|
|
The Food and Drug Administration has approved Risperdal, an adult antipsychotic drug, for the symptomatic treatment of irritability in children and adolescents with autism. The approval is the first for the use of a drug to treat behaviors associated with autism in children. These behaviors are included under the general heading of irritability and include aggression, deliberate self-injury, and temper tantrums.
Women are 50% to 75% more likely than men to experience an adverse drug reaction.
More than 2,500 barbiturates have been synthesized. At the height of their popularity, about 50 were marketed for human use.
About 100 new prescription or over-the-counter drugs come into the U.S. market every year.
According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, lung disease is the third leading killer in the United States, responsible for one in seven deaths. It is the leading cause of death among infants under the age of one year.