Americans will be able to turn in unused prescription drugs at more than 4,700 sites nationwide on Saturday, April 30, as part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, US News and World Report reported.

The free event, sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, will take place from 10 a.m to 2 p.m.  Collection sites can be found by visiting the DEA website (www.dea.gov) and clicking the “Got Drugs?” banner.

DEA officials say the event allows people to safely dispose of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs that could be stolen and misused if left in a home medicine cabinet.

Take-Back day is also an opportunity to educate people about prescription drug abuse, according to DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart.  Statistics from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that more Americans abuse prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined.

Most often, the drugs are obtained from family and friends.

“Studies have shown that, for many, prescription drugs are the very first drugs they abuse and all too often they aren’t the last,” Leonhart said.  “That is why we are committed to helping Americans keep their homes safe by ridding their medicine cabinets of expired, unused, and unwanted drugs.”

Last year, more than 242,000 pounds of prescription drugs were collected at nearly 4,100 sites operated by government, community, public health and law enforcement partners, according to a DEA news release.

Click here to read more from US News and World Report.

According to scientists at the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at The Rockefeller University in New York City, common pain killers may interfere with the function of some antidepressants.

More specifically non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen, can actually reduce the effectiveness of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, the most widely prescribed type of antidepressants. Popular SSRIs include name brands such as Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft.

This finding by Dr. Paul Greengard and his team is incredibly significant, because chronic pain is often a secondary characteristic of many depressive disorders, and the use of over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs is quite high among depressed people.

The discovery came about in the course of research led by Dr. Greengard and Dr. Jennifer Warner-Schmidt into the link between Alzheimer’s disease and depression.  I find it very exciting to see that Dr. Greengard and his colleagues are making headway in understanding the biology of this devastating disease.

It’s long been known that depression is often found in Alzheimer’s patients, but the implications of this new study affect far more than the 5.4 million Americans living with the disease.  Clinical depression has been diagnosed in nearly 19 million American adults – about 10 percent of the population.  This makes it one of the most commonly treated medical conditions.  Experts argue that the real number of people suffering from depression is even higher because depressive disorders often go undiagnosed or untreated.

Anti-depressants, in turn, have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the US, and are prescribed more than drugs that treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, or headaches, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of all the antidepressants available, SSRIs remain the most popular because they are typically safe, effective and less likely to cause unwanted side effects.

SSRIs work by blocking the reabsorption of serotonin in the brain, which aids brain cells in sending and receiving chemical messages and subsequently boosts a person’s mood. These drugs help correct chemical imbalances of depression patients, but according to Dr. Greengard’s team of scientists, that might be exactly why they become ineffective when taken with popular over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications.

Many patients have to switch antidepressants due to lack of effectiveness at some point during treatment. This latest finding illuminates one possible mechanism for medication failure, and I believe it will help doctors counsel patients better concerning the secondary side effects of SSRIs.

Personally, I know I’ll think twice in my own practice when treating patients taking SSRIs in combination with anti-inflammatory medications.

Like all significant medical findings, I have no doubt that there will be many more studies to follow. But my hope is that in the meantime, this study helps to open up the dialogue and reevaluate the course of action when it comes to treating depression, to improve the standard of care for these patients.

There are headaches, and then there are migraine headaches. Any headache can make you miserable, but a migraine can be excruciating. In fact, the most severe migraine headaches can just about bring you to your knees.

More than 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches. Their frequency and severity varies from person to person, but they strike women three times more often than men. And if there is a history of migraine in your family, there is an 80 percent chance you will have them as well.

Most people who suffer from migraines will have a first attack by the age of 30. Often they begin in childhood and then increase in frequency in adolescence. The condition usually continues through the thirties and forties, but attacks tend to decrease in frequency and severity with age, and they are rare after age 50.

Some people with these painful headaches will experience a variety of visual symptoms–such as flashing lights, blind spots, or zigzag patterns–either before or during the headaches themselves. Migraines make many people feel nauseous or light-headed. Vomiting and an extreme sensitivity to light and sound are other common symptoms. A migraine can incapacitate you for hours or even days.

While there is no cure for migraines and the exact cause of migraines is not known, they are now viewed as a vascular and inflammatory problem, so the new therapies being developed for migraine sufferers are focusing on these two pathways.

Not long ago, aspirin was the sole remedy for migraines, but today there are medications that can help reduce the frequency of migraine headaches and stop the pain once it has started. Severe cases are now treated with triptans, a class of drugs specifically developed to treat migraines. These drugs normally provide relief within 15 minutes to two hours in most people.

Preventive medication is available for serious migraine sufferers, though they do not eliminate the migraines completely. The beta-blockers used to treat high blood pressure and coronary artery disease can reduce the frequency and severity of migraines, and certain antidepressants can also help prevent migraines.

It’s important for migraine sufferers to avoid certain triggers, such as smoking, or certain foods or smells that may have triggered their headaches in the past. If you are a woman, birth control pills and other sources of estrogen may also trigger or make the headaches worse. Regular aerobic exercise is highly recommended to reduce tension and to help prevent migraines.