Medications

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been sworn in as the US health and human services secretary, despite saying a few things that raised eyebrows during his confirmation hearing. One of those things was the claim that some people have a harder time coming off antidepressants than they do coming off heroin. He was referring specifically to the current generation of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with few treatment options. Since 2018, the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has been working with national and international stakeholders to accelerate ALS research by launching the first platform trial in ALS to simultaneously test multiple drugs using shared trial infrastructure and placebo data.

Sotagliflozin, a drug recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat type 2 diabetes and kidney disease with additional cardiovascular risk factors, can significantly reduce heart attack and stroke among these patients, according to results from an international clinical trial led by a Mount Sinai researcher.

Antidepressants like Prozac are commonly prescribed to treat mental health disorders, but new research suggests they could also protect against serious infections and life-threatening sepsis.

Opioid prescriptions in the emergency department (ED) were associated with small increases in later opioid prescriptions and hospital admissions, found new research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalized with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry.

The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalized with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive disorder that affects the intestine, causing symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and changes in bowel habits, including diarrhea, constipation, or both. Although this condition affects about a tenth of the global population, the underlying causes and mechanisms of IBS remain unclear. Consequently, treatments for IBS primarily focus on managing symptoms rather than addressing the root cause of the disorder.

The GLP-1 drug, exenatide, has no positive impact on the movement, symptoms or brain imaging of people with Parkinson’s, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

A paradigm-shifting study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows an experimental drug, GL-II-73, has the potential to restore memory and cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.