Medical conditions

App wins infection control category of NHS Innovation Challenge Awards

A smartphone app that offers up-to-date antibiotic prescribing advice to hospital doctors has won the infection control category in the annual NHS Innovation Challenge Awards.…

Possible new treatment for Lyme disease

Lyme disease in humans is caused by the bite of a tick infected with one of three closely related species of bacteria. The antihistamine loratadine has potential as a new treatment for the disease.…

Licensing deal will allow paediatric HIV drug to be used more widely

Children with HIV in developing countries will now have access to generic paediatric formulations of raltegravir following a licence agreement with Merck.…

Iron deficiency anaemia: basic management

Test your knowledge with this case study on a common condition with non-specific symptoms.…

Nine-component HPV vaccine aims to prevent 90% of cervical cancers

Researchers have developed a new nine-component vaccine against human papillomavirus which they believe could increase overall protection against cervical cancers to 90%.…

WHO announces new policy guidelines on injection safety

The World Health Organization wants to see universal adoption of syringes that can only be used once, to address the global problem of unsafe injections.…

Supporting vulnerable patients with addiction

In her role as an advanced pharmacist in addictions, Elizabeth Marr supports patients who often face prejudice in society. Here, she describes the challenges she faces.…

Caution needed with different strengths of medicines

I would like to highlight a risk I have encountered with “specials” medicines. My newborn daughter was discharged from hospital with a bag of medicines, including furosemide liquid 5mg/5ml and spironolactone liquid 10mg/5ml. When my husband collected a follow up prescription from our loc…

Researchers identify new anti-inflammatory compounds

Two separate research groups have identified compounds that can inhibit components of the immune system that are involved in several inflammatory disorders.…

Blood pressure lowering in type 2 diabetics associated with improved mortality

New research suggests that a 10mmHg reduction in systolic BP is associated with significant reductions in death, macrovascular events and microvascular events, with relative risk reductions ranging from 11% to 27%.…