The June, 2013 issue of Treatment Guidelines from The Medical Letter will be on Drugs for Psychiatric Disorders. One thing that struck me as we worked on the 3 parts of the issue – drugs for depression, drugs for bipolar disorder, and antipsychotic drugs – was the continuing struggle between newer, more expensive medications and […]
Azithromycin Warnings
May 9, 2013 By 3 Comments
The next (May 27, 2013) issue of The Medical Letter will include a short article about some possible risks in the use of the macrolide antibiotic azithromycin (Zithromax, Zmax). Azithromycin is a convenient drug to take; side effects are uncommon, and the usual duration of treatment is only 5 days. According to the FDA, it […]
Wet AMD: Does Cost Matter?
May 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
One of our employees recently lost vision in one eye and was found to have neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration. He has been receiving injections in the affected eye, and he says that his vision is improving. Wet AMD is caused by rapid growth of leaky blood vessels into the subretinal space. Intravitreal injections of […]
A New Drug for Type 2 Diabetes
April 25, 2013 By 1 Comment
As Americans grow ever bigger, the market for diabetes drugs grows bigger right along with them. The next issue of The Medical Letter will include an article on a new drug for type 2 diabetes, new not only to the market, but also in its mechanism of action. Canagliflozin (Invokana) prevents reabsorption of glucose in […]
A New Fish Oil for Elevated Triglycerides
April 18, 2013 By 1 Comment
The next (April 29th) issue of The Medical Letter includes an article on Vascepa, an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid newly approved by the FDA for treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia. In our reviews of new drugs, there is always something we don’t know. We often have to say that the answer to a critical question remains […]
Over-The-Counter Antihistamines
April 11, 2013 By 1 Comment
The next (April 29) issue of The Medical Letter will include a short article on CNS Toxicity of First-Generation H1-Antihistamines, which was inspired by the next (May) issue of Treatment Guidelines, titled Drugs for Allergic Disorders. Antihistamines are useful medications, particularly for allergic disorders, but they can cause some problems. In The Medical Letter we […]
Short-Bowel Syndrome
April 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The next (April 15th) issue of The Medical Letter will include an article on a new drug for a disorder called short-bowel syndrome, which is a consequence of not having enough small intestine to absorb necessary nutrients. The most common cause of this syndrome, which in its most severe form requires parenteral nutrition, seems to […]
