Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors relying on studies published in top journals for guidance about how to treat women with breast cancer may not be getting the most accurate information, according to a new analysis. "Investigators want to go overboard to make their studies look positive," said Dr. Ian Tannock, the senior author of the new study in the Annals of Oncology. In two-thirds of the 164 studies Tannock and his colleagues scrutinized, that meant not listing toxicities - in other words, serious side effects, whether of chemotherapy, radiation or surgery - in the paper's abstract. Such abstracts summarize the findings, and run a few hundred words. That's important, said Tannock, of Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, because "most of us are so damn busy, we only read the abstract and skim the tables and figures." In fact, a fifth of studies didn't include toxicities in results tables, and about a third failed to mention them in either the abstract or the discussion section. Most surprising, said Tannock, was that in a third of studies, if the treatment didn't work as well as one might hope, researchers moved the goalposts, reporting results that weren't what the study was originally … Continue reading →

The DrugRisk Resource Center is the Webs largest source for information on prescription drug warnings, side effects and legal news. Visit http://www.DrugRisk.com Dallas, TX (PRWEB) January 10, 2013 DrugRisks goal is to improve patient safety through education of the latest drug warnings, recalls, studies and litigation news. In some cases, litigation can provide a look into drug studies and safety risks that werent previously made public, explains DrugRisk representative Ryan Mayer. The resource center recently advised of a warning by Australias Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) that the government may no longer furnish Pradaxa due to concerns that it is being prescribed at doses and patient ages not tested in clinical trials.* In the United States, experts disagree about the safety of Pradaxa and its bleeding risks. The FDA recently updated Pradaxa warnings to say the drug carries the same risks as warfarin.** However, the New York Times also reported doctors concerns that Pradaxa led all medications for adverse reports and currently has no antidote for internal bleeding.*** Due to the number of patients filing a Pradaxa lawsuit over internal bleeding, the cases have been moved to a special federal court in Illinois, formally known as MDL No. 2385, IN … Continue reading →

Microorganisms may get a bad rap in a setting like a hospital, but in the world of research, theyre offering fascinating new insights into human health and disease. One group of researchers, for example, has linked microbial changes in the gut to the dose-limiting gastrointestinal side effects of certain drugs, and under a newly formed startup called Symberix, theyre testing an inhibitor they think could reduce those effects. The story starts in the lab of University of North Carolina Professor of Chemistry Matt Redinbo. A colleagues battle with cancer, and the gruesome side effects of her treatment, led him to take interest in the cancer drug irinotecan (CPT-11), a chemotherapy agent used against solid tumors, often colorectal and pancreatic cancers. Its a very effective drug, as most chemotherapy drugs are, he said, but its efficacy can sometimes be limited by severe diarrhea. We know a lot about how to kill cancer cells, Redinbo said. The thing that we struggle with is how to kill the cancer cells without killing the healthy cells. Redinbo formulated a hypothesis that simply put the side effects were the result of how the drug affected a microbial enzyme called beta-glucuronidase in the intestines. Tests done … Continue reading →

The US Drug Watchdog is now saying, "We now fear elevated levels of cobalt, or chromium might cause severe side effects like liver, kidney, or heart damage, and we are urging all recipients of a metal, on metal hip implant to get a simple blood test that focuses on cobalt, and chromium levels." If the hip implant recipient's cobalt, or chromium levels are elevated the group is urging these individuals to call them at 866-714-6466, so they can try to get them to the best possible law firms, with the goal being compensation for the ordeal. http://USDrugWatchdog.Com (PRWEB) January 09, 2013 The US Drug Watchdog is now saying, "According to the New York Times, there are 500,000 US citizens who have a metal on metal hip implant. We have been working on the metal on metal hip implant issue for two years, and as usual the US FDA is sitting on their hands-no meaningful studies about cobalt, or chromium poisoning. We have talked to thousands of failure victims, and we are convinced metal on metal hip implants are going to turn out to be one more preventable huge train wreck for innocent US consumers. We believe it is vital all … Continue reading →

Public release date: 8-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Dr. Anna-Sabine Ernst presse@iqwig.de 0049-221-356-850 Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care The drug vemurafenib (trade name Zelboraf) has been approved since February 2012 for the treatment of advanced melanoma (cancer of the skin cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin). It can be an option for adults whose melanoma cannot be removed by surgery or has formed secondaries (metastases) and in whose cancer a change (mutation) has occurred in a certain gene (BRAF-V600). The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has examined the added benefit of the drug pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG). According to the findings, major advantages in terms of overall survival are accompanied by major potential harm in the form of side effects. Overall, there is an indication that vemurafenib offers considerable added benefit. Vemurafenib in comparison with dacarbazine The Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has specified the drug dacarbazine as the appropriate comparator therapy. One study that compared vemurafenib directly with dacarbazine was available for the benefit assessment. This is a randomized and open-label study, i.e. patients were randomly assigned to … Continue reading →

