Pharmacology

Fish oil supplements help some cardiac patients while harming others, according to a new review of evidence compiled by St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto researchers. In a systematic review of trials where patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators used fish oil supplements, Dr. David Jenkins and Dr. Paul Dorian found significant differences among the trials, indicating fish oil may be beneficial to some patients while having a negative impact on others. “Fish oils can have complex and varied effects on the heart,” says Jenkins, a U of T Professor of Medicine who…

In this week’s BMJ, doctors warn of excess sorbitol intake, a widely used sweetener in “sugar-free” products such as chewing gum and sweets. Sorbitol has laxative properties and is poorly absorbed by the small intestine. Their advice follows the cases of two patients with chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and severe weight loss. Although extensive investigations were carried out, final diagnosis was only established after detailed analysis of eating habits. On questioning, both patients admitted consuming substantial amounts of sugar-free gum and sweets. The first patient (a 21 year old…

LONDON, January 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Millions of Brits could be playing Russian Roulette with their health buying prescription-only medicines from rogue internet sites, according to research conducted by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB). In response to this growing online danger, the RPSGB today rolls out the Internet Pharmacy Logo, a visual tool to help the public identify if a website is being operated by a bona fide pharmacy in Britain. The research shows that over two million people across Britain now regularly purchase medicines via the web. While a number of…

Only nine percent of 199 beverage samples had benzene levels above the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit of 5 parts per billion (ppb) for benzene in drinking water, according to a study by EPA and U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists. Products containing benzene above the EPA level were reformulated by the manufacturers to minimize or eliminate benzene and one product was discontinued, researchers said. Benzene levels in the reformulated products were 1.1 ppb or less. About 71 percent of beverage samples in the study contained less than 1 ppb. Based on results…

In the first study examining American physicians' use of placebos in clinical practice in the 21st Century, 45 percent of Chicago internists report they have used a placebo at some time during their clinical practice researchers report in the January issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine. This study indicates a need for greater recognition of the use of placebos and unproven therapies and discussion about its implications," say the study authors, Rachel Sherman, a fourth year medical student at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine, and John Hickner, MD, MSc,…

Early exposure to environmental toxins can lead to diseases much later in life. This week, Wu et al. report that primates exposed to lead as infants showed Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-like pathology years later. From birth to 400 d of age, monkeys were exposed to lead levels that produced no obvious sign of toxicity. Although by young adulthood blood lead levels in exposed monkeys were indistinguishable from those of controls, when examined at approximately 23 years of age, the brains of lead-exposed monkeys exhibited many hallmarks of AD, including Aâ plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, as…

An article in the Journal of Neuroscience by Sam A. Deadwyler, Linda Porrino, Jerome M. Siegel, and Robert E. Hampson might appeal to the beleaguered hospital intern or the college student during finals week - anyone who has to combat sleep deprivation or who just wants to stay awake for a long time. The loss of the hypothalamic neurons that produce orexin-A causes narcolepsy, and the administration of orexin-A produces arousal and increased attention. This week, Deadwyler et al. provide further evidence that orexin-A can counteract the effects of sleep deprivation. Adult rhesus monkeys…

Kamilla Miskowiak, author of a new study published in the December 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, reports findings that support the evaluation of a potential new antidepressant agent. The researchers evaluated the effects of erythropoietin (Epo), a hormone naturally produced by the kidneys that stimulates the formation of red blood cells and is known as a treatment for anemia. The authors explain that new evidence shows that Epo also “has neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects in animal models and affects cognitive and associated neural responses in humans,” suggesting that it may be a…

A new study by a Penn State College of Medicine research team found that honey may offer parents an effective and safe alternative than over the counter children's cough medicines. The study found that a small dose of buckwheat honey given before bedtime provided better relief of nighttime cough and sleep difficulty in children than no treatment or dextromethorphan (DM), a cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cold medications. Honey did a better job reducing the severity, frequency and bothersome nature of nighttime cough from upper respiratory infection than DM or no treatment…

It could be a late night infomercial - a magical caffeine cream that slenderizes thighs. But a new study in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology reports just that - Brazilian researchers studied 99 women treated with a cream consisting mostly of a 7 percent caffeine solution. The women used the cream twice daily for 30 days. When the researchers took their subjects’ measurements at the end of the study, the slimming effect was clear. More than 80 percent of the women had a reduction in the circumference of their upper and lower thighs. Nearly 68 percent also reduced their hip measurements.…