Pharmaceutical research firm IMS Health began tracking drug sales in 1957, and in 2012, for the first time, they recorded a drop in spending on prescription drugs. This drop is largely due to the widespread use of generics.
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Here s another reason older adults should make sure to get vaccinated against the flu next flu season. Although the effectiveness of the flu vaccine varies, and is certainly lower in older recipients, receiving the vaccine may reduce the risk of hospitalization due to complications from the flu, according to U.S. researchers from the CDC.
Environmental Protection Agency scientists are planning to check several hundred toenail clippings of residents in Garfield, New Jersey and environs for signs of exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr-6). The metal gained notoriety as a result of California environmental activist Erin Brockovich accusing water-borne chromium-6 of causing cancer and a variety of other ailments in Hinkley, CA, in the 1990 s.
There s bad news for bald guys losing hair at the top of your head may indicate you re at risk for heart disease, new research finds.
Researchers in Japan analyzed six previous studies involving just under 40,000 men and found that guys who had lost most of their hair were a third more likely to develop coronary artery disease than those who retained a full head of hair.
A new study published in Nutrition Journal found that diabetics did not benefit from restricting fruit in their diet. There has not been a conclusive answer as to whether fruit consumption should be kept to a minimum in diabetics because of the sugar content or whether the fiber and other nutrients found in fruit mitigate the effect on blood sugar.
They are almost universally perceived by Americans as natural, safe and non-drugs, but in reality, dietary supplements are none of these. And ironically, despite the constant media attention and public concern over the safety of prescription drugs, according to a recent study, supplements are also responsible for more than half of all drug recalls. A [...]
The post Dietary supplements: Neither natural nor proven safe appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
In a new study published in PLOS Medicine, researchers once again highlight the importance of receiving vaccinations, specifically the herpes zoster vaccination for those individuals 65 and older. They reported that the vaccination reduced the incidence of zoster (shingles) and postherpetic neuralgia (nerve damage and disabling pain following an outbreak of shingles) among this age goup. [...]
The post Talk to your doctor about the herpes zoster vaccine appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
For anyone who has been affected by depression it is no secret how devastating the disease can be for them and their families. But if the results from a small study published by a group at Germany s Bonn University Hospital hold up, there could be a radical transformation in the treatment of depression.
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been an issue of concern for several decades. It’s well known that heavy drinking can have severe effects on the fetus, resulting in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome — a constellation of effects that can include mental retardation as well as facial and other abnormalities. Because of concerns about such problems, pregnant [...]
The post New study: Pregnancy no reason to avoid light drinking appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
A study conducted by the technology’s developer — but not yet published — shows some cause for optimism in non-invasively diagnosing the 2nd leading cancer killer in the U.S., colorectal cancer (CRC). The test, made by Exact Sciences Corp. and called Cologuard , uses immuno-chemistry to seek DNA alterations — mutations, in other words — characteristic of CRC in [...]
The post Early optimism for new DNA-based test for colorectal cancer appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Reports of recent sales and earnings from tobacco companies and surveys of e-cigarette users (“vapers”) yield a drumbeat of near-miraculous good news: parallel historic declines in Big Tobacco’s cigarette sales, paired with annual doubling of e-cigarette sales. Remember two key factors: 1-electronic cigarettes provide vapers with their craved drug, nicotine, along with water vapor and [...]
The post The e-cigarette phenomenon: why the silence? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Out of concern that military personnel may be consuming excess caffeine, Dr.
In 2010, there were 11,000 pedestrians and 3500 bicyclists injured by motor vehicles in New York City. Although Mayor Michael Bloomberg may be known for increasing street safety traffic fatality rates have drastically decreased during his term there is still more that needs to be done to decrease collisions in New York.
Although last year’s move in California to require labeling of genetically engineered foods went down to defeat, the issue isn’t dead yet. Senators Boxer (D-Calif.) and DeFazio (D-Ore.) have introduced legislation that would require the FDA to mandate labeling of all genetically engineered foods, and those made from genetically engineered ingredients. Proponents of these labeling [...]
The post GE labeling garners Congressional support appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Sometimes science is like the weather. Wait a few weeks and it changes. Such is the case with Zithromax (azithromycin), an important antibacterial drug that is a member of the macrolide class of antibiotics (erythromycin being the best known). Azithromycin is used against a number of bacterial infections, including strep throat, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Back in March, the FDA warned [...]
The post Zithromax is safer than it was two months ago? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
In an act that is sure to cause an unnecessary scare, industry, environmental and health groups have called for the amending of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, specifically focused on cosmetics and personal care products. The new bill, The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2013, would give the FDA the “authority to create and enforce [...]
The post More chemical scares with The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2013 appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
So you thought it was all over, right: given the Federal Court’s mandate by Judge Korman one month ago to make Plan B “universally available” OTC, and this week’s decision by the FDA to do just that, but only for age 15 and up, the path to universal access to the morning-after pill seemed nice [...]
The post The morning after the morning-after pill: now come the lawyers appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may face more challenges ahead. Authors of a new study, published in the journal Pediatrics claim that the men in their study who had ADHD as children were twice as likely to become obese in middle age, even if symptoms of ADHD are no longer present. They [...]
The post Childhood ADHD could carry heavier toll, study finds appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
On Thursday, April 25th, Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Conn., held a conference entitled “Changing the Community: A Symposium on Childhood Obesity.” The one-day conference included presentations by three speakers, as well as two workshop sessions. The keynote speaker, Dr. William Dietz, former director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity in the Center for [...]
The post Fighting childhood obesity one community at a time appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
An infant has died of whooping cough in Florida a tragedy that underscores just how important it is to get vaccinated.
The 6-week-old baby boy was too young to have gotten his first pertussis vaccine, but not all of his family members were up to date with theirs, Sarah Matthews, an epidemiologist for the Orange County Health Department, told the Orlando Sentinel.
In a recent op-ed in the The Daily Caller, ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan addresses the health risks (or lack thereof) of fracking. Dr. Whelan says, “While New York Governor Andrew Cuomo vacillates on whether to allow fracking in New York State, a coterie of publicity savvy activists posing as public health experts are spearheading [...]
The post Dr. Whelan on fracking appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
The American Council on Science and Health has been fighting chemophobia since its inception in 1978. Unfortunately the advent of the Internet, while providing much valid information, has also become a venue of inaccurate and fear-mongering sites. Thus, we were more than pleased to discover a blog on the website of Scientific American by chemistry [...]
The post Blog hits the right note on chemophobia appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
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