Drug

Withdrawal and preventive therapy best management for medication overuse headache

Medication overuse headache is best treated with a combination of analgesic withdrawal and pharmaceutical prophylaxis, the authors of a study in JAMA Neurology have said.…

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the government to allow medicines reuse: we must not waste this opportunity to counter our throwaway culture

Fears over drug shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic mean that, in care homes and hospices, costly medicines prescribed but unused by one patient can now be given to another, rather than destroyed. This formerly illegal practice should stay long after we recover from the pandemic, and be extended …

Salbutamol inhaler prescribing jumped 60% at start of COVID-19 pandemic

The number of some inhalers prescribed by GPs in England increased by 63% between February 2020 and March 2020, according to data analysed by The Pharmaceutical Journal.…

Why we need to talk about sex and clinical trials

The under-representation of women in clinical trials is slowly being addressed, but we cannot move towards truly personalised healthcare unless we have an equal balance of the sexes in all new medicine trials.…

Corticosteroids should be used with caution in patients with COVID-19, researchers say

The use of corticosteroids in coronavirus infections is associated with increased risk of death and side effects, such as bacterial infections and hypokalaemia, researchers have said.…

Spotting the signs of acute kidney injury

With 65% of cases beginning in the community, pharmacists can help detect acute kidney injury early and review patients’ medicines before their condition worsens. …

Antidepressant withdrawal can be a horrible experience — are tapering strips a potential solution?

New evidence suggests that patients and practitioners can devise a personal schedule for gradually reducing antidepressant medication to limit severe withdrawal symptoms.…

Trial confirms antiepileptic effects of fenfluramine in children with Dravet syndrome

Children with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that is resistant to treatment, experience fewer seizures when treated with fenfluramine, a phase III trial published in The Lancet has confirmed.…

GPs’ poor knowledge of absolute risk may have clinical implications, research suggests

GPs knowledge of the absolute benefits and harms of treatment for long-term conditions is poor, and likely to have an impact on clinical decision-making, research has shown.…

Gwyneth Paltrow’s health show is a quintessentially ‘LA’ mish-mash of self-indulgence

‘The Goop Lab’ offers viewers an insight into controversial and costly alternative wellness therapies — be prepared to take it with a pinch of salt.…