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Megan Brooks The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new action today to combat the growing problem of abuse and misuse of the over-the-counter (OTC), opioid-based antidiarrheal medication loperamide ( Imodium , Johnson & Johnson), which is placing individuals at risk for cardiac dysrhythmia and death. To foster safe use of loperamide, the FDA is working with manufacturers to use blister packs or other single-dose packaging and to limit the number of doses in a package, the agency said. The FDA is asking manufacturers of loperamide, which is available OTC and by prescription, to change the way they label and package loperamide to "stem abuse and misuse that leaves us deeply concerned," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, said in a statement. In 2016, the FDA warned about life-threatening cardiac events, including QT interval prolongation, torsades de pointes or other ventricular arrhythmias, syncope, ...

Acne (pimples) plagues almost everyone, but what is acne exactly? A normal hair follicle also called a pore, has a sebaceous gland that secretes sebum, natural oil, used to moisturize your skin. When sebum is unable to drain to the surface of your skin from the follicle, it gets blocked and begins to grow bacteria. The growth of bacteria within the follicle becomes the inflammation considered as acne. Areas with the most sebaceous glands tend to have the most acne outbreaks. These areas include the face, chest, shoulders, and back. There are numerous types of acne and categories of severity along with acne treatment to control the blemishes. If sebum and the bacterial growth in the follicle remain below the skin, a whitehead surfaces on the skin. Releasing the pus, or popping the pimple, can help heal the blemish if done appropriately. Blackheads happen to be pores that open to the surface and the sebum oxidizes, leaving a dark mark. Contrary to popular belief, black...

BY KRISTIN CANNING  Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a form of intermittent fasting Research is limited as to whether it will help you lose weight Nutritionists say if it curbs unhealthy nighttime snacking, it could be a good thing If the idea of counting calories to lose weight sounds like the absolute worst, a buzzy concept called time-restricted eating (TRE) might be more up your alley. Time-restricted eating is basically a form of intermittent fasting, which has gained traction thanks to diet books such as  The 5:2 Diet  and  The 8-Hour Diet . Based on the theory that most of us spend way too many of our waking hours munching away, this diet method is as simple as shortening the number of hours during the day that you eat.   That could mean eating only between noon and 7 p.m. or 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. (it's up to you to decide how many hours you want to eat or fast per day). B...

AMANDA MACMILLAN A number of common herbal supplements, including green tea and Ginkgo biloba, can interact with prescription medications, according to a new research review published in the  British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.  These interactions can make drugs less effective—and may even be dangerous or deadly. Doctors know that herbs can affect medication regimens, wrote the researchers, from the South African Medical Research Council, in their new paper. But because people often don’t disclose to their healthcare providers what over-the-counter drugs and supplements they’re taking, it’s difficult for scientists to keep track of which drug and supplement combinations should be avoided. The new review analyzed 49 case reports of adverse drug reactions, along with two observational studies. Most people in the analysis were being treated for heart disease, cancer or kidney transplants, and were taking warfarin, statins, chemot...

Cynthia Rowland Photo: Kristine Weilert As the saying goes, "Beauty comes from within," and oh, how true it rings! That said, it also doesn't preclude you from wanting and trying to look your best on the outside. The reality is that sometimes our busy lives show up on our faces as tiredness, but there is a proven way to look more awake and rejuvenated that is all natural—facial exercises. In fact, a new study published this month in the journal  JAMA Dermatology suggests that facial exercise, sometimes called "facial yoga," can make faces look up to three years younger. "Now there is some evidence that facial exercises may improve facial appearance and reduce some visible signs of aging," says lead author of the study, Dr. Murad Alam, vice chair and professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine dermatologist. There’s absolutely nothing w...

Nancy A. Melville Dronabinol, a synthetic form of the cannabis compound   tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), shows efficacy in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, possibly representing a first pharmacologic approach to the tough-to-treat, but potentially serious, condition. "These findings support the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in patients with obstructive sleep apnea," the authors, led by Phyllis Zee, MD, the Benjamin and Virginia T. Boshes Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the Northwestern Medicine Sleep Disorders Center, Chicago, Illinois, write. "In comparison to placebo, dronabinol was associated with lower AHI [apnea/hypopnea index], improved subjective sleepiness and greater overall treatment satisfaction," they add. The study was   published   in the January issue of   Sleep . No Medications       With no approved pharmacotherapies ava...

Every woman has experienced cramping and pain around the abdomen during or before their periods. It might happen before your periods, as an unwelcome forewarning, or during your periods, leaving you tired and cranky until it's over. Young girls usually experience cramping during the first few years after the onset of periods. As you grow older, these pains generally decrease in intensity and may disappear completely after the birth of your first child. The cramps can be a monthly accompaniment to your periods or may occur rarely, and the pain from these cramps can be mild or severe. Emotional stress can increase the chances of you having cramps during your subsequent menstrual cycle. The medical term for menstrual cramps is dysmenorrhea. Incidentally, dysmenorrhea is the most common reason of absence from school among adolescents. Dysmenorrhea is of two types - one where the pain is only due to cyclical changes in your ut...

Megan Brooks Apps for addiction, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, acuity-adaptable rooms, and virtual reality for pediatric patients are among the topics poised to affect healthcare during the next 12 to 18 months, according to the ECRI Institute's    2018 Top 10 Hospital C-suite Watch List .   "This year we selected a range of technologies and infrastructure issues hospital leaders and their teams are facing, will be facing, or should consider," Diane C. Robertson, director of health technology assessment at the ECRI Institute, said in a statement.   Topping the list is the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved prescription mobile medical app to help treat substance use disorders (SUDs) involving alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and stimulants, but not opioid dependence.   As    previously reported  by    Medscape Medical News , the reSET app, from Pear Therapeutics, should be used in conjunction with bot...

Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW High levels of amyloid beta combined with symptoms of anxiety and depression that increase over time may signal preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD), new research suggests.   "It has been well established that people with neuropsychiatric symptoms are twice as likely to progress to the mild cognitive impairment phase of Alzheimer's disease over the course of the next 3 to 6 years and that somehow, these neuropsychiatric symptoms are involved with the process of progression," lead author Nancy J. Donovan, MD, associate psychiatrist, Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and assistant professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, told      Medscape Medical News .   "Our standing quest is to find out whether it is a parallel process or whether Alzheimer's disease biomarkers are involved, and this is a first step in establishing that there is a biologic...