Alcohol use by underage college students has increasingly grown as a large issue across the United States. Excessive, or binge drinking among college students is associated with a variety of negative consequences, such as a decrease in academic productivity, unwanted sexual encounters and an increase... Read more →

The cholesterol-lowering drugs collectively known as “statins” are among the top drugs sold in the United States, and worldwide. Although current guidelines only recommend the use of statins for people with elevated cholesterol, there is new evidence that these recommendations should be expanded.... Read more →

In October, the Federal Drug Administration approved lacosamide as add-on therapy for adults with partial seizures. The approval is based on data from multiple phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials involving approximately 1300 people. The study participants were aged 16 years or older, and experienced between... Read more →

The adage of those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it rings as true in medicine as in any other field. Learning from previous patients and past experiences — even mistakes — is the best learning tool in medicine. The treatment and diagnosis of epilepsy is no different,... Read more →

Suicide is an all-too familiar consequence of depression. Up to 15% of patients with untreated or undertreated depression commit suicide. The goal of treatment for depressive disorders is to alleviate the symptoms of depression, which may include an inability to experience pleasure, a pessimistic attitude,... Read more →

In July 2008, results from several clinical trials of novel Alzheimer’s Disease treatments were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD 2008) in Chicago. Among these results was an 84-week phase II trial of TauRx’s Rember. Almost immediately,... Read more →

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has evaluated the risk of suicide associated with antiepileptic drugs. The FDA examined 11 antiepileptic drugs, among nearly 28,000 patients, and found that patients taking an antiepileptic drug have an increased risk for suicidal behavior or ideation,... Read more →

The eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. is medication error. This statistic may surprise you. Other frightening statistics include the following: * 7,000 deaths occur each year that are directly attributable to medication errors. * Errors occur around 1 in 5 times that medication is administered. *... Read more →

The compilation and selling of physician prescribing habits has been a common practice since the 1990’s. Many physicians were unaware that the issue was occurring. Pharmaceutical companies argue that the mining of prescribing data has beneficial uses, such as providing information about drug interactions... Read more →

Pharmacists are integral members of the health care team in the US. The profession is composed of highly-educated, well-trained health-care providers. Pharmacists promote themselves as “drug experts” for good reason: the four-years of education required to obtain the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)... Read more →

As research has moved away from the realm of universities and into the private sector, more physicians are being paid by drug companies to enroll and monitor patients during clinical trials. Private corporations have been the largest sponsors of pharmaceutical research in both Canada and the United Sates... Read more →