Why these patients, retailers and researchers say Canada shouldn’t drop medical cannabis post-legalization
(Aidan Geary/ CBC News) — Some researchers, patient advocates and industry professionals say Canada needs to maintain a distinct medicinal cannabis system following legalization of marijuana for recreational use, despite the Canadian Medical Association’s position that doctors should no longer be gatekeepers. “It is simply a reality now that cannabis is part of the medical landscape,” […]
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Study: adults use medications that lead to depression and suicide
(Alexa Lardieri/ US News and World Report) — More than one-third of adults in the United States are using prescription medications that could potentially cause depression or increase the risk of suicide. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago found that people may be using medications with these potential risks, but because they are […]
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What causes abdominal bloating?
(Zawn Villines/ Medical News Today) — There are many possible causes of abdominal bloating, including fluid retention, irritable bowel syndrome, and infection. However, for most people, the cause of bloating will be fairly harmless, and it can be treated at home. Abdominal bloating can be alarming, particularly when it is very painful. Some people notice that […]
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Here’s another reason to avoid taking unnecessary antibiotics
(Jamie Ducharme/ Time) — Taking certain oral antibiotics may come with an unpleasant side effect, according to new research. A study published Thursday in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology found that taking any of five types of oral antibiotics was associated with a significantly higher risk of developing kidney stones — mineral and […]
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Breakthrough surgery at CHUM helps lymphedema patients
(Aaron Derfel/ Montreal Gazette) — Some Quebecers suffering from lymphedema — a chronic, aching condition that often results in the swelling of the arms or legs — can now turn to a new surgical treatment offered at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal. In a medical first in Quebec, a team of surgeons at the […]
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Generic drug industry agrees to cut prices up to 40% in 5-year deal with provinces
Public drug plans agree not to ask for open tenders in bid to get drug costs lower (CBC News) — Canada’s generic drug industry has agreed to cut prices 25 per cent to 40 per cent for provincial/public drug plans, in exchange for suspending open tenders for five years. The pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance made the announcement […]
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Heart attack care dangerously unequal for women, study finds
(BBC News) — Fewer women who suffer a heart attack would die if they were given the same treatments as men, a new study found. Researchers analysed the outcomes of 180,368 Swedish patients who suffered a heart attack over a 10-year period. They found women were three times more likely to die than men in the […]
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In a milestone year, gene therapy is finding a place in medicine
(Associated Press) — After decades of hope and high promise, this was the year scientists really showed they could doctor DNA to successfully treat diseases. Gene therapies to treat cancer and even pull off the biblical-sounding feat of helping the blind to see were approved by U.S. regulators, establishing gene manipulation as a new mode of […]
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Organ donation after death on the rise in Canada, helping to ease some waiting lists, study finds
But rates of donations from living donors have declined, leaving many waiting for kidney transplants (Canadian Press) — A new report says the rate of organ donations from deceased people has risen substantially over the last decade in Canada, while the rate for living donors has declined. The data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information […]
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Millions more will need to lower blood pressure under new guidelines
(Gina Kolata/New York Times) — The nation’s leading heart experts on Monday issued new guidelines for high blood pressure that mean tens of millions more Americans will meet the criteria for the condition, and will need to change their lifestyles or take medicines to treat it. Under the guidelines, formulated by the American Heart Association and […]
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