Save on Medications

IRIN Staff
Kampala, Uganda (IRIN) – Uganda’s National Drug Authority recently arrested sales representatives of a company selling a drug that purports to cure HIV; the firm’s owners are not licensed to sell medicine and are being sought by the police. The drug, known as Virol ZAPPER, was being sold in 37-milliliter liquid doses, each costing about US$210; patients were advised to take 10 drops daily. It was being advertised on local radio and TV stations as a miracle cure for HIV. The sale of such “cures” is a profitable racket for charlatans willing to take advantage of desperate HIV-positive people; here is a collection of some dodgy treatments that have made the news in Africa over the years: Tanzania – In 2011, tens of thousands of people from all over East Africa flocked to the tiny village of Loliondo in Tanzania seeking a cure for several diseases, including diabetes, tuberculosis and HIV. Ambilikile Mwasapile, a former [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Oakland, CA, United States (AHN) – Drugs used to treat attention deficit disorder, including Ritalin and Adderall, are safe for adults’ hearts even though they can increase blood pressure and heart rate, a new study finds. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA., found in a review of health records for more than 440,000 adults aged 25 to 64 that those taking ADHD drugs had about the same number of heart attacks, strokes and sudden heart attack deaths as adults who did not use those drugs. More than 150,000 medication users in the study were from all over the United States. The data compared their health patterns with similar adults who did not use ADHD drugs over a span of 20 years. The researchers found that overall there were 1,357 heart attacks, 575 strokes and 296 sudden cardiac attests. Roughly an equal amount of numbers were found in ADHD users and [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
San Antonio, TX, United States (AHN) – Women with advanced breast cancer may soon have two new treatment options, according to two separate studies. In a large international study, two new combination treatments appears to improve survival, although the researchers note that more follow-up needs to be done. For women whose breast cancer continues to spread after treatment, adding the cancer drug Afinitor to a hormone drug called Aromasin more than doubled the time before the disease got worse. For women with untreated metastatic breast cancer, adding an experimental drug from Genetch called pertuzmab to the breast cancer drug Herceptin, and chemotherapy, lengthened the time before the cancer progressed. In both studies, women given the combination treatments lived months longer before their cancer got worse. Researchers say that eventually all women with metastatic disease get worse, but this new data is the most promising they have seen. They call [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – Over the past decade, the medicating of Americans for mental illness has continued to grow. From 2001 to 2010, overall use of psychiatric drug use among adults rose 22 percent. One on five adults now takes at least one psychotic drug such as anti-depressants, antipsychotics and anti-anxiety medications. The new figures, released Wednesday, are based on prescription drug pharmacy claims of 2 million insured American adults and children reported by Medco Health Solutions Inc., a pharmacy benefit manager. In 2010, Americans spent $16.1 billion on antipsychotics to treat depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia; $11.6 billion on antidepressants; and $7.2 billion on treatment for ADHD, according to IMS Health, which tracks prescription drug sales. While the use of most psychotic drugs grew strongly, declines were seen in antidepressant use in children and anti-anxiety drug use in the elderly. A pronounced increase in medication to [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – The number of overdose deaths from prescription painkillers more than tripled over a decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and methadone were responsible for the deaths of almost 15,000 people in 2008, more than three times the 4,000 deaths in 1999. The report from the CDC shows nearly 5 percent of Americans ages 12 and older said they have abused painkillers in the past year, using them without a prescription or just for the high. Oklahoma reported the highest rate of abuse, while the lowest rates of abuse were found in Nebraska and Iowa in the 2008-09 survey. The overdose deaths reflect the increase in the number of narcotic painkillers prescribed every year. States oversee prescription practices. A federal drug plan announced this year calls for state programs to track prescriptions. The only states [...] Continue Reading…

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved a new combination drug to treat both diabetes and high cholesterol. Sold under the brand name Juvisync, the drug is a fixed-dose combination tablet that combines the diabetes drug sitagliptin with simvastatin. In a statement, Dr. Mary H. Parks, director of the Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, explained why approval of the new drug mattered. “This is the first product to combine a type 2 diabetes drug with a cholesterol lowering drug in one tablet,” said Parks. “However, to ensure safe and effective use of this product, tablets containing different doses of sitagliptin and simvastatin in fixed-dose combination have been developed to meet the different needs of individual patients. Dose selection should factor in what other drugs the patient is taking.” Sitigliptin is a DPP-4 [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Recent warnings over misuse and overuse of antibiotics appears to be paying off. A new report released Thursday from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention shows that since 1993-1994, the number of prescriptions written and filled for children under 14 years of age declined 24 percent. The findings reveal that doctors prescribed fewer antibiotics for colds and sore throats, but little or no change was seen in prescriptions for ear infections. Antibiotics are often used for viral infections and are not effective. Misuse can lead to treatment failure and resistance. Experts say doctors incorrectly prescribe antibiotics more than 50 percent of the time, most often with respiratory infections. The decline in antibiotic prescriptions was partially attributed to physician enlightenment, fewer doctors office visits and better vaccines.

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Diane Alter – AHN News Trivia Writer
Amsterdam, Netherlands (AHN) – Many women and doctors both swear by cranberry juice and capsules to treat reoccurring bladder infections, but a new Dutch study reveals that antibiotics may be more effective even if they contribute to a greater risk for antibiotic resistance. About half of all women experience urinary tract infections (UTIs) during their lifetime, and roughly 30 percent will develop recurrent UTIs. A great deal of women are also concerned about the resistance problem associated with taking antibiotics for a long period. The study found that women who just took cranberry capsules were more likely to develop at least systematic UTI compared with their counterparts who received antibiotics. Cranberries have long been used as a natural remedy to treat bladder infections and many doctors say they still have a role in in preventing UTIs. Dr. Carol Dean, a naturopathic physician in Maui, HI, told USA Today, “We have [...] Continue Reading…

Mogadishu, Somalia (IRIN) – Hospitals in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have been hit by a shortage of drugs following the arrival of large numbers of drought-displaced people in the past two months, with health officials reporting that up to five patients were dying daily due to disease outbreaks. “Hospitals are experiencing shortages of medicines yet they need to distribute drugs to deal with outbreaks of measles, diarrhea, malnutrition, malaria and respiratory diseases,” Aden Ibrahim, the Health Minister in Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government, told IRIN in Mogadishu. A severe drought has hit many parts of Somalia, with civil society officials reporting that hunger-related deaths were on the rise as areas that were previously not drought-prone were also affected . The hunger-stricken were moving to the city and other urban areas in south-central Somalia in search of help. At a press conference on 15 July in Nairobi, US deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Reuben Brigety II, said historically, [...] Continue Reading…

Washington, D.C., United States (KaiserHealth) – Chronic pain – the kind that lasts for months or recurs regularly – afflicts more than a quarter of adult Americans. Treating pain can be extremely challenging, however, in part because it can’t be measured with instruments. It’s in the eye – or neck or joint – of the beholder. Doctors often prescribe powerful painkillers called opioids — natural or synthetic versions of opium. Sometimes the prescription is for short-term, acute pain: If you’ve ever had a root canal or surgery or thrown out your back, you may have received a prescription for Percocet or Vicodin, both of which are opioids that also contain acetaminophen. For people with long-term, persistent pain – often from musculoskeletal injuries or nerve damage – opioids may be the best option to manage their pain and enable them to function day after day. But there’s a hitch: Though highly effective, these drugs are dangerous and [...] Continue Reading…