Meridia, a name brand drug also known as sibutramine, was voluntarily removed from the U.S. by the drug???s manufacturer ??? Abbott Laboratories. As reported in a Washington Post article dated October 8, 2010, this announcement was made by Abbott Laboratories in response to clinical data that demonstrated that this product led to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke in patients taking this medication.
Originally, Meridia was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1997 as a therapy...
Read full article
While there is no simple cure to the common cold, there are several tools at our disposal to ameliorate the symptoms associated with it. Among these ???problem solvers??? are mom???s chicken soup and over-the-counter (OTC) cold medicines, as well as vitamin-fortified pills that dissolve in a glass of water. However, these aren???t the only tools available. In fact, a simple cup of warm water with teaspoon of salt is an often overlooked therapy for sore throats.
A brief column in the New York Times...
Read full article
As any parent knows, pills have the potential to be very hazardous to the health of their children, which is why all parents do their best to keep pill bottles away from them. However, pills are not the only small and dangerous things that children may swallow. Another item to add to the list of products to put out of reach is small batteries.
These small batteries are often referred to as ???button batteries??? because of their size and shape; these batteries are often used in toys and household...
Read full article
POM Wonderful advertises its brand as being committed to wellness. The products they make are from pomegranates and are said to be healthy. The Pom juices are bottled in unique looking, curvaceous bottles and they claim regarding these products is that they can help reduce the risk of heart disease, combat impotence, and reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
However, at the end of September 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) levied a complaint against the makers of Pom Wonderful and the owners...
Read full article
Nestl?? celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Kit-Kat candy bar in 2010. While this is a popular candy bar treat, Nestl?? is committed to a future of developing health and wellness products in addition to satisfactions for chocolate cravings.
The Nestl?? website has contained a “Nutrition, Health & Wellness” tab for some time now. However, the tidbits of information here pale in comparison to Nestl?????s current undertaking. In September 2010, Nestl?? stated in a press release that...
Read full article
There is little argument against the benefit of taking vitamin C. In fact, almost every physician will likely tell their patients that there are health benefits to be had from vitamin C, beyond the prevention of scurvy. But, what is the ???best??? dose of vitamin C? That is a question that appears open to debate; however, a recent review in the international journal Health (September 2010) discusses the recommended doses for the health benefits that can be obtained from it.
There are several takes...
Read full article
I first heard of ovarian cancer about ten years ago. The daughter of a family friend suffered from ovarian cancer, and subsequently died of it. She was hardly fifteen years old. I have been keeping track of research in the field of cancer even since then. And now something hopeful has come up on my radar screen.
Of all forms of cancer, ovarian cancer is pretty rare, but it is deadly because it produces few symptoms until it is too late to save the patient. Until now, there haven’t been many...
Read full article
The Journal of Pain’s August 2010 issue published an article where scientists from the University of Michigan Health System looked at 200 patients suffering from chronic pain, who went to seek help from the center. Scientists observed the medicines the patients were taking, including their potency and number. They also studied how adequate the pain management system was.
The researchers found that there were quite a few gaps in the pain care system???younger men were given better treatment...
Read full article
In the battle against acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), most pharmacological therapies are geared to stop the progress of the virus after it has already infected a cell. There is one exception to this type of therapy???enfuvirtide, a drug that is intended to prevent a pregnant mother from transmitting HIV to their child. This exception aside, there is a new approach to combating AIDS and HIV that has been published in an issue of the scientific...
Read full article
Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) is a product that is available through a number of Internet websites or Internet distributors???some websites refer to this product as ???Miracle Mineral Supplement.??? Regardless of what the product is called, many of the websites that offer this product advertise that it is indicated to treat multiple unrelated diseases. Some of the diseases reported to be treated by MMS include hepatitis, HIV viral infections, common colds, acne, H1N1 flu virus, and cancer. The FDA...
Read full article