Chemical substances given to people intended to cure disease or alleviate symptoms of disease.
Questions tagged [pharmaceutical]
39 questions
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Does neosporin reduce scarring?
It is a widely held belief, and oft-advertised property of neosporin that its use reduces scarring, especially as opposed to other triple antibiotic ointments.
For example: Livestrong
Neosporin is a popular antibiotic first aid ointment used on…
Cory Klein
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Would Mefloquine be approved under today's regulations?
The anti-malarial drug Mefloquine (aka Lariam, Mephaquin or Mefliam) is known to frequently induce strong neurologic side effects.
I have heard a number of times that this drug would fail to get regulatory approval, if it were introduced today.
For…
Hepedza
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Has the primary benefit of statins in reducing early deaths never been fully tested in comparative trials?
Ben Goldacre, in his sustained critique of the way the pharmaceutical industry and its regulators fall far from the standards of reliable evidence (Bad Pharma), makes an astounding claim (p193 of the paperback, my emphasis):
Trials have been done…
matt_black
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Does an aspirin a day have health benefits?
I have heard that taking an a pill of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA aka Aspirin) a day can help reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes, cancer and now Alzheimer's. From the linked article to WebMD:
We've long known that aspirin reduces the risk of…
Brian M. Hunt
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Are there fewer than 500 people researching antibiotic resistance?
The emergence of anti-microbial resistance in the bugs that cause infectious diseases has been called the biggest threat to modern medicine. For example:
England’s chief medical officer has warned of a “post-antibiotic apocalypse” as she issued a…
matt_black
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Does a molecule called TA-65 reverse aging in humans?
In the article Fountain of youth? Apr. 14, 2012, Written by: Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, QMI Agency, the author claims:
Today more than 8,000 scientific articles have been reported on the importance of telomeres in aging. But one peer reviewed study,…
Brian M. Hunt
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Was heroin originally developed as a cure for morphine addiction?
The video What Does Heroin Do To Your Body? claims that heroin was originally developed by the Bayer pharmaceutical company as a treatment for tuberculosis and morphine addiction. Is this true?
Neil Meyer
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Do drug companies purposely avoid cures to make more money on treatment?
I've heard many times the claim that drug companies purposely make treatments and avoid selling/researching cures instead. Are there any documented cases of this behavior happening or any concrete reason to believe this is the case?
GBa
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How lethal is Fentanyl in humans?
In this video by CNN's Sanjay Gupta entitled "How dangerous is Fentanyl?", he can be heard saying at the end
"[Fentanyl] is so powerful that just a quarter of a milligram can be fatal"
Is that true? What do we know about the lethality of Fentanyl?…
Evan Carroll
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Is Amovir an effective anti-viral drug?
According to this article (in French) on the (usually respectable) website, Capital, Robert Vachy discovered an drug named Amovir which destroys viral envelopes. According to the article, the anti-viral drug was tested at the Pasteur Institute back…
ChrisR
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Does the COVID vaccine contain Graphene Hydroxide nano razor blades?
Psiram has a page about conspiracy theories around covid vaccines and them supposedly containing graphene oxide and graphene hydroxide. They link to credible sources debunking the claim that vaccines contain graphene oxide, but their section on…
mazin
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Does storing medicine at recommended temperatures prolong its life?
Many medical drugs contain directions to store them in certain temperature ranges - typically at room temperatures.
For Example:
Storage: Store at 20° to 25° C (68° to 77° F) excursions permitted between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86° F). [See USP…
HEKTO
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Has medical prescribing become dominated by marketing rather than evidence?
Recent books by critics of the pharmaceutical industry (such as David Healy's Pharmageddon and Ben Goldacre's Bad Pharma) have highlighted problems in the way the industry promotes its products.
In a 2010 article in Bioethical Enquiry, Spielmans and…
matt_black
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Is "treatment induced injury" one of the leading causes of death and disability?
David Healy's latest blog warns against the credulity of doctors in the face of vast marketing efforts by pharmaceutical firms. In making a general argument about how the medical profession ought to do a better job he makes the following…
matt_black
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Are there no courses to teach medics how to handle pharmaceutical marketing?
David Healy, the controversial author of, inter alia, Pharmageddon rails against the credulity of many doctors in his latest blog arguing, for example:
Recent estimates suggest companies spend over $50,000 per annum on marketing to each and every…
matt_black
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