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Grapefruit and its close relatives can increase the blood levels of certain drugs and cause serious side effects. Affected drugs include some medications for blood pressure and heart rhythm, among others. Grapefruit is a delicious citrus fruit with many health benefits. However, it can interact with some common medications, altering their effects on your body. If you’re curious about the grapefruit warning on many medicines, this article will help you understand why it’s there and what your options are. Here’s a closer look at 31 common drugs that may have dangerous interactions with grapefruit, as well as some alternatives. Note:...

To the known risk factors for cardiovascular disease—high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, overweight and obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity—a new one has to be added, clonal hematopoiesis. This condition is triggered by acquired mutations in blood stem cells and was already known to be associated with an elevated cardiovascular risk. Now, a new study resolves this by establishing clonal hematopoiesis as a new risk factor for atherosclerosis—the formation of lesions in the arterial wall that underlies most cardiovascular disorders. In a second study, the CNIC scientists propose the ancient medication colchicine as the central plank of personalized strategies to...

A poison specialist and former medical resident at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is charged with fatally poisoning his wife, a 32-year-old pharmacist who died days after she went to a hospital in August with stomach distress. Authorities say Connor Bowman, 30, tried to stop the autopsy on his wife, Betty Bowman — arguing she should be cremated immediately and claiming she had a rare illness, which hospital tests did not confirm. The medical examiner's office halted the order for cremation, citing suspicious circumstances, according to a criminal complaint, and an autopsy showed Betty Bowman died from toxic effects of colchicine,...

An exploratory analysis of the LoDoCo2 (Low-Dose Colchicine 2) randomized, controlled, double-blind trial found that daily therapy with a low dose of colchicine was associated with lower incidences of both total knee replacement and total hip replacement surgeries. Osteoarthritis is an increasingly common joint disease that can be associated with low-grade inflammation in response to weight-bearing traumatic injury. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between the use of anti-inflammatory therapies and the slowing of osteoarthritis disease progression. Colchicine is effective in many inflammatory and fibrotic conditions, but it is not currently recommended for treatment of osteoarthritis. Its long-term effects have...

The anti-inflammatory benefits of a common gout medicine may help save the lives of heart failure patients, researchers say. The medication, colchicine, could also reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients whose arteries are clogged with cholesterol, according to the study authors. "The signal for benefit with colchicine in these patients was very impressive, and I expect that these findings will have quite a significant impact on clinical care in heart failure and future research for patients with this condition," Dr. Kenneth Bilchick said. He's a professor of cardiovascular medicine. For the study, Bilchick and his team...

DR. FUDMAN is in private practice in Austin, Texas. He reports that he has no conflicts of interest. The price of colchicine is increasing by 50-fold, from about $0.10 per tablet to $5 per tablet, unless physicians and patients can convince the Food and Drug Administration to allow the colchicine made by generic manufacturers to stay on the market. A twice-daily dose of colchicine will increase from $6/month to $300/month because one company has taken advantage of FDA rules and the orphan drug law to the detriment of patients. Colchicine has technically been an “unapproved drug” rather than a “generic...