Side Effects

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday cautioned consumers against using quinine for leg cramps, warning that the drug could cause severe side effects, including death. Quinine, sold in this country under the brand name Qualaquin, is approved for treatment of uncomplicated malaria, but has a long history of use as a remedy for leg cramps, especially at night. In many countries, it is sold over the counter. Studies have shown that it can reduce the incidence of cramps by one-third to one-half but that as many as one in every 25 users can suffer serious side effects.

Who would have ever suspected that the guy behind " The Time (Dirty Bit) " would play fast and loose with using other artists' material? Will.i.am's new single with Chris Brown, "Let's Go," met with instant derision from EDM fans for its note-for-note appropriation of the Russian DJ Arty's 2011 single with Mat Zo, "Rebound" (listen to a side-by-side comparison below).  Today, in an interview on KIIS-FM (102.7), the producer and singer admitted using the track, blaming confusion over a previous attempt to sample and license the song for his own use. "Arty is a dope producer, so I wrote this song to 'Rebound' this last year," he said, as Billboard noted.

You've heard about the "Wheat Belly" diet, right? Well, technically, it doesn't exist. Dr. William Davis points out that the word "diet" does not appear on either the cover of his bestselling "Wheat Belly" book published in 2011 or on the follow-up, "Wheat Belly Cookbook," which was published last month and already tops bestseller lists. And that omission is intentional, Davis said. "Wheat Belly" is about stripping your plate of a substance that contributes to heart disease, causes joint pain, inflammation, foggy thinking, bloating and much more, Davis said.

Fantasia was ready to walk away from her music, and her life, not so long ago. "I was starting to hate what I loved - the label, the industry," said the R&B singer on the eve of her first album in nearly three years, "Side Effects of You. " "I was at a place where I knew what I wanted. And if I couldn't have it, I didn't want to do it anymore. " Fantasia Barrino was only 20 when she won the third season of "American Idol" in 2004. She then made a successful record, released a memoir, starred in a Lifetime movie about her own life and even tackled Broadway.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the supplement nitric oxide? Richard Sunland Nitric oxide is a gas naturally found in the body; its function is conveying information between cells. One of its main jobs is increasing blood flow by dilating blood vessels, and that's why it's sometimes given in supplement form to heart patients, orally and intravenously. In at least one study it's been shown to be effective for lowering blood pressure.

"Side Effects," Steven Soderbergh's tightly wound mind game, is definitely worth playing. It stars Jude Law as Dr. Banks, a psychiatrist counseling a suicidal young woman named Emily, played with great detachment by Rooney Mara. Emily gets only worse, until the doctor switches her meds. The upside, the depression lifts; the downside, Emily may have killed someone while sleepwalking, the result of a rare side effect. Soderbergh allows us to get as comfortable with the facts as Banks. Then he devilishly pulls the rug out from under us. It's fascinating to watch the doctor scramble to unspool what really happened.

Steven Soderbergh - who's indicated, not for the first time, that he's tired of filmmaking and may retire - has had a most unusual career. His persistent ennui has led him to all manner of narrative experiments, benighted projects like "Schizopolis" and "The Good German" that were doubtless more involving for him to make than for audiences to experience. But, as successes like "Erin Brockovich," "Out of Sight" and his new film, "Side Effects," demonstrate, when Soderbergh is willing to play it on the square, he's as good as anyone at bringing intelligence and verve to straight-ahead material.

“Identity Thief” will make a name for itself this weekend as the comedy is poised to easily pocket the No. 1 spot at the box office. The film, co-starring Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, is set to debut with a strong $25 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. The only other movie hitting theaters this weekend, Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller “Side Effects,” will start off with a far lower sum of about $12 million. “Identity Thief” marks the first major feature film role for McCarthy, who gained massive popularity after her Oscar-nominated supporting turn in 2011's comedy “Bridesmaids.” Though she has appeared in a number of films over the years and stars in the CBS sitcom “Mike & Molly,” this year is the first that the 42-year-old actress will be able to prove she has box office clout.

Nobody wants to be bitten by a black mamba. One of the most dangerous snakes in the world, its venom can kill a person in less than half an hour. But a new study reports that there is something besides deadly toxin hidden inside the snake: a powerful painkiller that works as well as  morphine but without the side effects. In the report, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers from France described two previously unknown pain-killing peptides extracted from the mamba toxin.

Watching Alzheimer's disease steal away the memory, talents and very selves of its victims is hard enough for the people who love them. Now, a new pill formulated by a respected pharmaceutical company and approved by the Food and Drug Administration will do little to help most patients and will bring misery to some, say two medical investigators. The drug, Aricept 23 mg, is no more effective on the whole than the disappointing ones already on the market - but is more likely to cause gastrointestinal problems, wrote Drs. Steven Woloshin and Lisa Schwartz of Dartmouth Medical College in an article published Thursday in the medical journal BMJ. The new formulation was devised to serve commercial objectives, they say, and was approved despite a poor showing in company-sponsored tests.

