Medications Archive

Articles

A new treatment for advanced prostate cancer improves survival in phase 3 clinical trial

Radiation therapy is getting more precise, making it easier to kill tumors while sparing their surrounding tissues. Some newer therapies deliver radiation particles directly to the cancer cell itself. One of these new therapies is now generating promising data for men with the most aggressive prostate cancer.

Steps to treating an enlarged prostate

As men age, they often experience a new kind of growth spurt, known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or an enlarged prostate gland. The first line of treatment is lifestyle changes to help manage symptoms. These include maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding medications like antihistamines and decongestants, adopting a healthy diet, and limiting caffeine. If these are not helpful, then medication is prescribed. However, men who don’t respond to medication or have trouble taking it, can benefit from several types of minimally invasive surgeries.

Chronic inflammation and your joints

The immune system sometimes launches a chronic inflammatory response in certain joints. That leads to pain, stiffness, and joint damage known as inflammatory arthritis. It’s usually unknown what triggers the conditions. Types of inflammatory arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and psoriatic arthritis. Treatments include medications, such as biologic or nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and lifestyle habits, such as exercising, avoiding processed foods, reducing stress, not smoking, and getting enough sleep. Wearing a splint or brace on affected joints and seeking physical therapy may also help ease pain.

Autoimmune conditions and heart disease

People with systemic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and psoriasis are more likely to have heart attacks and to die of cardiovascular disease than people in the general public. The 2019 expert guidelines for preventing heart disease says these conditions should be considered "risk enhancers" when estimating heart attack risk. But this added risk may be underrecognized and undertreated.

A new way to take aspirin: Liquid-filled capsules

The FDA approved the first liquid-filled aspirin capsule, Vazalore, which will be marketed in standard and low-dose versions.

COVID-19 and cardiovascular concerns: An evolving story

Physicians’ understanding of how a COVID-19 infection affects the heart is still evolving. More definitive answers require long-term, randomized clinical trials that control for different factors (including varied medical histories and medication use) to study how COVID-19—and possible therapies—affect people who have or are at risk for heart disease. Like other infectious organisms, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) can increase the risk of blood clots and may damage the heart, but the danger is less common than initial reports suggested.

Advice about daily aspirin

The heart-protecting benefits of a daily low-dose aspirin have to be weighed against the risk of bleeding, a common side effect that is usually minor but sometimes serious. The calculation depends on age and whether a person has cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or a condition that raises risk of bleeding.

Easing summer swelling

Lower leg and foot swelling is most often the result of an abnormal buildup of fluid, which doctors refer to as edema. Fluid tends to flow downhill, making it more likely to pool in the lower parts of the body. Excess fluid retention can be triggered by many things, including eating too much salt, heat, drinking alcohol, or standing for a long period of time. To reduce it, reduce dietary sodium, elevate the feet at the end of the day and wear support stockings.

How can you manage anxiety during pregnancy?

During pregnancy it's completely normal to experience a certain amount of anxiety about the baby, giving birth, and becoming a new parent. But for some women this worry takes over their thoughts and becomes debilitating. There are treatments available that may or may not involve medication, depending on the individual situation.

Back to the future: Psychedelic drugs in psychiatry

There is a renewed interest in the potential for psychedelic drugs to be used for medical purposes in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric conditions. Broadly, these drugs are able to induce altered thoughts and sensory perceptions, and research has found them to be beneficial in treating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and they can also be helpful for some people in end-of-life situations.

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