Archive for the ‘Drug Injury’ Category

If you take drugs for osteoporosis, read this… The Los Angeles Times (3/22, Adams) reports, “Long-term use of osteoporosis drugs seems to change bones in a way that could lead to unusual leg fractures, according to two reports presented earlier this month at a meeting of orthopedic surgeons. Doctors have reported seeing the unusual fractures …

If you take a high dose of Zocor, 80 mg., then you should talk to your doctor about this… The AP (3/19) reported that the FDA “said Friday the highest available dose of Zocor [simvastatin]…can cause muscle damage as well as severe and potentially lethal kidney damage.” Reuters (3/20) reported that the FDA, in a …

If you take Plavix, you’ll want to read this. Apparently, some patients are not responding to the medication, leaving them unprotected against heart attacks and strokes. The AP (3/13, Perrone) reported that the FDA “is adding its strongest warning to the label for Plavix [clopidogrel bisulfate], cautioning that some patients do not respond to the …

  Drug companies are finding ways to circumvent the rules and get more off-label uses for medications… The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (3/14, Fauber) reported, “For years, drug companies sought out influential university doctors with impressive credentials to bring their message to other doctors and persuade them to write prescriptions for their products.” But as “the …

  The AP (3/8) reported, “A federal judge in Nashville has refused to dismiss 40 lawsuits against a Swedish-based pharmaceutical company accused of failing to warn patients that two of its drugs can cause severe deterioration of the jaw. U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell’s ruling last week is the latest blow to Novartis Corp. The …

ABC World News (3/5, story 6, 2:55, Sawyer) reported on how some drug bottles look alike and how the FDA “said it gets thousands of reports of such mix-ups every year.” The FDA’s Dr. Gerald Pan said, “Today’s near-miss, today’s medication error that doesn’t cause harm to somebody could cause harm to someone tomorrow.” ABC …

  In a front-page story, the New York Times (2/20, A1, Harris) reported, “Hundreds of people taking Avandia [rosiglitazone], a controversial diabetes medicine, needlessly suffer heart attacks and heart failure each month, according to confidential government reports.” A Senate Finance Committee review cites internal FDA documents that highlight a dispute among regulators that “has been …

  McClatchy (2/11, Holland) reported, “An Alaska mental health advocacy group that has spent years battling the pharmaceutical industry over medication is suing more than a dozen Alaska child psychiatrists, saying the doctors unnecessarily drugged children and committed Medicaid fraud.” The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights “filed as a whistleblower on behalf of the United …

The American Diabetes Association has accepted for publication in its prestigious medical journal, Diabetes Care, a study by Harvard researchers that shows users of the diabetes drug Avandia© have more than double the risk of a heart attack compared to other diabetes drugs. Further, a jointly sponsored study by both GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of the …

  This issue has been getting some attention lately. If you are using any of these medications, you may want to consult your doctor. The New York Times (1/7, B3, Pollack) reports, “The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it would review the safety of…widely used anemia drugs sold by Amgen and Johnson & …