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 Despite the recommendation of an advisory panel, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration issued a preliminary approval for Genentech’s Avastin, for the treatment of breast cancer, the company announced on Friday. The decision, even though is not final and will require additional steps from Genentech, has already pushed the company's...
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 The second-largest group of doctors in the United States
has approved Friday the use of marijuana for medical purposes, issuing a policy
statement on medical marijuana this week.
The American College of Physicians, with 124,000 members,
asked the U.S. government to cancel the ban on using marijuana for treating
some patients or...
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 A new article related to
cognitive side effects of statins appeared this week in the February 12, 2008
issue of the Wall Street Journal. The cholesterol-lowering medications,
particularly atorvastatin (Lipitor, Pfizer), could be beneficial for patients’
hearts, but at the same time they can affect patients’ memory, the...
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 The anti-wrinkle drugs based on botulinum toxin, produced by
Botox Cosmetic and Myobloc may lead to severe cases of botulism and even cause
death, the government warned the population on Friday.
Generally known as Botox, the drug is mostly used in the
cosmetic industry, for reducing wrinkles. Botox injections block the...
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Shanghai Hualian – a division of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group and the sole U. S. supplier of the abortion drug mifepristone is accused of having manufactured contaminated leukemia drugs that have paralyzed or otherwise harmed nearly 200 Chinese cancer patients, the New York Times notes. The case was presented last week in The Times in...
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 The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it is
likely that the well-known anti-smoking drug Chantix may be linked to some
serious psychiatric problems. The FDA alert comes two weeks after the drug-making
company Pfizer added stronger warnings on the drug’s label regarding behavioral
changes, mood swings and suicide...
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 A small number of Tamiflu resistant flu viruses
have been found in Europe,
the World Health Organization reported this week.
More than twelve European countries presented
data showing that over 13 percent of the H1N1 flu viruses are resistant to
Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, the best antiviral drug, produced by...
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 According to a new study
conducted by Oxford
scientists, oral birth control pills are effective against ovarian cancer.
"Worldwide, the Pill has already prevented 200,000 women from developing
cancer of the ovary and has prevented 100,000 deaths from the disease. More
than 100 million women are now taking the Pill, so the...
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 Researchers at the University of Oxford claim that
oral contraceptives may protect women from ovarian cancer.
The researchers analyzed 45 studies on ovarian cancer
in 21 countries and found that women using birth control pills reduce the risk
of developing the disease.
Valerie Beral of Oxford University and a large number of...
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 According to a new research study, a new obesity drug that
jams the biological trigger responsible for cannabis "munchies" is
effective even at low doses.
The drug, called taranabant, is the second in a new
generation of appetite-reducing weight loss medications.
It follows the lead taken by rimonabant, developed by...
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