Sizzurp, purple drank, lean -- that cough-syrup-laced concoction of many  names -- has been gaining popularity in hip hop culture and notoriety as more celebrities fall prey to its effects. Rapper Lil Wayne was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai last week, reportedly linked to use of the prescription-strength medication. The codeine in the medicine serves as a pain reliever and also suppresses coughing, said Dr. George Fallieras, an emergency room physician and hospitalist at Good Samaritan Hospital.

"Side Effects," Steven Soderbergh's tightly wound mind game, is definitely worth playing. It stars Jude Law as Dr. Banks, a psychiatrist counseling a suicidal young woman named Emily, played with great detachment by Rooney Mara. Emily gets only worse, until the doctor switches her meds. The upside, the depression lifts; the downside, Emily may have killed someone while sleepwalking, the result of a rare side effect. Soderbergh allows us to get as comfortable with the facts as Banks. Then he devilishly pulls the rug out from under us. It's fascinating to watch the doctor scramble to unspool what really happened.

When Charlie Lustman, who ran the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax Avenue until it closed in June 2006, was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer that year, he thought that his world would be forever changed for the worse. Doctors removed half of his jaw, fitting him with a prosthetic. But rather than let it get the best of him, Lustman turned the experience into something positive. A lifelong musician, the 47-year-old wrote a musical called "Made Me Nuclear," a one-man show about his illness and subsequent surgery that goes on national tour again in September (details at www.mademenuclear.com )

The current state of our healthcare system, and especially the pervasiveness of prescription pills, have been the subject of great and compelling interest to news outlets over the last few years. But it's not exactly been the stuff of great multiplex excitement. We received more proof this weekend with the opening of “Side Effects” . The movie, which tells of a troubled woman (Rooney Mara) for whom things begin to go askew when she tries a new psychiatric medication, grossed a dismal $10 million in U.S. theaters despite the presence of popular stars (Channing Tatum plays Mara's husband)

“Identity Thief” will make a name for itself this weekend as the comedy is poised to easily pocket the No. 1 spot at the box office. The film, co-starring Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, is set to debut with a strong $25 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. The only other movie hitting theaters this weekend, Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller “Side Effects,” will start off with a far lower sum of about $12 million. “Identity Thief” marks the first major feature film role for McCarthy, who gained massive popularity after her Oscar-nominated supporting turn in 2011's comedy “Bridesmaids.” Though she has appeared in a number of films over the years and stars in the CBS sitcom “Mike & Molly,” this year is the first that the 42-year-old actress will be able to prove she has box office clout.

Steven Soderbergh - who's indicated, not for the first time, that he's tired of filmmaking and may retire - has had a most unusual career. His persistent ennui has led him to all manner of narrative experiments, benighted projects like "Schizopolis" and "The Good German" that were doubtless more involving for him to make than for audiences to experience. But, as successes like "Erin Brockovich," "Out of Sight" and his new film, "Side Effects," demonstrate, when Soderbergh is willing to play it on the square, he's as good as anyone at bringing intelligence and verve to straight-ahead material.

When your 3-year-old is throwing a tantrum in the middle of the supermarket or has poured his milk all over the floor, the urge to spank may be overwhelming. If you've ever given in to that urge, you're not alone - research shows that up to 90% of parents spank their children, at least occasionally. But does it work? And more importantly, is it harmful to kids? Once considered a fairly standard parenting practice, spanking is now opposed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Assn.

Sizzurp, purple drank, lean -- that cough-syrup-laced concoction of many  names -- has been gaining popularity in hip hop culture and notoriety as more celebrities fall prey to its effects. Rapper Lil Wayne was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai last week, reportedly linked to use of the prescription-strength medication. The codeine in the medicine serves as a pain reliever and also suppresses coughing, said Dr. George Fallieras, an emergency room physician and hospitalist at Good Samaritan Hospital.

No one talks about therapy in London, Jude Law says. "As an Englishman, if you say you're visiting a psychiatrist, you have a problem," noted the British actor. "In the States, you're looking for an answer. " Law, then, isn't the traditional Brit, because when director Steven Soderbergh asked him to play a shrink in his new film "Side Effects," the actor didn't hesitate. The two had worked together before - on 2011's outbreak thriller "Contagion" - but in that project, Law was a supporting member of a large ensemble cast.

 A drug now used to treat leukemia was successful in treating relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, beating out the primary MS drug, interferon beta 1a, in two clinical trials reported Wednesday. The drug was also more effective in treating patients who had failed treatment with current drugs. The new drug, called alemtuzumab, could be approved for marketing as early as this year. The drug has some relatively severe side effects, but clinicians are confident those can be controlled with careful monitoring of patients.