Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

Drug company sales reps rarely provide even minimal safety information about the pills theyre promoting, even when the medicines carry black box warnings, the gravest of all drug alerts, a Canadian-led international study suggests. The study, which involved family doctors from Canada, the U.S. and France, found that serious risks were mentioned in only six per cent of drug promotions. More than half 57 per cent of the sales pitches were for drugs that carry boxed warnings from American or Canadian drug regulators or were subject to recent safety advisories. Our results suggest a serious lack of information on harmful effects of promoted medicines, the University of British Columbia-led research team wrote in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Such omissions may threaten patient health. For their study, researchers had doctors in Montreal, Vancouver, Sacramento, Calif., and Toulouse, France complete questionnaires after consecutive visits from drug reps. Doctors were asked to fill out the questionnaires either immediately after each office visit or later the same day. Physicians were randomly recruited from the three countries from May 2009 to June 2010 to see whether differences in rules governing drug promotions made a difference to the information being provided. Laws in all … Continue reading →

Latest Prevention & Wellness News WEDNESDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) -- Drug company salespeople provide family doctors with little or no information about the harmful effects of medicines they are promoting, a new study says. Despite this lack of knowledge, doctors are likely to start prescribing these drugs after visits from company representatives, according to the findings from questionnaires completed by American, Canadian and French doctors. The study revealed that salespeople failed to provide any information about common or serious side effects or warn doctors about types of patients who should not use the medicine in 59 percent of the promotions. "Laws in all three countries require sales representatives to provide information on harm as well as benefits," lead author Barbara Mintzes, of the University of British Columbia, said in a university news release. "But no one is monitoring these visits and there are next to no sanctions for misleading or inaccurate promotion." Serious risks were mentioned in only 6 percent of the promotions, even though 57 percent of the medicines involved in these visits came with U.S. Food and Drug Administration "black box" or Health Canada boxed warnings, which are the strongest types of drug warnings in the two … Continue reading →

London, Apr 8 (ANI): Cholesterol-reducing tablets statins have positive benefits despite some side effects like headaches, nosebleeds and digestive problems, an extensive study has concluded. The drug has already led to a marked reduction in people suffering heart attacks. But thousands of patients give up on the pills after suffering minor side effects. Now, however, research scientists have come to the conclusion that, in most cases, users should continue to take statins, the Daily Express reports. Cardiologist Dr Dennis Ko said for people who would benefit from these drugs significantly, particularly for people with a history of heart problems, you should persist. The majority of the time, the side effects could get better, he added. The advice of Dr Ko comes after research based on the medical records of over 100,000 people, which found that stopping taking the drugs can lead to increased cardiac risks and that often the benefits of statins will outweigh mild side effects, the report said. Experts said the discovery had crucial implications because quitting statins for good increases the chance of serious heart problems in the future, it added. Statins are extremely effective at reducing cholesterol, the fatty substance, which clogs arteries, triggering heart attack … Continue reading →

In this "ribbon diagram," the HIV/AIDS drug abacavir (orange, blue and red spheres) interacts with a protein (grey) made by a particular gene that causes a hypersensitivity to the drug. The protein "shows" the body's immune system a peptide (light blue) it has never seen, causing an allergic reaction. (Phys.org) From a patient's point of view, one of the unsettling things about taking a new drug is the possibility of unwelcome side effects or worse, dangerous allergic reactions. As drugs are being developed and then enter clinical trials, these issues play a huge role in the process, increasing costs and sometimes determining whether a drug will get to market at all. One type of severe reaction is "hypersensitivity," in which the immune system over-reacts to a substance that is foreign but not infectious, producing symptoms that can be mild (such as rashes) to severe (organ failure, even death). In this study, researchers studied an antiviral drug known to cause hypersensitivity in patients who carry a particular gene. Using x-rays at Brookhaven Lab's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), they were able to "see" how at the molecular level, the drug binds to the protein created from the gene, triggering the immune … Continue reading →

Prevalin trade; Allergy When you suffer from hayfever, you want a treatment that is effective and that works fast! Instead of treating the symptoms once they've set in, you can now ... By: DigiBeeVideo … Continue reading →

