While older patients generally benefit from using statins, the cholesterol-lowering medications also might have a significant downside: reducing immune response to the flu vaccine and its ability to prevent serious illness. A recent study found that to be the case, especially with synthetic statins as opposed to those naturally derived.

Pharmacists in Medical Practices Help Increase Hypertension Control

Having pharmacists meet with patients after reviewing their medical records turned out to be a cost-effective way to improve hypertension control. Find out what other benefits resulted from the pharmacist-physician collaboration to improve prescribing.

An upsurge in prescription drug use over a dozen years was largely driven by higher prevalence of cardiometabolic syndrome, including hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, according to a new study. Find out which drug type had the greatest increases for U.S. adults.

Severe Acne Patients Are Left Too Long on
Ineffective Antibiotics

At least partly because of the barriers to prescribing a more targeted drug, patients with severe acne tend to be left too long on ineffective antibiotics. The common practice needs to change, according to authors of a recent study, because it is contributing to antibiotic overuse and resistance.