By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Danish researchers have found that statins, the drugs widely used to control cholesterol, may have another beneficial effect: lowering the risk of death from pneumonia.
Scientists examined medical records of 29,000 Danish patients hospitalized for pneumonia over a six-year period. Using regional prescription databases, they found 1,372 who had filled prescriptions for statins within four months of being admitted. Then they calculated mortality rates for statin users and nonusers.
After controlling for age, sex, heart disease, stroke, pulmonary illness, << MORE >>
Having more generic drug alternatives helps people save big dollars on medication costs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is responsible for reviewing generic drugs before they are approved for sale and use, and the FDA is doing something to get more generic drugs on the market sooner.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration defines a generic drug as one being identical to a brand name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, administration type (oral, injection, etc.), quality, performance characteristics and intended use. The chemical make up of a generic drug is identical to ...<< MORE >>
Zocor loses patent protection; generic simvastatin and pravastatin added as ‘Best Buy’ picks by Consumer Reports
(Washington, D.C.) – Consumers who need medicine to lower their cholesterol should talk with their doctors about two new generics that could save them up to $1,800 per year, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs.
The updated report on a class of drugs called “statins” adds generic simvastatin and pravastatin as Best Buys for millions of people who need a cholesterol-lowering drug. About one in 10 people over age 20 now takes ...<< MORE >>
Obesity drug shows 9% weight loss
Drug developer Vivus Inc has said the first of three late-stage trials found that obese patients treated with the highest dose of its experimental drug Qnexa on average lost 9.2% of their weight.
Vivus said the 28-week, 756-patient study met its main goal of superior weight loss with two different doses of Qnexa, compared with the drug’s individual components and a placebo pill. Patients in the placebo group on average lost 1.7% of their weight, while patients on “mid-dose” Qnexa lost 8.5%.
Qnexa is a combination of phentermine - half of the ...<< MORE >>
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in this country. About one in 55 of us will get the most deadly form -- melanoma -- in our lifetime. Last year, more than 8,000 Americans died of melanoma. Now, six common myths about skin cancer.
We all love a sunny day, but do you know how harmful those rays can be? You might not think you're at risk, but everyone is, which brings us to our first myth: only fair-skinned people get skin cancer.
"Darker skin types can be ...<< MORE >>
We are a pill-popping nation. From TV and magazine ads hawking the latest cures to the estimated $287 billion prescription drug business, Americans are taking medicine for everything from heartburn to erectile dysfunction.
But a growing number of people are having trouble paying for medicine. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 29 percent have not filled prescriptions in the last two years because of cost.
And insurance seems to be picking up less and less of a share of the cost, ...<< MORE >>
Medical Author: Melissa Stoppler, M.D.
Medical Editor: Barbara K. Hecht, Ph.D.
Almost half of all prescriptions today in the US are filled with generic drugs. Still, I am often asked if generic drugs are really as good as their brand-name counterparts. After all, goes the reasoning, don't you get what you pay for?
Generic drugs are copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the original drug. In other words, their pharmacological effects are exactly the same as those of their brand-name counterparts.
...<< MORE >>
Doctors will tell you this is because no two patients are the same, so you can’t always rely on existing studies. Often you have to follow your instinct. On the other hand doctors who have a financial incentive to perform a procedure will perform it more often than those who don’t, suggesting that the patient’s best interest isn’t the sole motivator for all docs.
Insurance companies, for their part, have a financial incentive to keep costs down. So they sometimes require doctors ...<< MORE >>
Latest reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) bulletin, reveal that no fewer than 500 million people are infected worldwide with the virus that causes genital herpes and more than 20 million people become newly infected each year.
This first-ever estimate of the global burden found that roughly 16 of the world’s population in the 15-49 year-old age group were infected, with considerable geographic variation. Women are more commonly infected than men, with the highest prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa where up to 70 percent of women are infected.
Reports available shows that in countries like Nigeria the prevalence is put ...<< MORE >>
Lifestyle medications are now affordable. What does that mean? First, you need to understand what a lifestyle medication is. Your insurance company realizes what a lifestyle drug is because they will not pay for any of it. A lifestyle drug is one that is deemed to improve your way of living, or lifestyle, but is not necessary to cure or reduce the symptoms of any life threatening disease or sickness. Great examples of lifestyle drugs are Viagra, Levitra, Cialis, Propecia and Acomplia.
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