On March 19 the FDA told clinicians and patients that data from a large clinical trial link Zocor to muscle injury, with risk highest at the 80 mg dose and when the statin is combined with certain other drugs. Myopathy is a side effect of all statins, the agency said.
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Drug
Prescription drugs, vaccines and their risks and benefits.
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Drug
Statin Zocor can cause muscle injury - FDA warns
The FDA warns that higher doses of simvastatin can cause muscle injury and rare rhabdomyolysis, especially alongside drugs such as itraconazole, erythromycin and HIV protease inhibitors. In the SEARCH study, 1 percent on 80 mg were injured against 0.02 percent on 20 mg.
Drug
Unintentional drug poisoning kills 26,389 Americans in 2006
CDC counted 26,389 unintentional drug poisoning deaths in the United States in 2006, with the age-adjusted death rate more than doubling since 1999, from 4.0 to 8.8 per 100,000. Opioid pain medications were involved in more than half of the deaths in which a drug was specified.
Drug
New Warning About Everyday Poison Linked to Alzheimer's, ADHD, and Autism
Radiologist David Ayoub argues the aluminum used as a vaccine adjuvant may be far more toxic than thimerosal, pointing to high aluminum readings in toxicity profiles of autistic children and of middle school students with ADHD. The piece introduces a Mercola interview with him.
Drug
From FDA: Cleviprex (clevidipine butyrate): Recall
The Medicines Company and FDA recalled eleven lots of Cleviprex injectable emulsion, used for hypertension, over inert stainless steel particles; a December update added four more lots. Aggregated particles could in theory reduce capillary blood flow, damage tissue or trigger inflammation.
Drug
Intensive BP, combined lipid therapies do not help adults with diabetes (PR)
In ACCORD, a trial of more than 10,000 adults with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk, lowering blood pressure below current targets did not significantly cut combined fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, and adding a fibrate to a statin did no better than a statin alone.
Drug
New test to detect Alzheimer's disease, modified lifestyle to prevent it
Rex Cannon and John Dougherty of the University of Tennessee report in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease that their computerized self-test, CST, detected Alzheimer's and other cognitive impairment with 96 percent accuracy, compared with about 70 percent for existing tests.
Drug
Discoverer: PSA test can't diagnose prostate cancer
Richard Ablin, who discovered the prostate-specific antigen, wrote in the New York Times that PSA testing cannot detect prostate cancer or distinguish lethal tumors from benign ones. He called mass screening a hugely expensive public health disaster costing at least $3 billion a year.
Drug
Do Not Take This Deadly Diabetes Drug -- Two Reasons Why
Confidential government reports estimate that about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure a month would be avoided if patients taking Avandia switched drugs, and FDA scientists David Graham and Kate Gelperin argued the diabetes drug should be pulled from the market.
Drug
Free Female Condoms Available Soon in Washington DC
Washington DC will give away up to 500,000 female condoms worth $500,000 through salons, convenience stores and high schools in parts of wards 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. Officials cite an HIV rate near 3%, possibly closer to 5%, since only 60% of residents have ever been tested.
Drug
Thinking to get prostate cancer screening? Give it second thought!
The American Cancer Society told doctors to discuss screening risks after two trials: one of 76,600 US men found no difference in prostate cancer deaths, while one of 182,000 European men found 20% fewer deaths but needed 48 men treated to prevent one.
Drug
Improper use of insulin pumps worse than device defects
A U.S. government advisory panel that reviewed tens of thousands of insulin-pump problems over three years concluded they stemmed more likely from improper use than product defects. The panel chairman said an educated patient with insulin in hand faces little risk.
Drug
Vaccine Failure -- Over 1000 Got Mumps in NY in Last Six Months
More than 1,000 people in New York and New Jersey were sickened with mumps in an outbreak traced to an Orthodox Jewish summer camp in Sullivan County. The 11-year-old linked to it had been fully vaccinated, as had 77 percent of New Jersey patients; CDC says the vaccine is not 100 percent effective.
Drug
Should Women Take Hormone Therapy? We Asked An Expert
Rowan Chlebowski, a Women's Health Initiative investigator, says a 2007 secondary analysis suggested hormone therapy may be less harmful for coronary heart disease when started in early menopause, but stroke risk did not change and breast cancers appeared earlier.
Drug
Why Anxiety Drugs are Addictive
New research finds benzodiazepines such as Valium, Xanax and Ativan boost the neurotransmitter GABA much as opioids and cannabinoids do, activating the brain's dopamine reward pathways. Mercola notes about 40 million American adults have an anxiety disorder.
Drug
Which is better at preventing stroke, Stenting or Surgery?
In a trial of 2,502 patients at more than 100 U.S. and Canadian hospitals, stroke, heart attack and death rates over 2.5 years were statistically similar for carotid stenting and surgery, 2 percent against 2.4 percent. A South African study of 440 patients found worse outcomes after surgery.
Drug
FDA Approves Therapy to Treat Gaucher Disease
The FDA approved velaglucerase alfa, sold as VPRIV, as long-term enzyme replacement therapy for Type 1 Gaucher disease in children and adults. It was tested in three studies of 82 patients, at a time when the alternative Cerezyme is in short supply.
Drug
MS Drug Continues to Cause Disastrous Side Effects
The FDA ordered a new label on the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri warning that the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a rare but deadly brain infection, rises as patients receive more infusions. The action followed 31 confirmed cases as of January 21, 2010.
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