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Scientists have identified promising real-world links between common HIV drugs and a reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease. (Sanford-Burnham Prebys, 4/16)

New research conducted at US primary and urgent care sites shows that antibiotics didn't provide any benefit for patients with a cough caused by an acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). In fact, the findings, published yesterday in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, show that receipt of an antibiotic was associated with a small but significant increase in the duration of cough overall compared with those who didn't receive an antibiotic. Even for those patients with a confirmed bacterial infection, the time until illness resolution was the same whether or not the patients received an antibiotic. (Dall, 4/16)

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday affirmed a decision, opens new tab for Bausch Health that barred rival drugmaker Alvogen from marketing a proposed generic version of Bausch's diarrhea treatment Xifaxan until 2029. A Delaware federal court had determined that Alvogen subsidiary Norwich Pharmaceuticals' generic would infringe patents owned by Bausch's Salix Pharmaceuticals. It blocked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from approving the generic until the last Xifaxan U.S. patent expires in October 2029. (Brittain, 4/11)

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday approved the antibiotic pradofloxacin for treating respiratory diseases in cattle and swine. Marketed under the name Pradelex, pradofloxacin is a third-generation fluoroquinolone, which is considered a medically important antibiotic class. It was approved for use in cats and dogs by the European Medicines Agency in 2011. (Dall, 4/10)