FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Deadly staph infections on the rise

  Kimberly French | October 18, 2007 10:41 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  It's all over the news lately, and yesterday there was a staph infection death in Kern County, Virginia, prompting the entire school district to close. A student reportedly died from a staph infection that proved resistant to antibiotic treatments. The story on MSNBC.com reports that more than a third of the population may carry staphylococcus infection. MRSA is the deadliest variety of staph...

• Diabetes Drug Byetta Linked to Pancreatitis

  Courtney Mills | October 17, 2007 9:42 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  The FDA has reviewed 30 cases of acute pancreatitis in patients taking Byetta, a drug used to treat type II diabetes. The agency suspects a link between Byetta and pancreatitis in some of these cases.Amylin Pharmaceuticals will be updating the information about acute pancreatitis in the PRECAUTIONS section of the Byetta label. Patients on Byetta should be alert for any signs of pancreatitis,...

• Child Cold Meds Pulled From Shelves

  Courtney Mills | October 12, 2007 9:18 AM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Major consumer manufacturers of over-the-counter infant cough and cold medications recalled fourteen different infant cold meds yesterday because of the danger of overdose of these medicines in young children.Consumer groups have long advocated changes in administering cough syrup to young children, especially two and younger. In this age group the risk of toxicity and overdose is much higher...

• Lilly Gives Zyprexa Stronger Warnings for Weight Gain, Hyperglycemia

  Courtney Mills | October 09, 2007 2:25 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Eli Lilly & Company, at long last, has stepped up the Zyprexa warning label on its flagship treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The warning label for olanzapine, the generic name for Zyprexa, now will read that Zyprexa has a greater propensity to cause weight gain and high blood sugar than other atypical antipsychotics.Physicians have noticed for several years the alarming side...

• Ultrasound Contrast Agents To Get FDA Warnings

  Courtney Mills | October 09, 2007 12:37 PM | 0 CommentsMobile, AL

  The federal government is planning on requiring warnings for certain contrast agents used with ultrasound technology. These contrast agents are used to improve diagnoses of heart problems in patients evaluated with ultrasound imaging equipment.The contrast agents are sold under the brand name Definity, by Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Optison, of General Electric. Physicians inject the imaging...

• MRI Gadolinium Contrast Agents Get Black Box Warning

  Courtney Mills | October 02, 2007 9:45 AM | 0 CommentsMobile, AL

  The U.S. FDA indicated that it would start adding its strongest 'black box' warnings to gadolinium based contrast agents used in MRIs by May of next year. There are five different types of gadolinium based contrast agents, and the FDA has evidence enough to suggest a causal connection between the agents and a skin condition called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with impaired...

• FDA Issues Warnings on Schizophrenia Drug Haldol

  Courtney Mills | September 18, 2007 10:34 AM | 0 CommentsMobile, AL

  The FDA issued serious new warnings about Johnson and Johnson's schizophrenia drug Haldol, generically known as haloperidol. The drug was reported to have caused several life-threatening heart conditions in patients using the medication at higher than recommended dosages or taking the drug intravenously, which is not an FDA recommended use for haloperidol.Haldol is reported to have caused...

• China Announces Recall of Cancer Drugs

  Courtney Mills | September 17, 2007 1:13 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Chinese regulatory agencies recalled two drugs used in the fight against leukemia, a blood-borne cancer, out of safety concerns over the weekend. This medical recall is the latest in a series of recalls to plague China and has stirred heated controversy within the country and abroad over what to do about the poor state of quality control of all varieties of consumer goods in China.The Xinhua...

• Study shows increase in drug deaths reported to FDA

  Staff Writer | September 17, 2007 12:24 PM | 0 CommentsMobile, AL

  The Chicago Tribune reported that a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed a big increase in the number of drug deaths and injuries reported to the FDA between the years of 1998 and 2005. This may shed some light on recent problems that have arisen with the government agency that monitors prescription and over-the-counter drugs.The sudden increase in "adverse events"...

• Do ADHD drugs have heart risks?

  Staff Writer | September 17, 2007 12:12 PM | 0 CommentsMontgomery, AL

  Forbes magazine and the Associated Press report that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced today that it will take a closer look at data from children who have been using ADHD drugs to determine whether these medications can cause heart problems. Apparently there have been a number of reports of deaths, heart attacks and strokes among...