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Pharmacogenetic testing is a form of precision medicine, using your genes to personalize your care. D3Damon/E+ via Getty Images

Can at-home DNA tests predict how you’ll respond to your medications? Pharmacists explain the risks and benefits of pharmacogenetic testing

Genetic testing can help take the guesswork out of finding the right treatment. For certain diseases. To an extent.
Opioid neurotransmitters are located in many areas of the body, including the brain, spine and gut. ALIOUI Mohammed Elamine/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Your body naturally produces opioids without causing addiction or overdose – studying how this process works could help reduce the side effects of opioid drugs

Unlike opioid drugs like morphine and fentanyl that travel throughout the body, the opioids your body produces are released in small quantities to specific locations.
Killer T cells (green and red), or cytotoxic T cells, surround a cancer cell (blue, center). NICHD/J. Lippincott-Schwartz

Anti-cancer CAR-T therapy reengineers T cells to kill tumors – and researchers are expanding the limited types of cancer it can target

Immunotherapy has the potential to eliminate tumors, but works best for select patients. Engineering T cells to bypass cancer’s defenses could help expand treatment eligibility to more patients.
Depending on how you look at it, drugs that can act on multiple targets could be a boon instead of a challenge. Andrew Brookes/Image Source via Getty Images

Many medications affect more than one target in the body – some drug designers are embracing the ‘side effects’ that had been seen as a drawback

Many approved drugs work on the body in ways that researchers still aren’t entirely clear about. Seeing this as an opportunity instead of a flaw may lead to better treatments for complex conditions.
Dendritic cells (green) produce cytokines like IL-12, which can train T cells (pink) to attack tumors. Victor Segura Ibarra and Rita Serda/National Cancer Institute via Flickr

‘Masked’ cancer drug stealthily trains immune system to kill tumors while sparing healthy tissues, reducing treatment side effects

One promising cancer treatment has been in the works for decades, but severe side effects have kept it out of the clinic. A reengineered version may offer a way to safely harness its potent effects.
Antibiotics do not shorten or reduce the severity of colds or flu, but they could produce adverse effects that make you feel even worse. (Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio)

Antibiotics in cold and flu season: Potentially harmful and seldom helpful

Resistant bacteria aren’t the only risk posed by overprescribing antibiotics. A more immediate risk is side-effects and reactions, which a new review shows are surprisingly frequent and often severe.
An animal experiment in a laboratory of the pharmaceutical company “Chemie Gruenenthal,” which manufactured the drug Thalidomide, in West Germany in 1969. Thalidomide was prescribed by doctors as a mild sleeping pill and for relief of morning sickness but caused the miscarriage and birth of thousands of children with severe malformations globally. (AP Photo/File)

We need answers to the thalidomide tragedy – to ensure drug safety today

A new book, ‘The Thalidomide Catastrophe,’ raises new questions about the conduct of corporations involved. It is the duty of governments to find out the answers.
Doctors’ visits can be overwhelming for older people. Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com

5 questions to ask your aging parents’ doctors

More than 47 million people age 65 and older live in the US, and many need help accessing health care. Here are some questions that grown children should ask their parents’ doctors.
Deciding whether or not to continue on medication in pregnancy is always a balancing act. from shutterstock.com

Should I stop taking Prozac if I’m pregnant?

A study has shown an association between antidepressants in pregnancy and risk to the baby. But there are many factors to consider if deciding whether to stay on an antidepressant if you’re pregnant.
Feeling tired or being unable to concentrate is common even days after surgery. But there are simple ways to help speed up your recovery. Jason Jones/Flickr

Health Check: why can you feel groggy days after an operation?

Some people can feel drowsy or can’t concentrate days after an operation. While it’s easy to blame the anaesthetics, the real picture is usually more complicated.

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