Pharmacology

The commonly prescribed antidepressant sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) marketed as Zoloft, may alter brain structures in depressed and non-depressed individuals in very different ways, according to new research conducted in monkeys. It significantly increased the volume of one brain region in depressed subjects but decreased the volume of two brain areas in non-depressed subjects. In the study, 41 middle-aged female monkeys were fed a diet formulated to replicate that consumed by many Americans for 18 months, during which time depressive behavior in the animals…

The misery of motion sickness could be ended within five to ten years thanks to a new treatment being developed by scientists. The cause of motion sickness is still a mystery but a popular theory among scientists says it is to do with confusing messages received by our brains from both our ears and eyes, when we are moving. It is a very common complaint and has the potential to affect all of us, meaning we get a bit queasy on boats or rollercoasters. However, around three in ten people experience hard-to-bear motion sickness symptoms, such as dizziness, severe nausea, cold sweats, and more.…

Using an inexpensive drug for every hip or knee replacement since 2013 has helped St. Michael's Hospital reduce its number of red blood cell transfusions performed during these surgeries by more than 40 per cent without negatively affecting patients, according to new research. The drug tranexamic acid, known as TXA, prevents excessive blood loss during surgeries. TXA had been shown to be effective in orthopedic, trauma and cardiac patients but less than half of eligible patients at St. Michael's received this drug because of a previous province-wide shortage. The drug was given only to…

It’s about time. The FDA is cracking down on the sale of a natural substance that most of us consume every day. It is the chemical caffeine, and it’s the “energy” in energy drinks. (This is a misnomer. They should be called “drinks that do nothing until a chemical stimulant is added.”) Some may argue that the agency is overstepping. But if you’re in that camp, you might want to read further and then reconsider. There is no question that caffeine is a drug, even though many people don’t really accept this. The definition from the FDA site makes this clear: “… intended for use in the diagnosis…

Hospira has announced that Inflectra, (infliximab), the first monoclonal antibody (mAb) biosimilar therapy, has been registered in Australia. This registration paves the way for the Federal Government to reduce the cost of some of the most expensive medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). A biosimilar is a biologic medicine that has been developed to treat the same diseases as the originator product and the marketing hope is that it will deliver a 20-30 percent reduction in the price paid for the therapy. Inflectra is a biosimilar medicine formulated to deliver comparable…

"Carbonated drinks linked with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of cardiac origin" Right away, this looks suspicious.  "Linked with" is a standard junk science term that translates roughly into: "Let's see if I can get some headlines by manipulating people into thinking that there is a nebulous relationship between something stupid, and their health, even though I know damn well that it isn't real."This itself is often linked with another thought: "If I don't write another s#itty paper to go with all my other s#itty papers, forget tenure. This time next year I'll be teaching night lab…

In 1985 Michael Hovey, an organic chemist at duPont in Wilmington, Delaware cooked up in his lab a batch of 3-methylfentanyl—a narcotic that is more than 6,000-times stronger than morphine—thus ushering in the era of designer drugs. Hovey's drug, which belongs to a class of drugs called "synthetic heroins," had a street value of $112 million. After that, things started to go poorly. Getting rid of the stuff, proved to be challenging, as evidenced by his attempt to sell it to an undercover FBI agent. Later, out on bail and determined not to go back to prison,…

A man goes into a butcher shop to buy some steak. Man: "How much is your steak?"Butcher: "$4.99 a pound."Man:       "That's ridiculous! The butcher across town sells steak for $3.99 a pound!"Butcher: "Then buy it from him."Man:       "I tried, but he's all out."Butcher:  "Well, when I'm out, I'll sell it for $1.99 per pound!" Pretty good joke, but even better when it's applied to what's going on now with generic drug prices. That is, assuming you can figure it out. But, one thing is clear: They are going up, and really fast.…

The introduction of a new prescription smoking-cessation aid, varenicline, in 2006 has had no significant impact on the rate at which Americans age 18 and older successfully quit smoking, according to a new study in Tobacco Control which suggests that the primary effect of varenicline (marketed as Chantix) has only been to displace the use of older tobacco addiction therapies, such as nicotine patches and the antidepressant, bupropion (Zyban). Moreover, in this population analysis, researchers said varenicline's enhanced effectiveness in helping smokers quit, compared with other cessation…

Dosing obese teens with vitamin D shows no benefits for their heart health or diabetes risk, and could have the unintended consequences of increasing cholesterol and fat-storing triglycerides. These are the latest findings in a series of Mayo Clinic studies in childhood obesity. Seema Kumar, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist in the Mayo Clinic Children's Center, has been studying the effects of vitamin D supplementation in children for 10 years, through four clinical trials and six published studies. To date, Dr. Kumar's team has found limited benefit from vitamin D supplements in adolescents…