Drugs & Pharmaceuticals

For antibiotic biotechs, regulatory approval of a new product is often the beginning of the end ...
If you think Prevagen is gonna help your memory, forget it. The stuff is useless. But that doesn't stop sleazy Quincy Bioscience from incessantly advertising it (often between other disgusting ads for legitimate prescription drugs). So if you're thinking about incinerating 75 bucks for a bottle of this junk, here’s some sound advice to remember: don't.
There's a new, proven treatment for COVID-19 called pegylated interferon lambda, but FDA won't approve it, even under Emergency Use Authorization. It's inexcusable.
The Center For Inquiry, a non-profit group with a similar mindset to ACSH, has filed lawsuits against Walmart and CVS for putting homeopathic "remedies" on shelves next to actual over-the-counter drugs – as if to suggest that they are of equal effectiveness. They are not. Such a placement is unethical at best and maybe even fraudulent. Here's why.
If you're susceptible to motion sickness, traveling can be a nightmare. Fortunately, there are drugs that can help, maybe a lot. And there are also drugs that people take that do little or nothing. Here's an article in which I "bring up" the classes of motion sickness drugs and "regurgitate" some knowledge about which ones are helpful and also the ones that are "wretch(ed)." This is no "gag." It's serious info that could be the "nemesis of emesis."
An important study examining whether antidepressants were useful for pain was recently published in BMJ. The headlines stated varieties of the same theme: They "may not be effective" or "may have a small benefit." These conclusions are based on data from one table in the paper. Let's take a look at that data.
Advertising of worthless nostrums to prevent or cure illnesses is common. Often, it consists solely of anecdotes, but sometimes it is bolstered by statistical sleight of hand. Don't be fooled, because your health and your money may be in jeopardy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated its recommendations on stockpiling medications to be used in the aftermath of a radiological or nuclear attack or a nuclear power plant emergency. It seems like an excellent opportunity to review some of the different types of “anti-radiation” meds and what they do.
Gold is a noble element, one so chemically stable that it’s found untarnished in the ground. But under some conditions, it can be converted to gold salts, which were the standard of care for rheumatoid arthritis. However, gold salts – which are quite toxic –have been replaced with a number of superior immunosuppressive drugs over the past two decades. The Golden Age of gold salts is over.
Editors at the journal Nature Medicine recently asked researchers and public health experts from around the world to identify clinical trials that will shape medicine in 2023.  They came up with a varied list of candidates, from cervical and prostate cancer screening protocols to gene therapy for muscular dystrophy and new drugs for Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.  The selections are arbitrary and idiosyncratic, but they are interesting, nevertheless. 
Have you noticed that the names of new drugs are not merely obnoxious; they are also bizarre? As if drug companies hired consultants with a complete disdain for the English language? Quviviq? Ukoniq? Seriously? The people (mostly women) who broke the Nazi secret code in WWII couldn't handle this. Plus assorted other rants.
There is no longer any doubt that drinking alcohol raises the risk of multiple cancers. Why alcohol? What's it doing to us? And an episode of The Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hell. No extra charge!