Drug

“Initial evidence” suggests Master P’s daughter died of an overdose, per a new report.As previously reported, Tytyana Miller, 29, died in May. In a statement shared to Instagram over the weekend, Master P said he and his family were “dealing with an overwhelming grief” following the death. “Mental illness and substance abuse is a real issue that we can’t be afraid to talk about,” P said at the time.On Wednesday, TMZ cited law enforcement sources as having said that “initial evidence” suggests Miller died of an overdose.…

The opioid crisis has only intensified as more illicit drugs have entered the market. Drug overdose deaths reached a record high in 2021, with more than 100,000 people lost to the continuing epidemic, fueled by the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl. The drug, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times that of morphine. Illicit forms of fentanyl are mainly manufactured by drug cartels in Mexico and spreading in the U.S.What is fentanyl? Fentanyl…

Algorithms have helped uncover a new antibiotic candidate that shows promise against some particularly nasty bugs, using a novel mode of attack that should be hard for them to develop resistance to. Most importantly it could unlock a whole new arsenal of antibiotics.We humans aren’t the only organisms that want to kill bacteria – nature has developed a wide range of antibacterial compounds, many of them used by bacteria themselves to gain the upper hand in the eons-long turf war against other bacteria.Most of our…

A common HIV drug has been shown to improve the connections between memories in aging mice. The findings could help reveal how contextual events are remembered in the human brain, and why this becomes harder as we age.  The HIV drug, known as maraviroc, acts on a cellular protein known as CCR5, which sits on the surface of white blood cells. When the HIV virus connects with one of these receptors, it can enter the cell and replicate. But if maraviroc gets there first, it blocks the entrance.And that's not all it does. In…

By using a tiny microscope to study the brain activity of rodents, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have uncovered a key mechanism behind the retention of memories, and shown how targeting it could strengthen human memory during middle age. Their approach involves an existing drug used to treat HIV, and the researchers believe repurposing it could serve as an early intervention for conditions like dementia.The study focuses on the way memories are formed in the human brain, which stores them…

The Food and Drug Administration took 130 enforcement actions against counterfeit medication rings from 2016 through 2021, according to my new study published in the journal Annals of Pharmacotherapy.  Such actions might involve arrests, confiscation of products or counterfeit rings being dissolved.These counterfeiting operations involved tens of millions of pills, more than 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of active ingredient powder that could be turned into pills in the US, and hundreds of millions of dollars in…

Scientists have found a key molecular mechanism behind memory linking. They’ve also discovered a way to restore this brain function in middle-aged mice – and an FDA-approved drug already exists that achieves the same thing.Scientists Identify How the Brain Links MemoriesHIV drug could combat middle-aged memory loss, research suggests.Our brains seldom record single memories—instead, they store memories into groups so that the recollection of one significant memory triggers the recall of others connected by time. However,…

Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland on May 25th, 2022.Adam Galici | CNBCPfizer's CEO said Wednesday that he "wouldn't worry much" about a recent monkeypox outbreak that has seen cases surge in non-endemic countries.Albert Bourla told CNBC that current data on the disease suggests it doesn't transmit as easily as other viruses, such as Covid-19, and that it is unlikely to lead to a pandemic."I don't have all the information ahead of me. With everything I know, I wouldn't worry much," he said at the…

At least one antiviral medicine shows promise against monkeypox and should be investigated further, scientists said as the outbreak widens.  The finding is based on a single case that occurred in the UK before the current flare-up. The study, which calls for more research on a drug called tecovirimat, was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.  The study focused on seven cases of transmission outside of Africa, where the virus is considered endemic in a dozen…

The gold rush for drugmakers making Covid-19 vaccines and treatments might be over, as demand plateaus, supplies turn ample and the pandemic evolves. Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson are among the companies cutting sales expectations for pandemic products this year as they assess the outlook. Analysts, meantime, are lowering sales estimates for Covid-19 drugs such as Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral Paxlovid, citing softening demand…