Three members of a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee are explaining why they do not support approval of the drug aducanumab (Biogen, Eisai) for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). G. Caleb Alexander, MD, Scott Emerson, MD, PhD, and Aaron Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, all serve on the [...]
An investigational, orally dissolving film formulation of dexmedetomidine (BXCL501, BioXcel Therapeutics) may offer rapid relief from acute agitation related to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (BD), results of two phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled trials show. Dr Leslie Citrome For both disorders, BXCL501 showed "superiority over placebo" by meeting the primary endpoint of reduction of agitation as [...]
Cannabis sativa has a long history of use both as a textile and as an intoxicant used for medicinal, spiritual, and recreational purposes. California voted to regulate cannabis for medical use in 1996, and in recent years there has been a wave of US states and other countries passing legislation [...]
SUMMARY In this study, we observed that compared to women with no prior cancer, breast cancer survivors had higher risk of anxiety, depression, sleep problems, sexual dysfunction, fatigue, receipt of opioid analgesics, and pain. Relative risks estimates tended to decrease over time, but anxiety and depression were significantly increased for [...]
From: JAMA Psychiatry. Published online October 16, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3746 By Christine Moutier, MD Introduction International and US experts on suicide have expressed concerns about the potential the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has to increase the risk of suicide through its effects on a number of well-established suicide risk factors.1,2 Suicide surveillance [...]
According to the a survey conducted by the a prominent medical association, living in the United States in 2020 is a stressful experience, even for the most even-keeled among us. And the impending political contest ranks high on the list of factors keeping us up at night. A survey conducted [...]
With a vast range of medical and therapeutic benefits, CBD, or cannabidiol, is a derivative of the hemp plant. Researches have supported the claims that CBD may be a potential natural alternative to several traditional medicines. Consequently, CBD has become an ever-increasing industry. From pain-relieving balms to skin serums and [...]
The current maintenance treatment for opiate withdrawal usually includes using a different, controlled, opiate, either methadone or buprenorphine. Alpha-2 receptor agonists, such as lofexidine, can be used to manage the acute symptoms during withdrawal. Lofexidine is effective and safe and is FDA approved for the management of withdrawal symptoms. It [...]
According to Urits and Viswanath, Opioid medications are fundamental in anesthesia and analgesia and are often used to treat acute and chronic pain. They achieve their desired effects by modulating pain perception in the central nervous system; however, they also act on opioid receptors in the periphery, causing many undesirable [...]
Chronic use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) can induce the development of adverse effects on bone metabolism. In epileptic patients treated with AED, the monitor- ing of biochemical markers of bone turnover, such as the measurement of serum 25 (OH) vitamin D, bone mineral density, before the beginning of the treatment [...]