A federal advisory panel voted narrowly on Tuesday to recommend a ban on Percocet and Vicodin, two of the most popular prescription painkillers in the world, because of their effects on the liver.
Archive for June, 2009
FDA Panel Urges Ban on Vicodin, Percocet
Published June 30, 2009 Health Alert , News , Warning Leave a CommentTags: FDA, hydrocodone, hydrocodone ban, hydrocodone recall, Percocet, Percocet ban, Percocet liver, Percocet liver damage, Percocet recall, Vicodin, Vicodin ban, Vicodin liver, Vicodin liver damage, Vicodin recall
Attorney Weighs in on Reglan Investigation
Published June 25, 2009 News Leave a CommentTags: metoclopramide, movements disorders, Reglan, Reglan side effects, tardive dyskinesia
The number of people reporting Reglan adverse events, including tardive dyskinesia, has gone up drastically, according to Kathleen K. McGinn, attorney at Hissey Kientz, LLP. “We now have the fourth quarter data from the FDA,” McGinn says. “New cases of tardive dyskinesia or other movement disorders rose significantly in that time. They rose by more than 6 percent in the fourth quarter and more than 14 percent over the second half of 2008.”
US seizes Caraco drugs over manufacturing problems
Published June 25, 2009 Health Alert , Recall Leave a CommentTags: Caraco, Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Caraco recall, FDA, FDA drug recall, FDA recall
U.S. authorities have seized all medicines produced by generic drugmaker Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd following repeated violations of manufacturing standards, health officials said. The drugs included generic versions of heart, pain and psychiatric medicines, Food and Drug Administration officials said on Thursday.
Matrixx recalls Zicam nasal cold products
Published June 24, 2009 Health Alert , News , Recall , Warning Leave a CommentTags: FDA, Zicam, Zicam cold remedy, Zicam nasal spray, Zicam recall
Matrixx Initiatives Inc. said Wednesday it started a previously announced recall of Zicam nasal cold remedies following last week’s Food and Drug Administration warning that the products were unsafe. The FDA has warned consumers to not use the nasal cold remedies due to hundreds of reports of patients losing their sense of smell.
Coroner: Fentanyl patch killed ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett
Published June 24, 2009 News Leave a Comment
Former Wilco member Jay Bennett died of an overdose of a painkiller, the Champaign County coroner said Tuesday, and his office is investigating Bennett’s death as an accident. Tests showed Bennett died from fentanyl, a drug often prescribed to treat chronic pain, said the coroner, Duane Northrup. Bennett, who died May 24 at his home in Urbana, had posted a few weeks earlier on his MySpace site that he would need hip-replacement surgery.
Concerns with marketing of herbal Fen-phen
Published June 19, 2009 Health Alert , News Leave a CommentTags: ephedra, ephedrine, herbal Fen Phen, ma huang, PAH, PPH, primary arterial hypertension, primary pulmonary hypertension
Although prescription Fen Phen is no longer on the market due to its association with pulmonary hypertension and heart valve problems, personal injury attorney David Friend at Hissey Kientz LLP says that herbal Fen-phen continues to be a popular alternative to consumers. However, this appetite suppressant has also been linked to numerous health problems, including primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH).
USADA chief urges states to act on supplements
Published June 18, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a CommentTags: dietary supplements, ephedra, ephedra recall, performance-enhancing drugs, steroids, stimulants, supplements
The leader of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has urged a group of attorneys general to take action on the state level to regulate the steroid-tainted, multibillion-dollar supplement industry. Travis Tygart urged the use of consumer protection laws to help prevent tainted and steroid-related supplements from reaching the market. Currently, ephedra is the only supplement that has been proven dangerous enough to take off the market in the last decade.
Stamina-Rx-brand supplement is recalled
Published June 17, 2009 Health Alert , News , Recall , Uncategorized 1 CommentTags: benzamidenafil, dietary supplement, ED, ED drug, errectile dysfunction, FDA, impotence, Stamina Rx, Stamina Rx recall
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the nationwide voluntary recall of Stamina-Rx-brand dietary supplement due to a safety hazard. Officials said Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Norcross, Ga., initiated the recall after the FDA found the product, described as a sexual stimulant for men, contained undeclared benzamidenafil, the same therapeutic class of active pharmaceutical ingredients found in sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil.
FDA Alerts Patients to Medtronic Pacemaker Recall
Published June 11, 2009 Health Alert , News , Recall , Warning Leave a CommentTags: Medtronic Kappa pacemaker, Medtronic pacemaker, Medtronic pacemaker recall, Medtronic recall, Medtronic Sigma pacemaker, pacemaker recall
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting patients to the Class I recall of certain Medtronic Kappa and Sigma pacemakers. These devices may fail due to a separation of wires that connect the electronic circuit to other pacemaker components, such as the battery. The affected pacemakers are Kappa Series 600/700/900 and Sigma Series 100/200/300.
Certain Propafenone HCL and Digoxin Tablets Recalled
Published June 11, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a CommentTags: Caraco, Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Caraco recall, Digitek, digoxin recall, FDA, FDA recall
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has posted information about two cardiac drugs that were recently recalled because of variability in the size of the tablets. Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, a manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals, recalled some of their digoxin tablets. Included in the recall are 0.125 mg and 0.25 mg tablets that were distributed before March 31, 2009, and which show an expiration date of September 2011.
