Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

(PRWEB) May 13, 2013 On May 9 a woman filed a lawsuit against drug makers Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly in federal court, alleging that the companies failed to adequately warn her about type 2 diabetes drug Byettas link to thyroid cancer, according to court documents for Childress v. Amylin Pharmaceuticals LLC, et al., No. 3:13-1114 (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California). The Rottenstein Law Group LLP maintains a Byetta Lawsuits Center at http://www.byettalawsuits.us, which features comprehensive information about the drug and steps that need to be taken to file a lawsuit. Elizabeth Childress was prescribed Byetta in January 2007 to treat her type 2 diabetes, and continued to take it through August of that year, according to court documents. In May 2011 she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and attributes it to her use of Byetta, a drug that has also been linked to both thyroid cancer and pancreatic cancer in women.* Childress alleges that the drug makers were aware of the risks but did not notify patients of them. It is important that the drug makers are held accountable, if the allegations are true, said Rochelle Rottenstein, principal of the Rottenstein Law Group LLP. At … Continue reading →

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) He's less than two weeks old, but he shows the telltale signs of a baby agitated and in pain: an open sore on his chin where he's rubbed the skin raw, along with a scratch on his left check. He suffers from so many tremors that he's been placed in a special area so nurses can watch him around the clock in case he starts seizing or worse, stops breathing. The baby is one of many infants born dependent on drugs. He is being treated at East Tennessee Children's Hospital in Knoxville, where doctors and nurses are on the front lines fighting the nation's prescription drug epidemic. Drug abuse in the state is ranked among the nation's highest, according to some estimates, a fact underscored by the number of children born with signs of drug dependence. In 2008, East Tennessee Children's Hospital treated 33 infants at the hospital for drug dependence, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome. Officials there expect that number to skyrocket to 320 this year. Since 2008, the hospital has treated 538 infants who are dependent on drugs. Last year, the hospital treated 283 babies suffering from dependence. "It blew us away," Andrew Pressnell, a … Continue reading →

* Theravance (NasdaqGS: THRX - news) shares up 11 percent * Drug to carry warning against use in asthma * Drug will compete with AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) 's Symbicort (Updates with FDA comment, side effects) By Toni Clarke May 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition often associated with smoking that can include emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or both. The drug, Breo, is an inhaled treatment made by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc (Other OTC: GLAXF - news) and Theravance Inc of the United States. It consists of a corticosteroid, fluticasone furoate, which reduces inflammation, and a novel long-acting beta-agonist, called vilanterol, which is designed to open the airways. The product is inhaled through a palm-sized device called Ellipta. COPD is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, according to federal data. Theravance shares were up 11 percent to $34.78 in afternoon trading. Glaxo's U.S. shares rose 1.95 percent to $51.69. Breo, or Relvar as it would be called if approved outside the United States, will compete with GlaxoSmithKline's twice-daily asthma and COPD drug Advair, a roughly $8 billion-a-year drug that contains the … Continue reading →

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 10, 2013 The diabetes drug safety advocates at DrugRisk.com are announcing new information on the site for those taking the medications Januvia or Janumet. The maker of the drugs has agreed to move a growing number of injury claims to a special federal court in California*. DrugRisk was created to improve patient safety by providing the latest warnings, recalls, studies and legal news to those taking popular prescription drugs. Visitors can see if others are experiencing similar side effects and decide if they need legal advice. The resource center contains information on Januvia and Janumet, which are pill-form diabetes medications sold by Merck to help those with type-2 diabetes control blood sugar. Last year, they were two of the best-selling drugs for the company, with sales of over $5 billion**. DrugRisk also contains research suggesting the drugs may be linked to cancer. A 2011 study from UCLA indicated the drug could increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 172% and thyroid cancer by 48%***. The Journal for the American Medical Association also recently warned Januvia could double the risk of pancreatitis, a major risk factor for pancreatic cancer****. Due to the rising number of patients … Continue reading →

Public release date: 10-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: La Monica Everett-Haynes leverett@email.arizona.edu 520-626-4405 University of Arizona The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and physicians continue to document that some patients experience fuzzy thinking and memory loss while taking statins, a class of global top-selling cholesterol-lowering drugs. A University of Arizona research team has made a novel discovery in brain cells being treated with statin drugs: unusual swellings within neurons, which the team has termed the "beads-on-a-string" effect. The team is not entirely sure why the beads form, said UA neuroscientist Linda L. Restifo, who leads the investigation. However, the team believes that further investigation of the beads will help inform why some people experience cognitive declines while taking statins. "What we think we've found is a laboratory demonstration of a problem in the neuron that is a more severe version for what is happening in some peoples' brains when they take statins," said Restifo, a UA professor of neuroscience, neurology and cellular and molecular medicine, and principal investigator on the project. Restifo and her team's co-authored study and findings recently were published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, a peer-reviewed journal. Robert Kraft, a former research associate in … Continue reading →

