Category: Health News

U.S. Opioid Prescriptions Are Declining

The United States has an opioid epidemic, but there’s one bright spot in the fight against it: Prescriptions for these addictive drugs have declined for patients with private insurance. Amid guidelines over the past decade from governments, health systems and insurers aimed at reducing opioid prescriptions, previous studies have pointed to a nationwide drop in…


US Opioid Prescriptions Are Declining

The United States has an opioid epidemic, but there’s one bright spot in the fight against it: Prescriptions for these addictive drugs have declined for patients with private insurance. Amid guidelines over the past decade from governments, health systems and insurers aimed at reducing opioid prescriptions, previous studies have pointed to a nationwide drop in…


Four Ways to Slash Your Risk of A Stroke

Australian experts say there are four things that everyone needs to know to prevent strokes, aside from not smoking, exercising regularly, and eating well. More than 445,000 Australians live with the effects of stroke, and almost a quarter of victims were younger than 54, with strokes able to strike people at any age and even…


FDA Warns Amazon, Other Vendors About Sale of Skin Tag Removal Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued warning letters to three companies, including Amazon, for selling unapproved products for removing moles and skin tags. No over-the-counter medications have FDA approval for that purpose, and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits interstate sale of unapproved drugs and cosmetics. “It is the FDA’s duty…


COVID Dreams: The Pandemic’s Effect On Sleep and Mental Health

Research from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Australia’s Monash University has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the sleep habits and dreams of people across the world. The findings came out of a global survey on mental health and sleep, which was carried out during the pandemic with over 2000 participants,…


FDA Says Found Possible Carcinogen in Certain Samples of Merck’s Januvia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday certain samples of sitagliptin, a compound in Merck’s diabetes drug Januvia, were contaminated with a possible carcinogen. The agency said it would not object to the temporary distribution of sitagliptin containing the impurity above the acceptable intake limit to avoid a shortage. Shares of Merck, which…


Medical Experts Recommend Lifestyle Habits to Treat Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the toughest diseases to cure, but if a patient can adopt the right approaches to controlling blood sugar levels, the illness can not be serious enough to affect normal life and can even be cured, a Taiwanese medical expert suggests. Dr. Yu Neng-chun, who specializes in endocrinology and metabolism and is also…


29 Percent of Young Pfizer COVID Vaccine Recipients Suffered Heart Effects: Study

Nearly three in 10 children who received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine experienced heart effects afterwards, according to a new study. Researchers studied 301 students across two schools in Thailand. The students were aged 13 to 18 and had received a dose of Pfizer’s vaccine without a serious adverse event. Most had no underlying disease, while 44…


FDA Grants Emergency Use Authorization to Stretch Monkeypox Vaccine to Meet Demand

Faced with a monkeypox vaccine supply and demand problem, the White House’s newly minted National Monkeypox Response team on Tuesday implemented a plan to stretch the current vaccine supply by up to five-fold. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine to be administered by intradermal injection,…


Flush With Cash, Pfizer Buys Global Blood Therapeutics in $5.4 Billion Deal

Pfizer Inc. is boosting its pipeline with a $5.4 billion deal for blood disorder drugmaker Global Blood Therapeutics, the latest in a series of acquisitions to combat a potential slowdown in COVID-19 products demand as cases fall. Pfizer said on Monday it will pay $68.50 per share, representing a premium of 7.3 percent to Global…