Experts concerned over FDA approval of potent new pain pill: “A coalition of experts is pushing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revoke its approval of a new, highly addictive painkiller.” The drug, Zohydra, was approved by the FDA last fall and is a “hydrocodone-based drug that is part of the group of drugs known as opioid analgesics.” It is scheduled to be available to chronic pain patients as soon as March. However, “FED UP!, a coalition of more than 40 health care, consumer and addiction rehabilitation groups is expressing concern that the drug – which contains a high dose of hydrocodone and is easy to crush – may be too easy to abuse.” The FDA and the drug manufacturer, Zogenix, maintain that the “drug’s benefits outweigh the risks.” 

Mental illness risk higher for children of older fathers, study finds: “Children born to middle-aged men are more likely than those born to younger fathers to develop any of a range of mental difficulties, including attention deficits, bipolar disorder, autism and schizophrenia, according to the most comprehensive study to date of paternal age and offspring mental health.” Children born to men aged 45 or older had twice the risk of developing psychosis, over three times the likelihood of being diagnosed as autistic, and approximately 13 times the chance of being diagnosed with attention deficit disorder compared to children of fathers aged 20 to 24. The report, published in JAMA Psychiatry, suggests that random mutations in sperm over time may contribute to this phenomenon