medicine news stories on Newser

Expert Panel: PSA Screening No Good for Men

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:24:37 CDT

A federal panel's advice to American men: Forget about that prostate cancer screening, which does more harm than good, ABC News reports. The announcement by the United States Preventive Services Task Force today may have settled a longstanding debate about PSA blood tests, the most common screening for prostate cancer....

S. Korea Busts Smuggled Pills—Made of Baby Flesh

Matt Cantor — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:10:02 CDT

South Korean customs authorities have made a highly disturbing find: Thousands of capsules made of powdered baby flesh, believed by some to have healing powers. Smugglers have attempted to get nearly 17,500 such capsules into the country since August, officials say. Made in northeastern China, the pills contain diced...

Look Out, Viagra: Testosterone Drugs Gain Popularity

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:25:54 CDT

New drugs designed in part to save the sex lives of aging men could become the biggest thing since Viagra, reports Bloomberg . The problem is that the testosterone boosters from Eli Lilly and Abbott are becoming so popular that doctors worry men who don't need them for strictly medical reasons...

WHO: Prepare for 'End of Medicine as We Know It'

Matt Cantor — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:30:29 CDT

More and more microbes are evolving to resist antibiotics—and that means that all we thought we knew about medicine may soon change, says the head of the World Health Organization. "A post-antibiotic era means, in effect, an end to modern medicine as we know it. Things as common as...

Feds Back Weight-Loss Pill Qnexa

Matt Cantor — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:01:13 CST

A federal panel's decision has brought us a step closer to the first FDA-approved prescription weight-loss drug in more than 10 years. Qnexa was earlier rejected by the FDA over possible safety risks, but the non-FDA panel found, by a vote of 20-2, that the drug's benefits outweigh such risks,...

Critical Cancer Drug Running Out

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:29:05 CST

Bad news for Americans with childhood leukemia: A critical medicine used to treat the disease is so hard to find that hundreds or thousands of kids could die, the New York Times reports. Methotrexate, typically used to treat leukemia in children aged 2 to 5, fell into short supply after...

Doctor Who? MDs Fend Off Rising PhDs

Mark Russell — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 07:56:47 CDT

As more and more nurses, pharmacists, and physical therapists are earning PhD degrees, a battle is raging over which health care professionals can use the prestigious title "doctor," reports the New York Times . Nurses especially are pursuing doctorates, eager to increase their pay and promotional opportunities—last year, 153 schools...

US Sees Dangerous Shortage of Cancer Drugs

John Johnson — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 09:51:15 CDT

The New York Times today raises the alarm about serious shortages of drugs needed to treat common forms of cancer and other diseases. A record 180 such drugs have been deemed to be in short supply this year, and lawmakers, doctors' groups, and the drug industry itself are looking for...

Viagra Gum? Drug Makers Get Busy as Generics Near

Matt Cantor — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:57:05 CDT

Viagra’s chemical patent expires next year, likely opening the playing field to cheaper generic versions of the pill—and in a $5 billion industry, the makers of the erectile dysfunction drug are racing to stay ahead of the competition. Pfizer recently began selling a chewable form of Viagra in Mexico,...