Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common chronic neurodevelopmental disorder often diagnosed in school-age children that frequently persists into adulthood.Pharmacologic treatment of ADHD has been associated with reduced risks of substance abuse, criminal behavior, unintentional injuries, serious traffic accidents, and all-cause mortality. Drugs approved by the FDA for treatment of ADHD are listed in Table 1.

Recently published multisociety guidelines for the management of dyslipidemia emphasize early identification and treatment of dyslipidemia to reduce the lifetime risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and death.

Acesulfame potassium (Sunette - Hoechst), an oxathiazinondioxide, was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a non-caloric table-top sweetener and as an ingredient in chewing gum, powdered beverages, gelatins and puddings. The other non-caloric artificial sweeteners available in the USA are saccharin (Sweet 'N Low; and others) and aspartame (NutraSweet; Equal) (Medical Letter, 24:1, 1982).

The 1990 labeling for Norpramin, the Merrell Dow brand of the tricyclic antidepressant desipramine, reports the occurrence of sudden death in an eight-year-old child treated with the drug. Desipramine is also available as Pertofrane (Rorer) and generically.

Two new substitutes for fat will soon be available in supermarkets in the USA, not directly, but incorporated into low-fat foods. Simplesse (NutraSweet) has already been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is commercially available in some areas, but only in an ice-cream-like product called Simple Pleasures. Trailblazer (Kraft General Foods) is expected to be approved soon.

Gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB) sold in health food stores has recently caused outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness, central-nervous-system (CNS) depression, and seizures.

Breathe Right, an adhesive bandage device that pulls open the nostrils, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and is being heavily promoted to the general public as a treatment for snoring and night-time nasal congestion. The manufacturer's suggested retail price is $4.99 for a box of 10 strips.

The FDA has approved the marketing of RotaShield, a live oral vaccine for prevention of infantile rotavirus infection. Rotaviruses are segmented double-stranded RNA viruses that are the most common cause of severe diarrhea and dehydration in infants and young children.

The oral fixed-dose combination of the neprilysin inhibitor sacubitril and the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) valsartan (Entresto – Novartis) was approved in 2015 to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure in adults with chronic heart failure (NYHA Class II-IV) and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF; LVEF...

The FDA has restricted its Emergency Use Authorization for the adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) to adults who are unable or unwilling to receive another COVID-19 vaccine. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) and Moderna (Spikevax) are preferred for all persons without a contraindication.