It’s possible that women with too low an LDL cholesterol level could be at higher risk for stroke. After tracking nearly 28,000 women aged 45 and up for two decades, investigators determined that women with LDL levels of 70 mg/dL or lower were more than twice as likely to experience a bleeding (“hemorrhagic”) stroke than those with LDL levels in the range of 100 to 130 mg/dL.
According to a CDC report, 27,338 people died of overdoses over the past 18 months.
The FDA has put out a statement pointing out that “sudden discontinuation of opioid pain medicines” can lead to serious withdrawal symptoms.
A new osteoporosis drug has a new effect: romosozumab is able to restore lost bone — something other treatments can’t do. The FDA has just approved it. Patients taking the drug saw increases in bone density in their spines on the order of 15 percent — a huge figure, similar to the amount of bone made in early adolescence.
West Virginia Pharmacists Association is urging the state’s congressional delegation to insist on transparency in Medicare drug prices, and lower costs for taxpayers by cosponsoring S. 988/H.R. 803 to prohibit retroactive DIR pharmacy fees that inflate beneficiary cost-sharing at the pharmacy counter and increase costs in Medicare Part D. Data from CMS indicates these fees have increased 45,000 percent since 2010.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s year-end data results for 2018 showed a total of 5,816 actions (10.1% increase) reported to the NABP Clearinghouse. In 2017, 5,281 actions were reported. Of the 5,816 actions reported in 2018 included: 2,154 were on pharmacists; 1,762 were on pharmacy technicians; 1,583 were on pharmacies; 102 were on wholesalers; 95 were on other licensees; 55 were on pharmacy interns; 35 were facility controlled substance licenses; and 30 were on federal registrations.
