THESE ARE ACTUAL SIDE EFFECTS OF THE DRUG!
Suit: Man Claims Glaxo Drug Made Him a 'Gay Sex Addict'
Published January 31, 2011
| FoxNews.com
A 51-year-old married father of two is suing GlaxoSmithKline, saying the pharmaceutical company’s drug he took for Parkinson's disease has turned him into a gambling and gay sex addict, Agence France-Presse reported.
Didier Jambart, of Nantes, France, began taking Requip (ropinirole) in 2003, which is used to treat Parkinson’s disease -- a disorder of the nervous system that affects movement, muscle control and balance.
Jambart’s attorney said his client attempted suicide three times after he lost his family’s savings to Internet gambling and stole money for his habit.
Jambart alleges he also became a “compulsive gay sex addict and began exposing himself on the Internet and cross-dressing.” Jambart’s attorney said these antics led his client to be raped.
Jambart stopped taking the drug in 2005, but by that time he had already been demoted from his job and was suffering psychological trauma. He is seeking $610,000 in damages from Glaxo, and his neurologist, whom he says did not accurately warn him about the drug’s potential side effects.
Among other label warnings, the National Institutes of Health lists these precautions for the drug Requip, which is also used to treat restless legs syndrome:
• Tell your doctor if you have ever had an urge to gamble that was difficult to control and if you have or have ever had unexpected daytime sleepiness or a sleep disorder other than restless legs syndrome; high or low blood pressure; a psychotic disorder (mental illness that causes abnormal thinking or perceptions); or heart, liver, or kidney disease
• You should know that some people who took medications such as ropinirole developed gambling problems or other intense urges or behaviors that were compulsive or unusual for them, such as increased sexual urges or behaviors. There is not enough information to tell whether the people developed these problems because they took the medication or for other reasons. Call your doctor if you have an urge to gamble that is difficult to control, you have intense urges, or you are unable to control your behavior.
Jambart’s attorney said these warnings only appeared on the drug’s label in 2006, after his client stopped taking the medicine.
Glaxo would not comment to the AFP on the case
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Statin Benefits Questioned in Low-Risk Patients
Published January 19, 2011
| Reuters
Print Email Share Comments (1) Text Size
People without heart disease should think twice before taking cholesterol-lowering statins, British researchers warn in a report out Wednesday.
While the popular drugs require a prescription in the U.S., they are sold over the counter in England, and one in three Brits over 40 are currently using them, according to researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
In a review of the medical literature, they found the drugs did appear to slash deaths ever so slightly in patients at low risk of heart disease. But many of the reports they looked at – all but one funded by drugmakers – were flawed.
In particular, while all the studies focused on benefits, only half provided information on the side effects of the drugs, said Dr. Shah Ebrahim, whose group's findings are published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.
"There is evidence that the reports cherry-picked the best outcomes for presentation," he added, "which will tend to inflate apparent benefits of treatment."
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE
INTERESTED IN
Traveling Man's Gun Arrest Appealed to Supreme Court Jennifer Aniston Rocks New Bangs in Allure, Reveals Her Body's Problem Area Two Documents Every Baby Boomer Needs to Have for Death Planning 8 Misconceptions College Students Have About Money Theater of the Absurd From Jintao and Obama Ebrahim and colleagues found 14 trials that tested statins in more than 34,000 patients, most of whom were considered at low risk of heart attack and strokes — the world's top killers.
Pooling the results, they estimated that treating 1,000 people with statins for one year would lower the number of deaths from nine to eight.
Statins — including Pfizer's Lipitor and AstraZeneca's Crestor – help prevent new heart attacks in people who've already had one, but the effects are less certain in individuals at lower risk.
The drugs also appeared to reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes – fatal and not – and the need for surgery.
While there appeared to be no difference in side effects between trials participants taking dummy pills and statins, the researchers say those results aren't credible.
"Any appraisal we can make of adverse events is biased by failure to report these events," Ebrahim said in an e-mail to Reuters Health.
"We believe that trial funders, investigators and journal editors have failed to provide adequate information to doctors and their patients to assess the benefits and harms of statins in primary prevention."
One statin, a generic drug called simvastatin, is already available in low doses over the counter at pharmacies in Britain without a prescription, at a cost of only a few pence per pill.
