Ask a Pharmaceutical Researcher anything

58 Questions

Last Answer on October 29, 2020

Medical marijuana what is the best usage? Is it effective? Is it safe?

Asked by Sean almost 6 years ago

I have the same questions. The answers are not very clear. The FDA has approved its use for certain rare seizure disorders and is useful in reducing nausea and vomiting in cancer chemotherapy patients. Other common claims, not formerly established indications, are chronic pain, inflammation, anxiety, appetite and several mental health conditions. Best usage - replace opiates for chronic pain. Judging effectiveness clinically has got to be difficult since therapeutic success is subjective. I imagine it's hard to identify a patient's true need versus desire for it. As far as safety goes, there are the dangers associated with intoxication and smoking probably carries risks similar to tobacco.

715 Votes

What do you think of herbal medicine?

Asked by Carlene almost 6 years ago

Millions of people around the world rely on plant-based remedies for treating their ailments and I would never say that they are making a mistake. There's often thousands of years of experience behind this practice. It's well known that a vast number of pharmacological agents originated from biology. I myself prefer only to use the specific compounds derived from these materials for two reasons. First, it avoids the complications that might exist from other components in the material. For example, I wouldn't eat a fungus for the penicillin. And second, I'm confident that the pure drug has been demonstrated to be safe, is appropriate for my condition and is dosed properly for effectiveness. I believe that herbal medicines currently marketed in the US are generally safe, but like other non-FDA approved supplements for weight-loss, BPH, memory, etc. their health claims are dubious. Nevertheless, if it works for you, go ahead and use it.

714 Votes

Hello what do you think about that drug that was discovered in Australia that’s an anti-parasitic that could possibly cure the coronavirus or COVID-19 among other similar illness is. Thank you very much

Asked by Catherine about 6 years ago

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I hadn't seen this. I'm very familiar with this drug, ivermectin, IVM. It was discovered and developed in the U.S. in the 70's. Its primary use is in animal medicine for the treatment of worms in the GI tract. The Australian discovery is very exciting. They showed that IVM blocks COVID-19 in vitro (petri dish) and clinical trials are underway to test its effectiveness in humans with the disease. From what little I've read, the levels of IVM used in vitro will be difficult to achieve in the blood of patients when dosed orally, the only route of administration currently approved. Nevertheless, it may work at low levels. A successful IV safety study might be worth trying. Time will tell.

704 Votes

What do you think of the blood plasma for COVID-19?

Asked by Jane almost 6 years ago

Administering convalescent plasma, or for that matter monoclonal anti-covid antibody, is referred to as passive immunity. It will no doubt be useful for patients in whom virus is circulating in the blood stream. This may well be life-saving in these patients, but it would not be expected to prevent infection which is initiated outside of the blood stream. There's more to immunity than antibodies. There's a cellular component which serves to combat invading pathogens by surveillance and direct destruction. It's not clear how important this is for disease protection or whether vaccines will generate this cellular immunity. It's possible that true immunity may only be gained by actual infection and, unfortunately, may not be permanent.

697 Votes

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What do you think of meth?

Asked by Sammy almost 6 years ago

I answered a related question 7 years ago. Find it above and see if it answers your question.

691 Votes

What type of medicine would you think is the most fraudulent?

Asked by Garett almost 6 years ago

I don’t know what you mean by fraudulent. Is it the most counterfeited, the most unauthorized generic, or the one that I would say does not perform as claimed? Frankly, I don’t have an answer for any of these. My pet peeve is the endless promotion of herbals, and formulations that promise better memory, vision, prostate health, weight loss, etc. I don’t believe their ‘clinical’ evidence.

688 Votes

Why do some doctors prescribe meds knowing it’s dangerous

Asked by Jim almost 6 years ago

Every drug carries risks of side-effects which are sometimes dangerous. Doctors are responsible for determining whether the curative value of a prescription outweighs these risks. A competent physician does this with full knowledge of the drug profile and an intimate knowledge of the patient’s condition. A drug manufacturer applies to the FDA for permission to market a drug for a particular indication by submitting clinical evidence proving safety and efficacy. A drug may have more than one indication in its ‘label.’ Doctors are free, however, to prescribe drugs ‘off-label’ for a condition not specifically approved by the FDA. There may be published reports to support this or the doctor may have had good results with similar agents. They do this at their peril, though. They may be liable for injury. Doctors are human and may be subject to pressure from patients, drug companies, politicians, or criminals to prescribe in a way that is not in the best interest of their patient or worse, to support the dangerous and illegal trafficking of narcotics. So to answer your question, doctors may succumb to various pressures to use their power to prescribe in ways that may cause harm, thus violating their oath.

688 Votes