| Jan 23 |
Halle Berry, Randy Jackson among celebrities facing Type 2 diabetesIt’s said that misery loves company. If so, then Type 2 diabetes sufferers may love to know that they’re in good company in terms of celebrities who also face the disease from day to day yet have succeeded in fending it off.
They include actress Halle Berry, who won an Oscar as Best Actress for the 2001 film Monster’s Ball. Also suffering from the disease is Randy Jackson, the only original judge on Fox’s American Idol who is still on the program. (more…) |
| Oct 04 |
Actos diabetes drug is linked to bladder cancer
That’s been the case with Actos, a drug for type-2 diabetes patients to increase control of blood sugar in their body. Actos’ creator, Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals, got approval to sell the drug in July of 1999 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Actos entered the market later that year. (more…) |
Americans aren’t supposed to be guinea pigs or test subjects. But that’s the way they’re often treated by giant pharmaceutical corporations, which issue potentially defective drugs on the market and only then start proper testing.| Apr 27 |
Zoloft antidepressant causes depressing birth defect injuriesMany people believe America to be an over-prescribed nation. While many drugs are needed, many are not not — or they can do more harm than good. In short, too many people take too many medications which make too much money for too many giant pharmaceutical companies. That includes antidepressant drugs which may or may not be needed by all of their millions of users. But even when a drug does its job, as with antidepressant Zoloft, this may not be a good thing. That’s because there may be a trade-off. And in Zoloft’s case, that trade-off is risking a serious birth defect injury for newborn infant children whose mother took Zoloft during pregnancy. Most likely such women didn’t know that the antidepressant could cause Zoloft birth defects. That’s because its manufacturer, Pfizer Inc., has not adequately warned potential users of such serious Zoloft side effects as heart, brain, gastrointestinal tract, lung and other vital organ injuries to babies whose mother takes the drug. |
| Dec 29 |
Dangerous acne treatment easily available on Internet
All this, despite a Food and Drug Administration website that warns against buying Accutane over the Internet because of the drug’s 15 serious side effects, including two life-long diseases of the gut with the potential to kill those who develop them after taking it. |
A quick google search of the Internet turns up lots of websites selling Accutane in spite of federal warnings about the powerful drug. One site, with the unforgettable web address of “cheap pills,” has a brief two-line description of the acne treatment drug, followed by a lengthy price sheet offering Accutane pills in varying amounts with no reference to the drug’s side effects.| Oct 08 |
Defective obesity drug Meridia sparks heart attacks, strokes
Meridia, with active ingredient sibutramine, is produced by Abbott Laboratories. It yanked the drug from the market when clinical studies revealed heart attack and stroke risks associated with Meridia’s use. An official of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Meridia was not worth such risks, especially considering that the weight loss it could provide is minimal. Indeed, that might be a maximum of 5 per cent of body weight. |
Again, a defective drug is harming innocent Americans. This time it’s Meridia, an obesity medication that’s been found to increase users’ risk of heart attack and stroke.| Mar 26 |
You’re injured — what time is it? It’s HAMMER TIME
You’ve waited months for your insurance company to make good on its policy and pay for your property damage after Hurricane Ike or some other calamity — and now you’re still waiting. What time is it? It’s HAMMER TIME. Your child was injured in a Yamaha Rhino accident when the ATV rolled over on a flat surface due to manufacturer design negligence, and now she faces surgery. What time is it? It’s HAMMER TIME. Your loved one suffered a near-fatal overdose of powerful narcotic fentanyl from a defective Duragesic pain patch, and now requires special care. What time is it? It’s HAMMER TIME. |
Your car was just rear-ended by a | Mar 04 |
Consumers win big in Wyeth vs. Levine defective drug ruling
The 6-3 Supreme Court decision held that pharmaceutical companies cannot be shielded from liability because the Food and Drug Administration or other federal agencies erred in approving their drugs, and such companies can be sued in state courts. Wyeth vs. Levine involved Vermont musician Diana Levine, who lost her right forearm after she was injured in 2000 via injection of Wyeth’s drug Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication which was used to treat her migraine headache. |
Pharmaceutical giants took a huge hit Wednesday, while American consumers won an enormous victory, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Wyeth vs. Levine. And now, justice can be done.| Feb 20 |
Defective drug Raptiva threatens psoriasis patients
Unfortunately, one such treatment may be worse than psoriasis itself. That treatment is the medication called Raptiva, an injectable drug produced by California-based biotechnology giant Genentech. The Food and Drug Administration has just issued an advisory on Raptiva after learning that three psoriasis patients using Raptiva died from neurological infections. |
As many as seven million Americans suffer psoriasis, a condition causing inflammation and red scaly patches on the skin, as well as psoriatic plaques on the knees and elbows. An autoimmune disease, Psoriasis can be treated, but it can’t be cured.