“Health experts have called for more attention to be paid to the proper prescription of medicines, in particular the use of antibiotics.

‘China has a very serious problem of antibiotics abuse, especially antibacterial injection,’ said Professor Yang Yonghong of Beijing Children’s Hospital, during the International Pediatric Pharmacology Symposium currently being held in Shanghai.”

“The New England Journal of Medicine on Monday issued a rare correction on a influential 2005 study on the now-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.

The correction involves a crucial point that was first reported a month ago: That cardiovascular risks linked to the controversial cox-2 inhibitor kick in at 4 months to 6 months of use, not after 18 months as was previously asserted in last year's article.”

“The Food and Drug Administration plans to consolidate the systems it uses to collect safety reports about drugs and medical devices, an official said Wednesday.”

“Healthy people could be the source of many of the antibiotic-resistance genes that have led to the rise of superbugs in hospitals.”

“Prozac is one of the antidepressants often used to treat anorexia, but researchers found it didn't stop young women from resuming their self-starving ways.”

“Breast cancer patients, individuals at risk for osteoporosis, and individuals undergoing certain types of bone cancer therapies often take drugs that contain bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates may place patients at risk for developing osteonecrosis of the jaws (a rotting of the jaw bones), according to a case report and literature review that appeared in the May/June 2006 issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry's clinical, peer-reviewed journal.”

“Clinical trials on an experimental drug have showed that ruboxistaurin may have the effects of reducing the risk of moderate vision loss by 41 percent, compared with a placebo.”

“French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) said Thursday it has suspended enrollment in studies of its antibiotic Ketek in children, amid reports the drug can cause liver failure in adults. The company denied the studies were halted because of safety concerns and said it was only trying to ensure the trials' design complied with FDA requirements.”

“Members of Congress and their staffs took at least 48 trips worth $84,000 paid for individually by the top five drug companies between Jan. 1, 2000, and June 30, 2005, with GlaxoSmithKline leading the list.”

“High doses of the common painkiller ibuprofen, which is available without prescription, doubles the risk of a heart attack if taken in high doses for a long time, a study has found.”