Medications and treatments Archive

A 2025 study suggested that a structured exercise plan can significantly reduce the risk of falls among older women who take multiple medications.

In a 2025 study, researchers estimated that fewer than four emergency department visits attributed to semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) occurred for every 1,000 patients taking the drug in 2022 and 2023. Most of the visits were related to gastrointestinal problems.

Metabolic syndrome is defined as having at least three of the following: abdominal obesity, high blood triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, and low HDL cholesterol levels. The condition significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, fatty liver disease, and sleep apnea. While each factor is problematic, the main driver is abdominal obesity, from visceral fat surrounding internal organs. The best way to reduce visceral fat is aerobic exercise, strength training, and a plant-based diet.

Topical painkillers might be safer than pills to relieve discomfort from muscle strains (like a pulled hamstring) or ligament sprains (like a sprained ankle). This is because topicals target the area of pain. As a result, other parts of the body are exposed to lower levels of medicine. That's important, since some painkillers, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), can pose severe risks-such as heart attack and stroke.

Using hormone therapy, which involves taking estrogen and sometimes progesterone, doesn't stop or slow the approach of menopause. The arrival of menopause is determined by women's ovaries, not by the amount of these hormones in the body.

Since its introduction in 1998, catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation has greatly improved, thanks to advances in the instruments, imaging techniques, and energy sources used during the procedure. The resulting increases in safety and effectiveness have transformed ablation into a routine procedure. For many people newly diagnosed with this heart rhythm disorder, ablation is now the first treatment offered.

Certain medications can leave people more vulnerable to heat-related effects or the sun's rays. The medications can raise the risk of dehydration, make people sweat too much or too little, impair the body's ability to regulate temperature, or raise the risk of getting a bad sunburn. In addition, higher temperatures may damage some medicines, including diuretics, blood pressure drugs, some antidepressants, thyroid replacement hormones, and some over-the-counter antihistamines.

In its 2025 guidelines for treating restless legs syndrome (RLS), the American Academy of Sleep Medicine stopped recommending the long-term use of dopamine agonist drugs, since they can eventually make RLS symptoms worse. Instead, the guidelines strongly recommend another class of medications as the first-line treatment: alpha-2-delta ligands, such as gabapentin (Neurontin), gabapentin enacarbil (Horizant), and pregabalin (Lyrica). Alpha-2-delta ligands do not make RLS symptoms worse.

In the last few years, the prescribing rate for zolpidem, a popular sleeping pill, has been declining in favor of the "off-label" use of an antidepressant called trazodone, which is known for its ability to make people drowsy. But doctors are concerned that trazodone hasn't been well studied for insomnia, it is not FDA-approved to treat the condition, and there are sparse data showing that it is safe or that it works for patients with insomnia. Experts advise choosing medications based on a patient's specific needs, not a trend.

The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends against screening for prostate cancer in men older than 70, but as life expectancy for this group increases and treatment options evolve, it's important for men to be aware of their options.