ABC News reported on an April 17, 2005 Associated Press story stating that over the counter pain medications increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. According to a study performed in Norway, smokers who took such drugs for at least six months had twice the risk of dying of a heart attack, stroke or
read moreIn an April 30, 2002, Associated Press report, came a story based on a May 1, 2002 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that claims that many newly released drugs are still dangerous when released because not enough is known about them before they are released into the market. The AP
read moreThe above headline comes from a November 9, 2004 ABC News feature story. The feature describes a disturbing trend of new mutated bacteria that are resistant to medical attacks from antibiotics. The article focuses on one bacteria specifically known as “MRSA”. This bacterium is a mutated tough new strain of staph against which most of
read moreThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to users of the over-the-counter pain reliever Naproxen Monday after federal researchers found an increased number of heart attacks and strokes among users. According to stories in the December 21, 2004 CNN.com and the Medscape Medical news of the same date, Naproxen is the
read moreThe above headline came from a March 16, 2006, Associated Press story by Jeff Donn that appeared in many newspapers and online outlets. The article was based on a study published in the March 16th New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and starts out by noting that, “Americans — rich, poor, black, white — get
read moreA research study published in the October 9, 2007 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, reports on the inappropriate usage of antibiotics in Canada. The study suggests that doctors who are overworked, have been trained outside Canada, or have been practicing a long time are most likely to over prescribe antibiotics. The study by
read moreOn September 27, 2007 the New York Times published an article that questioned the risk to millions who participate in drug trials. The article was based on a report released by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General on September 28, 2007. The report noted that the federal health officials
read moreSeveral news outlets including an August 19, 2007 article in the New York Times has reported that a U.S. governmental change will have a profound change on Medicare and those who use it. As of October 1, 2008, Medicare will no longer pay hospitals for treatment for problems caused by what they termed “preventable medical
read moreA study published in the August 16, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, (NEJM) notes that in spite of increasing criticisms direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs continues to increase in the US. The study starts off with some background information and states, “Evidence suggests that direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs increases pharmaceutical
read moreThe above headline comes from the September 10, 2007 LA Times and is one of many articles reporting on a study published on the same day in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study data came from the Adverse Event Reporting System, which has been in operation since 1998. This system collects all voluntary reports
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