Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel gave its blessing Wednesday to a highly anticipated weight loss pill that had been rejected by health advisers once before. The committee of outside physicians voted 20-2 to back the drug Qnexa, although the group urged that patients be monitored closely for potential heart problems, the Associated Press reported. A decision by the full FDA is expected in April. The agency typically follows the recommendations of its advisory panels. While effective at reducing weight, the drug, manufactured by Vivus Inc., was denied approval in 2010 because of its potential side effects. Before making its decision Wednesday, the advisory panel reviewed two years of data on the drug; when advisers last voted on Qnexa, only one year's worth of follow-up data was available. The drug combines the appetite suppressant phentermine and the anti-seizure/migraine drug topiramate. Phentermine was once widely prescribed as the "phen" part of the fen-phen weight loss drug. This combo was withdrawn from the market after its use was linked to high blood pressure in the lungs and heart valve disease. The problems were related to the "fen" or fenfluramine part of the combination, not … Continue reading →

Food and Drug Administration advisers voted against the pleas of consumer advocates on Wednesday to recommend approval of what would be the first new diet drug to hit the US market in 13 years. Called Qnexa, the pill is a combination of two older drugs – one itself a diet pill called phentermine, and an anti-seizure drug that appears to help suppress appetite as part of the combination. Such a new drug is desperately needed, with two-thirds of Americans overweight or obese. Current weight-loss products are limited and have only modest effects. But the field has been littered with failures, as many drugs have often deadly side effects – such as the heart valve damage caused by the once popular combination of phentermine and fenfluramine—Fen-Phen for short. Two other companies have diet drugs up for approval too, and the FDA advisers recommended extra studies on the heart effects of all the drugs. “Of all the obesity drugs, this one has the highest efficacy in terms of weight loss, so that shifts the balance in terms of requiring a post-approval study rather than a pre- approval study,” Sanjay Kaul, a cardiologist at UCLA, said at the FDA panel meeting. Public Citizen … Continue reading →

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee today recommended approval of the weight loss drug Qnexa, a treatment many hope will help millions of Americans who struggle with obesity . In voting  20 to 2 for approval, the committee said today that Qnexa's weight loss benefits for the chronically obese outweighed the risks of birth defects and cardiovascular problems that have been associated with the drug. An FDA advisory panel recommended against approval in 2010 over concerns about the drug's side effects, and the FDA rejected it shortly after that. Vivus, the drug's manufacturer, recently submitted additional research. The committee today recommended that the manufacturer take a number of steps to prevent the drug from causing birth defects like cleft palate, including a possible warning label targeted toward women of childbearing years. The FDA has considered numerous anti-obesity drugs in the past 20 years, but most have failed to meet the agency's standards for safety and effectiveness. But so far, data on Qnexa suggests that the drug is the most effective in helping patients shed up to 10 percent of their body weight. Those changes, along with diet and exercise modifications, could go a long way toward alleviating some of the health … Continue reading →

UNDATED (CBS) -- A Food and Drug Administration panel is holding a new hearing on the weight loss pill Qxena. Research has shown the drug is effective at reducing weight, but health advisers denied approval in 2010 because of its potential side effects including birth defects and increased heart risks. But the earlier decision was based on just one year of clinical data. At today's hearing, the drug maker will show off new safety data from patients who took Qnexa for a second year.  A Food and Drug administration panel is considering whether to recommend a new diet pill called Qnexa which combines the two drugs. A study found obese patients taking Qnexa lost an average 10 percent of their body mass, but the FDA rejected the drug in 2010, concerned about potential side effects including heart problems and birth defects. At Wednesday's hearings, the makers of Qnexa presented encouraging new findings about the drug's safety. More than one out of every three adults in the united states is obese but currently there's only one fda approved drug for weight loss. The FDA has not approved a diet drug since Xenical more than a decade ago. The FDA panel's recommendation is … Continue reading →

Attorney (866) 735-1102 Ext 336 Posted by Ed NormandFebruary 22, 2012 9:04 AM Most people accept the fact that there are side effects for almost all prescription medications. Often, these side effects are minor or only effect a small percentage of the population. But doctors and pharmaceutical companies still have a responsibility to the public to protect them from dangerous or defective drugs. Here are some popular prescription medications that can come with some serious side effects, courtesy of Men’s Health: Ambien. This popular prescription medication is a sleep aid, although it is becoming well known for its serious side effects. Some of the effects include “sleep eating,” memory loss and other odd behavior in general. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the company add this label to Ambien’s Medication Guide: “After taking AMBIEN, you may get up out of bed while not being fully awake and do an activity that you do not know you are doing. The next morning, you may not remember that you did anything during the night.” Yikes. Chantix. This one is supposed to help patients who are trying to stop smoking. Chantix is used to help curb cravings for cigarettes. According to one … Continue reading →

