For over 50 years the idea of early cancer detection has been a cornerstone of American medical advice. The American Cancer Society promoted this concept with its slogan, "Fight cancer with a checkup and a check." The idea was that... (Read More)
People's Pharmacy Alerts
There is a powerful "Perspective" in the New England Journal of Medicine titled "Lost in Transmission--FDA Drug Information That Never Reaches Clinicians" (JAMA, Oct. 29, 2009). It is written by Lisa Schwartz, MD, and Steven Woloshin, MD, from the Dartmouth... (Read More)
You don't get to be a Supreme Court justice unless you are pretty darn smart. But Justice Ginsburg made a mistake that could have cost her her life. She had a long flight to Europe ahead of her, and hoping... (Read More)
Richard Knox did a splendid job on NPR discussing rebound hyperacidity brought on by the sudden discontinuation of acid-suppressing heartburn drugs like Nexium (Read More)
This is a breathtaking settlement! It is easy to zone out when seeing big numbers, but this is a truly mind-boggling amount of money. Pfizer (and its subsidiaries Pharmacia & Upjohn) have agreed to cough up $2.3 billion to... (Read More)
Generic drugs dominate the pharmaceutical marketplace. More than two-thirds of all prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. each year are now generics. How reliable are generic drugs? (Read More)
The FDA has been scrutinizing the safety of a relatively new asthma medicine called Xolair (omalizumab). We would not normally issue a People's Pharmacy Alert at this early stage of the investigation, but a recent guest on The People's Pharmacy... (Read More)
More than 30 years ago we stumbled across this bizarre tip in a dermatology text book (Dermatology: Diagnosis and Treatment, 1961, P. 94) edited by a giant in the field, Dr. Marion Sulzberger. The water has to be hot, roughly... (Read More)
Have you ever seen a drug advertised on television, and then asked your doctor for a prescription for it? Did it work? Or did you suffer unexpected side effects? NPR would like to hear about your experience for a... (Read More)
Two weeks after I had suffered a femur fracture that had started as a hairline stress fracture undetected in an earlier x-ray, a friend alerted me to your column citing the 2/18/09 JAMA article. After reading it and showing it to my doctors, we all are pretty much agreed... (Read More)
On Wed, July 15 Joe Graedon of The People's Pharmacy appeared on the Today Show on NBC to discuss drug interactions. Click here to view the video! (Read More)
The FDA convened an expert panel recently to make recommendations about acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol and hundreds of other OTC products. These range from house brand non-aspirin pain relievers to cough and cold remedies, nighttime sleep aids, arthritis... (Read More)
On July 4, 1776, these famous words were adopted by the Continental Congress in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence:"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their... (Read More)
After years of controversy, the FDA has finally warned the American public to immediately stop using the following products:• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids SizeThe reason for the alert is... (Read More)
Recently, a call-in guest on The People's Pharmacy mentioned noticing that his mother seemed to show improvement in mental clarity when he missed her dose of Zocor. The discussion that followed and the symptoms described were very similar to our... (Read More)
When Tylenol was first introduced in 1955 it was a liquid prescription pain reliever and fever reducer for children. It wasn't until 1961 that Tylenol tablets were launched as over-the-counter pain pills for adults. Tylenol and its active ingredient acetaminophen... (Read More)
Ask any sixth grader what 1+1 equals and you will be told the answer is 2. Ask a pharmacist, though, and you might get a different answer.In the Alice-in-Wonderland world of pharmaceuticals, sometimes 1+1 equals 0 or even 3. That's... (Read More)
Amiodarone (also prescribed under the brand names Cordarone and Pacerone) is a medication designed to control abnormal heart rhythms. It can be a lifesaving drug, but it is especially prone to interacting with other medicines, especially those metabolized by an... (Read More)
Several local TV new programs are developing stories about generic drug problems and Toprol XL. If you:have had experiences with generic Toprol XL you would like to share,are willing to speak with a reporter, live in the Chicago, Tampa or New... (Read More)
Generic Anti-Hypertensive Differs from Original and May Raise Blood Pressure An investigation by ConsumerLab.com of generic versions of the popular anti-hypertensive Toprol XL reveals that generics sold by two companies appear to differ from the original drug in how they... (Read More)