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After a few slow years, experts believe that there's reason to hope that 2013 might bring some recovery.

In a drug safety communication, FDA has recommended that the bedtime dose of zolpidem, for the treatment of insomnia, be lowered because new data show that blood levels in some patients may be high enough the morning after use to impair activities that require alertness, including driving.

FDA’s recent approval of crofelemer (Fulyzaq, Salix Pharmaceuticals, under license from Napo Pharmaceuticals), 125-mg delayed-release tablets, the first anti-diarrheal drug for HIV/AIDS patients taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), is a significant step forward in addressing the unmet medical need of people with HIV/AIDS on ART who experience noninfectious diarrhea, which often can lead to reduced treatment compliance.

FDA issued a draft guidance on Jan. 9 to help industry in the development of opioid drug formulations with abuse-deterrent properties, saying it considers development of these products a high public health priority.

Changes in tablet color significantly increase the odds that patients will stop taking their medications, according to a study published online first Dec. 31, 2012, in JAMA Internal Medicine (formerly known as the Archives of Internal Medicine).

FDA announced recently it approved apixaban (Eliquis, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer) to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

Distributing naloxone to heroin users may be a cost-effective way to reduce the number of overdose deaths, a new study finds.

A recent study found no increased risk of stillbirth, neonatal death, or postneonatal death in infants born to women who used a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescription during their pregnancies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has published a policy statement to provide pediatricians with recommendations for assessing and treating Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) in children.

Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts filed legislation on Jan. 4, to reform the state Board of Pharmacy and strengthen oversight of the compounding pharmacy industry in the state.

Retail pharmacy, at least the version created by major drug chains, is bad for your patients' health. That's the charge by long-time community pharmacist Dennis Miller, RPh, in a new book.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has announced its endorsement of the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation that thimerosal not be banned from vaccines.

Vitamin D deficiency may increase risk for developing autism, a researcher suggests.William Grant, Ph.D., Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center, San Francisco, Calif., and John Cannell, M.D., Vitamin D Council, San Luis Obispo, Calif., found that children ages 6 to 17 years old who lived in states with lower solar UVB doses during the summer and fall were more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those children who lived in states with higher solar UVB doses.

The FDA has warned more than 350 medical practices that they may have received counterfeit, contaminated or ineffective medications.

The use of aspirin, statins and lifestyle changes prior to elective peripheral vascular intervention for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) may reduce the risk for repeat procedures within six months, according to researchers. However, about half of patients failed to receive this therapy, the researchers found.

Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) can now be used to treat children who are 2 weeks of age and older, according to an FDA press release.

Augmentation therapy with L-methylfolate may benefit patients who have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and have had a partial or no response to SSRIs.

The label on telaprevir (Incivek, Vertex Pharmaceuticals) will now carry a boxed warning about potentially serious skin reactions following reported fatalities.

Pharmacological resistance to aspirin is rare. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia said they could not identify one case of true drug resistance, according to the study published online Dec. 4 in the journal Circulation.

Following priority review, FDA approved ponatinib (Iclusig , ARIAD Pharmaceuticals) to treat adults with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), two rare blood and bone marrow diseases.

About 75% of patients with mental illness and their caretakers reported that community pharmacists "seldom or never" assisted them with safety or effectiveness monitoring assistance, according to a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) online survey.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that California has the right to cut reimbursement rates made to Medi-Cal providers-including pharmacies-by 10%, which overturns a lower-court ruling that blocked the rate cuts, according to a recentreport from the Associated Press.

Rite Aid pharmacies in the Cleveland, Ohio area are participating in a Diabetes Control Program (DCP) through UnitedHealth Group to help patients manage their disease, according to a Rite Aid statement.