New website offers information that should raise competitiveness of drugs

Consumers Union has recently released a free website that aims to education people about the price, effectiveness and safety of various prescription dugs. Many patients are unable to afford the medications they need and are hence not being treated effectively which leads to further problems. In the cholesterol-lowering drug category of statins, generic lovastatin was determined to be the best drug to use if a patient needed to reduce their cholesterol by less than 40%. For those in need of greater cholesterol reduction, Lipirot (atorvastatin) is recommended. Of the proton pump inhibitors used to treat heartburn, ulcers and acid reflux disease, Prilosec (omeprazole) was determined to be the best and is available over the counter. Generic ibuprofen and generic salsalate were determined to be the most effective arthritis and pain treatment and are considerably cheaper than the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) class of drugs. People with gastrointestinal bleeding or stomach ulcers should not use NSAIDs at all.

Source: summary of medical news story as reported by Pharmalive

Related Disease Topics:

• High cholesterol
• Heartburn
• Ulcer
• Acid reflux disease
• Arthritis
• Pain
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Stomach ulcer

Article Source Details

About: New website offers information that should raise competitiveness of drugs

Date: 9 December 2004

Source: Pharmalive

URL: http://www.medadnews.com/News/index.cfm?articleid=197160

Related Medical Topics

This summary article refers to the following medical categories:

• Medication and high cholesterol
• Medication and heartburn
• Medication and ulcer
• Medication and acid reflux disease
• Medication and arthritis
• Medication and pain
• Medication and gastrointestinal bleeding
• Medication and stomach ulcer

More News Topics

Search Specialists by State and City