Major Breakthrough On Capitol Hill: Government May Stop Making Drugs Expensive
In keeping with their commitment to being ineffective, liberals have largely ceded the terms of major policy debates to conservatives. In particular, liberals have been happy to let the right say that they are the ones who want market outcomes, while the liberal do-gooders want the government to intervene to pursue their social agenda.
This is horrible politics and happens not to be true. Conservatives want the government to intervene in all sorts of ways, but their goal is to redistribute income upward, not to ensure people a decent standard of living. (Yes, this is the topic of my book, Rigged.)
The right’s interes...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - April 11, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Ibuprofen claimed to raise cardiac arrest risk by a third
Conclusion
This study showed an association between taking ibuprofen or diclofenac and an increased risk of a cardiac arrest in the following 30 days, but no association was found with the other NSAIDs investigated.
But this study does have its limitations:
Although the researchers used the same people to avoid confounding variables, the same person will differ in certain aspects over time – for example, certain diseases may get better or worse, which might have affected the results.
The study only looked at prescribed drugs and not over-the-counter drugs. In Denmark, ibuprofen was the only over-the-counter drug so...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 16, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Louisiana Lawyers Sue Milberg Over Vioxx Fees, Seek Up To $10.6 Million
A Louisiana law firm known for representing investors in securities fraud class actions claims it is being shortchanged by a leading class action firm it teamed with to sue the maker of the painkiller Vioxx. In November, Kahn Swick& Foti LLC, considered one of the nation ’s premier boutique securities litigation [...] (Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News)
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - January 5, 2017 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Legal Newsline, Contributor Source Type: news
Celebrex Is No Riskier For Heart Than Other Arthritis Drugs, Study Finds
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A new study gives some reassurance to arthritis sufferers who want pain relief but are worried about side effects. It finds that Celebrex, a drug similar to ones withdrawn 12 years ago for safety reasons, is no riskier for the heart than some other prescription pain pills that are much tougher on the stomach.
“We do not want patients to suffer with pain and we need to know what is safe to give them,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, the Cleveland Clinic’s heart chief, who led the study. Fear that Celebrex would be worse than alternatives proved unfounded, and “on almost every endpoint it...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - November 14, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Health – CBS Boston Tags: Health News Arthritis Celebrex Source Type: news
Pfizer's Celebrex shown to be as safe as ibuprofen or naproxen: study
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc's Celebrex arthritis drug was shown to be at least as safe as the widely used prescription-strength versions of painkillers ibuprofen and naproxen, and does not appear to cause heart problems that spurred the withdrawal of rival Vioxx, according to a large 10-year study presented on Sunday. (Source: Reuters: Health)
Source: Reuters: Health - November 13, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news
Certain painkillers 'could increase risk of heart failure'
Arthritis patients who take common painkillers such as ibuprofen could be at a greater risk of heart failure, according to a new large-scale study.The research, led by the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy and utilising data from more than eight million patients, has offered evidence that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may lead to an elevated risk of a person being hospitalised with heart problems, meaning caution may need to be employed when using them.The heart health risks of NSAIDsPublished in the British Medical Journal, the study aimed to investigate the cardiovascular safety of NSAIDs and to...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - September 29, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news
Ibuprofen-like painkillers linked to an increased risk of heart failure
Conclusion
This useful and well-conducted study isn't the first to say NSAIDs may raise the risk of heart failure. We've known for some time that NSAIDs can have side effects, especially when used at high doses and for long periods.
What this study does help show is the different levels of risk between different NSAIDs, and confirms that the risk depends partly on the dose. It's important to remember that the study only included people who were prescribed NSAIDs and not people who'd bought them over the counter.
The information is most useful to older people taking prescribed NSAIDs long-term for conditions such as go...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 29, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Outlook & Research into Alzheimer ’ s
Developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease is an active area of research. Scientists are testing a number of drugs to see if they prevent Alzheimer’s disease, slow the disease, or help reduce behavioral symptoms.
There is evidence that inflammation in the brain may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and that drugs to cut down on inflammation may help. One recent study showed that two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs — rofecoxib and naproxen — did not slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in people already diagnosed.
