Medications Archive

Men often don't talk about delayed or absent orgasm. Still, these issues can have a profound impact on their sex life.

Erectile dysfunction continues to be the main sex-related issue among older men. Yet, two other problems also can arise with age: anorgasmia, the inability to achieve an orgasm during sex, and delayed orgasm, in which it takes longer than usual to reach orgasm and ejaculate despite proper stimulation. Men can experience either one or both.

While these conditions can cause stress for both men and their sexual partners, they don't have to hinder a healthy, active sex life.

In the journals

Age may not be a factor when it comes to who can benefit from statins. A study published online July 7, 2020, by JAMA found that people who started taking the cholesterol-lowering medication in their mid-70s or later had fewer heart-related problems and lived longer than non-users.

Researchers looked at 326,981 mostly male veterans, ages 75 and older, who were free of cardiovascular disease and did not take statins. Over the next 10 years, more than 57,000 began statin therapy.

Many provide links to published research about these heart -protecting drugs. Others mention personal beliefs about statins, some of which are inaccurate.

Statins are among the most frequently prescribed medications in the United States. These cholesterol-lowering drugs help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, especially for people who've already had one of those life-threatening events. But many people stop taking their statins or don't take them as prescribed, a phenomenon doctors refer to as nonadherence.

Hoping to gain some insight into this trend, researchers analyzed 11,852 posts that mentioned statins on Twitter over a five-year period. About a quarter of Americans use Twitter, which is one of the most popular social media platforms. Although many of the tweets featured ads or financial market information, nearly half were related to health issues associated with statins. Of these, more than a third provided resource information, such as a link to a published study. About 20% included personal beliefs or attitudes about statins, which proved to be quite polarized. Some people described statins as lifesaving, while others referred to them as poisonous or deadly, according to the researchers, whose study was published June 25, 2020, in JAMA Network Open.

Ask the doctors

Q. Is there anything I can do at home to ease sciatica pain?

A. Sciatica is a condition that causes pain that radiates down the buttock and the leg. It occurs when one of the two sciatic nerves in your body, which run from your back down to your toes, is compressed or irritated. Most often the problem is triggered by a ruptured disc or arthritis in the lower spine. This condition can be quite painful, but there are some strategies you can use at home to ease your discomfort.

Millions of Americans get coughs and colds during the winter, and many head to the drugstore to pick up one of the hundreds of common medicines available without a prescription. But those products often contain multiple active ingredients that are potentially unsafe if combined. Here's how to safely choose the right over-the-counter medication for your symptoms.

Research we're watching

Frail, older people with health problems may live longer if they take the blood pressure medications their doctors prescribe, according to a study published in the August 2020 issue of the journal Hypertension.

Previous research suggests that in general, older people benefit from blood pressure drugs. But trials usually don't include people with multiple medical conditions, because those health problems make longevity findings challenging to interpret.

Research we're watching

Ticagrelor (Brilinta), a drug that helps prevent blood clots, was approved in 2011 for treating people who had experienced a heart attack or acute coronary syndrome (a sudden loss of blood flow to the heart). Now, the drug can be prescribed to a broader group of people. In June 2020, the FDA expanded ticagrelor's approval to reduce the likelihood of first heart attack or stroke among high-risk people with coronary artery disease.

The expansion is based on results from a multiyear study of more than 19,000 people with coronary artery disease and diabetes at high risk for a heart attack. Participants who took aspirin plus ticagrelor were less likely to experience a heart attack, stroke, or death from heart disease compared with those who took aspirin alone.

Research we're watching

People with chronic pain may be more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than those without chronic pain, according to a study published online May 7, 2020, by the journal Pain Medicine.

From 2001 to 2005, researchers identified 17,614 Taiwanese people who had used pain relievers for at least three months. The most common causes of pain were spinal disorders, arthritis, and headaches; the pain relievers included both over-the-counter drugs and prescription opioids. For the comparison group, researchers used 35,228 people without chronic pain who were matched by age and sex to those in the first group.

Research we're watching

If you've ever experienced a bout of bacterial vaginosis, a vaginal infection that affects anywhere from 15% to 50% of reproductive-age women, a study published May 14, 2020, in The New England Journal of Medicine may be of interest. It found that women who inserted a type of probiotic called Lactobacillus crispatus (Lactin-V) in their vagina twice per week were less likely to have a recurrence of bacterial vaginosis than women who did not. Experts don't fully understand what causes bacterial vaginosis, but it is associated with an overgrowth of some microorganisms (such as Gardnerella vaginalis or Prevotella), which outnumber healthier types of vaginal bacteria, including a common one called Lactobacillus. In many cases, the condition will recur after treatment. All of the 228 women in the study were initially treated for bacterial vaginosis with the standard topical antibiotic metronidazole (MetroGel Vaginal). But after that treatment, 152 of the women were assigned to use Lactin-V for an additional 11 weeks. The remainder of the group got a placebo treatment. Researchers found that only 30% of the Lactin-V group had a recurrence of bacterial vaginosis by week 12, compared with 45% of the placebo group.

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Home delivery is just a few clicks away.

Lots of things can keep you from picking up a prescription at your local pharmacy. You may be stuck at home because of disability, illness, social distancing, or a lack of transportation. But the longer you go without your medication, the more your health is at risk. That's why it's important to know how to use home delivery services that bring prescriptions right to your door.

Local pharmacy delivery

Just like in the old days, some local pharmacies still send their own staffers to deliver prescriptions to their customers. The pharmacies are usually small and independently owned. You might expect that kind of service from them.