Adverse drug reaction, side effects and toxicity

‘Stark lack of government response’ on valproate redress, patient safety commissioner says

In her annual report for 2025/2026, Henrietta Hughes said the government was “yet to announce a redress scheme or a timeline for providing a substantive response to the recommendations” made in her previous report on patients harmed by sodium valproate.…

Virtual clinics could help improve access to adverse drug reaction services for children

Three-quarters of adverse drug reactions assessed by a virtual clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic were related to antibiotics, study authors reported.…

UK government rules out appointment of valproate tsar

Health minister Preet Kaur Gill confirmed in a parliamentary answer that the Department of Health and Social Care “does not at present intend to appoint a senior team or a tsar in relation to those affected by sodium valproate”.…

No increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children of fathers using valproate

In a review of previous studies, researchers examined the paternal use of valproate with lamotrigine or levetiracetam and their effects on offspring.…

Psychiatric and sexual dysfunction warnings strengthened for finasteride and dutasteride

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it had reviewed evidence for both drugs and recommended the further measures to minimise risks to patients.…

Case-based learning: hyperpolypharmacy and pharmacist-led multidisciplinary continuity in primary care

How multidisciplinary teams can collaborate to alleviate the risks of hyperpolypharmacy, and why a pharmacist-led continuity model could offer the best patient outcomes.…

‘Moving the goalposts’: the worrying rise of testosterone replacement therapy

Rising prescription rates, illicit supply chains and lack of monitoring and support mean that men could be damaging their health by using testosterone without a formal prescription — and pharmacists may have a role to play in spotting harm.…

Health news round-up: new cancer drugs, pharmacogenomics, and whether GLP-1s cause erectile dysfunction

Our weekly summary of the important developments in pharmacy and health news you may have missed.…

Gabapentinoids found to increase risk of drug toxicity

Researchers found that patients taking gabapentinoids with benzodiazepines were at double the risk of being hospitalised with drug poisoning, while combining the drug with opioids has a 30% increase in risk.…

Health news round-up: semaglutide and liver health, obesity vaccine response and hope for pancreatic cancer

Our weekly summary of the important developments in pharmacy and health news you may have missed.…