Tag Archives: Drugs

Anticholinergic drugs increase your risk for dementia

While dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (the most advanced, severe and lethal form of dementia) are primarily diet- and lifestyle-driven, certain medications can also ramp up your risk. One of the riskiest classes of drugs in this regard are anticholinergic drugs, prescribed for such widely varying conditions such as depression, incontinence, insomnia, allergies and epilepsy.1 You… Read More »

Anti-Epileptic Drugs in Reproductive eAge Women: Valproic Acid and Topiramate Common

There have long been concerns regarding the safety of the anticonvulsant valproic acid (Depakote) during pregnancy.  Back in 2009, the American Academy of Neurology and American Epilepsy Society recommended against the use of valproic acid in women of childbearing age because of the various risks associated with prenatal exposure, citing significantly increased risk of congenital… Read More »

High blood pressure drugs to be offered to thousands more

New guidelines on diagnosing high blood pressure could mean thousands more people benefiting from treatment in England and Wales. Health bosses say offering blood-pressure-lowering drugs to more people with stage-1 hypertension would help to cut heart attacks and strokes. In total, about 450,000 men and 270,000 women could now qualify for the drugs. But some… Read More »

Transgender women taking PrEP have lower levels of PrEP drugs, especially in rectal tissues, than cisgender men

A study presented at last month’s HIV Research for Prevention conference (HIVR4P) in Madrid shows that transgender women who are taking feminising hormones and also taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have levels of the PrEP drugs tenofovir and emtricitabine in their blood that are about 25% lower than those in cisgender men, and levels in rectal… Read More »