Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

Newswise Los Angeles, (Embargoed Until March 26, 2012) Cedars-Sinai researchers have determined that two prevalent drug therapies rifaximin and lubiprostone offer some of the best options for treating irritable bowel syndrome, a widespread disorder that affects up to one in five Americans. The findings, based on an analysis of more than two dozen large-scale clinical trials, are contained in a peer-reviewed study published online by The American Journal of Medicine and set to appear in the publications April print edition. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome often experience abdominal pain or cramps, excess gas or bloating and visible abdominal distension. Many drug therapies cause troubling side effects of their own, including nausea, insomnia, palpitations and decreased appetite. For the millions of patients who suffer from IBS, effective treatment options have been very scarce, said Dr. Mark Pimentel, a lead author of the study and director of Cedars-Sinais Gastrointestinal Motility Program. Pimentel and the other researchers analyzed common treatments for IBS. For diarrhea forms of the condition, they evaluated tricyclic antidepressants; alosetron, a drug that slows movement of stool in the gut; and rifaximin, an antibiotic that stays in the gut and is currently FDA-approved to treat travelers diarrhea and hepatic encephalopathy. … Continue reading →

(CBSNews) Problems with taking multiple drugs are not limited to drug abusers. In the last 10 years, the percentage of people over 60 who take five or more medications has jumped from 22 percent to 37 percent. CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook looks into in the risks. Fifty-two-year-old Lenette Martin takes so much medicine, she's lost count. "Regularly, I take 11, maybe 12," she said. It's 12, plus four over-the-counter. Martin is one of more than 30 million Americans taking five or more prescription drugs, often called polypharmacy. With each added drug, the risk of side effects increases. For example, Prilosec, which lowers stomach acid, can weaken the effect of the blood thinner Plavix. Dr. Jerry Avorn of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital studies prescription drug use. "The assumption is," he said, "'Well, you're 80-something years old, no wonder you're dizzy. No wonder you're forgetful. No wonder you're not able to get out of bed in the morning.' -- when, in fact, it may not be because you're getting old. It may be because you're having a drug side effect." Some primary care doctors are trying a new approach -- bringing pharmacists like Sonia Freitas from behind the … Continue reading →

Alzheimers drug approved Drug dosage was increased despite the side effects THE NEW YORK TIMES March 23, 2012 Four months before a best-selling Alzheimers drug was set to lose its patent protection, its makers received approval for a higher dosage that extended their exclusive right to sell the drug. But the higher dosage caused potentially dangerous side effects and worked only slightly better than the existing drugs, according to an article published Thursday in the British Medical Journal. The drug, Aricept 23, was approved in July 2010 against the advice of reviewers at the Food and Drug Administration. They noted that the clinical trial had failed to show that the higher dosage 23 milligrams versus the previous dosages of five and 10 milligrams met its goals of improving both cognitive and overall functioning in people with moderate to severe Alzheimers disease. The single clinical trial of 1,400 patients also found that the larger dosage led to substantially more nausea and vomiting, potentially dangerous side effects for elderly patients. The drug was developed by the Japanese company Eisai but is marketed in the United States with Pfizer. It doesnt really have much benefit but does substantially more harm, said Dr. Steven … Continue reading →

(CBSNews) Problems with taking multiple drugs are not limited to drug abusers. In the last 10 years, the percentage of people over 60 who take five or more medications has jumped from 22 percent to 37 percent. CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook looks into in the risks. Fifty-two-year-old Lenette Martin takes so much medicine, she's lost count. "Regularly, I take 11, maybe 12," she said. It's 12, plus four over-the-counter. Martin is one of more than 30 million Americans taking five or more prescription drugs, often called polypharmacy. With each added drug, the risk of side effects increases. For example, Prilosec, which lowers stomach acid, can weaken the effect of the blood thinner Plavix. Dr. Jerry Avorn of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital studies prescription drug use. "The assumption is," he said, "'Well, you're 80-something years old, no wonder you're dizzy. No wonder you're forgetful. No wonder you're not able to get out of bed in the morning.' -- when, in fact, it may not be because you're getting old. It may be because you're having a drug side effect." Some primary care doctors are trying a new approach -- bringing pharmacists like Sonia Freitas from behind the … Continue reading →

Four months before a best-selling Alzheimer's drug was set to lose its patent protection, its makers received approval for a higher dosage that extended their exclusive right to sell the drug. But the higher dosage caused potentially dangerous side effects and worked only slightly better than the existing drugs, according to an article published Thursday, March 22, in the British Medical Journal. The drug, Aricept 23, was approved in July 2010 against the advice of reviewers at the Food and Drug Administration. They noted that the clinical trial had failed to show that the higher dosage - 23 milligrams versus the previous dosages of 5 and 10 milligrams - met its goals of improving both cognitive and overall functioning in people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. The single clinical trial of 1,400 patients also found that the larger dosage led to substantially more nausea and vomiting, potentially dangerous side effects for elderly patients struggling with advanced Alzheimer's disease. The drug was developed by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai but is marketed in the United States in a partnership with Pfizer. "It doesn't really have much benefit but does substantially more harm," said Dr. Steven Woloshin, one of the co-authors … Continue reading →

