Medicine & Drugs, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 8, 2023

Widely used epilepsy drugs tied to rare, deadly side effect, FDA warns

Two widely prescribed epilepsy drugs have been linked to a rare but serious allergic reaction that can be life-threatening, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns. Worldwide, more than 40 serious cases of the reaction, known as Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome, have been detected...

Dec 8, 2023

1st gene therapies for sickle cell cleared by FDA, including CRISPR treatment

In a historic first, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved America's first gene therapies for sickle-cell disease (SCD), one of which uses the gene-editing tool CRISPR. Sickle cell disease is a rare, debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder with significant unmet need [for better, long-lasting treatments], and we are...

Dec 13, 2023

Drug prevents fentanyl overdose for a month in monkeys

A new therapy designed to prevent fentanyl overdoses has shown promise in an early study in monkeys. Scientists have created an antibody that binds to the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the blood and stops a significant amount from reaching its target receptors in the brain. These receptors normally help to...

Dec 18, 2023

Statins may reduce blood-clot risk in menopausal women on hormone therapy, study hints

Taking statins, a type of cholesterol-lowering drug, may reduce the risk of blood clots in people who take hormone therapy for menopause. Hormone therapy can relieve the symptoms of the transition into menopause, called perimenopause, as well as symptoms that persist after menopause. During perimenopause, menstrual periods become less frequent...

Dec 18, 2023

New algorithm dramatically cuts unnecessary antibiotic use in kids

A new algorithm helped doctors in Tanzania cut back on kids' antibiotics prescriptions by more than 46% without compromising the children's chances of recovery, a new study reveals. Antibiotic overuse is a major driver of drug resistance worldwide, as it pressures bacteria to evolve new strategies to survive and grow...

Dec 27, 2023

Drug could reduce need for insulin in type 1 diabetes, early trial hints

A drug commonly used to treat the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA) could also slow the progression of type 1 diabetes, an early clinical trial suggests. Similar to RA, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition — in RA, the body's immune cells attack the joints, while in diabetes, they...

Jan 12, 2024

Brand-new class of antibiotic kills drug-resistant superbug

A newly discovered antibiotic can sidestep the defenses of a dangerous, drug-resistant bacterial species. The drug targets CRAB, or carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, which shows resistance to most existing antibiotics. However, the newfound antibiotic kills CRAB using an attack strategy that's never been seen before in antibacterial drugs, and this strategy...

Jan 19, 2024

1st-of-its-kind therapy blocks immune attack after stem-cell transplant

A new treatment may be able to prevent a common immune-related complication of lifesaving bone-marrow transplants, a midstage clinical trial shows. In patients with blood cancer, high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy are used to kill the cancerous cells, but these treatments also damage the patients' healthy, blood-forming stem...

Jan 19, 2024

How does Tylenol work?

Whether you're contending with a headache, fever or sore throat, you might reach for an over-the-counter painkiller like acetaminophen to find relief. Also known as paracetamol and Tylenol, this drug is a medicine-cabinet staple — but have you ever wondered how it works? If so, you're in good company. Although...

Feb 2, 2024

'Gas station heroin' sold as 'elixir' prompts health warning

A product called Neptune's Fix, which is sold at convenience stores, contains a potentially dangerous substance nicknamed gas station heroin. It's been tied to a cluster of severe side effects — including seizure and cardiac arrest — in New Jersey, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control...

Feb 16, 2024

Does Viagra reduce the risk of Alzheimer's? Here's what we know.

Drugs taken to treat erectile dysfunction have once again been tied to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. A new study of almost 670,000 men in the U.K., published Feb. 7 in the journal Neurology, revealed that those who take so-called phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5I) — which include Viagra (generic...

Feb 20, 2024

1st frostbite drug approved by FDA after successful clinical trial

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first drug to treat severe frostbite, the agency announced Feb. 14. The drug, called iloprost, opens up blood vessels and prevents blood clotting in frostbitten patients. Following positive results in a small clinical trial, the drug has now been approved...

Feb 23, 2024

Casimir Funk: What is the biochemist celebrated in today's Google Doodle famous for?

In 1912, Polish-American biochemist Casimir Funk discovered that several diseases, such as scurvy and rickets, were caused by a lack of specific components of food in the diet. He dubbed these essential components vitamine. This discovery, along with subsequent research over the next five decades — including contributions to 140...

Feb 26, 2024

Asthma drug omalizumab approved for severe food allergies

People with severe allergies to foods like milk, peanuts and shellfish will have a new way to ward off dangerous reactions after accidental exposure to the foods. A drug called Xolair (generic name omalizumab) has just been approved for the treatment of multiple severe food allergies, the U.S. Food and...

Feb 27, 2024

Bacteria can evolve resistance to life-saving drugs they've never seen. Here's how.

Do bacteria mutate randomly, or do they mutate for a purpose? Researchers have been puzzling over this conundrum for over a century. In 1943, microbiologist Salvador Luria and physicist turned biologist Max Delbrück invented an experiment to argue that bacteria mutated aimlessly. Using their test, other scientists showed that bacteria...