Drugs

Drug Lessens Parkinson's Psychosis Symptoms Without Worsening Motor Symptoms
Pimavanserin, a selective serotonin 5-HT2A inverse agonist, improves psychosis symptoms in Parkinson disease without worsening motor disability, according to an industry-funded, phase 3 study in the Lancet. Journal Watch

Botox to treat 'suicide' headaches
But now Tronvik, in collaboration with physician Daniel Bratbak at St. Olavs Hospital and Professor Ståle Nordgård at NTNU, has come up with an entirely new treatment. The gear they have developed looks a pistol with a very thin barrel, just the thickness of a knitting needle. The barrel is inserted up through the nose of the patient, and by passing through a natural hole in the nasal wall, the mouth of the barrel comes to a bundle of nerves behind the sinuses. The surgeon pulls the trigger of the pistol, which shoots a dose of Botox to the area around the nerve bundle. The whole process takes about a half-an-hour. MedicalXpress

FDA Issues Plan to Prevent Drug Shortages
The FDA flexed newly granted regulatory muscle on Thursday in efforts to resolve drug shortages, releasing a strategic plan and a proposed rule. The strategic plan, mandated by Congress last summer, aims to prevent shortages in the long term by improving the agency's response to imminent shortages and addressing the underlying causes of them. MedPage Today

Antidepressants, Lyrica OK Combo in Fibromyalgia
Patients with fibromyalgia who were taking antidepressants found that their pain was successfully managed with pregabalin (Lyrica), a researcher said here.

In a 14-week crossover study, among patients on stable doses of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and randomized to pregabalin or placebo, treatment with pregabalin was associated with significantly less pain, with least squares mean pain scores of 4.84 versus 5.45, according to Lesley M. Arnold, MD, of the University of Cincinnati. MedPage Today