Family Medicine

Study results presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association show that a reduced dosage of the antidepressant vilazodone is as effective as the currently approved dosage.

Study results presented at the 2014 APA annual meeting show patients treated with vortioxetine significant improvement in composite cognition scores compared to patients treated with placebo, independent of the drug's effect on their depression symptoms.

A hypertriglyceridemia drug from AstraZeneca has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Results from a six-week study show patients with major depressive disorder treated with brexpiprazole had significantly reduced risk of akathisia and other side effects.

Fecal microbiota transplants appear safe and patients tolerate them well in trials, but the evidence isn't there yet to establish overall benefit for treating ulcerative colitis.

An all-oral, ribavirin-free, interferon-free combination of three direct-acting antiviral agents that had achieved sustained virologic response in 92% of patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection has demonstrated even greater response in patients with genotype 4 infection.

Treatment with an 8-week regimen of combination sofosbuvir plus ledipasvir with or without ribavirin produced sustained virologic response rates (SVR) similar to those achieved with a 12-week regimen in non-cirrhotic, previously untreated, genotype 1 hepatitis C patients, according to results from the ION-3 trial.

By paralyzing the facial muscles involved in producing frown lines, onabotulinumtoxinA injection seems to alleviate depression, especially among patients who exhibit a high degree of hyperactivity.

Small, "naturalistic" study shows treatment with desvenlafaxine produces high rates of symptom improvement and remission with low rates of adverse events in patients with major depressive disorder.

The opioid overdose epidemic and resulting focus on preventing opioid abuse and diversion could threaten access to effective medications for patients with legitimate medical needs.

Patients in the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment Against Cirrhosis trial who were also treated with statins experienced a significant decrease in time to histological disease progression compared to patients who did not receive statin treatment.

Within the next two years, treatments for hepatitis C with 95% cure rates that are all-oral, interferon-free, and effective within 12 weeks or less with negligible side effects will be readily available.

Phase 2 study results show patients with ulcerative colitis treated with an investigational oral compound achieved higher rates of remission, reduced rectal bleeding, and increased mucosal healing compared to patients who received placebo.

Patients with hypertension after renal artery stenting who are not responsive to medications may have the option of renal sympathetic denervation to lower blood pressure.

Despite rampant opioid misuse, abuse, and diversion self-reported by chronic pain patients in a study presented at the American Pain Society 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting, primary care providers tended to downgrade the patients' risk for engaging in those drug-related aberrant behaviors, indicating a gap between physicians' objective risk assessment for opioid abuse and the actual extent of the problem.

Lower testosterone levels may lead men to have less sex with fewer partners, but a new study suggests low levels in both men and women may also increase relationship quality overall.

Teasing out relevant the relationship among risk factors, comorbidities, and migraine is challenging but critical for optimal migraine treatment.

For many migraine sufferers, current strategies to treat headaches, or to prevent their occurrence, are insufficient to ward off the near-daily occurrence of head pain, prompting researchers to investigate methods of pre-emptive migraine treatment.

The clinical challenge of accurate headache diagnosis in the office can be overcome by taking a broad view of the various diagnostic categories of headache.

Boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy saw continued and significant clinical improvement in motor function tests after 96 weeks of administration of investigational drug eteplirsen.

Patient characteristics and preferences and clinician risk tolerance are critically important guideposts in selecting among the various treatment choices for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

With several clinical trials already underway, real hope for modifying the disease course of multiple sclerosis may come from strategies to remyelinate damaged neurons and brain cells.

Session at the 2014 AAN annual meeting contrasts a "tiered" treatment strategy that focuses on safety with a "maximal efficacy" approach and offers an in-depth review of the clinical benefits and potential side effects of the current array of treatments for multiple sclerosis.

Study data from two phase 3 clinical trials announced at AAN 2014 show sustained effects one year after two years of treatment with alemtuzumab in patient with MS.

Phase 2 study results also show infants and children with spinal muscular atrophy treated with ISIS-SMNRx experienced improvements in muscle function scores, setting stage for phase 3 studies later this year.

Two-year data from the phase 3 ADVANCE study of peginterferon beta-1a in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis show that more frequent dosing yields greater improvements, and that treatment with the drug is associated with a reduction in relapse rates, slower disease progression, and fewer T2 lesions compared to placebo.

A multipronged approach built around screening, education, community outreach, and expanded access to care is critical to reducing the prevalence of hepatitis C in the African-American community.

Researchers used a combination of stem cells, growth factors, and scaffold to grow human cartilage, which they hope will heal patients with osteoarthritis and other joint pain.

A cancer analgesic has been awarded fast track status by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Literature review by the AAN shows that oral and oral spray forms of medical marijuana effectively treat some symptoms of MS, but there is little evidence to support efficacy in treating other neurologic diseases such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and Tourette syndrome.