/oss/taxonomy/term/4416/all en /oss/article/covid-19-medical-critical-thinking/dr-peter-mcculloughs-libertarian-medical-train-makes-pit-stop-east-palestine <p>“We are pledging to assist those Americans who are impacted by this disaster by offering free medical care.” On its own, a statement of solidarity and benevolence. But given who released the statement and the context in which it was made, I can’t help but see this as a public relations stunt.</p> Fri, 10 Mar 2023 19:21:54 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9430 at /oss /oss/article/health-videos/right-chemistry-snakes-and-medicine <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-edhe6yrvdh8" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Snakes and medicine" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/edhe6YRvdH8?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-edhe6yrvdh8&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Snakes and medicine" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Snakes and medicine</iframe> </div> </p> Mon, 30 Nov 2020 16:36:12 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8498 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/dexamethasone-triumph-chemistry-and-biotechnology <p>Whenever the “leader of the free world” has a health issue, the media explodes with a mix of facts and conjecture. President Trump’s bout with COVID-19 has focused attention on the treatments he has received which include dexamethasone, a steroid that has a wide spectrum of uses including reduction of inflammation in the bronchi, the airways that lead from the trachea into the lungs. Dexamethasone is a “corticosteroid,” one of a number of medications that chemically resembles the hormones produced in the outer layer, or “cortex,” of the adrenal glands.</p> Fri, 09 Oct 2020 18:34:34 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8444 at /oss /oss/article/health/are-anti-malaria-drugs-set-be-game-changer-battle-against-covid-19 <p>The words had hardly left President Trump’s mouth when FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn strode to the podium and politely walked back Trump’s claim that a drug that is effective in the treatment of COVID-19 would be made available almost immediately. Not so, said the Commissioner. The President had been referring to chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, a pair of drugs that have been used in the treatment of malaria since the 1940s. They were subsequently found useful in the treatment of some forms of autoimmune disease such as lupus.</p> Fri, 20 Mar 2020 18:46:30 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8187 at /oss /oss/article/health-history/drugs-need-be-properly-tested-being-put-use <p>The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. is under pressure to fast track drugs that may be helpful in the treatment of COVID-19. Remdesivir, originally approved for Ebola, may be helpful, as may the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. However, the safety/efficacy profile of these medications has to be clarified before they are used on a large scale to treat a disease for which they have not been studied. It is instructive at this time to reflect on the situation that gave the FDA the power to regulate drugs.</p> Fri, 20 Mar 2020 18:53:05 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8188 at /oss