker—whether through illnesses brought on because these medicines deplete critical nutrients in our body, or because we’re unwittingly consuming pharmaceuticals in the municipal water we drink.

New research helps to explain why some commonly used drugs come with a serious downside: They up your odds of breaking a bone. The drugs in question, glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisone and prednisone) and the insulin sensitizer rosiglitazone work through entirely different mechanisms as therapies for inflammatory diseases and diabetes respectively...

Seniors who take SSRI antidepressants may be more likely to develop cataracts, says the first major study to examine this interaction. The risk appears to increase by about 15 percent, which in the United States would translate to 22,000 cataract cases attributable to antidepressant use.

Proton pump inhibitors, medications that suppress acid in the stomach, appear to be associated with fractures in postmenopausal women and bacterial infections in many patients, and higher doses do not appear any more beneficial for treating bleeding ulcers...