by ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) A pharmacy-driven assessment found more than half of patients with reported penicillin allergies were able to take antibiotics from the same drug class rather than resorting to substitutes that may be more costly, have more side effects and have other downsides, according to research presented at the ASHP...
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Online tool helps patients demystify the ‘Pandora’s box’ of genomic sequencing
by St. Michael’s Hospital A decision aid developed to support patients undergoing genomic sequencing can reduce the amount of time patients spend speaking with overburdened genetic counselors while helping them were more knowledgeable about the benefits of sequencing, suggests a study from St. Michael’s Hospital. Published in Genetics in Medicine, the official journal of the American...
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What are Disease Modifying Migraine Drugs (DMMDs)?
By Ratan-NM, M. Pharm.Reviewed by Dr. Jennifer Logan, MD, MPH Migraine is a disabling disease that affects around one billion people globally. Migraines present as severe, debilitating headaches, mostly affecting one side. Headaches are usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia (light sensitivity), and phonophobia (sound sensitivity), which may last from 4 hours to 72 hours. Migraine is...
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Antiarrhythmic drug identified as potential treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension
Findings reported in The American Journal of Pathology suggest dofetilide may counteract pathological changes in potassium channels associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension in humans and rats Philadelphia, December 12, 2019 – High blood pressure in the lungs, known as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), is a potentially fatal disease caused by obstruction of blood flow in...
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Targeting stem cells that drive aggressive blood cancer
by Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Peter Mac scientists have found a way to target acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at its source—a discovery that could yield a more effective treatment for this aggressive and often incurable blood cancer. Prof Mark Dawson and Dr. Laura MacPherson led the international research team, in collaboration with researchers in Europe...
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Researcher recommends exercise over painkillers for treating sciatica
by Geoff McMaster, University of Alberta While sciatica is one of the most common forms of back pain, people often assume they have it when they don’t, says U of A physical therapy researcher Greg Kawchuk. That’s because the condition—named for the sciatic nerve running down the spine and through the leg—is a general term...
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Could some people with schizophrenia in poorer nations simply have a vitamin deficiency?
by University of Toronto Four unsolved mysteries around schizophrenia have long plagued the medical community, but a new hypothesis identifying a common link between them and an almost forgotten epidemic of a disease called pellagra could have profound implications for our understanding of psychosis in poorer nations. The new hypothesis has implications for how a subgroup...
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Tramadol is an odd, unpredictable opioid, scientists say
by The Associated Press In this Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, photo, a recovering tramadol drug addict signs a register after taking her medication at a de-addiction center in Kapurthala, in the northern Indian state of Punjab. India has twice the global average of illicit opiate consumption. Researchers estimate 4 million Indians use heroin or other...
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Emergency department study reveals patterns of patients at increased risk for suicide
by National Institutes of Health A new study found that people who presented to California emergency departments with deliberate self-harm had a suicide rate in the year after their visit 56.8 times higher than those of demographically similar Californians. People who presented with suicidal ideation had suicide rates 31.4 times higher than those of demographically...
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New drug appears to slow effects of cystic fibrosis, offering hope to long-suffering patients
by Michele Munz Amy Chastain didn’t think she would be able to be a mom. She didn’t think her child would be born with the same debilitating disease as her. She didn’t think she would live long enough to see this day, when a drug could change her life and most importantly, her son’s. At...