Latest Medication News

Here are new guidelines for preventing stroke, the nation's 4th biggest killer

Nov. 09, 2024 10:36 AM EST

The majority of strokes could be prevented, according to new guidelines aimed at helping people and their doctors do just that. Stroke was the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than half a million...

Don't wait for a holiday surge. Now is a good time to get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines

Nov. 07, 2024 12:46 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you missed the early fall push for flu and COVID-19 vaccines, it's not too late. Health officials say it's important to get vaccinated ahead of the holidays, when respiratory bugs tend to spread with travel and indoor celebrations. Those viruses...

UK doctor gets 31 years for poisoning mother's partner with fake COVID vaccine

Nov. 06, 2024 13:32 PM EST

LONDON (AP) — A British doctor who was disgruntled about his inheritance and tried to kill his mother’s boyfriend by injecting him with a fake COVID-19 vaccine that was poison was sentenced Wednesday to 31 years in prison. Dr. Thomas Kwan disguised himself as a nurse making home...

Mpox cases in Congo may be stabilizing. Experts say more vaccines are needed to stamp out virus

Nov. 03, 2024 12:06 PM EST

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Some health officials say mpox cases in Congo appear to be “stabilizing” — a possible sign that the main epidemic for which the World Health Organization made a global emergency declaration in August might be on the decline. In recent weeks, Congo has...

An Idaho health department isn't allowed to give COVID-19 vaccines anymore. Experts say it's a first

Nov. 01, 2024 14:36 PM EDT

A regional public health department in Idaho is no longer providing COVID-19 vaccines to residents in six counties after a narrow decision by its board. Southwest District Health appears to be the first in the nation to be restricted from giving COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccinations are an...

Louisiana’s new law on abortion drugs establishes risky treatment delays, lawsuit claims

Oct. 31, 2024 18:15 PM EDT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's new law categorizing two widely used abortion drugs as “controlled dangerous substances” was challenged in a state court lawsuit Thursday by a physician, a pharmacist and others who say the legislation sets up needless, dangerous delays in treatment during...

A promising schizophrenia drug showed mixed results. What does that mean for patients?

Oct. 31, 2024 16:12 PM EDT

Some people who took a new schizophrenia drug for a year improved with only a few side effects, but many dropped out of the research, the company announced Thursday. The results underscore the difficulties in treating schizophrenia, a severe mental illness that can cause people to...

EU Commission fines Teva $500 million for trying to stop rival's multiple sclerosis drug

Oct. 31, 2024 09:28 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission said Thursday it has fined Israeli generic drugmaker Teva more than 460 million euros ($500 million) for improperly seeking to protect the patent for its multiple sclerosis drug and for disparaging a rival company's development of a competing medicine. ...

A mutt known as 'Houdini' for his ability to elude capture is finally off the streets

Oct. 25, 2024 14:23 PM EDT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Dubbed on social media as the "Houdini” of New Orleans' Mid-City neighborhood, Scrim — a scruffy, mixed-breed dog that was on the lam for more than six months after escaping his yard — has finally been caught. The 13-pound (about six-kilogram) runaway was...

People 50 and older should get pneumococcal vaccine, U.S. health officials recommend

Oct. 23, 2024 19:50 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Wednesday recommended that people 50 and older get a shot against bacteria that can cause pneumonia and other dangerous illnesses. The recommendation was made by a scientific advisory panel and then accepted by the Centers for Disease...