Scientists believe, however, that anti-inflammatory dru...
Source: Psych Central - August 17, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Jane Framingham, Ph.D. Tags: Alzheimer's Memory and Perception Alzheimer's disease anti-inflammatory drugs drug testing Ginkgo biloba mental decline new treatment vitamin E Source Type: news
Jill Stein May Not Be Anti-Vax, But She's Pushing A Dangerous Anti-Vax Theory
Green party candidate Jill Stein is a medical doctor, but she’s got some unorthodox views about an issue most of her peers and other experts find uncontroversial: the vaccine regulatory process.
In a video interview with The Washington Post last Friday, she said that while vaccines have played an important role in keeping us healthy and safe, there are legitimate concerns about how those vaccines are approved and regulated.
“I think there’s no question that vaccines have transformed public health and have been absolutely critical in ridding us of the scourge of many diseases: small pox, polio, etc. ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - August 2, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Jill Stein May Not Be Anti-Vax, But She's Pushing A Dangerous Anti-Vax Theory
Green party candidate Jill Stein is a medical doctor, but she’s got some unorthodox views about an issue most of her peers and other experts find uncontroversial: the vaccine regulatory process.
In a video interview with The Washington Post last Friday, she said that while vaccines have played an important role in keeping us healthy and safe, there are legitimate concerns about how those vaccines are approved and regulated.
“I think there’s no question that vaccines have transformed public health and have been absolutely critical in ridding us of the scourge of many diseases: small pox, polio, etc. ...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - August 2, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
Rooibos: Better Than Green Tea For Many Reasons
When I hiked Table Mountain on my last trip to South Africa, the locals told me about an herb that is better than green tea that kept them disease-free.
African Bushmen have used this herb since before recorded history, but it’s still pretty rare here in America.
Studies on this plant are being done all over the world. But not in the U.S.
Because Big Pharma and the FDA aren’t interested in a natural cure that can’t be patented — or profited from.
What is This South African Herb?
I’m talking about an herb called Rooibos — or red bush in Afrikaans. Rooibos (pronounced roy-boss) provides a whole l...
Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies - May 27, 2016 Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Al Sears Tags: Natural Cures Source Type: news
Vioxx (Rofecoxib) - updated on RxList
(Source: RxList - New and Updated Drug Monographs)
Source: RxList - New and Updated Drug Monographs - May 23, 2016 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news
Paracetamol 'useless' in treating osteoarthritis pain
Conclusion
This Swiss study reviewed drugs commonly used and recommended to help pain associated with osteoarthritis. Through indirect comparison, it identified those likely to be most effective (diclofenac 150 mg/day) and those that are pretty likely to be useless (paracetamol any dose).
The study looked at a large number of good-sized RCTs – all with more than 100 people – and covered a useful range of NSAIDS. The quality of the RCTs was also assessed and was generally not highly biased, although variable.
However, the review included many indirect comparisons of the drugs, which is less accurate and reliable than di...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Older people Source Type: news
Which Drugs Are Best for Osteoarthritis Pain? (FREE)
By Kelly Young Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs diclofenac, etoricoxib, and rofecoxib were associated with the greatest pain reduction for patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis, while acetaminophen was not superior … (Source: Physician's First Watch current issue)
Source: Physician's First Watch current issue - March 18, 2016 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Jury slaps Johnson & Johnson with $500m verdict in Pinnacle hip bellwether
UPDATED March 18, 2016, with additional comment from DePuy, plaintiffs’ and defendant’s attorneys.
A Texas federal jury today slapped Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics with a $500 million judgment in favor of a quintet of plaintiffs who said the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implant caused their injuries.
After a 2-month trial, jurors found that the Ultamet metal-on-metal version of the Pinnacle hips were defectively designed and that DePuy failed to warn patients about the risks. Jurors awarded about $130 million in total compensatory damages and about $360 million in punitive da...
Source: Mass Device - March 17, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Brad Perriello Tags: Legal News Metal-on-Metal Product Liability DePuy Orthopedics Hips Johnson & Johnson Source Type: news
