Painkiller

Ibuprofen: advice update

The European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee has completed a review confirming a small increase in the risk of cardiovascular problems in patients taking high doses of ibuprofen (at or above 2,400 mg per day). But, no increase in risk is seen with ibuprofen at doses up to 1,200 mg per day, it said. Since the benefits outweigh the risks, the committee recommended updating advice on the high dose of the painkiller and anti-inflammatory medicine.

Dementia

Body weight matters

Middle-aged people who are underweight (with a Body Mass Index [BMI] less than 20 kg/m{+2}) are a third more likely to develop dementia than people of a similar age with a healthy BMI, according to a research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal. The findings also show that middle-aged obese people are nearly 30 per cent less likely to develop dementia than people of a healthy weight, contradicting findings from some previous research, which suggested obesity leads to an increased risk of dementia.

Heart

FDA approval for drug

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Corlanor (ivabradine) to reduce hospitalisation from worsening heart failure. It is approved for use in certain people who have chronic heart failure caused by the lower-left part of their heart not contracting well. The drug is for patients who have symptoms of heart failure that are stable, a normal heartbeat with a resting heart rate of at least 70 beats per minute and are also taking beta blockers at the highest dose they can tolerate. Heart failure is a common condition affecting about 5.1 million people in the US.

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