Prescription Drugs

Azithromycin (marketed as Zithromax) is most often prescribed to treat bronchitis, sinusitis, pneumonia, middle ear infections, and even certain sexually transmitted diseases. It can produce skin rashes, itching, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing, and rapid, pounding, or irregular heartbeats.

According to the New York Time, the number of people treated in hospitals in the United States for problems related to medication errors has surged more than 50 percent in recent years. In 2008, 1.9 million people became ill or injured from medication side effects or because they took or were given the wrong type or dose of medication, compared with 1.2 million injured in 2004, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Retired NFL players use painkillers at a much higher rate than the rest of us, according to new research conducted by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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.

When an antibiotic is consumed, researchers have learned that up to 90 percent passes through a body without metabolizing. This means the drugs can leave the body almost intact through normal bodily functions.

The most toxic free radical appears responsible for much of the lung damage that can result from oxygen therapy in the critically ill or injured, Medical College of Georgia researchers report. Within just a few days, ventilators and oxygen chambers used to significantly increase oxygen levels can also dramatically increase levels of peroxynitrite, an oxidant powerful enough to break down DNA and cause proteins to malfunction, said Dr. Yunchao Su, pharmacologist in the MCG Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found a protein normally involved in blood pressure regulation in a surprising place: tucked...

Our affiliate, ANH International, is preparing for a legal challenge against EU herb laws. As we reported to you last November, thousands of products associated with traditional medicine will become illegal throughout the European Union. And more and more, European Union (EU) legislation influences US domestic policy, especially where health-related laws are concerned.

New research has highlighted rising rates of supplement contamination in the European Union – typically by steroids – with the US and China the main sources. The report published in Food And Chemical Toxicology found enforcement actions were lacking in the EU and called for greater scrutiny of the sector, to stem a problem they measured at 25 per cent of EU.

It is well known that drug-related morbidity is common among hospitalized patients, and is to some extent preventable, but less is known about drug-related morbidity outside hospitals. Two new studies conducted at the Nordic School of Public Health NHV, show that healthcare professionals perceive drug-related morbidity to affect half of all patients attending healthcare.

An over-the-counter herbal treatment believed to have medicinal benefits has minimal impact in relieving the common cold, according to research by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. The study, published in this month's Annals of Internal Medicine, involved echinacea, a wild flower (also known as the purple coneflower) found in meadows and prairies of the Midwestern plains.

Amgen’s incomplete report on an early major trial of epoetin misled the medical community about the anemia drug’s risks and benefits—and helped make Amgen rich.