May 10, 2013 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and physicians continue to document that some patients experience fuzzy thinking and memory loss while taking statins, a class of global top-selling cholesterol-lowering drugs. A University of Arizona research team has made a novel discovery in brain cells being treated with statin drugs: unusual swellings within neurons, which the team has termed the "beads-on-a-string" effect. The team is not entirely sure why the beads form, said UA neuroscientist Linda L. Restifo, who leads the investigation. However, the team believes that further investigation of the beads will help inform why some people experience cognitive declines while taking statins. "What we think we've found is a laboratory demonstration of a problem in the neuron that is a more severe version for what is happening in some peoples' brains when they take statins," said Restifo, a UA professor of neuroscience, neurology and cellular and molecular medicine, and principal investigator on the project. Restifo and her team's co-authored study and findings recently were published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, a peer-reviewed journal. Robert Kraft, a former research associate in the department of neuroscience, is lead author on the article. Restifo and Kraft cite clinical reports … Continue reading →

(PRWEB) May 09, 2013 The Mirena IUD lawyers at the Rottenstein Law Group are troubled by recent news reported in AdverseEvents that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has to date received more than 47,000 adverse event reports about Mirena side effects for the Bayer-manufactured hormonal contraceptive device.* The most common side effects reported to the FDA include the expulsion of the device and the device dislocation (migration), according to a recent AdverseEvents Report. This is supported by a 2008 FDA report that mentions those alleged side effects, in addition to perforation of the uterine wall and pelvic inflammatory disease as primary potential issues.** We file Mirena lawsuits daily for those who believe their intrauterine devices have harmed them, said Rochelle Rottenstein, principal of the Rottenstein Law Group. These reports could be valuable evidence for Mirena plaintiffs during trials. Women across the United States have filed lawsuits that have been consolidated at the federal level (In re: Mirena IUD Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2434, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York) and in at least one state (In re: Application for Centralized Management of Certain Cases Involving Mirena, Morris County (N.J.) Superior Court) there has also … Continue reading →

Contributor (866) 529-2400 Propecia giveth and Propecia taketh away. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1997 for the treatment of male pattern hair loss, Propecia (finasteride) is the first pill that effectively treats MPHL on the vertex and anterior mid-scalp area, according to the Merck products marketing. In clinical studies, according to Merck, 9 out of 10 guys saw results with Propecia. On the other hand, one-fifth of balding men in a clinical series referred to in the November 2012 Journal of Sexual Medicine, reported, despite drug discontinuation, persistent sexual dysfunction for [greater than or equal to] 6 years, suggesting the possibility that the dysfunction may be permanent, because it frequently lingered long after the patient went off the drug. The George Washington University experiment published in the journal tracked 54 men. All subjects were otherwise healthy young men without any baseline sexual dysfunction, medical conditions, psychiatric conditions, or use of oral prescription medications prior to taking finasteride for male pattern hair loss, reads a part of the articles abstract, which was made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Sexual side effects were considered persistent if they lasted at least three months. Patient follow-ups took … Continue reading →

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) May 09, 2013 The prescription drug resource center DrugRisk.com is alerting patients taking the blood thinner Pradaxa of updated safety information on the site. The warning label for the drug was recently changed to advise that some people using the medication have reported a blood condition*. The goal of DrugRisk is to improve patient safety by sharing the latest warnings, recalls, studies and legal news related to prescription drugs. Visitors can see if others are experiencing similar side effects and if legal action is under way. Pradaxa was launched in 2010 to prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation. Experts have disagreed over whether it presents dangerous risks for internal bleeding. The FDA recently advised that Pradaxa is no more dangerous than traditional blood thinner warfarin**. However, DrugRisk contains information from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, who warned that patients suffering Pradaxa bleeding are nearly 5 times as likely to die than those with bleeding from Coumadin or warfarin. They also named anticoagulants like Pradaxa among the most dangerous drugs available***. The resource center also contains a study from the University of Illinois at Chicago suggesting the data used by the FDA may be flawed, and … Continue reading →

By Randy Dotinga HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) -- If you're a man suffering from low energy or libido, the drug industry is eager to help. So-called "Low T" -- low testosterone -- has become a common catch phrase in TV commercials, and sales of testosterone supplements are on the rise in the United States. But a new study suggests that many clinics aren't disclosing the risks of testosterone treatment on their websites. Researchers found that fewer than a third of 70 clinic websites mentioned the side effects of testosterone, although almost all touted potential benefits of treatment like improved sex drive and greater energy. Twenty-one percent, meanwhile, incorrectly denied that hormone treatment is linked to significant side effects. Study co-author Dr. Kevin McVary, chairman of urology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, criticized the clinics that failed to be open about the risks of testosterone treatment. "It's unprofessional, and it reeks of snake oil," he said. "People should beware of using the Internet for medical advice regarding testosterone." Testosterone, which is mainly produced in the testicles, is considered the male hormone (although it does occur in smaller quantities in women). Testosterone levels dip as men grow … Continue reading →