Medicine

Testing Drugs in Older People
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
A drug dose that's therapeutic for a younger person may be too strong for an older person. To encourage manufacturers to include older patients in clinical studies, FDA recently issued guidelines on how to study drugs in the elderly.

Rare Disease Treatments: Orphans' Saving Lives : Part 2
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
That was the case with Ucephan, made by Saul Brusilow, M.D., at Johns Hopkins University until it was picked up by Kendall-McGraw. Ucephan is used to treat three forms of urea-cycle disorder that, combined, affect perhaps 30,000 people.

Rare Disease Treatments: Orphans' Saving Lives
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The lives of many with rare conditions, such as leprosy, severe combined immunodeficiency, AIDS, and Wilson's disease, have been improved--and often extended--by products developed under the Orphan Drug Act.

Diuretics
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Potassium-sparing diuretics-hydrochlorothiazide combinations are most commonly used to control high blood pressure (hypertension). Untreated, high blood pressure can cause serious problems such as heart failure, blood vessel disease, stroke, or kidney

Making Drugs from Plants
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
In Samoa, native healers called 'taulasea' use the leaves of a small tree to treat back pain and abdominal swelling. They use the roots to treat diarrhea and the wood to treat yellow fever.

Antihistamine
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
How you take a medication makes a big difference in how well it works and how safe it will be for you. Sometimes it can be as important as what you take. Timing, what you eat and when you eat, proper dose, and many other factors can mean the difference

Penicillins : Side Effects and Risks
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Although most penicillins are safe for the majority of people, some people may experience side effects. The most serious of these is anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can cause skin rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, shock

Penicillins : How to Take Your Medicine
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Penicillin, the world's first antibiotic, was discovered by British scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928. But it was not used until World War II, when the need for a treatment for injuries and infectious disease became desperate and penicillin was speeded

The Safety of Generic Drugs
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
By now, much of the nation has heard at least something about the Food and Drug Administration's investigation of the generic drug industry. The investigation has not only gripped the agency over the past several months, but also has had broad impact