Widely prescribed drug for dogs has potentially lethal side-effect We all know that the big drug companies are not always truly honest with us regarding the potential side effects of their medications, and this is true for medications for dogs also. There is one drug for arthritis in dogs, Rimadyl, that is being widely prescribed in Crescent City. But what you are not being told is that one potential side-effect could be the death of your dog. I’ve done a lot of research on this drug and I will not give it to my dog. I’d like to offer for all who might be interested some links that are providing information about the risks of using Rimadyl. There are  thepetguardian.com/html/kpho_phoenix_-_dog_drug_may_be.html  and srdogs.com/ Pages/rimadylfr.html (this site also included a link on the side panel that shares the stories of some horrible deaths of dogs that may have resulted from Rimadyl. Very difficult to read for any dog lover.) Another is pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ doghealth2/ (a yahoo group of over 1,400 dog lovers.) If you’d like more information, please feel free to e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Leah L. Ward … Continue reading →

Attorneys Andres Alonso and David Krangle Announce that Alonso Krangle LLP has Filed Suit on Behalf of a Wisconsin Woman who was Diagnosed with a Right Femur Fracture after Using the Bisphosphonate, Fosamax, for over Five Years Melville, NY (PRWEB) February 20, 2012 The law firm Alonso Krangle LLP, a national law firm focused on fighting for the rights of victims due to drug side effects, announce their firm has filed a Fosamax lawsuit on behalf of Judy Kinning, a resident of Wisconsin, who was diagnosed with a right femur fracture after using the oral bisphosphonate, Fosamax, for over five years. Ms. Kinning’s Fosamax lawsuit was filed on January 30, 2012, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic County Division, and names Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. f/k/a Merck & Company, Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals as Defendants (Docket No. ATL-L-000795-2012-MT) The lawyers at the firm Alonso Krangle LLP are currently offering free Fosamax lawsuit evaluations to anyone who experienced a femur fracture that may be due to Fosamax side effects. To discuss a potential Fosamax lawsuit claim with an experienced and compassionate Fosamax side effects lawyer, please contact Alonso Krangle LLP at 1-800-403-6191 or visit our website, http://www.FightForVictims.com According … Continue reading →

Washington, Feb 20 (IANS) Drugs for Alzheimer's disease currently undergoing clinical trials may have adverse side-effects, warns a new study. The drugs could act like a bad electrician, causing neurons (nerve cells) to be miswired and tripping their ability to message the brain, suggests the study. "Let's proceed with caution," said Robert Vassar, professor of cell and molecular biology at Feinberg School of Medicine, who led the study conducted on mice, the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration reports. "We have to keep our eyes open for potential side effects of these drugs." Ironically, the drugs could impair memory, said Vassar, according to a Feinberg statement. The drugs are designed to inhibit BACE1, the enzyme Vassar originally discovered that promotes the development of the clumps of plaque that characterise Alzheimer's. BACE1 acts as a molecular scissors, cutting up and releasing proteins that form the plaques. Thus, drug developers believed blocking the enzyme might slow the disease. But in Vassar's new study, he found BACE1 also has a critical role as the brain's electrician. The enzyme maps out the location of axons, the wires that connect neurons to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Working with mice from which BACE1 was … Continue reading →

Public release date: 20-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Katarina Sternudd katarina.sternudd@ki.se 46-852-483-895 Karolinska Institutet A team of researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has generated a map over the effects of small drug-like molecules on PARP1 and other similar proteins in the body. This map may explain the mechanism behind putative side effects of the so-called PARP inhibitors, and can play an important role in the development of novel tailor-made cancer drugs. The study is presented in the journal Nature Biotechnology, and will hopefully contribute to new cancer therapies with fewer detrimental side effects. PARP1 is a protein with enzymatic activity that governs repair of DNA damage in our cells. In the past decade, PARP1 has been in the focus for a large number of industrial drug development projects, primarily targeting breast and ovarian cancers. More than 50 clinical studies have been initiated around the world. In the current study, the researchers at Karolinska Institutet have tested the effects of small drug-like molecules ? inhibitors ? on PARP1 and other enzymes of the same class. The effects of 180 substances on 13 different human PARP enzymes were studied. Many of the drugs that are currently being tested … Continue reading →

February 20, 2012 A weight-loss drug currently under a second review from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is causing concerns that it may be responsible for birth defects and heart problems, according to documents released by the agency on Friday. The drug, developed by Vivus, was rejected by the agency in 2010, largely because of those risks. A committee of outside advisers to the FDA will meet this week to reconsider whether the drug, called Qnexa, should move forward in the approval process, reports Andrew Pollack for the NY Times. Obesity specialists and patient advocates agree there is a huge need for obesity drugs to bridge a treatment gap between diet and exercise, which do not work for many people, and bariatric surgery, which is expensive and not suitable for those with specialized medical conditions. The FDA, however, has been cautious with approving diet drugs, in part because with two-thirds of American adults overweight or obese, such drugs might be used for a long time by millions of people. There is an FDA Advisory Panel meeting this month that is tasked with combing through 2-years’ worth of clinical data. When Qnexa was last reviewed, the Agency only had 1-year’s … Continue reading →