The serendipitous discovery of penicillin is a testament to the importance of observation.
Naloxone has been made available over the counter from a pharmacist so loved-ones of drug users can have it on hand in the event of an overdose.
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Teriparatide is an injectable drug to treat severe osteoporosis, a condition where mineral loss causes the bones to become brittle and to fracture easily.
Migraine is a severe, often debilitating headache that can affect sight and speech.
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Triptans are a group of drugs targeted at alleviating the symptoms of migraine, a severe and often debilitating headache disorder that can affect sight and speech.
At over $1,300 a pill, a cure for hepatitis C comes at a high price.
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It is thought that in 2002 fentanyl, or a drug based on fentanyl, was used by Russian special forces to disable Chechen rebels after a four day stand off in the Dubrovka theatre in Moscow.
PrEP works by preventing susceptible cells becoming infected with HIV. Truvada blocks the HIV virus from making copies of itself.
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Sharon Lewin, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity e Edwina Wright, Monash University
Efficacy is estimated to be as high as 99% in men who have sex with men who take Truvada daily.
Long-term use is not recommended because of the known side effects. But it took two decades, after its release in the 1960s, to recognise this.
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Benzodiazepines, like alcohol, are depressant drugs, sometimes referred to as “downers” as they make people feel relaxed, sleepy, less coordinated and generally slowed down.
Ice is more readily smoked than other methamphetamines, but can also be injected.
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Ice is a slang name for crystal methamphetamine – a stimulant drug that is swallowed, smoked or injected. It works by activating the reward pathways in the brain, producing feelings of alertness.
Some data has found one pill is slightly more effective, but you need to visit your doctor to get it and it needs to be taken in a hurry.
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Until 2015 the “morning after pill” Postinor was the only oral emergency contraception available in Australia. A new option, EllaOne, is available. How are they different, and which should you choose?
Though the codeine we take today is made synthetically, small amounts of codeine are actually found in the opium poppy.
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Methotrexate is a drug used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. It is taken on just one day a week. Accidental daily dosing can cause life-threatening toxicity.
Heroin dependence can be treated with pharmaceutical heroin - but it hasn’t been approved in Australia.
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Many suspect Van Gogh suffered from foxglove extract overdose due to the yellow halos in his paintings and his portrait of his physician holding the plant.
Neuropathic pain often doesn’t respond to common painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol.
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Lyrica, the brand name for a medicine called pregabalin, is an anti-epileptic drug most commonly used to treat chronic nerve pain - a type of pain caused by abnormality in, or damage to, the nerves.
Viagra was discovered by accident when participants in a study looking at a treatment for high blood pressure reported an interesting side effect.
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