Latest Medication News

Haiti health system nears collapse as medicine dwindles, gangs attack hospitals and ports stay shut

Apr. 23, 2024 07:34 AM EDT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — On a recent morning at a hospital in the heart of gang territory in Haiti’s capital, a woman began convulsing before her body went limp as a doctor and two nurses raced to save her. They stuck electrodes to her chest and flipped on an oxygen machine...

West Virginia confirms first measles case since 2009

Apr. 22, 2024 16:31 PM EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia hospital has confirmed the first known case of measles in the state since 2009, health officials said Monday. The Monongalia County Health Department said WVU Medicine alerted officials Sunday that an adult patient living in the county...

WADA confirms it cleared Chinese swimmers to compete at Tokyo Games citing contaminated samples

Apr. 20, 2024 11:34 AM EDT

SYDNEY (AP) — The world's top anti-doping regulator says 23 Chinese swimmers were cleared to compete at the Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive for a banned heart medication because it agreed with Chinese authorities and ruled that their samples had been contaminated. The World...

UN approves an updated cholera vaccine that could help fight a surge in cases

Apr. 18, 2024 23:59 PM EDT

The World Health Organization has approved a version of a widely used cholera vaccine that could help address a surge in cases that has depleted the global vaccine stockpile and left poorer countries scrambling to contain epidemics. WHO authorized the vaccine, made by EuBiologics,...

Imprisoned drug-diluting pharmacist to be moved to halfway house soon, victims' lawyer says

Apr. 17, 2024 12:40 PM EDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Kansas City-area pharmacist who has been incarcerated for more than two decades in a profit-boosting scheme to dilute tens of thousands of prescriptions for seriously ill patients is being moved to a halfway house this summer, an attorney for the victims said...

Vertex Pharma scientist talks about the long road to developing non-addictive painkillers

Apr. 15, 2024 17:23 PM EDT

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?

Apr. 13, 2024 08:12 AM EDT

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

Apr. 12, 2024 13:53 PM EDT

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

Apr. 11, 2024 18:59 PM EDT

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?

Apr. 11, 2024 17:42 PM EDT

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....