New research carried out by Cook County Hospital, Chicago, has found that azithromycin, an expensive antibiotic commonly prescribed in the US and now finding its way into the UK as Zithromax, should not be given for acute bronchitis.
WHO BLOWS YOUR TRUMPET? Is it yourself, perchance?
Children may soon be targeted by prescription drugs designed specifically for them—and, for once, the move hasn’t come directly from the pharmaceutical companies.
Anorak wearers always look a little unhealthy. Now researchers can confirm that it’s because - indeed - they are.
The first signs of an incipient patients' revolt against the controlled clinical trial (CCT) have begun to appear. Those are the supposedly airtight scientific studies in which patients are random ...
The devil may be in the detail, but it’s the opposite for medical research papers. There, the devil is in the conclusions summary box, which is the only thing that most busy people have the time to read. The summary box is also where marketing men...
How can it be that recent studies are so at odds with previous ones? The early research into HRT is beset by a number of problems, including:
* a lack of control groups, making it difficult to see the effects of HRT compared with non-users
Neck pain is a common problem, and one that tends to affect more women than men. But how are you going to treat it? The three most popular options are: your family doctor (a ‘wait-and-see’ approach with advice on ergonomics, possibly...
JUST AS THEY'RE ABOUT TO BAN 'EM, PART II: Supplements improve antisoc
So urgent is the desire for a ‘magic-bullet’ drug to counter major diseases such as cancer and heart disease that too many medical trials are ended, usually prematurely, as soon as there is the first glimmering that a new breakthrough drug may have...