https://medicalxpress.com/medications-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Clinical pharmacology A new Penn Nursing study suggests that the specific sedatives used during critical illness in early childhood may have long-term implications for a child's neurocognitive development. Martha A.Q. Curley, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health, and the Ruth M. Colket Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, co-led the study with R. Scott Watson, MD, from Seattle Children's Hospital. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-sedative-choice-pediatric-intensive-term.html Tue, 19 May 2026 19:20:01 EDT news698429641 A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that different SSRI medications affect metabolic processes in developing nerve cells in distinct ways. Alterations in energy metabolism, oxidative stress and lipid profiles suggest that these drugs are not biologically equivalent. The findings provide new insights into biological mechanisms but do not show that SSRIs cause autism, ADHD or other neurodevelopmental disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ssris-affect-metabolism-early-brain.html Tue, 19 May 2026 16:20:03 EDT news698423041 Creatine, one of the most popular supplements among gym-goers and athletes, does not appear to have the anti-inflammatory effect that many imagine. This conclusion comes from a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted in Brazil by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP), which evaluated clinical trials in humans. The study indicates that, to date, there is no consistent evidence that creatine reduces inflammatory markers in the body. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-creatine-physical-necessarily-inflammation.html Mon, 18 May 2026 19:40:03 EDT news698343182 A proof-of-concept study has created a blueprint for producing prostate cancer treatment more efficiently. Researchers at the University of Missouri, Cancer Targeted Technology (CTT) and Isotherapeutics Group (ITG) discovered an innovative method to speed production of a cancer-fighting drug candidate. The breakthrough means the prostate cancer drug candidate, known as CTT1403, could be produced more efficiently and reliably, and could lead to the production of more doses for larger clinical trials. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-automation-prostate-cancer-drug-candidate.html Mon, 18 May 2026 18:40:03 EDT news698342281 In November 2025, the White House announced pricing deals with multiple pharmaceutical manufacturers to lower domestic prices for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist drugs (GLP-1RAs) including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound. Those deals are part of a new "most favored nation" (MFN) policy that ties the cost of GLP-1RAs in the U.S. to the prices paid in other wealthy countries. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-favored-nation-prices-medicare-glp.html Mon, 18 May 2026 17:20:03 EDT news698339916 A statistical approach being used to support a new class of Alzheimer's drugs may lead to overstated claims about how the drugs work, according to a new study led by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-statistical-method-overstate-alzheimer-drugs.html Mon, 18 May 2026 11:00:06 EDT news698059082 Researchers from the University of California San Diego found that prescriptions for leucovorin, a drug sometimes used off-label for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), rose sharply among children after widespread media attention and public statements from White House officials. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-autism-drug-suddenly-limited-large.html Mon, 18 May 2026 11:00:05 EDT news698058121 UCLA Health researchers have identified a potential drug target for treating Fragile X syndrome, the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism that affects roughly one in 2,000 boys. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-drug-fragile-syndrome.html Mon, 18 May 2026 11:00:03 EDT news698069641 The antiviral drug ensitrelvir prevents infection in household contacts of COVID-19 patients when given within 72 hours after symptom onset in the index patient, according to a Phase III randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-antiviral-ensitrelvir-covid-household-contacts.html Fri, 15 May 2026 15:00:01 EDT news698070181 A newly developed targeted radiopharmaceutical treatment can effectively slow tumor growth in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), according to new research published in the May issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. In preclinical models, the treatment achieved complete remission of the disease, highlighting its potential to transform care for this highly aggressive cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-radiopharmaceutical-therapy-remission-pancreatic-cancer.html Fri, 15 May 2026 14:40:04 EDT news698068321 The infectious disease Lassa fever can be fatal, and there is a lack of treatment options with proven efficacy. Researchers at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) have led the first randomized clinical trial with the new drug candidate favipiravir. The promising results have been published in the journal Nature Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-treatment-lassa-fever-clinical-trial.html Fri, 15 May 2026 13:20:01 EDT news698067121 A single dose of the psychedelic substance psilocybin can provide rapid relief from depressive symptoms—within just a few days. This is shown by the first randomized, double-blind study in Sweden of psilocybin for depression. The effect persisted for over three months, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-dose-psilocybin-rapid-relief-depression.html Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:01 EDT news697967731 Researchers have identified the best dosage for each ADHD medication using data from thousands of people with the condition. The new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry provides the most comprehensive view of dosage effects for five commonly used medications for ADHD. The study is titled "Pharmacological interventions for ADHD: a systematic review and dose-effect network meta-analysis." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-adhd-medications-dosage-sweet-gain.html Fri, 15 May 2026 09:13:49 EDT news698055182 Combining two widely prescribed drug classes could provide the first effective treatment for early-stage Peyronie's disease, according to a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-viagra-key-halting-peyronie-disease.html Thu, 14 May 2026 19:10:01 EDT news697966741 Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, taken during the first trimester of pregnancy are not associated with an increased risk of major birth defects, according to a new study published in PLOS Medicine by Sharon Daniel of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Clalit Health Services, Beer-Sheva, Israel, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-common-nsaids-trimester-birth-defect.html Thu, 14 May 2026 14:00:03 EDT news697975419 Researchers from the SABIEN group at the ITACA Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), in collaboration with several partner institutions, have developed a new tool to estimate the risk of using medicines while driving. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-medicines-affect-tool.html Thu, 14 May 2026 11:14:29 EDT news697976041 Daily doses of peppermint oil have been proved to lower blood pressure for patients with mildly high readings, new research has found. A team of University of Lancashire academics discovered a daily intake of 100 microliters of peppermint oil, taken twice a day over 20 days, lowered the systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) by an average of 8.5mmHg. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-peppermint-oil-blood-pressure-clinical.html Wed, 13 May 2026 14:49:26 EDT news697902541 A Portland State University-led research team has developed a novel chemical compound that shows promise for the treatment and prevention of malaria, one of the world's deadliest diseases. Malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, results in approximately a quarter billion clinical cases and over a half million deaths annually. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-year-quest-yields-malaria-compound.html Wed, 13 May 2026 13:26:34 EDT news697897561 New research presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026) in Istanbul, Turkey (12–15 May) and published in The Lancet shows that people who have lost weight using the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of tirzepatide are seven times more likely to maintain that weight loss by continuing on MTD than those who stop treatment, while those who switch to a lower dose of 5 mg are four times more likely to maintain weight loss than those who stop. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-tirzepatide-full-dose-weight-loss.html Wed, 13 May 2026 11:09:19 EDT news697889281