prescription drugs

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Overdose Deaths Spike
 Overdose Deaths Spike
Jul 29, 2008 8:35 AM CDT

Overdose Deaths Spike

Problem linked to patients sent home early with powerful prescriptions

(Newser) - The number of deaths caused by fatal combinations of prescription medications with alcohol or street drugs has exploded in recent years in part because patients are being released from hospitals early, according to researchers. Such deaths rocketed from 92 in 1983 to 3,792 in 2004, reports MSNBC.

Parkinson's Drugs Trigger Compulsive Behavior

Patients report sudden onset of addictions

(Newser) - Drugs for Parkinson's disease can be enormously beneficial, relieving patients' tremors and rigid muscles. But some patients are now complaining of an unusual side effect—extreme compulsive behavior. One woman began taking Mirapex to combat symptoms and suddenly found herself with a $200-a-day scratch-off lottery ticket habit, reports the Chicago ...

Mental Illness Drove NIU Killer to Suicide Tries

Army kicked gunman Kazmierczak out over mental health history

(Newser) - The shooter who left 5 dead and 15 injured at Northern Illinois University in February had tried to kill himself four times, an investigative effort by Esquire finds. “I want to die. Life sucks,” Steve Kazmierczak told a nurse after attempting to overdose on prescription medication while in...

Popular Cancer Drug Is Iffy and Expensive

Widely prescribed Avastin doesn't prolong life, studies say

(Newser) - Avastin is one of the most widely prescribed cancer drugs in the world, but it might not work, the New York Times reports. The drug, made by Genentech, brings in about $2.3 billion a year in the US alone, but recent trials have shown that though the drug shrinks...

8 Meds Docs Won't Take
 8 Meds Docs Won't Take 
Jun 23, 2008 7:55 PM CDT

8 Meds Docs Won't Take

If trained professionals won't use them, why would you?

(Newser) - Some drugs have such serious drawbacks that even doctors won’t take them, Men’s Health reports. The big eight:
  • Advair: Can actually increase the severity of asthma attacks
  • Avandia: Diabetes drug carries risk of heart attack

Congress: No More Scribbled Scrips, Doc

Legislation will nudge MDs toward electronic prescription system

(Newser) - Senators from both sides of the aisle are pushing doctors away from their prescription pads and towards electronic prescribing, the Chicago Tribune reports. Politicians and lobbyists hope the new system will cut down on mis-filled prescriptions and harmful, but avoidable, drug interactions.

Study: Drug Ads Misleading. No, Really.

Big pharma uses tricks, distractions to veil harmful side-effects

(Newser) - Drug ads are multiplying on TV, and manufacturers are starting to advertise medical equipment used in invasive procedures, so now might be a good time to wonder what the spots are telling us. Not as much as they should, Time reports. An independent researcher has found drug companies are using...

McCain Pitches 'Gas Tax Holiday,' Drug, Pork Limits

Candidate lays out slate of economic initiatives

(Newser) - John McCain used a tax day appearance to propose a summer “gas tax holiday,” calling his plan to suspend the 18-cent levy “an immediate economic stimulus.” Among other economic initiatives the candidate outlined today were upping prescription drug premiums for wealthy retirees, declaring a moratorium on...

Insurers Quietly Hike Rx Costs
Insurers
Quietly Hike
Rx Costs
Apr 14, 2008 9:47 AM CDT

Insurers Quietly Hike Rx Costs

Plans slip in soaring co-pays for most expensive drugs

(Newser) - Pricey prescription drugs are getting pricier, and, the New York Times reports, insurance companies are asking patients to shoulder more of the burden. Insurers are quietly phasing out traditional drug plans, which charge a fixed co-pay of $20 or $30 to fill a prescription, in favor of so-called Tier 4...

Cops Probe Claim Britney Was Drugged

Manager dosed her, mom charges in deposition

(Newser) - As Britney Spears' True Hollywood Story unfolds in real time, the latest dust-up centers on mother Lynne Spears' accusations that her daughter was drugged by former manager Sam Lutfi. The LAPD is working "to determine if laws have been violated" in response to Lynne's deposition claiming that Lutfi told...

Polly Want a Prozac?
Polly Want a Prozac?
Feb 26, 2008 9:33 AM CST

Polly Want a Prozac?