This is an ugly story. It's tragic and damning of the War on Drugs. The story seems like the plot of a television detective series such as The Closer or Law and Order but it is sadly a true tale of law and disorder. Michelle "Shelley" Hilliard went missing in the early hours of Oct. 23. Nearly three weeks later, her burned, dismembered body was found near I-94 on Detroit's east side. Once the body was identified, the killing was at first considered a hate crime because Hilliard was transgendered and there had been a recent trend of attacks against gays where burning was involved. However, in the weeks that followed, a different scenario emerged. According to news reports, on Oct. 20, the 19-year-old Hilliard was busted with a small amount of marijuana in Madison Heights. As often happens in cases like this, Oakland County Drug Task Force officers made an offer of some type of leniency if Hilliard helped them reel in a bigger fish. Hilliard apparently agreed to help set up a sting against Qasim Raqib. She allegedly told Raqib she knew someone who wanted to buy $335 worth of cocaine and marijuana. They set up a meeting … Continue reading →

GEORGINA STYLIANOU The nasty side-effects of cancer treatment could be eliminated, a Canterbury University researcher has discovered. Associate Professor Richard Hartshorn has spent 10 years working on being able to target cells and trigger reactions using light. His breakthrough research has been published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Chemical Communications. "This could be a different way of treating cancer or a way of treating cancer that might minimise some of the side-effects," he told The Press. "Chemotherapy targets cancer cells that divide rapidly but there are other cell types that grow quickly or divide rapidly, such as the cells that line the gut or the cells involved with hair production." Treatment for cancer attacked these healthy cells as well, he said, leading to the common side-effects of nausea and hair loss. "We have found that we can trigger reactions of a special molecule using light." This molecule contained ruthenium and cobalt as well as a stand-in for an anti-cancer drug. The ruthenium ion acted as an antenna that absorbed light. "Light hits the ruthenium, which then throws an electron to the cobalt and that causes the cobalt to release the drug molecule. Link: Researcher hopes to reduce cancer … Continue reading →

I wont take another prescription drug without first researching the side effects. My new cautious attitude was spurred on by a recent Health Canada safety alert related to the drug domperidone. A couple of weeks ago, Canadians were advised that the medication has been linked to causing serious abnormal heart rhythms and even death from sudden heart attack. Domperidone is approved to treat symptoms caused by some stomach and intestinal problems as well as nausea and vomiting associated with drugs taken to treat Parkinsons disease. Its also commonly taken by nursing mothers to increase milk supply, even though thats not its intended use. I was prescribed the drug not long ago to help with breastfeeding. I had taken it for several months with my first son and had planned on taking it with my second. Nausea, dizziness, dry mouth and headaches are among the listed potential side effects. As with all drugs, there is the secondary list of more serious symptoms, which supposedly only happen in some cases, and for domperidone this includes irregular heartbeat. In the past, I had never paid too much attention to the listed side effects, particularly to the ones sitting in the in some cases … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Mar. 18, 2012) The utility of a naturally occurring protein given, sometimes to great effect, as a drug to treat advanced cancers is limited by the severe side effects it sometimes causes. But a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist has generated a mutant version of the protein whose modified shape renders it substantially more potent than the natural protein while reducing its toxicity. The findings will appear online March 18 in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. The protein, known as interleukin-2 or IL-2, is a master regulator of the immune system. It acts as a growth factor for many different kinds of immune cells, including an all-important class called T cells. These cells can both recognize and organize attacks against pathogens or tumors. IL-2 stimulates T cells' proliferation in response to these threats. That makes it a potent anti-cancer drug. When injected into a patient, it spurs fierce anti-tumor activity. "In a substantial subset -- about 7 percent -- of patients with advanced metastatic melanomas or kidney cancers, IL-2 treatment actually cures the disease," said Christopher Garcia, professor of molecular and cellular physiology and of structural biology and the study's senior author. That's an impressive result, considering the … Continue reading →

Think of your stomach as one big test tube. Maybe you drop in a vitamin or herbal supplement each morning. Maybe a cholesterol-lowering statin or a blood-pressure drug. Perhaps an infection-fighting antibiotic or allergy-relieving antihistamine. And you wash it down with fruit juice or milk or coffee. That may not always be a good thing because some foods and beverages from chocolate and caffeine to dairy and alcohol as well as dietary supplements (vitamins, herbals, etc.) and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can interact with prescription drugs when they land in your gut. Those interactions may affect the ability of the drug to work as it should. Or that mix may cause unwanted side effects. With some tetracyclines, for example, you may need to avoid dairy products at the time you take the drug. If you take digoxin for your heart, you may need to steer clear of St. John's wort and large amounts of black licorice (that contains glycyrrhizin). Take ACE Inhibitors to lower your blood pressure? Go easy on high potassium foods such as bananas, oranges and green leafy vegetables. And depending on the statin you're taking there are many different types in this class you may need to avoid … Continue reading →