News tagged with 'Tics'

For more than 20 years, the FDA has been urging the drug and agriculture industries to stop using antibiotics in animal feed and water. With antibiotic resistance at epidemic proportions, the agency is giving the public 60 days to comment before it issues new industry guidance.

A study out of the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University, finds that reusable, cloth grocery bags sometimes harbor dangerous foodborne bacteria such as E. coli and coliform from raw-meat.

Allergan, the maker of Botox, is fighting back and wants $460k in legal costs from a mother who unsucessfully sued the drug maker for $60 million.

Lead exposure in children appears to permanently damage the brain this study finds, echoing previous findings that associate a lower IQ and criminal behavior and developmental exposure to lead.

Abilify by Bristol Myers Squibb was just approved by the FDA for treatment of autism-related irritability and acting out. It is among a group of antipsychotics that cause weight gain in users.

BPA exposed factory workers in China experienced a nearly four-fold increased risk of reduced sexual desire, a greater than four-fold increased risk of erection difficulty, and more than seven-fold increased risk of ejaculation difficulty, in this first look at how the plasticizer may be impacting human health.

Birth defects are associated with the use of nitrofurantoins and sulfonamides, two antibiotics sometimes used during pregnancy.

Atypical antipsychotics used in young patients for the first time led to a weight gain of anywhere from 11 to 19 pounds in just 11 weeks and an increase in cholesterol and triglycerides, making some question whether the drugs are a long-term solution for young people with psychiatric disorders.

The FDA does no testing of cosmetics or face paints  so a consumer group, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, has taken over that job, testing 10 products from a Halloween store. The results are scary, but consumers aren't left in the dark if they are informed.

OxyContin may be reformulated making it more difficult for addicts to dissolve the painkiller in water and inject it for a heroin-like effect. FDA advisors will consider the application Thursday.

With help from the Global Institute for Sustainability, Wal-Mart says it wants to soften the impact of chemicals on our bodies and waste on our environment. Tomorrow, the company is expected to announce an electronic indexing system to determine the environmental, social and health impact of products on its shelves. 

The National Institute on Aging is researching ways to slow the aging process. In one experiment, lab mice given the antibiotic, rapamycin, were found to have their life extended, for females by 14 percent, even though the drug was given later in life, at the equivalent of age 60 in humans. 

While Risperdal is already approved for use in adolescents, three other makers of powerful atypical anti-psychotics are seeking FDA approval for use in the young.  The drugs are effective in some, but others say they can be fatal and are known to cause weight gain and increase the risk of diabetes. 

A new study, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, estimates that three in every 1,000 children in the United States suffers from Tourette’s syndrome. That’s a total of 150,000 cases in the country.

When Florida began requiring physicians to obtain approval from the state before prescribing antipsychotics to children under the age of six, something dramatic happened - prescriptions dropped 75 percent. The same trend is being seen nationwide.