But Ebrahim advised people to think twice before buying the drug, even if they have raised cholesterol levels.
"If you have self-prescribed a statin, buy it "over the counter" in a pharmacy, or do not know your level of risk and are taking a statin, get a check of your level of cardiovascular risk and discuss your decision with your family doctor," he urged.
Pfizer said it was still reviewing the new report, but noted that the safety and efficacy of Lipitor has been studied in more than 80,000 patients.
"Managing cardiovascular disease risk factors is complicated, and prescribing decisions should be based on a physician's full assessment of each patient's individual risk factors and needs," said spokesman MacKay Jimeson.
Dr. Franz Messerli, who heads the hypertension program at two New York hospitals, St. Luke's and Roosevelt, echoed the cautious message from the British researchers.
While statins are pretty safe drugs, Messerli said, they may cause muscle and joint pain in some patients. And their long-term effect on muscle tissue is unknown.
"If you have a very small benefit, you better make sure that the downside is minimal," he told Reuters Health.
Published January 19, 2011
| Reuters
Print Email Share Comments (1) Text Size
People without heart disease should think twice before taking cholesterol-lowering statins, British researchers warn in a report out Wednesday.
While the popular drugs require a prescription in the U.S., they are sold over the counter in England, and one in three Brits over 40 are currently using them, according to researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
In a review of the medical literature, they found the drugs did appear to slash deaths ever so slightly in patients at low risk of heart disease. But many of the reports they looked at – all but one funded by drugmakers – were flawed.
In particular, while all the studies focused on benefits, only half provided information on the side effects of the drugs, said Dr. Shah Ebrahim, whose group's findings are published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.
"There is evidence that the reports cherry-picked the best outcomes for presentation," he added, "which will tend to inflate apparent benefits of treatment."
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE
INTERESTED IN
Traveling Man's Gun Arrest Appealed to Supreme Court Jennifer Aniston Rocks New Bangs in Allure, Reveals Her Body's Problem Area Two Documents Every Baby Boomer Needs to Have for Death Planning 8 Misconceptions College Students Have About Money Theater of the Absurd From Jintao and Obama Ebrahim and colleagues found 14 trials that tested statins in more than 34,000 patients, most of whom were considered at low risk of heart attack and strokes — the world's top killers.
Pooling the results, they estimated that treating 1,000 people with statins for one year would lower the number of deaths from nine to eight.
Statins — including Pfizer's Lipitor and AstraZeneca's Crestor – help prevent new heart attacks in people who've already had one, but the effects are less certain in individuals at lower risk.
The drugs also appeared to reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes – fatal and not – and the need for surgery.
While there appeared to be no difference in side effects between trials participants taking dummy pills and statins, the researchers say those results aren't credible.
"Any appraisal we can make of adverse events is biased by failure to report these events," Ebrahim said in an e-mail to Reuters Health.
"We believe that trial funders, investigators and journal editors have failed to provide adequate information to doctors and their patients to assess the benefits and harms of statins in primary prevention."
One statin, a generic drug called simvastatin, is already available in low doses over the counter at pharmacies in Britain without a prescription, at a cost of only a few pence per pill.
But Ebrahim advised people to think twice before buying the drug, even if they have raised cholesterol levels.
"If you have self-prescribed a statin, buy it "over the counter" in a pharmacy, or do not know your level of risk and are taking a statin, get a check of your level of cardiovascular risk and discuss your decision with your family doctor," he urged.
Pfizer said it was still reviewing the new report, but noted that the safety and efficacy of Lipitor has been studied in more than 80,000 patients.
"Managing cardiovascular disease risk factors is complicated, and prescribing decisions should be based on a physician's full assessment of each patient's individual risk factors and needs," said spokesman MacKay Jimeson.
Dr. Franz Messerli, who heads the hypertension program at two New York hospitals, St. Luke's and Roosevelt, echoed the cautious message from the British researchers.
While statins are pretty safe drugs, Messerli said, they may cause muscle and joint pain in some patients. And their long-term effect on muscle tissue is unknown.
"If you have a very small benefit, you better make sure that the downside is minimal," he told Reuters Health.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Anyone looking to lose tons of weight in 2011? And feel the best they have ever felt? Don't miss our next Makeover!
http://ping.fm/uGrjU
http://ping.fm/uGrjU
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
