Pharmacology News

Expanding access to birth control through policies that allow pharmacies to prescribe them may not effectively address disparities in birth control use, according to research published in Health Affairs.

The dopaminergic agonist Neupro appeared to improve frontal cognitive functions and activities of daily living among patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open.

In this video, Christina L. Szperka, MD, MSCE, director of the Pediatric Headache Program and a pediatric neurologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses migraine care and treatment strategies in the era of COVID-19.

Patients with migraine who switched from Aimovig to Emgality to treat their headaches reported similar improvements between the two treatments, according to research presented at the virtual American Headache Society Annual Meeting.

Dispensed prescriptions of hydroxychloroquine in the U.S. increased 86.2%, while such prescriptions of chloroquine increased 158.6% from February to March 2020, data show.

A study conducted in France found adverse drug reactions were common in patients with chronic kidney disease, most notably due antithrombotic agents, but researchers suggested many of these reactions may be preventable.

A host of new migraine-specific therapies were reviewed during this year’s American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting. The treatments that are receiving the most attention are those that target calcitonin gene-related peptide.

Patients with diabetes and increased CVD risk who also received one of several diabetes treatments were more likely to have certain “favorable” health outcomes, researchers reported.

Primary care physicians do not realize how low the rate of adult hepatitis B vaccination is in the United States, according to a small survey.

Hospitalized patients who had a documented penicillin allergy had higher odds of receiving “inferior” antibiotics — some that could potentially cause adverse drug events, data published in JAMA Internal Medicine show.