Pharmacology

Thiazide is a popular diuretic for lowering high blood pressure but may not excrete salt as expected in patients with congestive heart failure and or dehydration and should be taken with caution, according to a study in mouse models presented at a meeting of the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week activities in San Diego.  Thiazide derivatives are among the most commonly used blood pressure medications worldwide, says Soleimani. About 70 million Americans--or one in every three adults--have high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.…

Betcha that got your attention. I hope so. Because, even though the title may sound like the essence of juvenile stupidity, if you read this—if only to see what the hell I'm talking about—it could save your life. And, no— I'm NOT kidding about this. I'm talking about colonoscopies—one of the most feared words in the English language.  The reality is that something that is so feared is actually rather enjoyable. Nope—I'm not kidding. And I know what I'm talking about. I've had enough of these done that I'm considering adding it to my CV under "hobbies."  It sounds horrible, but…

Chemsex, the unfortunately chosen term for sex under the influence of illegal drugs (unfortunate because it connotes chemistry with illegal, when love is clearly a chemistry event in the brain) - needs to become a public health priority, argue experts in The BMJ. This intentional sex under the influence of psychoactive drugs occurs mostly among gay men. Chemsex usually refers particularly to the use of mephedrone, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), and crystallized methamphetamine. The drugs are often used in combination to facilitate sexual sessions lasting several hours…

Want to be an athlete but think it is too much work? Psychoactive drugs may be the answer. Let's face it, exercise is a lot of work. Our ancestors worked all of the time and they lived to be 35 so we have clearly evolved to be lazy. Effort is the largest barrier to why people do not exercise so Professor Samuele Marcora at University of Kent suggests that reducing perception of effort during exercise using caffeine or other psychoactive drugs (e.g. methylphenidate and modafinil) could help many people stick to their fitness plans. By fooling them into thinking it is less effort than it…

Vitamin D supplements have been linked tp everything but improved exercise performance in 2015 - and a preliminary study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh took care of that. Plus claiming this supplement will lower the risk of heart disease. Vitamin D, which is both a vitamin and a hormone, helps control levels of calcium and phosphate in the blood and is essential for the formation of bones and teeth. Sources of Vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but it can be difficult to get enough through diet alone. Most people generate vitamin D by…

A new survey of 15,000 patients at drug-treatment centers in 49 statesshows that drug abusers are not completely abandoning prescription opioids for heroin. Instead, many use the two concurrently based on their availability. The findings also reveal regional variations in the use of heroin and prescription painkillers. "On the East and West coasts, combined heroin and prescription drug use has surpassed the exclusive use of prescription opioids," said senior investigator Theodore J. Cicero, PhD of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, . "This trend is less apparent in the…

Ivermectin, a workhorse of a drug that a few weeks ago earned its developers a Nobel prize for its success in treating multiple tropical diseases, is showing early promise as a novel and desperately needed tool for interrupting malaria transmission, according to new findings presented today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting. Researchers presented preliminary results from a trial in the West African country of Burkina Faso that show approximately 16 percent reduction in childhood malaria episodes in four villages where, for the last few months, the…

The Harlem Globetrotters had very little to worry about. After all, they had won 2,499 straight exhibition games against their foils, the Washington Generals. What could possibly go wrong?  Well, on January 5, 1971, the team's owner and player, 50-year old Red Klotz must have been in a pissy mood. Klotz scored with 10 seconds left to give the Generals a 100-99 lead. Then, Globetrotters star Meadowlark Lemon took his patented (and uncontested) half-court hook shot (watch it on YouTube!)—something he could do in his sleep—and missed, giving the Generals their first win…

This one had all the suspense of a Harlem Globetrotters – Washington Generals game. (1) In what can be seen, at the very least, as an appalling lack of creativity, our old friends the EWG — Environmental Washington Generals (oops, I meant Environmental Working Group) — decided that since they had finally hit dry wells with phthalates and BPA, it was time for a “new” chemical to scare people about, get some mainstream Scare Journalism coverage (which worked) and then drum up funding (which will certainly work). What chemical did they choose and why? There are 40,000 chemicals in the Sigma-…

Cigarette smoking is bad because it's nicotine that is addictive but it is the hundreds of carcinogens in smoke that kills people. They are a deadly combination. For that reason, advocates often promote harm reduction techniques while smoking cessation happens - gums, patches and e-cigarettes all replacement the nicotine with the cigarette smoke. What is happening in the brain? It's a lot like codeine. According to new research in rat models, nicotine use over time increases the speed that codeine is converted into morphine within the brain, by increasing the amount of a specific enzyme. It…