Pharmacology

Liver Let Die: Gambling With Supplements

According to the FDA, a drug is a substance (other than nutrients) intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or to affect the structure or function of the body. Seems clear enough-- that is, until politics an ...

Article - Josh Bloom - Apr 8 2014 - 8:56am

8 More Years Of Life From Glucosamine? Puhhleaze

It’s been all over the news.  Depending on the accuracy of the headline, you may conclude that worms live longer when exposed to glucosamine, mice live 10 percent longer when fed glucosamine or that YOU will live 8 years longer if you take the stuff. As u ...

Article - Josh Bloom - Apr 15 2014 - 5:19pm

Less Salt Intake Credited With Lower Cardiovascular Disease Deaths

The 15% fall in dietary salt intake, which is implicated in increased blood pressure, over the past decade in England is likely to have had a key role in the 40% drop in deaths from heart disease and stroke over the same period, according to a paper in BM ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 15 2014 - 11:10am

Casual Marijuana Use Linked To Brain Abnormalities

Young adults who used marijuana recreationally show significant abnormalities in two key brain regions that are important in emotion and motivation, according to a study in the Journal of Neuroscience. The authors document how casual use of marijuana is r ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 15 2014 - 5:24pm

If Parents Won't Give Their Kids Vaccines, Will They Give Their Child A Drug For Measles?

Though measles outbreaks remain somewhat under control, they aren't going down. Deaths have held steady at around 150,000 per year since 2007. The developing world can get something of a pass for not being able to contain measles. In anti-science hot ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 16 2014 - 4:06pm

Probiotics Ineffective For Infant Colic Symptoms

Colic affects about one in five infants in the United States annually and accounts for numerous pediatric visits during the first several months after birth. Among the many claims of probiotic marketing is that it helps with reduction of colic symptoms bu ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 17 2014 - 3:58pm

28 Percent Of Morning After Pills In Study Are Counterfeit

Emergency contraceptive pills haven't reduced teen pregnancies or abortions but at least in America those incidents have not risen- in South America, unprotected sex is really taking a pregnancy gamble, even if there is access to a morning after pill ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 18 2014 - 5:34pm

10 Edible Chinese Flowers That Work As Well As Any Other Antioxidant

The latest fad in implied health benefits that can slip under the regulatory radar are edible flowers from China.  Why implied? Because they are rich in phenolics and have good antioxidant capacity.  What will that do? No one knows. Antioxidants haven ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 21 2014 - 11:08am

Tart Cherry Juice Increases Sleepy Time For Insomniacs

Tart cherry juice in the morning and evening may help you sleep better at night, according to a paper presented today at the American Society of Nutrition meeting. Insomnia is a common health problem among older adults, impacting an estimated 23 to 34 per ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 28 2014 - 6:00pm

Antidepressants Increase Risk Of Suicide In Kids And Young Adults

Matthew Miller, M.D., Sc.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues, writing in JAMA (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.1053) analyzed data from 162,625 people (between the ages of 10 to 64 years) with depression who started antidepre ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 28 2014 - 5:19pm