Near tripling in US reported lidocaine local anaesthetic poisonings/deaths over past decade

Amid substantial fall in reports associated with other local anaesthetics Poisonings and deaths linked to the use of the local anaesthetic lidocaine have nearly tripled in the US over the past decade, finds an analysis of National Poison Data System (NPDS) reports, published online in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain ...

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Six or more prescriptions associated with, respectively, 29% and 85% heightened risks And risks more than doubled in 18-64 year olds, shows large medical record study Receiving six or more prescriptions of the drug gabapentin for low back pain is associated with significantly increased risks of developing dementia and mild ...

Surgery plus speech therapy linked to improved language after stroke

Trial suggests this is a superior treatment for chronic post-stroke aphasia Combining neck surgery with intensive speech therapy is associated with greater improvements in a person's ability to communicate after a stroke than intensive speech therapy alone, finds a clinical trial published by The BMJ today. The results show improvements immediately after ...

2025-06-26T09:16:11+00:0026 June 2025|Press release, The BMJ|

BMJ finds inaccuracies in key studies for AstraZeneca’s blockbuster heart drug ticagrelor

Investigation finds evidence of serious misreporting, raising fresh doubts over the approval and decade long use of ticagrelor In a follow up investigation into the multibillion dollar drug ticagrelor, The BMJ has uncovered fresh concerns, this time in key platelet studies used in its FDA approval. For more than a decade, ticagrelor ...

2025-06-20T09:46:36+00:0020 June 2025|Press release, The BMJ|

P2Y12 drugs may be better than aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke in patients with coronary artery disease

Findings support use of P2Y12 therapy instead of aspirin for long term prevention Giving a P2Y12 inhibitor anti-clotting drug to patients with coronary artery disease is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke compared with traditional aspirin, with no increased risk of major bleeding, finds a ...

2025-06-06T11:31:20+00:006 June 2025|Press release, The BMJ|

Diabetes drug shows benefits for patients with liver disease

Results support the potential for dapagliflozin to benefit these patients The sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor drug dapagliflozin, widely used to treat type 2 diabetes, also shows improvements for patients with progressive liver disease, finds a clinical trial from China published by The BMJ today. The results show that treatment with ...

2025-06-06T11:20:55+00:006 June 2025|Press release, The BMJ|

No-touch vein harvesting has meaningful benefits for heart bypass patients

Findings support broader clinical adoption of no-touch technique to enhance long term patient health ‘No-touch’ vein harvesting significantly reduces the risk of graft failure up to three years after coronary artery bypass surgery compared with conventionally harvested vein grafts, finds a study from China published by The BMJ today. The no-touch technique ...

2025-05-01T09:27:56+00:001 May 2025|Press release, The BMJ|

Single mid-afternoon preventer inhaler dose may be best timing for asthma control

Better suppresses usual nocturnal worsening of asthma than dosing at other times May lead to better outcomes without increasing steroid-related side effects or costs A single daily preventer dose of inhaled corticosteroid (beclomethasone), taken mid afternoon, may be the best timing for effective asthma control as it suppresses the usual ...

2025-04-16T10:48:12+00:0016 April 2025|Press release, Thorax|
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