LONDON (Reuters) - A drug for bipolar disorder that works like lithium - the most common and effective treatment - but without lithium's side-effects has been identified by British researchers in tests on mice. Scientists say the drug, ebselen, may be a swift answer to long-sought after better medications for patients with the manic depressive disorder, since it is already known to be safe. If the drug could be "repurposed" and licensed for the treatment of bipolar disorder, it could reduce the unpleasant side effects of weight gain, thirst and potential kidney damage that patients risk when taking lithium. "Ebselen is an experimental drug that has been tested in people for other conditions, and does not have problematic side effects like lithium does," said Grant Churchill of the department of pharmacology at Britain's Oxford University. Bipolar disorder effects around 1 percent of the population worldwide and sufferers can experience moods that swing from one extreme to another, and have periods of depression and mania lasting several weeks or longer. These high and low phases are often so extreme they interfere with everyday life and work. In a telephone interview Churchill said that in tests, his team found that mice who … Continue reading →

January 7, 2013 redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online Metformin, the drug most frequently prescribed by doctors to treat Type 2 Diabetes, works differently than previously believed a discovery which could lead to new treatments that have fewer side effects. Lead researcher Dr. Morris J. Birnbaum, a professor at the University of Pennsylvanias Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism (IDOM), and an international team of scientists have discovered that, in mice, metformin suppresses the liver hormone glucagons ability to generate a key signaling molecule. Their findings have been published online in the journal Nature. One of the main reasons that a diabetics blood sugar levels become high is because of the inability of insulin to limit liver glucose output. Metformin lowers blood glucose by decreasing the livers production, Birnbaum said, but until now the medical community was uncertain exactly how it was able to do so. Previously, scientists believed that it reduced glucose synthesis by activating an enzyme known as AMPK. However, in 2010, Marc Foretz and Benoit Viollet from Inserm, CNRS and Universit Paris Descartes both of whom also worked with Birnbaum on this latest study discovered that metformin still worked in mice that lacked AMPK, suggesting … Continue reading →

The US Drug Watchdog says, "If you, or a friend were using birth control pills called Yaz, Yasmin, or their generic version Ocella, and severe side effects have occurred, such as a heart attack, a stroke a pulmonary embolism, or other severe medical conditions please contact the Johnson Law Group immediately at 1-800-996-9900 before time runs out to get you identified." http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com/ (PRWEB) January 08, 2013 Possible Side Effects Yaz/Yasmin The US Drug Watchdog says, "One of the biggest problems we have with respect to our drug initiative work, is the average US consumer never hears about a drug recall, or serious side effects related to a specific drug's use. We are attempting to change this very sad fact with aggressive initiatives focused on increasing public awareness, and hopefully suggesting possible help for victims." http://USDrugWatchdog.Com MDL No. 2100 (3:09-md-02100-DRH-PMF) M Thomas Martin Americas Watchdog 866-714-6466 Email Information Read the original post: The US Drug Watchdog Now Urges Users Of The Birth Control Pills Yaz-Yasmin to Contact The Johnson Law Group For a ... … Continue reading →

New York, NY (PRWEB) January 05, 2013 The prescription drug resource center DrugRisk.com has updated its comprehensive database to include the latest warnings on Yaz side effects as well as legal news on the ongoing Yaz litigation and settlements. The goal of DrugRisk is to improve patient safety through education. This includes furnishing the latest warnings, recalls, studies and litigation news related to prescription drugs like Yaz and Yasmin used by millions of women, explains DrugRisk representative Ryan Mayer. The resource center is advising patients of the latest Yaz health warning, in which the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists cautioned that birth control pills containing drospirenone, such as Yaz and Yasmin, may have a higher risk of causing blood clots.* DrugRisk also contains studies previously issued by the British Medical Journal and U.S. Food and Drug Administration which show drugs like Yaz can increase the risk of blood clots, DVT and pulmonary embolism by as much as 74%.** In legal news, DrugRisk has learned that thousands of Yaz lawsuits have been consolidated to a special federal Multi-District Litigation court in Illinois. The formal case is known as Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation (MDL … Continue reading →

Director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns have spent the last couple years making genre films with prestige casts to explore modern anxieties in a unique manner. The Informant! tackled fears of impotence and mediocrity through the story of a guy who envisions himself as a powerful insder agent.Contagion charted paranoia about the ever-closer proximity in which we live with others, usinga tagline that warned Dont talk to anyone. Dont touch anyone. Now the two finish out an informal anxiety trilogy withSide Effects. The filmwraps a thriller structure around a look at the insidious pharmaceutical industry, and the ways in which we rely on it, often blindly. A short new trailer for the film dropped today. Its a brief edit, just a minute long, but the effect is much bigger than the short running time as a husband and wife (Channing Tatum and Rooney Mara) deal with the fallout of the womans use of medication. More than a few things are obscured in this trailer, but theres enough here to get my attention. Side Effects hits on February 8. Apple has this trailer. SIDE EFFECTS is a provocative thriller about Emily and Martin (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum), a … Continue reading →