Pharmacology News

Patients receiving buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder were more likely to use medications for unrelated, chronic conditions like depression, a study published in Medical Care revealed.

Dietary supplements, particularly multivitamins, can cause choking and dysphagia in older adults, according to findings published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Adding fluoxetine to cognitive behavioral therapy failed to further decrease depressive symptoms in youth with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder, according to findings published in Lancet Psychiatry.

For patients with osteoporosis, no drug treatment was associated with reduced mortality rates, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. These treatments should, therefore, only be recommended to decrease fracture risk.

PHILADELPHIA — The oral calcitonin gene-related peptide antagonist ubrogepant provided better pain relief than triptans in patients with migraine, according to study results presented at the American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting.

In a landmark FDA approval, AbbVie’s upadacitinib has won the race to enter the drug market as the third JAK inhibitor approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, with the drug expected to be available in the United States within the month.

A model that researchers dubbed “Six Building Blocks” led to significant decreases in the proportion of patients on high-dose opioids and the total number of patients receiving opioids in rural clinics, according to findings recently published in Annals of Family Medicine.

Evidence published in Journal of Addiction Medicine showed that combined use of opioid and cannabis was linked to greater symptoms of anxiety, depression and substance use problems compared with opioid use alone in adults with chronic pain.

ORLANDO — Treatment of pediatric patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis with medications available to their adult counterparts is often blocked by exclusions in insurance policies and outdated step therapy requirements, according to a presentation at the Rheumatology Nurses Society Annual Conference.

PHILADELPHIA — Patients who received eptinezumab, a monoclonal antibody that inhibits calcitonin gene-related peptide, had more migraine-free months than those who received placebo, according to study results presented at the American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting.