medicine – News Stories About medicine - Page 2

Getting Pain Meds
Can Be Difficult—
If You're Black

study says

Aug 11, 2016 5:45 PM CDT

Getting Pain Meds Can Be Difficult— If You're Black

Study finds disparity in how they're doled out

(Newser) - White people are roughly twice as likely to die from prescription painkillers as black people in the US; now a new study finds that they're also twice as likely to be prescribed them. It's just the latest finding to show that minorities are treated differently when it comes...

US Is Home to (Maybe 6) Secret Medical Warehouses

The Feds Own
(Maybe 6) Secret
Medical Warehouses

The Feds Own (Maybe 6) Secret Medical Warehouses

The Strategic National Stockpile is designed to counter threats to America's health

(Newser) - Search Google News for articles on the "Strategic National Stockpile" and you'll get a slim 1,480 , a low quantity befitting a program studded with secrets. The SNS falls under the auspices of the CDC, which was in 1999 given congressional funding in order to stockpile what now...

Hospitals Toss
$3B a Year in
Cancer Drugs

NEW STUDY

Mar 2, 2016 6:48 AM CST

Hospitals Toss $3B a Year in Cancer Drugs

Non-cancer drugs can be culprits, too

(Newser) - Some cancer drugs are barely wasted at all. Teva Pharmaceuticals' Treanda, used to treat leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, comes in four separate dosage packages, so only 1% of the drug is typically thrown away. But with 18 of the top 20 cancer drugs sold in only one or two...

New Killer to Top Cancer by 2050—and We're to Blame

new study

Dec 28, 2015 7:45 PM CST

New Killer to Top Cancer by 2050—and We're to Blame

Medicine-resistant infections will spike dramatically: study

(Newser) - We've already been warned about an "antibiotic apocalypse." Now a new study says medicine-resistant infections will take more lives annually than cancer does by 2050 unless action is taken, CNBC reports. According to the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance , deaths caused by drug resistance will rise from 700,...

Ancient Potion
May Kill Modern
Superbug

Mar 31, 2015 3:42 PM CDT

Ancient Potion May Kill Modern Superbug

In study, old eye salve kills 90% of MRSA bacteria in mice

(Newser) - Could one of the world's oldest medical textbooks hold the secret to destroying today's antibiotic-resistant superbugs? A new study suggests it's possible, reports the BBC . After perusing remedies in a 9th- or 10th-century manuscript known as Bald's Leechbook in the British Library, researchers from Nottingham University...

On Blackbeard's Ship:
Syphilis Syringe,
Rectal Pump

On Blackbeard's Ship: Syphilis Syringe, Rectal Pump

Medicine was important to the pirate

(Newser) - The wreckage of the pirate Blackbeard's ship has yielded some fascinating finds, from swords to cannons . Some of the "treasure," however, offers a look at a very different side of his crew's life. Researchers have discovered an array of medical artifacts on the ship, called the...

New Intestinal Treatment: Pills Made of Poop

New Cure for
Terrible Diarrhea:
Frozen Poop Pills

Oct 13, 2014 11:27 AM CDT

New Cure for Terrible Diarrhea: Frozen Poop Pills

Now available frozen

(Newser) - Might want to put down your sandwich while you read this one: Clostridium difficile, an infection of the intestines associated with terrible cases of diarrhea, is linked to some 14,000 American deaths each year. But researchers have found a promising treatment in the form of fecal transplants , in which...

Medical Marijuana
May Cut Painkiller ODs

Aug 27, 2014 5:02 PM CDT

Medical Marijuana May Cut Painkiller ODs

States with new laws see drop in opioid deaths

(Newser) - The solution to America's addiction to painkillers may be … more drugs? A new study found a drop in painkiller overdose deaths in 13 states that allowed medical marijuana, CNN reports. That's because a patient prescribed marijuana will either stop taking opioids or take less of them, researchers...

Why Can't Everyone
Try Experimental
Ebola Drug?

Aug 6, 2014 8:43 AM CDT

Why Can't Everyone Try Experimental Ebola Drug?

Distribution could 'do more harm than good': expert

(Newser) - Two Americans suffering from Ebola have been treated with an experimental drug, and they've reportedly seen big improvements. Is it time to try sending ZMapp to West Africa to aid the hundreds suffering from the disease? No, experts tell the Los Angeles Times . Drugs require extensive testing in order...

6 Medical Conspiracies
People Really Believe

study says

Mar 22, 2014 5:57 PM CDT

6 Medical Conspiracies People Really Believe

Nearly 50% of people surveyed believe at least one theory

(Newser) - Think a US spy agency has infected black Americans with HIV? Or cell phones cause cancer and the government secretly knows? You're not alone: Roughly half of Americans believe in one or more medical conspiracies, according to a new survey. Two researchers asked 1,351 adults whether they knew...

