Statin Undertreatment for Middle-Aged, Overtreatment for Older Patients?

One-size-fits-all doesn’t work for recommendations about statin therapy, according to a new study. Guidelines issued in 2013 may be leaving middle-aged Americans undertreated while overtreating older patients. Find out what the authors suggest instead.

Reformulating OxyContin Reduces Abuse Somewhat, But at a Cost

Making the painkiller OxyContin harder to crush or dissolve decreased by nearly 20% the percentage of rehab patients who said they had abused it in the previous 30 days, according to a recent study. The reformulation is not foolproof, however, and making the prescription opioid harder to abuse may have contributed to an increase in use of illegal drugs such as heroin, the authors suggest. Here are the details.

For patients who are depressed, antidepressants might be more effective than statins or a combination of the two drug categories in reducing cardiovascular risk, according to new research. That effect was seen in patients with moderate-to-severe depression; taking antidepressants reduced their risk of death, coronary artery disease, and stroke. Here is how the authors explained the results.

Hoping for a Better Match: Components of New Flu Vaccine Announced

When at first you don’t succeed… After an influenza season when the components of the annual vaccine were not a good match with circulating viruses because of drift in the strains, international health organizations have announced what will be included in next season’s vaccine. How bad of a miss was this season’s flu shot and what will be the components of the 2015-16 version?