Rx Inspector tool is helping people find critical safety information on generic drugs

Katherine Dailey, Anavi Prakash, Zara Norman, Jessie Nguyen and Zhiyu Solstice Luo, Medill Investigative Lab; and Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica

The calls came over the span of a single month in 2004, patient after patient with strikingly similar complaints. Some told Oregon psychiatrist James Hancey that their new generic medication for depression had stopped working. Others described unexpected reactions — dizziness, flu-like symptoms and electric shock sensations in the brain.

“That started to tell me, ‘This drug is no good,’” Hancey said. “You get all these phone calls where people are saying the exact same thing.”

Hancey suspected that the generic was ineffective, and that his patients were suffering from abrupt withdrawal. But he had no easy way to confirm exactly where the pills came from or the safety record of the factory that made them.

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Night owls face higher heart risk than early birds, study finds

WCNC

If you’re someone who thrives after dark, you might want to pay extra attention to your heart health.

Night owls — those who naturally stay up late — may be more likely to develop heart disease, a new study has found. But experts say there are steps you can take to protect your health.

Watch the video HERE.