FDA & Prescription Drugs

• Should Your Net Worth Determine What Your Doctor Tells You?

  Bob Carroll | November 08, 2005 5:55 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Is it unethical for doctors to withhold information from patients about a new drug? Or, costly drugs? Or, drugs not included in the Medicare Drug Program selected by the patient? The British Medical Journal publishes an article that discusses the issues. My take would be that patients have a right to know what treatments or drugs exist that may benefit the patient. Anything less than candor...

• Strattera Linked To Suicide Risk

  Bob Carroll | November 02, 2005 7:44 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The FDA is warning patients and doctors about a new risk associated with Strattera. Strattera is used to treat a condition called Attention-Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children, teens, and adults. Suicidal thoughts or actions: Strattera may increase thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts in infrequent cases. Call you doctor right away if you become irritable or anxious or...

• Medication Guidelines Published By Drug Company Shills

  Bob Carroll | October 29, 2005 6:35 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Authors of published guidelines for prescribing medications often have financial interests in the companies whose treatments they recommend. In about half of the guidelines, at least one author had received research financing from a company that had a connection to the recommendation. We need an expanded definition of a shill.You would assume that nationally recommended medication guidelines...

• FDA Warns of Cylert Side Effects

  Bob Carroll | October 26, 2005 5:25 AM | 1 CommentTampa Bay, FL

  FDA Alert Re Cylert, a drug used to treat ADHD. Coming a mere 10 years after Canada and Great Britain pulled the drug from their markets and and 5 months after the manufacturer, Abbott Labs, stopped making and marketing the drug due to declining sales, the question is why did the FDA bother at all.Does anyone need more evidence that the FDA is dysfunctional? Exhibit A: its recent Alert about...

• Drug Warning: Pargluva Can Kill (But Not According To The FDA)

  Bob Carroll | October 21, 2005 4:34 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Two drug companies thought their new drug, Pargluva, would be a good treatment for Type 2 diabetes, especially for the overweight. So did the Food and Drug Administration panel only last month. JAMA publishes the results of a study that says it can kill. What is going on? Another dangerous drug about to hit the market?Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck & Co. thought their new drug, Pargluva,...

• Judge Made Sick By Testimony Of First Defense Witness In Vioxx Trial

  Bob Carroll | October 08, 2005 10:35 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Vioxx, has been pulled from the market because it possibly made patients sick, has now sickened a trial judge. The judge has pulled the testimony of the drug manufacturer's first witness from the record because reading the testimony made her sick. Vioxx has been pulled from the market by its manufacturer after studies showed that it was possibly making patients sick. Now, a trial judge has...

• Paxil, A Multiple Offender Drug, Now May Cause Birth Defects

  Bob Carroll | September 28, 2005 10:46 AM | 1 CommentTampa Bay, FL

  WebMD is reporting that the FDA, based on a new study of Paxil, now warns that the antidepressant may be associated with birth defects. The warning is directly particularly at for women taking Paxil in the first trimester.WebMD is reporting that the FDA, based on a new study of Paxil, now warns that the antidepressant may be associated with birth defects. The warning is directed particularly at...

• Are New Drugs Worth The Price Or Risk?

  Bob Carroll | September 25, 2005 3:25 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Two new drug studies may explain why we are spending lots more on new drugs and not getting any better. According to one study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, total U.S. spending on medical research has doubled in the past decade, nearing $95 billion a year. But we're not seeing the results we might expect.A second study comparing schizophrenia drugs has found that...