From Memios
The Longevity Letter
Practical writing and video on living strong and active into your 90s. No hype, no supplements to sell. Just what the evidence supports and what it looks like on an ordinary Tuesday.
579 items
MedicationsAdalimumab
Where randomised trials are recorded here, adalimumab produces large relative improvements.
2026-10-03 · 26 min read
MedicationsAlbuterol; Ipratropium
For chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the combination measurably opens the airways more than either component alone: in the original 85-day trial peak FEV1 rose 31-33 percent with the combination versus 24-27 percent with either single drug, and in the trial supporting the Respimat device the combination beat ipratropium alone by 47 mL of mean FEV1.
2026-10-03 · 27 min read
MedicationsAlfuzosin
Limited evidence. The evidence for the one approved use is real but modest and mostly short-term.
2026-10-03 · 34 min read
MedicationsAmiodarone
The evidence is that amiodarone suppresses arrhythmias but has not been shown to prolong life.
2026-10-03 · 29 min read
MedicationsAmlodipine; Benazepril
The evidence here is unusually good for a combination pill, because one large randomised trial compared it head to head against the alternative combination. In ACCOMPLISH (11,506 high-risk people with hypertension) benazepril plus amlodipine produced fewer cardiovascular events than benazepril plus a thiazide diuretic: 9.6% versus 11.8% over a mean 36...
2026-10-03 · 22 min read
MedicationsAnastrozole
Anastrozole lowers oestrogen to near-zero in postmenopausal women, which starves oestrogen-driven breast cancer.
2026-10-03 · 22 min read
MedicationsAtomoxetine
The randomised evidence shows a real but moderate reduction in ADHD symptoms on clinician ratings in both children and adults, smaller than amphetamines in the same network meta-analysis.
2026-10-03 · 28 min read
MedicationsAzelastine
For allergic rhinitis, azelastine nasal spray beats placebo with a number needed to treat of 5.0 (95% CI 3.3-10.0) on a global assessment of efficacy.
2026-10-03 · 27 min read
MedicationsBenazepril
Benazepril blocks the enzyme that makes angiotensin II, so blood vessels relax and the kidneys retain less salt and water; blood pressure falls.
2026-10-03 · 31 min read
MedicationsBenzonatate
Limited evidence. The evidence base for benzonatate is thin and old.
2026-10-03 · 21 min read
MedicationsBetamethasone dipropionate with clotrimazole
The antifungal half kills the dermatophyte; the steroid half suppresses the inflammation the fungus causes, which makes the rash look and feel better faster.
2026-10-03 · 35 min read
MedicationsBisoprolol
The strongest evidence for bisoprolol is in chronic heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction.
2026-10-03 · 32 min read
MedicationsBrimonidine
As an eye drop it reduces how much aqueous humour the eye makes and increases drainage, lowering intraocular pressure by about 2 to 6 mmHg.
2026-10-03 · 28 min read
MedicationsBudesonide; Glycopyrrolate; Formoterol
The question this drug was built to answer is whether adding an inhaled steroid to two long-acting bronchodilators cuts flare-ups, and in the large trials it does.
2026-10-03 · 33 min read
MedicationsBudesonide
The evidence is strong for several specific uses and weak or negative for others, and the formulation matters more than the molecule.
2026-10-03 · 34 min read
MedicationsBumetanide
Its established job is to shift fluid off people who are overloaded with it - swelling from heart failure, from kidney disease including the nephrotic syndrome, and from liver disease.
2026-10-03 · 28 min read
MedicationsCalcitriol
It drives calcium absorption from the gut, mobilises calcium from bone with parathyroid hormone, increases calcium reabsorption in the kidney and suppresses parathyroid hormone.
2026-10-03 · 40 min read
MedicationsCalcium
As an antacid it works, briefly: crossover trials show chewable calcium carbonate raises oesophageal and gastric pH and cuts heartburn, but the effect on gastric acidity is short-lasting.
2026-10-03 · 41 min read
MedicationsCalcium Phosphate; Cholecalciferol
Calcium is the raw material of bone and vitamin D3 is what allows it to be absorbed and what suppresses the overactive parathyroid gland that strips calcium out of bone in deficient older people.
2026-10-03 · 34 min read
MedicationsCarbamazepine
For focal (partial) seizures carbamazepine is one of the two drugs that an individual-participant network meta-analysis of 39 trials and 14,789 people places in the best group on treatment failure.
2026-10-03 · 48 min read
MedicationsCefdinir
Cefdinir kills bacteria by blocking cell wall construction. The more interesting question is how much that helps, and the answer depends heavily on which infection. For the conditions cefdinir is approved for.
2026-10-03 · 32 min read
MedicationsChlorthalidone
Chlorthalidone makes the kidney excrete sodium and water, which lowers blood pressure, and that lowering is one of the best-evidenced benefits in medicine.
2026-10-03 · 36 min read
MedicationsCiclopirox
Limited evidence. It is an antifungal applied to skin, scalp or nails.
2026-10-03 · 30 min read
MedicationsCiprofloxacin
Well established. Ciprofloxacin kills bacteria by blocking the enzymes they need to copy their DNA.
2026-10-03 · 26 min read