PJ, 13 June 2015, Vol 294, No 7866

UK bill to ban all new psychoactive substances

New psychoactive substances are emerging more quickly than they can be outlawed, but a new UK bill is proposing a blanket solution.…

Tackling prescription drug abuse

There are signs that strategies to address prescription drug abuse are starting to work but will an increase in illegal drug use be the payoff?…

Increase of ragweed pollen predicted across Europe

Results of a modelling study suggest that ragweed pollen loads in Europe are likely to increase four-fold by 2050, as a result of climate change and transitions in land use.…

Study investigates antihypertensives in patients with diabetes and kidney disease

Researchers find no survival benefit from any blood pressure-lowering agents in adults with diabetes and kidney disease.…

Nivolumab plus ipilimumab increases progression-free survival for melanoma patients

Nivolumab alone or combined with ipilimumab results in longer progression-free survival than ipilimumab alone in patients with previously untreated metastatic melanoma.…

The prescription opioid addiction and abuse epidemic: how it happened and what we can do about it

Opioid painkillers are supposed to provide pain relief, but there is now a plethora of injuries and deaths because they have been heavily marketed and inappropriately prescribed.…

Debate over naming of biosimilars intensifies ahead of WHO meeting

Drug regulators have noticed a proliferating problem. Around the world various regional regulators are applying different naming conventions for biosimilars.…

Decline in estradiol levels precipitates depression in susceptible women

Depression-prone women who were switched from estradiol to placebo patches experienced a significant increase in depressive symptoms, new research shows.…

Liver transplant for paracetamol overdose is more common in Ireland and the UK than several other European countries

Ireland and the UK have higher rates of paracetamol overdose that results in acute liver failure leading to registration for transplantation compared with several other European countries.…

Review collates evidence on increased risk of death for anticholinergics

A new systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that patients using any drug with anticholinergic effects have a 45% increased risk of cognitive impairment.…