Diuretic withdrawal is safe for stable heart failure patients
Drug therapy for patients with stable heart failure can be simplified by stopping diuretics, according to late breaking results from the ReBIC-1 trial presented today1 at Heart Failure 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
New approach to drug discovery could lead to personalised treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders
Researchers have developed a method that could drastically accelerate the search for new drugs to treat mental health disorders such as schizophrenia.
Laughing gas helps to unravel rapid function of antidepressant mechanisms
Ketamine is commonly used in emergency medicine as an anaesthetic drug. Later it was discovered to have rapid-acting antidepressant effects, but the mechanisms by which ketamine alleviates depression are still unknown.
How cortisol affects exposure therapy for anxiety disorders
Bochum-based psychologists have studied how the application of the stress hormone cortisol affects exposure therapy for anxiety disorders.
Fish are accumulating certain antidepressants, antibiotics and sun cream components
The UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has found that certain drugs and sunscreens are contaminating the water, are being accumulated by fish and causing them to have side effects
Anti-inflammatory drugs ineffective for prevention of Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers have known for decades that inflammation accompanies Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain lesions. Several early studies suggested that “super-aspirins” or Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) could help avoid the disease. However, after clinical trials showed that NSAIDs don’t help patients who already have AD symptoms, doctors…
Risk of over-medication increases with age
As people get older, the more likely they are to take several different medicines on a regular basis. However, this increases the risk of adverse effects, including interactions between the various active agents. Electronic decision-support tools for doctors are a possible solution but patients themselves…
Commonly used heart drug associated with increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest
A drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure and angina is associated with an increased risk of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest, according to results from the European Sudden Cardiac Arrest network (ESCAPE-NET) presented at EHRA 2019.
The discovery of the endocannabinoid system: Centuries in the making
Recently, cannabis has experienced a resurgence of interest. Two countries—Uruguay and Canada—have legalized it. In the United States, 33 states and the District of Columbia now allow at least its medical use. In the field of epilepsy, there have been more than 150 years of…
Metformin could be used to treat heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, study suggests
Researchers at the University of Arizona have discovered that metformin, a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, might also be used to treat heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a condition that is predicted to affect over 8% of people ages 65…
New Drug Cocktail Increases Human Beta Cell Proliferation at Rapid Rates – A further step toward a cure for diabetes
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a novel combination of two classes of drugs that induces the highest rate of proliferation ever observed in adult human beta cells—the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The result is an…
Statins Overprescribed for Primary Prevention
Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, or statins, as a preventive measure can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. A study by the University of Zurich now shows that this measure is recommended too often, as current guidelines fail to take into account the risks of side effects.