Latest Medication News
Vertex Pharma scientist talks about the long road to developing non-addictive painkillers
WASHINGTON (AP) — For decades, patients seeking medication for pain have had two choices: over-the-counter drugs like aspirin or powerful prescription opioids like oxycodone. Opioid prescriptions have plummeted over the last decade as doctors have become more attuned to the risks...
It's the first drug shown to slow Alzheimer's. Why is is it off to a slow start?
The first drug shown to slow Alzheimer’s disease hit the U.S. market over a year ago, but sales have lagged, major hospital systems have taken months to start using it and some insurers have rejected coverage. Doctors also expect some patients will hesitate to take Leqembi due to...
No link between Ozempic, Wegovy and suicide, EU drug regulators say
Drug regulators in Europe have found no evidence that popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are linked to a higher risk of suicidal thoughts or actions. The European Medicines Agency regulatory committee announced the results of its review on Friday. It's...
Woman who stabbed classmate to please 'Slender Man' won't be released from psychiatric hospital
A Wisconsin woman who at age 12 said she stabbed a sixth-grade classmate nearly to death to please the online horror character Slender Man remains a risk to the public and won't be released yet from a psychiatric hospital, a judge said Thursday. Judge Michael Bohren ruled against...
US measles cases are up in 2024. What's driving the increase?
Measles outbreaks in the U.S. and abroad are raising health experts' concern about the preventable, once-common childhood virus. One of the world's most contagious diseases, measles can lead to potentially serious complications. The best defense, according to experts? Get vaccinated....
France is proposing to allow terminally ill patients to take lethal medication
PARIS (AP) — France’s government presented a bill Wednesday to allow adults with terminal cancer or other incurable illness to take lethal medication, as public demands grow for legal options for aid in dying. Many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where...
Medical care and supplies are scarce as gang violence chokes Haiti's capital
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Fresh gunfire erupted Tuesday in downtown Port-au-Prince, forcing aid workers to halt urgently needed care for thousands of Haitians. Weeks of gang violence have forced some 18 hospitals to stop working and caused a shortage of medical supplies as...
Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, a study finds
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval program is meant to give patients early access to promising drugs. But how often do these drugs actually improve or extend patients’ lives? In a new study, researchers found that most cancer drugs granted accelerated...
Air ambulance crew administered drug to hot air balloon pilot after crash that killed 4, report says
PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities trying to determine whether drugs were involved in a fatal hot air ballon crash in Arizona released an amended autopsy report Friday stating an anesthetic was administered to the pilot by an air ambulance company while he was being transported to a hospital. ...
Condemned inmate could face 'surgery without anesthesia' if good vein is elusive, lawyers say
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri's execution protocol allows for “surgery without anesthesia” if the typical process of finding a suitable vein to inject the lethal drug doesn't work, lawyers for a death row inmate say in an appeal aimed at sparing his life. Brian Dorsey, 52, is...