Side-effects of statins can go away if you continue Stopping may be bigger risk than to keep taking them By Mail On Sunday Reporter PUBLISHED: 16:00 EST, 6 April 2013 | UPDATED: 16:00 EST, 6 April 2013 Side effects from taking cholesterol-lowering statins can be overcome by persevering with the drug, a new study suggests. The findings have important implications because halting statins can increase the risk of serious heart problems. The researchers say that doctors and patients should reconsider if theyve been permanently put off by mild reactions. For your heart: The side-effects of taking statins can be overcome if you continue to take them Its common that patients hear from friends or the internet that there are all these side effects and say theyll never take a statin again, says Dr Alexander Turchin, who worked on the study at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. But its worth giving them at least one more try. Side effects might not occur with a different dose or drug. Read more: Keep taking the statins or you might risk a heart attack … Continue reading →

Robert Sands_Toby AFRIN overdose. Meet an identical twin who was given a stroke by an overdose of over-the-counter drug called AFRIN. The Doctors who administered it at the Ch... By: Robert Sands … Continue reading →

The Drug Risk Resource Center is the Webs largest source for information on prescription drug warnings, side effects and legal news. Visit http://www.DrugRisk.com Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) April 04, 2013 DrugRisk seeks to improve the safety of patients using prescription drugs and devices by providing the latest warnings, research, legal news and recalls. Visitors can find out if others are experiencing similar side effects and decide if they need legal advice. Health experts have linked contraceptives like NuvaRing to higher risks of blood clots than traditional birth control pills. Last year, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study finding vaginal ring contraceptives could relate to a 2.5 to 3-fold increased risk of blood clots*. Due to the number of patients filing a NuvaRing lawsuit, approximately 1,097 cases have been consolidated to a special federal court in Missouri. The formal case is known as In re: NuvaRing Products Liability Litigation, No. 08-md-1964, JPML, Eastern District Missouri. U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel recently delayed the start of these cases until October 21, 2013, while other cases in a New Jersey court will begin on May 6, 2013**. Now, DrugRisk has learned that Judge Sippel has ordered that expert witnesses for … Continue reading →

The DrugRisk Resource Center is the Webs largest source for information on prescription drug research, side effects and legal news. Visit http://www.DrugRisk.com San Jose, CA (PRWEB) April 05, 2013 DrugRisk was designed to improve the safety of those using popular prescription drugs and devices by providing the latest warnings, studies, recalls and legal news. Visitors can see if others have experienced similar side effects and decide if they need legal advice. The FDA has reported receiving over 47,000 AERS adverse event reports for alleged Mirena side effects among women using the IUD*. 5079 of those involved dislocation, while 1421 involved device migration, which can damage the uterine wall or nearby organs*. Over 6% of those required hospitalization or surgery. In legal news, DrugRisk reports that patients have asked that the growing number of lawsuits alleging injury be consolidated in one federal Multi-District Litigation court in Ohio**. However, in a recent hearing before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, Bayer opposed consolidating the cases over concerns that it could increase the number of patents filing claims***. Now, the resource center has added information showing Bayer has asked the Administrative Director of New Jersey Courts to consolidate cases to Middlesex County New … Continue reading →

Getty Images/Visuals Unlimited Many people stop taking cholesterol-lowering statins due to muscle pain or nausea, but most people are able to resume taking a different type of the same drug. Statins are among the most prescribed medications in the U.S., with one in four Americans over age 45 years relying on the drugs to lower cholesterol, according to the latest government statistics. But recent reports about their side effects, including serious muscle weakness, memory loss and an increased risk of diabetes, prompted many to discontinue the medications, at least temporarily. In a study of more than 107,835 patients prescribed statins between 2000 and 2008, about 20% reported experiencing a side effect such as muscle pain or nausea related to the drugs, and about half of these patients stopped taking the statin. But more than 90% of these patients who started taking statins again, often turning to a different version of the drug, were able to tolerate the medications the second time around. (MORE:FDA Warns Statin Users of Memory Loss and Diabetes Risks) Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the findings encourage both patients andphysicians to consider restarting statin therapy, even if side effects lead them to stop for a … Continue reading →