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Migraine Guidelines: What Works, What Doesn't
Posted 23 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 23 – Dozens of medications are available to prevent debilitating migraine headaches, but most migraine sufferers don't use them, a new study finds. "Approximately 40 percent of people with migraines need preventive treatment, and only about one-third of them are actually getting it," said Dr. Stephen D. Silberstein, co-author of new guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society. The drugs include prescription, over-the-counter and herbal medications. Which will work best "depends on the patient," said Silberstein, director of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. The guidelines, published in the April 24 issue of Neurology, were scheduled for presentation at the academy's annual meeting in New Orleans, April 21 to 28. Dr. Brian M. Grosberg, director of the Montefiore Headache Center in ... Read more
Related support groups: Depression, Migraine, Effexor, Lamictal, Metoprolol, Topamax, Depakote, Effexor XR, Ibuprofen, Epilepsy, Naproxen, Migraine Prevention, Venlafaxine, Advil, Propranolol
Prescription Meds Can Put on Unwanted Pounds
Posted 2 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, March 2 – Medications taken by millions of Americans for mood disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic conditions can have an unhealthy side effect: weight gain. While other choices exist for some types of drugs, adjusting medications is not simply a matter of switching, said Ryan Roux, chief pharmacy officer with the Harris County Hospital District, in Houston. In the late 1990s, Dr. Lawrence Cheskin conducted early research on prescription medicines and obesity. "Some medicines make an early, noticeable difference, causing patients to become ravenously hungry, while changes are subtle for others. A few months taking them and you've gained 10 pounds," said Cheskin, now director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center, in Baltimore. To help increase awareness, Roux and his pharmacist group have compiled a list of "weight-promoting" and "weight-neutral or ... Read more
Related support groups: Bipolar Disorder, High Blood Pressure, Zoloft, Diabetes, Type 2, Wellbutrin, Seroquel, Prednisone, Prozac, Hypertension, Metformin, Paxil, Gabapentin, Lamictal, Sprintec, Mirena
Epilepsy Drugs' Risk of Birth Defects May Be Dose-Dependent
Posted 6 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
SUNDAY, June 5 – Four of the most frequently prescribed epilepsy drugs appear to increase the risk of serious birth defects when taken early in pregnancy, a new study finds. And the higher the dosage, the greater the risk, the international team of researchers reported in the June 6 online edition of The Lancet Neurology. "Our results show that dose selection is as crucial as the choice of drug," the authors said in a journal news release. Their study gives doctors the opportunity to prescribe the safest anti-seizure medication at the safest level for women with epilepsy who want to get pregnant, they said. The drugs studied were carbamazepine (Tegretol, Epitol), lamotrigine (Lamictal), valproic acid (Depakote), and phenobarbital. The rate of birth defects was higher with increased dose for all the drugs, the researchers said, but they emphasized that the vast majority of women in ... Read more
Related support groups: Lamictal, Tegretol, Lamotrigine, Phenobarbital, Carbamazepine, Tegretol XR, Carbatrol, Valproic Acid, Epitol, Depakene, Equetro, Lamictal XR, Lamictal Blue, Stavzor, Lamictal Orange
Newer Epilepsy Meds Less Likely to Cause Birth Defects: Study
Posted 17 May 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, May 17 – Newer epilepsy medications don't increase the risk of major birth defects in women taking these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy, according to new research. But because the drugs are relatively new, further studies are needed to get a clearer picture of their safety profile, experts said. In a large study of children born in Denmark, including those exposed to newer anti-epileptic drugs, researchers found the rate of major birth defects was 3.2 percent for babies born to women taking the epilepsy medications and 2.4 percent for women not taking these drugs. "In a nationwide Danish study of more than 800,000 births, we found no support for an increased risk of birth defects following use of newer generation anti-epileptics in early pregnancy," said the study's lead author, Ditte Molgaard-Nielsen, an epidemiologist at Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen. ... Read more
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Women Taking Certain Epilepsy Drugs Can Safely Breast-Feed, Study Suggests
Posted 24 Nov 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24 – There's encouraging news for women with epilepsy who want to nurse their babies. Children whose mothers took certain anti-seizure medications while breast-feeding don't appear to suffer any negative cognitive effects by age 3, a new study finds. The multi-center study looked at nearly 200 children whose mothers took one of four common antiepileptic drugs, and found no difference in IQ levels at age 3 among those who were breast-fed versus formula-fed. "For women who have epilepsy, this is one less thing that they as new mothers have to worry about," said lead author Dr. Kimford Meador, a professor of neurology at Emory University in Atlanta. The study was published in the Nov. 24 online edition and in the Nov. 30 print issue of the journal Neurology. The findings are part of the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs study, an ongoing trial looking at ... Read more
Related support groups: Lamictal, Depakote, Epilepsy, Tegretol, Dilantin, Lamotrigine, Depakote ER, Carbamazepine, Phenytoin, Tegretol XR, Divalproex Sodium, Carbatrol, Depakote Sprinkles, Valproic Acid, Epitol
Epilepsy Drugs Don't Raise Suicide Risk, Study Shows
Posted 5 Aug 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 4 – In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required epilepsy medications to bear a warning label about an increased risk of suicidal behaviors. The move came after an agency review of 199 studies that found patients taking the drugs showed about twice the risk of suicidal behavior. But now a study of more than 5 million patients contradicts the FDA's findings. It suggests that the increased risk of suicide has more to do with the conditions for which these drugs are prescribed than the medications themselves. For the study, researchers in Spain and the United States evaluated the health records of primary care patients in England. They found that people with epilepsy who currently use an antiepileptic drug are at no greater risk of suicide-related events than those who aren't taking the medications. "In our opinion, in the long term, it is not the drugs ... Read more
Related support groups: Lyrica, Gabapentin, Lamictal, Neurontin, Topamax, Depakote, Tegretol, Keppra, Lamotrigine, Trileptal, Depakote ER, Topiramate, Carbamazepine, Pregabalin, Tegretol XR
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Bipolar Disorder, Seizure Prevention, Seizure Prophylaxis, Schizoaffective Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Migraine Prevention, Migraine Prophylaxis, Restless Legs Syndrome
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