BJCP explores the science behind the live issues in the media:
October 2009: Don’t Block Folic Acid in Early Pregnancy: Medications That Block Folic Acid Are Associated With Increased Abnormalities
Using medication that reduces or blocks the actions of folic acid during the first trimester of pregnancy (weeks 1-12), increases the risk that the growing baby will develop abnormalities. This conclusion was reached by a team of Epidemiologists, Paediatricians, Clinical Pharmacologists, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists who examined birth and abortion data collected in Israel between 1998 and 2007...
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September 2009: Rise In Weight-Loss Drugs Prescribed To Combat Childhood Obesity
Thousands of children and adolescents are using anti-obesity drugs that in the UK are only licensed for use by adults. The number of young people receiving prescriptions for these drugs has increased 15-fold since 1999, but most stop using them before they could expect to see any benefit, according to a new study...
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November 2008: Pregnancy study finds strong association between
two antidepressants and heart anomalies
Women who took the antidepressant fluoxetine during the first three months of
pregnancy gave birth to four times as many babies with heart problems as women...
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March 2008: Prescription costs rise more than six times when
patients reach 65 says study of five million people
Prescribing costs increase dramatically when people reach 65, according to a
detailed analysis of more than five million patients...
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July 2007: A third of community pharmacists don’t tell parents they are dispensing off-label drugs to children
Forty per cent of community pharmacists have dispensed an off-label drug to a child in the last month...
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June 2007: Experts call for urgent research into antiepileptic drugs given to children after significant rise in prescribing
Researchers have called for urgent studies into the long-term safety of newer antiepileptic drugs after discovering that the number given to children has increased significantly over recent years...
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December 2006: 60 per cent of doctors' surgeries prescribe homeopathic or herbal remedies
Sixty per cent of doctors' surgeries in Scotland prescribe homeopathic or herbal remedies according to a study of nearly two million patients...
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July 2006: Regular paracetamol use could reduce ovarian cancer risk by almost a third
Women who used paracetamol regularly had almost a one-third lower risk of ovarian cancer...
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May 2006: Fast pharmacy access to the morning-after pill could prevent 10% more unwanted pregnancies
Pharmacies who provide fast and convenient access to the morning-after pill could be helping to prevent 10 per cent more unwanted pregnancies...
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March 2006: 5,000 rare diseases need drugs, but Europe only approves a handful each year
Only seven per cent of drug applications for treating people with rare diseases were approved in Europe between 2000 and 2004, despite the fact that there are currently more than 5000 conditions needing medication...
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February 2006: Research links Panorama investigations to rise in adverse drug reports by UK doctors
The number of reports by UK doctors of adverse reactions to the antidepressant paroxetine - often known by its brand-name Seroxat - rose by 61 per cent after three editions of the BBC's award-winning current affairs programme Panorama explored increasing concerns
about the drug...
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January 2006: One in five patients on commonly prescribed diuretics have abnormal sodium and potassium levels
One in five patients taking diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure or heart conditions end up with sodium and potassium deficiency...
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More information? Contact Annette Whibley at Wizard Communications.
