Drugs

Archeologists excavating a remote site in northwestern Utah have discovered the oldest evidence of tobacco use, dating back more than 12,000 years. The find is almost 9,000 years older than prior evidence of ancient tobacco use.

Researchers on the hunt for a pre-approved medicine that can be repurposed to treat Alzheimer’s disease have found exposure to a common diuretic drug could significantly reduce a person’s risk of developing the disease.

Intriguing new preclinical research has found targeting opioid receptors in the gut could be a new treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. The research builds on early evidence showing a relationship between opioids and immune cell function.

Pharma company Merck has revealed the first data from its large trial of a pill for COVID-19. The results show the drug reduces a person’s risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by 50 percent when taken within five days of symptoms appearing.

The immune system is a powerful weapon, but sometimes it can attack things that are trying to help us. A new preclinical treatment could one day help, using a kind of “reverse vaccine” to train the immune system to ignore specific drugs or molecules.

A study analyzing records from several hundred thousand people has identified a link between low rates of diabetes and osteoporosis patients treated with a common drug. The researchers propose the drug may prevent the development of insulin resistance.

A new consensus statement is calling for the common painkiller acetaminophen (aka paracetamol) to be used cautiously during pregnancy, saying there are potential neurological and reproductive issues in children associated with excessive use of the drug.

A milestone study is reporting how gut bacteria can store quantities of therapeutic drugs and potentially reduce their effectiveness. The research builds on insights into the ways our microbiome can either reduce or enhance the activity of medicines.

Results have been published from a clinical trial testing a hypertension therapy that combines low-doses of four different blood-pressure-reducing drugs. The results indicate the strategy is more effective than any single high blood pressure treatment.

A new molecule may help reduce side effects in a drug that could treat alcohol use disorder. Essentially, the molecule disarms the drug in most of the body, but can’t cross the blood-brain barrier, letting the drug get to work in the brain only.

The usual suspects, like steroids, are closely monitored in sports but what about other drugs such as psychedelics, not commonly thought to be performance-enhancing? Can LSD improve athletic performance, and if so what does this mean for elite sport?

In an effort to uncover what waters polluted with pharmaceuticals could mean for marine organisms, a study has demonstrated a capacity for brown trout to become addicted to methamphetamine after exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations.