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New Study Raises Concerns About the Safety of Long-Term ADHD Medication Treatment in Children
A recent study by the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki in Finland and the Finnish Social Insurance Institution Kela reveals that the average duration of ADHD medication for children and adolescents is more than three years. However, reliable, controlled data on the safety of marketed ADHD medicines in children are available for only one year of follow-up.
The use of ADHD medication has increased notably in recent years, but its long-term effects in children have not been sufficiently studied, despite years of use. A recent population-based register study found that the average duration of ADHD medication treatment for Finnish children and adolescents was over three years. In the quarter of children with the longest duration of ADHD medication treatment, the treatment lasted more than seven years.
“This is an important research opening, as the duration of long-term use of ADHD medication in children and adolescents in everyday life has only been studied to a very limited extent,” says the study lead Päivi Ruokoniemi, a Specialist in both Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Child Psychiatry from the University of Helsinki.
FDA Issues Warning About Dietary Supplement Known as ‘Gas Station Heroin’
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health alert about the dietary supplement known as “gas station heroin.”
Tianeptine is not approved by the FDA for any medical use in the U.S. and is not generally recognized as safe for use in food. Tianeptine is frequently sold at convenience stores, gas stations, vape shops, and online retailers under brand names such as Tianaa, Zaza, Neptune’s Fix, Pegasus, and TD Red.
In a letter issued on May 8, Dr. Martin A. Makary, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, expressed his concerns about products containing tianeptine, which can lead to serious harm, including death.
“I am very concerned. I want the public to be especially aware of this dangerous product and the serious and continuing risk it poses to America’s youth,” wrote Makary. ” While the FDA is closely following the distribution and sale of these products, it is critical that you appreciate the magnitude of the underlying danger of these products, and disseminate information about it.”
CDC Accepts ACIP Vaccine Recommendations for RSV, Chikungunya and Meningococcal Vaccines
The CDC accepted the advice of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which made new and updated recommendations about the use of vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), meningococcal disease and chikungunya.
The CDC did not announce that the recommendations were accepted, but just added a two-line notice on the ACIP’s webpage, under the heading Recent Meeting Recommendations.
“ACIP approved the following recommendations by majority vote, and they have been adopted by the CDC Director. They will be published in MMWR [Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report] and reflected in CDC’s print and digital resources in the coming months,” the statement said.
ACIP has had a rocky start under new Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The meeting, which was supposed to take place in February, was postponed until April, and then the CDC took until May 15 to accept the recommendations.
Pharmaceutical Pollution Is Widespread Across the World’s Waterways
Many of the world’s waterways are awash with varying levels of pharmaceuticals, according to a wide body of research. These medical byproducts come from all different sources, including industrial dumping and agriculture. They can even come from our own waste; peoples’ bodies don’t absorb all the medication they take, so much of it ends up in the sewage system, which then frequently releases into the environment.
A new modeling study estimates that every year, thousands of tons of the most-used antibiotics are released into the world’s rivers from human consumption alone — and 11 percent of them reach the world’s oceans or inland sinks. Researchers have also discovered widespread contamination of aquatic ecosystems with antidepressants, heart medications and other drugs in recent years.
Though levels of drug accumulation in watersheds are often low, even trace amounts can have profound impacts on wildlife and human health — and climate change could be making the problem worse.
New Allegations About Timing of Pfizer Covid Vaccine Passed to House Panel
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Lawmakers are investigating whether Pfizer waited to share results of the Covid vaccine in 2020 until after that year’s presidential election, based on new allegations that a former Pfizer scientist has said he was part of an effort to “deliberately slow down” the testing, according to a new letter from the House Judiciary Committee.
The House panel is seeking information from Pfizer and from the scientist, Philip Dormitzer, after learning he allegedly told colleagues in 2024 at a subsequent job he was worried he would face an investigation of his role in the vaccine’s release and asked to be relocated to Canada.
Dormitzer has since denied that he or anyone at Pfizer tried to delay the vaccine, and has said that his comments to colleagues at drugmaker GSK, where he took a job in 2021, have been misinterpreted. GSK first reported Dormitzer’s alleged comments to federal prosecutors in New York late last year, leading them to launch a probe into Pfizer’s vaccine timing.
WHO Advisers Say Current Strains OK for COVID Vaccine Production
The World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 vaccine composition, after meeting earlier this month, today released its recommendations for updated vaccines, which say the current monovalent JN.1 or KP.2 strains are still appropriate, but monovalent LP.8.1 is a suitable alternative.
Over the last two years, after examining the latest data on virus changes and response to current vaccines, the group has been weighing in on strain recommendations twice a year, once in the spring and once in December.
The WHO’s latest recommendations come ahead of a meeting of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine advisory group on May 22, which will discuss the make-up of COVID-19 vaccines for use in United States during the fall and winter months. Current U.S. vaccines include the KP.2 antigen. Also, the WHO recommendations come as a few countries in Asia report rising COVID-19 activity.
The group emphasized that while country reporting gaps make it difficult to sort out detailed epidemiological trends, it’s clear that the virus continues to circulate, with the capacity for severe disease, long COVID, and death. Most deaths continue to occur in people ages 65 and older, and some countries have reported increased hospitalizations and deaths in children younger than one year old.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, to Step Down as Company Seeks a Turnaround
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who led Novo Nordisk as it rode the boom of its obesity and diabetes medications to become one of the biggest players in pharma, only to see that success stall in recent months, is stepping down as CEO, the company said Friday.
Jørgensen, who’s worked at Novo for more than 30 years and has been CEO for eight, will continue in the position for a period “to support a smooth transition to new leadership,” the company said.
The search for the next CEO is ongoing.
