Thousands of rare diseases cumulatively affect millions of people across the globe, yet because each case is so rare doctors struggle to accurately diagnose and effectively treat individual patients. Every time a patient with an unspecified disorder walks into a new clinic or shows up in an emergency room, doctors must start from scratch. The patients often go through years […]
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With a trial looming, major drug distributors and manufacturers are pressing to settle thousands of claims against them related to the nation’s persistent opioid crisis. The companies are negotiating with state attorneys general as jury selection is expected to wrap up on Thursday in the first federal trial over an overdose epidemic that has claimed more than 400,000 American lives […]
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Patients who first saw a physical therapist or chiropractor for low back pain, rather than a primary care physician, were much less likely to be prescribed opioids. Low back pain is one of the most common conditions Americans seek care for—and one of the more common reasons for an opioid prescription. Facing the opioid crisis, the American College of Physicians […]
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(HealthDay)—More Americans use marijuana to help them cope with an illness than just to get high, a new study finds. Nearly 46% of those who use pot say they do so because of a medical condition, compared with 22% who say they use marijuana for recreation. And only 36% of those with a medical problem say they use pot to […]
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Putting her stamp on the health care issue that worries consumers the most, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday unveiled an ambitious plan to lower drug prices for seniors on Medicare and younger people with private insurance. Pelosi, D-Calif., would empower Medicare to negotiate prices for the 250 costliest drugs, including insulin. Pharmaceutical companies that refuse to negotiate could face […]
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If there’s anyone in the United States who can see the future of medicine, it’s Dr. Janet Woodcock. As the director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, Woodcock is responsible for making sure that new medicines are safe and effective before they can be prescribed to patients or sold directly to consumers. […]
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Purdue Pharma, whose prescription painkiller Oxycontin is blamed for much of the US opioid addiction epidemic, has offered $10-12 billion to settle thousands of claims against the company, NBC News reported Tuesday. The company, whose wealthy owners the Sackler family have come under international scorn for aggressively pushing the prescription drug, is in settlement talks in Cleveland, Ohio ahead of […]
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(HealthDay)—In what could prove to be a real advance for Americans with diabetes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave the nod to a needle-free method of helping people recover from an episode of dangerous low blood sugar. The new formulation, called Baqsimi, contains the rescue medication glucagon, but is instead given as a nasally inhaled powder, the […]
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This week (25 July) the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer project has released the results of four years of intense data gathering and exploration which will power genetic research into cancer treatment worldwide. The freely available data set includes unique data comparing almost 1,000 cancer cell lines’ responses to 453 licensed and experimental drugs. The project, led by researchers […]
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(HealthDay)—The number of days supplied of an initial opioid prescription is the strongest risk factor for developing long-term opioid use among previously opioid-free injured workers, according to a study published online July 17 in JAMA Network Open. Zoe Durand, Ph.D., from the Tennessee Department of Health in Nashville, and colleagues examined the prevalence and risk factors of long-term opioid use […]
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