Pharmacy

Oxytocin administered via nasal spray to children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) seems to increase activity in brain regions known to process social information, as seen on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

A modified version of fluorene counteracts amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide toxicity, and is more potent than the original fluorene compounds.

Alcohol and drug use is prevalent among teens, with the median age of alcohol and drug abuse occurring during adolescence.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are at higher risk of death from cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular causes if they discontinue statin treatment.

For older patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors, taking antipsychotic agents (APs) for dementia is associated with a modest and time-limited increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI).

For patients with coronary heart disease, use of statins is associated with reduced risk of having or developing depression.

The recommendation to remove routine monitoring of liver enzymes is among safety label changes recently approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for statins.

Patients with atrial fibrillation are at an increased risk for both cognitive and functional decline, regardless of whether they have a stroke.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Jentadueto, a type 2 diabetes treatment that combines two drugs (linagliptin and metformin) in a single pill.

A once daily oral dose of rivaroxaban (Xarelto) significantly lowers the risk of intracranial hemorrhage in patients with atrial fibrillation at moderate to high risk of stroke, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's International Stroke Conference, held from Feb. 1 to 3 in New Orleans.

Most Web sites advertising statins directly to consumers contain poor levels of information relevant to safe use of the medicine and side effects, according to a study published online Feb. 2 in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.

Apixaban is more effective than aspirin in reducing the risk of repeat stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation who are unsuitable for vitamin K antagonists therapy, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's International Stroke Conference, held from Feb. 1 to 3 in New Orleans.

Treating children with type 1 diabetes with the 65-kD isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase formulated with alum does not significantly change levels of stimulated serum C-peptide during 15 months of follow-up, according to a study published in the Feb. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Long-term use of the diabetes drug metformin is associated with a lower risk of pancreatic cancer only in women, while long-term use of sulfonylureas and insulin are associated with a significantly higher risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

The FDA announced today that it had approved Kalydeco (ivacaftor) to treat cystic fibrosis caused by a rare genetic mutation. The drug was approved in just three months under the agency’s priority review program and was developed by its manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., with assistance from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Statin therapy is equally effective for decreasing cardiovascular events in women and men, according to a meta-analysis published in the Feb. 7 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Bydureon as the first once-weekly treatment for type 2 diabetes after several years of delays due to concerns over the drug’s safety.

Glucocorticoid therapy appears to help reduce the amount of citrullination in the joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients, researchers have found.

Patient education enhanced with positive affirmation improves medication adherence over education alone in African-Americans with hypertension, but it does not lead to significant improvements in blood pressure reduction, according to a study published online Jan. 23 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

A substance used in China as a hangover remedy has demonstrated an ability to prevent alcohol from affecting the brains of rats and may lead to the development of a drug to treat alcoholism.