Category: Drugs
New Hepatitis C Drugs Mean More Organs for More Transplants
New drugs that promise a cure for the 3.5 million Americans with chronic hepatitis also are benefiting another category of patients: those awaiting life-saving organ transplants.
Pediatricians Put It Bluntly: Motherhood And Marijuana Don’t Mix
More and more people consider smoking marijuana harmless, but mounting research suggests women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid it altogether.
Traveller returned to King County with measles
Before he was diagnosed, he may have exposed others to the measles at Sea-Tac Airport and the Emergency Department of Harborview Medical Center.
Teen Xanax Abuse Is Surging
Addiction practitioners say they’re seeing a surge in the number of young patients who are hooked on Xanax. Many taking high daily doses of the drug.
The Myth of Drug Expiration Dates
“Refining our prescription drug dating process could save billions,” one expert says.
Opioid Overdose Deaths Rose in 2017 Driven by Fentanyl
Nearly 72,000 Americans died from a drug overdose in 2017, about 7 percent more than in the previous year, CDC report.
For Addicted Women, the Year After Childbirth Is the Deadliest
The opioid epidemic has addicted nearly 3 million Americans and killing more than 350,000. But pregnant women and new moms are particularly vulnerable.
Rival Opioid Makers Sought To Cash In On Alarm Over OxyContin
As Purdue Pharma faced mounting criticism over deaths linked to OxyContin, rival drugmakers saw a chance to boost sales of similarly dangerous painkillers
Poll: Providers Aren’t Doing Enough to Warn Older Patients About Opioids
Many Americans over 50 favor limits on painkiller prescribing, and those who receive prescriptions need more counseling about risks and safe disposal options.
Déjà Voodoo: Pharma’s Promises To Curb Drug Prices Have Been Heard Before
Drug company promises to contain prices are a familiar — and fleeting. In past, their vows to restrain prices last only as long as it is politically necessary.
Opioid Maker Changes Public Service Ad In Washington Post
Purdue Pharma had said that taking opioids such as its painkiller OxyContin can prove dangerous even as prescribed — then appeared to backtrack a few days later.
Anti-anxiety pills: The next drug epidemic?
Over-prescribing of drugs known as benzodiazepines or “benzos” is putting more people at risk of dependence on the pills.
Insurers slow to cover high-cost cancer immunotherapy
Most commercial insurers are covering CAR-T immunotherapies now, but they do so on an individual basis, writing single-patient agreements each time.
Scammers sending fake FDA warning letters, FDA warns
Scammers are targeting consumers who have purchased medicines online.
Four more measles cases in Snohomish
Four new confirmed cases within the same household.