Archive for the 'MedWatch Safety Alerts' Category
July 28th, 2010 by admin
A Utah doctor is being sent to jail for his connection to an illegal online pharmacy that sold more than eight million weight-loss pills manufactured in Mexico. Dr James A Brinton was sentenced to three years in a federal penitentiary after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute phentermine and conspiracy to commit international money laundering, according to the Desert News. The doctor was one of 18 people who were charged with crimes in connection to the Lighthouse Meds website.
Continue reading ‘Utah Doctor Sentenced to Three Years for Illegal Online Pharmacy’
July 22nd, 2010 by admin
Nigeria is fast-tracking mobile authentication services in its fight against drug counterfeiters. Manufacturers will bear the brunt of the cost, at least initially. The costal country of 150 million is at the forefront of African anti-counterfeiting efforts, thanks largely to a rampant supply of malaria drug fakes. In mid-May, the nonprofit Pedigree Network and computer giant HP launched an authentication trial in Nigeria and Ghana; Nigeria is also conducting tests with Merck using technology from Sproxil.
Continue reading ‘Nigeria Takes on Fake Drugs with New Technology’
July 13th, 2010 by admin
Gulf Coast native Kindra Arnesen is so anxious about the effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill she is packing up her family and leaving town. “Stress? Dude my clothes are falling off me (because of weight loss). The level of stress here is tremendous. My husband has aged 10 years in two months,” Arnesen said on Friday as she loaded possessions into a van outside her trailer home in Venice.
Continue reading ‘Mental Health a Growing Concern after Gulf Spill’
July 12th, 2010 by admin
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) recalled more Tylenol and other over-the-counter drugs on Thursday after they were linked to a musty or moldy odor, expanding a recall the company started in January. J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit said the latest recall involved 21 lots of medications, including Tylenol for children and adults, several forms of Benadryl allergy tablets and Motrin painkiller. But it did not say how many pieces were in each lot or give a total number of items involved. J&J spokeswoman Bonnie Jacobs said, “We do not have that information.”
Continue reading ‘J&J Recalls More Tylenol, over-the-counter drugs’
July 1st, 2010 by admin
Drugs such as amphetamine-type stimulants and prescription medications are more and more what people are choosing according to the United Nations Drug Report for 2010. The number using such drugs will eventually exceed those using opiates and cocaine. Drug use in developed countries has remained relatively stable says the document. But in developing countries it is increasing.
Continue reading ‘Synthetic Drug Users at Thirty to Forty Million’
April 29th, 2010 by admin
Obesity rates for American adults have stabilized while the rate of childhood and minority obesity is rising, according to a study in the journal Medical Decision Making, published by SAGE. Using a novel simulation approach based on national data from 2000-2004 and validated against 2005-2006 data, the study looked at future projections for the distribution of body mass index in the United States. The research explored statistics for many categories of Americans based on gender, age and race, seeking to discover which overweight groups were the most likely to have stable, rising or lower rates of weight.
Continue reading ‘Forecasting Rates of Overweight’
February 10th, 2010 by admin
In many cases, when a pathogen becomes immune to an antibiotic, it will simply continue to grow with or without the antibiotic being present. By contrast, a new strain of Tuberculosis will actually stop growing when Rifampicin is removed from the environment. This effect was directly observed in a patient from China that got sicker during treatment with Rifampicin, and then recovered once the antibiotic was suspended. Today, Rifampicin is one of the gold standard drugs used to treat Tuberculosis infections in humans. It may also be one of many antibiotics used on commercial meat farms in order to promote growth.
Continue reading ‘Rifampicin Promotes Radical Tuberculosis Strain Found in China’
February 8th, 2010 by admin
The FDA completed reviewing data that appeared to indicate an increase in cancer rates and cancer deaths stemming from the use of Zetia and Vyotrin. The FDA concluded that it was unlikely that either of these drugs boost cancer rates. The FDA also left the door open for future study by stating that the links may still exist. The statement issued by the FDA has led many to conclude that both Zetia and Vyotrin have very little, if any impact on oncogenesis and malignant tumor development.
Continue reading ‘FDA Says Vyotrin not a Likely Cause of Cancer’
February 4th, 2010 by admin
Even though there are no safety issues related to AstraZeneca’s recall of 4.7 million doses of swine flu vaccine, other issues remain. In particular, the nasal spray version loses an unacceptable amount of potency while in storage. As a general rule of thumb, drugs and vaccines all lose potency over time. This is one of many reasons why vaccine potency is monitored even after doses become available for sale. There are also federal guidelines that stipulate a minimum level of potency that must be maintained.
Continue reading ‘4.7 Million Doses of Flu Vaccine Recalled by AstraZeneca’