Parrots are the latest pets to see spike in depression

(Newser) - With more pet owners working long days and leaving their furry and feathered friends alone at home, cases of animal depression are on the rise, writes the Daily Telegraph. A TV vet says the trend is hitting parrots especially hard, causing the talkative birds to pull out their feathers or...

Antidepressants Mostly Useless, Study Finds

Prozac and others make a difference only in most extreme cases

(Newser) - Big Pharma swallowed a bitter pill yesterday as Prozac and other antidepressants were found in a UK study to be largely ineffectual in all but the most extreme cases of depression. The meta-analysis of 47 clinical trials submitted to the FDA with licensing applications for six popular antidepressants concluded that...

Viagra Linked to Reduced Fertility
Viagra Linked to
Reduced Fertility
Feb 24, 2008 6:32 AM CST

Viagra Linked to Reduced Fertility

New concern for fertility clinics that provide drug to male partners

(Newser) - Popular sexual potency drug Viagra has been linked to sperm effects so dramatic that it could seriously affect male fertility, researchers have discovered. The findings are particularly troubling because in-vitro fertilization clinics often provide Viagra to men to increase sperm production. The new studies show that while Viagra increases sperm...

Bueller, Er, Bartlett Is a Pill
Bueller, Er, Bartlett Is a Pill
NEW RELEASE
Feb 22, 2008 12:06 PM CST

Bueller, Er, Bartlett Is a Pill

Charlie Bartlett takes a sophisticated approach to the old teen movie

(Newser) - Charlie Bartlett, about a charming but troubled high school student who dispenses advice and prescription medication to his classmates, is being given mostly passing grades by critics. Sure, the teen film hits the expected themes of "angst, alienation, loneliness, disenchantment, and drug use," writes the Hollywood Reporter's Kirk...

Suicides Spike Among Middle-Aged
Suicides
Spike Among Middle-Aged
Feb 19, 2008 10:10 AM CST

Suicides Spike Among Middle-Aged

Sudden rise in demographic baffles experts

(Newser) - Suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have spiked dramatically in recent years, in contrast to flat or declining rates in younger and older demographics, mystifying experts, reports the New York Times. For people 45 to 54, the rate jumped 20% between 1999 and 2004;  for women, the increase was 31%....

Ledger's Death Sheds Light on 'Polypharmacy'

Self-medicating with multiple drugs like 'having a loaded gun'

(Newser) - Before you take two of anything, make sure you're acting on doctor's orders experts say. In the wake of Heath Ledger's death by accidental overdose, USA Today probes the dangers of polypharmacy, or taking multiple drugs at once. "It's extraordinarily dangerous for people to try to self-medicate," says...

US, UK Zero in on Illegal Prescription Drug Abuse

'These drugs are coming from inside our homes,' expert warns

(Newser) - American and British officials have launched campaigns to curb the illegal use of prescription drugs. The target of the British effort is doctors who "mis-prescribe" high doses of painkillers and sleeping pills that officials say are proving dangerously addictive, the Guardian reports. Across the Atlantic, Washington is spearheading an...

Accidental OD Killed Ledger
Accidental OD Killed Ledger
Feb 6, 2008 9:26 AM CST

Accidental OD Killed Ledger

Autopsy results cite combo of sleeping pills, painkillers, and anti-anxiety meds

(Newser) - Actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills, painkillers, and anti-anxiety medication, the New York City Medical Examiner's Office ruled today. OxyContin, Valium, Xanax, Restoril, Unisom, and ibuprofen combined to result in a lethal "acute intoxication," an ME spokeswoman told the AP. 

Risky Errors on Rise With Sound-Alike Drugs

Study finds prescription mix-ups more than doubled since 2004

(Newser) - The problem of drug-name mix-ups is growing in the US, with harmful and sometimes even fatal consequences for patients, USA Today reports. A study undertaken by the group that regulates generic drug names found that the rate of mix-ups has more than doubled since 2004. In one case, a 7-year-old...

Ledger's Kin Bid Farewell in LA

Ledger's Kin Bid Farewell in LA
Jan 28, 2008 3:35 AM CST

Ledger's Kin Bid Farewell in LA

Memorial service held in Los Angeles

(Newser) - Actor Heath Ledger's family and friends held a private memorial in Los Angeles Saturday before his body was flown to his native Australia for funeral services. Mourners included his parents, sister Kate, ex-girlfriend actress Michelle Williams—mother of his toddler daughter, Matilda—and another former lover, Naomi Watts, reports the...

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