Posted today in Medical

Health Tip: Teach Your Family Fire Safety

-- Time is of the essence if there's a fire in your home. Make sure your family is ready to act fast in an emergency. Here's what the American Red Cross suggests: Buy an appropriate number of smoke alarms, and test them monthly. Make sure children know what smoke alarms sound like, and what to do if they hear the sound. Everyone in your home should...

Posted today in Medical

Flavored E-Cigarettes May Entice Teens to Smoke: Study

Fruit- or candy-flavored electronic cigarettes may entice American teens to start smoking tobacco, a new study suggests. Using data from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey, researchers at the University of Missouri-Kansas City found that among middle school and high school students who had never smoked, 58 percent who used flavored e-cigarettes...

Posted 3 days ago in New Drug Approvals

FDA Approves Expanded Use of Enbrel (etanercept) to Treat Children with Chronic Moderate-To-Severe Plaque Psoriasis

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for the expanded use of Enbrel (etanercept), making it the first and only systemic therapy to treat pediatric patients (ages 4-17) with chronic moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. "As many parents...

Posted 3 days ago in Clinical Trials

AbbVie Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Investigational Medicine Veliparib for the Treatment of Advanced Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to veliparib, an oral poly (adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, being investigated in combination with chemotherapies, such as carboplatin and paclitaxel, or radiation...

Posted today in Medical

Health Tip: Avoid Damaging Teeth

-- Brushing and flossing are frequently touted as ways to keep your teeth healthy, but there also are habits that you should avoid to keep your pearly whites in tip-top shape. The American Dental Association recommends: Don't bite nails, which can harm your jaw and chip your teeth. Don't brush your teeth too vigorously, which can damage teeth and...

Posted today in Medical

Second Opinions Don't Seem to Sway Prostate Cancer Patients

Second opinions have little impact on prostate cancer patients' treatment decisions, new research suggests. The study included nearly 2,400 men in the Philadelphia area recently diagnosed with localized prostate cancer. Forty percent of the men obtained a second opinion from urologists, most often because they wanted more information about their cancer...

Posted today in Medical

Few States Have Plans for Kids Returning to Class After Concussion

All U.S. states have "return-to-play" laws designed to protect young athletes who've suffered a concussion. But only a handful have regulations on handling kids' return to the classroom, researchers report. As of May 2016, only eight states had "return-to-learn" laws aimed at managing kids' concussion recovery, the researchers found. The findings...

Posted today in Medical

Additive in Processed Foods Tied to Colon Cancer in Mice

An additive used in most processed foods may be linked to colon cancer in mice, a new study suggests. Emulsifiers are added to foods to improve texture and extend shelf life, the study researchers said. In mice, regular consumption of two commonly used emulsifiers led to changes in intestinal bacteria that promoted inflammation and colon cancer, the...

Posted today in Medical

Health Highlights: Nov. 7, 2016

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay: Former Attorney General Janet Reno Dies at 78 Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno died Monday morning at age 78. She was the nation's first female attorney general and served in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 2001, CNN reported. Reno, who...

Posted today in Medical

Anesthesia Before Age 4 May Have Slight Impact on Later School Performance

A new Swedish study suggests that children exposed to surgical anesthesia before the age of 4 may have slightly lower school grades and IQ scores in their late teen years. But the study didn't prove that exposure to anesthesia was responsible. Dr. Pia Glatz, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues examined the medical records of 2...

Recently added consumer and prescribing information: Zinplava, Yosprala, Troxyca ER, Adlyxin, Xiidra, Epclusa, Byvalson, Zinbryta, Probuphine, Tecentriq

Posted in Blog

REMS@FDA: An Upgraded Patient Safety Program

REMS Overview Fact: Prescription drugs are complicated, and they are getting more complicated every day. Issues with complex drugs and side effects is not just a concern for the healthcare provider, it directly impacts the patient and caregiver, too. We’ve all heard the long list of adverse effects and warnings that unfold during a primetime […]

Posted in Blog

Drugs.com the First Major Consumer Health Publisher to Implement Full HTTPS Encryption

Drugs.com is pleased to announce the introduction of full HTTPS encryption for all web site visitors. With this significant and important change, nearly 70 million monthly visitors will have access to critical health and medicine information in a safe, secure and private environment. Why HTTPS Encryption? Almost everything you do on the Internet leaves a digital […]

Posted in Blog

Off-Label or Off-Limits? Should You Use A Drug For An Unapproved Use?

Off-Label Drug Use: What Is It? You may be surprised to learn that you have probably been prescribed a medication “off-label” at one point or another by your doctor. Maybe you’ve heard of “off-label” drug use in the news, but what does this really mean? “Off-label” use of a drug refers to prescribing a medication […]