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Pharmacology

FDA accepts application for once-weekly exenatide

July 13, 2009

The agency will review the New Drug Application submitted for once-weekly exenatide as a subcutaneous injectable treatment of type 2 diabetes.

FDA mandates smoking-cessation warnings

By Traci Dantoni July 02, 2009

The FDA is now requiring the popular smoking-cessation drugs varenicline and bupropion to carry the highest safety warning amid reports of suicide and depression.

Statins may prevent PSA relapse

July 01, 2009

After radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, men who took the medications had a 30% lower risk.

MPR drug database available to mobile devices

June 08, 2009

The popular service adds handhelds to its desktop and laptop offerings, including Blackberry and Palm.

New HIV strategies presented at CROI

By Kevin J. Armington, MD May 26, 2009

Cortlandt Forum correspondent Kevin J. Armington, MD, reports on highlights from the 16th Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which took place recently in Montreal.

Boosting pancreatic beta cells

Question by Shah Niranjan, MD, Roslyn Heights, N.Y.; response by Lyle Mitzner, MD April 20, 2009

Is there a role for sitagliptin in enhancing pancreatic beta-cell function or quantity? Our expert discusses the issue.

Anti-anxiety effect of zolpidem

Question from Eric Busse and Shailendra K. Saxena, MD, PhD, Omaha; response by David Brody, MD March 16, 2009

Do any data support the use of zolpidem as an antianxiolytic agent?

Fibrate used in combination with statin approved

December 16, 2008

The FDA has approved Trilipix (fenofibric acid), a delayed-release capsule for use along with diet to treat dyslipidemia. Trilipix is the first fibrate to be approved for use in combination with a statin.

New drug for overactive bladder

November 12, 2008

The FDA has approved a new drug to help patients suffering from overactive bladder (OAB). Fesoterodine fumarate (Toviaz) works by relaxing the smooth muscle tissue of the bladder, thus reducing the urinary frequency, urge to urinate, and sudden urinary incontinence.

Are you prescribing medication or "dealing drugs"?

By David S. Starr, MD, JD September 30, 2008

Professional and law enforcement authorities frown on clinicians who try to offer rehab on their own.

Allergic rhinitis: An update on management

By Christopher Zipp, DO, MS, Frank A. Filipetto, DO, and Carman Ciervo, DO September 30, 2008

Despite an armamentarium of available and effective therapies, allergic rhinitis is too often undertreated by primary-care physicians.

Do elevated lipids call for more than statins?

By Robert M. Guthrie, MD January 23, 2008

The goal of cholesterol management is not the correction of lipid numbers but the reduction in heart attack and other cardiac end points. The benefit of adding a second or even a third drug to a statin is unproven at best. There are even potential downsides.

Bisphosphonates: Slowing osteoporosis progression

By Jack Waxman, MD November 20, 2007

New ways to assess and treat osteoporosis, including strontium and denosumab, are on the horizon, but at-risk patients can get help now.

Switching benzodiazepines

June 05, 2007

What is the safest and most effective way to switch patients from lorazepam to clonazepam when the goal is better or more even anxiety control? Can one simply stop the lorazepam 1 mg four times daily and start the clonazepam the next day?

Weaning SSRIs and benzodiazepines

Question asked by David Cohen, DO, Oakwood, Ga.; answer by David Brody, MD, and Michael Serby, MD June 05, 2007

How should patients be weaned off selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and benzodiazepines?

Post-ACE inhibitor angioedema

Question raised by Elizabeth George, MD, Dallas and answered by Peter F. Cohn, MD February 21, 2007

Can high BP worsen hyperglycemia?

December 29, 2006

Will using a diuretic with hydrochlorothiazide in a patient with hypertension and type 2 diabetes contribute to worsening of his hyperglycemia?

Acne due to cancer therapy

Question posed by W. Ray McGinty, MD, Greensboro, Ga., and answered by Jeffrey M. Weinberg, MD October 09, 2006

After seven days on oral erlotinib (Tarceva), a patient developed facial acne that slowly resolved when the drug was withdrawn.

Antibiotics: When less is more

September 14, 2006

In medicine, as in life, more isn't always better. Short-course antibiotic therapy, currently emerging as an important dosing strategy for treatment of a number of bacterial infections, is a prime example. Although short-course therapy is gaining traction for many reasons, the main one can be summed up in just two words: antimicrobial resistance.

Migraine and tension headache link?

Question raised by Craig Freyer, MD, Fort Worth, Texas, and answered by Daniel G. Tobin, MD July 07, 2006

Some headache studies imply that migraine and tension headaches may simply be different presentations of the same headache syndrome. And GlaxoSmithKline has data on relief of tension headache with sumatriptan (Imitrex). Is this class of drugs useful for tension headache? If so, why haven't they been submitted to the FDA for that indication?