Drugs like ketamine can relieve depression symptoms, including suicidal thoughts, within hours, but they also carry risks that patients need to understand.
Any pharmacare plan that aims to remove financial barriers to treatment and eliminate inequities should prioritize those who face the highest out-of-pocket drug costs, such as people with disabilities.
When news reports tout a drug, people get interested, even if the benefits are unproven. Patient hopes, requests and demands can easily turn into real prescriptions in their doctor’s office.
Chronic pain is everyone’s problem. It’s costly, debilitating and, according to new statistics, increasingly common. Reversing the trend is achieveable but far from easy.
As coronavirus continues to spread, older adults face a challenge: how to get the medications they need without putting themselves at risk. A new national survey shows they aren’t prepared.
Kenneth McLeod, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Researchers are looking for ways to determine who’s most at risk for dementia and also ways to detect it early. A scientist who has studied low blood pressure makes a case for a link between the two.
The technology to identify pills is getting cheaper and smaller. That means it could also be used to test the make-up of illegal pills at festivals and other events.
A trial of methylprednisolone in kidney patients was halted recently because of safety concerns. But this doesn’t affect people taking the drug for asthma, arthritis or other inflammatory conditions.
A push towards prescribing generic medications rather than their branded equivalents, as flagged in the budget, may have benefits beyond simple cost savings.
Fingolimod is a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease. It is an immunomodulator, which means it works by suppressing the immune system.