2K US Veterans
Lobotomized in '40s, '50s

Dec 13, 2013 11:44 AM CST

2K US Veterans Lobotomized in '40s, '50s

'WSJ' profiles Walter Freeman's medical legacy

(Newser) - In the first detailed account of the Veterans Administration's psychosurgery program, the Wall Street Journal reveals the extent to which lobotomies were used on veterans in the 1940s and '50s, before antipsychotic drugs came on the market and public opinion dipped. Unearthed documents show how one of the...

Antibiotic-Resistant
Infections Kill 23K
a Year—at Least

CDC report

Sep 17, 2013 7:55 AM CDT

Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Kill 23K a Year—at Least

CDC report sets baseline for first time

(Newser) - With antibiotic resistance building, experts fear a day when everyday bacterial infections could once again be life-threatening—and a new federal study shows "we're getting closer and closer to the cliff," says a CDC rep. Already, two million people each year suffer from antibiotic-resistant infections, and 23,...

'Cartels' Are
Fueling Generic
Drug Shortage

OPINION

Sep 3, 2013 4:27 PM CDT

'Cartels' Are Fueling Generic Drug Shortage

We must ensure a free market: experts

(Newser) - The US generic drugs business is effectively skirting the free market, prompting dangerous shortages that can make the difference between life and death, a group of pharmaceutical experts and activists argue in the New York Times . The US is currently facing shortages of 302 drugs, and a new law last...

Tylenol Caps Get New Warning

Aug 30, 2013 6:17 AM CDT

Tylenol Caps Get New Warning

Acetaminophen overdose is top cause of liver failure in US

(Newser) - Acetaminophen overdose is the top cause of liver failure in the US—and concerns about the widespread pain-relief ingredient have been growing. Starting in October, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil will stick a new warning on the caps of Extra Strength Tylenol, reading: "Contains acetaminophen. Always read the label,...

100 Boston Patients Are
Out of Hospital

Apr 17, 2013 9:17 AM CDT

100 Boston Patients Are Out of Hospital

Decade of war meant doctors 'were without question ready'

(Newser) - As of this morning, 100 of the 183 people hospitalized in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing have been released, CNN reports, in a testament to how well area doctors have handled the crisis. Boston boasts nearly 80 hospitals, and they're regarded as some of the world's...

Doctors Warn
of Mixing Pills,
Grapefruit

Doctors Warn of Mixing Pills, Grapefruit

It can have lethal consequences, they say

(Newser) - Taking medication? You may want to think twice before digging into a grapefruit. A substance in the fruit can prevent the drugs from breaking down in the body, leading to dangerous—even deadly—consequences. Chemicals in grapefruit deactivate enzymes in the body that are supposed to break down the drugs;...

First Organ Transplant Doctor Dead at 93

OBITUARY

Nov 27, 2012 1:18 AM CST

First Organ Transplant Doctor Dead at 93

Dr. Joseph Murray won Nobel for pioneering work

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of people alive today owe their lives to techniques pioneered by Dr. Joseph Murray, who has died at the age of 93 in the same Boston hospital where he carried out the world's first successful human organ transplant. Murray made history in 1954 when he transplanted...

People With ADHD 4x More Likely to Commit a Crime

study says

Nov 22, 2012 7:02 AM CST

People With ADHD 4x More Likely to Commit a Crime

But medication drastically reduces risk of criminality: study

(Newser) - Scientists know that people with ADHD are more likely to break the law than non-sufferers, but a new study shows how stark the contrast is—and the difference meds can make. People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are four to seven times more likely to commit a crime than their...

Chemistry
Nobel Goes to
2 US Scientists

Oct 10, 2012 6:30 AM CDT

Chemistry Nobel Goes to 2 US Scientists

Their work helps explain how the body's cells communicate

(Newser) - Two American scientists won the Nobel prize for chemistry this morning for their work, which helps explain how the billions of cells in our bodies manage to reach through their otherwise impenetrable membranes to communicate with one another and sense their environment, reports the BBC . Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka...

Nobel Winner Was
'Too Stupid for Science'

Oct 9, 2012 12:03 AM CDT

Nobel Winner Was 'Too Stupid for Science'

Schoolmaster urged stem-cell pioneer John Gurdon to study something else

(Newser) - Academic underachievers everywhere can take heart from the story of John Gurdon, the British professor who won this year's Nobel prize for medicine —64 years after being told it would be a "sheer waste of time" for him to study science. When he was 15, Gurdon was...