Drugs

Common Analgesics Linked to Flares of Crohn’s Disease

Commonly used pain medications increase the risk of exacerbations of Crohn’s disease, judging from the findings of a prospective cohort study of nearly 800 patients with inflammatory bowel disease initially in remission.

Top 100 Selling Drugs Through September 2013 Reported

Robert Lowes October 31, 2013 Full Story:  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/813571 ( Updated November 5, 2013 ) The cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) was the nation’s most prescribed drug over the course of last 12 months, through September, whereas the antipsychotic aripiprazole (Abilify, Otsuka Pharmaceutical) racked up the highest sales — almost $6.4 billion, according to a new […]

Steroid injections for plantar fasciitis should be cautiously administered because of the higher risk for plantar fascia rupture

Foot Ankle Int. 2014 Mar;35(3):258-63. doi: 10.1177/1071100713514564. Epub 2013 Nov 25. Risk factors affecting chronic rupture of the plantar fascia. Lee HS, Choi YR, Kim SW, Lee JY, Seo JH, Jeong JJ. Abstract BACKGROUND: Prior to 1994, plantar fascia ruptures were considered as an acute injury that occurred primarily in athletes. However, plantar fascia ruptures […]

Statins Linked to Cataracts

Published: Sep 19, 2013 | Updated: Sep 20, 2013 By Chris Kaiser, Cardiology Editor, MedPage Today Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/dyslipidemia/41753 Action Points Statins clear cholesterol from the blood but they may do so at the risk of obstructing vision. Note that in both analyses, researchers found an inverse relationship with levels of LDL cholesterol and cataract […]

Antidepressants in the Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain

Questioning the Validity of Meta-Analyses Williamson, O. D., Sagman, D., Bruins, R. H., Boulay, L. J. and Schacht, A. (2013), Antidepressants in the Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain: Questioning the Validity of Meta-Analyses. Pain Practice. doi: 10.1111/papr.12119 Disclosures: This research was funded by Eli Lilly and Company. Abstract Objectives To contrast the analgesic effect […]

Feds Investigate Antipsychotic Prescribing in Children

Nancy A. Melville August 21, 2013 Full Story:  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/809720 The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has launched a probe into the prescribing of atypical antipsychotic medications to children under Medicaid. “We will determine the extent to which children ages 18 and younger had Medicaid claims for atypical antipsychotic […]

Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Health Outcomes During the Intervention and Extended Poststopping Phases of the Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Trials

JAMA 2013 Oct 01;310(13)1353-1368, JE Manson, RT Chlebowski, ML Stefanick, AK Aragaki, JE Rossouw, RL Prentice, G Anderson, BV Howard, CA Thomson, AZ Lacroix, J Wactawski-Wende, RD Jackson, M Limacher, KL Margolis, S Wassertheil-Smoller, SA Beresford, JA Cauley, CB Eaton, M Gass, J Hsia, KC Johnson, C Kooperberg, LH Kuller, CE Lewis, S Liu, LW […]

Pot a Common Remedy to Ease Back Pain

Published: Oct 11, 2013 By John Fauber Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AdditionalMeetings/42228 NEW ORLEANS — Use of marijuana to ease back pain was common among patients at a university spine clinic in Colorado where pot has been legal for medical purposes since 2000, but most of the users did not have a prescription, according to research presented […]

Opioid Use Common After Spine Surgery

One year after surgery to relieve back pain, about of third of patients still were using narcotic painkillers, according to a study that raised new concerns about the long-term use of opioids….

Nexium Prilosec Epiphany

What is the Problem with PPIs?

Glucocorticoids Boost Risk of Blood Clots

Glucocorticoid use significantly increased the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among current, new, and continuing users of the anti-inflammatory agents

Bisphosphonates Raise Afib Risk

Published: Oct 8, 2013 By Cole Petrochko Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Osteoporosis/42142 Action Points Evidence from randomized controlled trials and observational studies suggests a significantly increased risk of atrial fibrillation requiring hospitalization among patients who take bisphosphonates, researchers found. However, there was no increase in risk of stroke or cardiovascular mortality with the use of bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonate […]

Opioids compared to placebo or other treatments for chronic low-back pain

Chaparro LE, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Aug 27;8:CD004959. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004959.pub4. Abstract BACKGROUND: The use of opioids in the long-term management of chronic low-back pain (CLBP) has increased dramatically. Despite this trend, the benefits and risks of these medications remain unclear. This review is an update of a Cochrane review first published in […]

Statins for Inflamed Gums?

Published: Oct 3, 2013 By Todd Neale In addition to lowering LDL cholesterol, a high dose of atorvastatin may alleviate periodontal disease, possibly representing a new pleiotropic effect of statins, a small randomized study showed. After 12 weeks of treatment, 80-mg of atorvastatin resulted in a greater reduction in periodontal inflammation compared with 10-mg of the […]

Clues Found to Aspirin’s Benefit in Colon Cancer

Published: Oct 3, 2013 | Updated: Oct 3, 2013 By Charles Bankhead Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ECC/42035 Action Points Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. Aspirin’s survival benefit in colon cancer correlated with the drug’s […]

Inappropriate Antibiotic Use Still High

Published: Oct 3, 2013 By Michael Smith http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/42052 Action Points Note that some of this research was only published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. Despite years of persuasion and publicity, antibiotics are still drastically overprescribed for […]

The Association Between Acetaminophen and Asthma

SHOULD ITS PEDIATRIC USE BE BANNED? Antonio Martinez-Gimeno, Luis García-MarcosDisclosures Expert Rev Resp Med. 2013;7(2):113-122. ABSTRACT AND INTRODUCTION Abstract During the last few decades, a huge epidemiological effort has been made all over the world in order to cast some light on the origin of asthma (or ‘wheezing disorders’ as a general term) and its […]

HRT: A ‘Complex’ Risk-Benefit Profile

Be aware that while estrogen plus progestin therapy may increase the risk of breast cancer, this evidence suggests that estrogen therapy alone may carry some protection against breast cancer for women without a uterus.

HRT Risks May Vary by Type of Estrogen Drug

Published: Sep 30, 2013 | Updated: Oct 1, 2013 By Michael Smith Full MedPageToday Article:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/HRT/41965 Action Points For postmenopausal women, conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs) use was associated with a higher risk of incident venous thrombosis and possibly myocardial infarction than estradiol use. Note that CEEs were not associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke […]

Epidural steroids for spinal pain and radiculopathy

Epidural steroids for spinal pain and radiculopathy A narrative, evidence-based review. Wilkinson I, et al. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2013 Jun 19. [Epub ahead of print] Affiliation aWomack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina bDepartment of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore cUniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, […]