A report recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drew a scary picture of prescription drug problems in the U.S. “The epidemic of prescription drug overdoses in the United States has worsened over the last decade, and by 2008, drug overdose deaths (36,450) were approaching the number of deaths from motor….
Continue ReadingArchives for March 2012
FDA Fires a Warning to Aeroshot
A few weeks ago we wrote about the unknowable contents of energy drinks, particularly caffeine, and their potential to cause problems. Now, the feds are homing in on Aeroshot Breathable Energy, a dietary supplement that promotes its “unique blend of caffeine and B vitamins in a fine powder that dissolves quickly in your mouth.” The….
Continue ReadingMedical Mistakes that Led to a Greater Good
In his article “Ten Medical Mistakes That Changed the Standard of Care,” Dr. Barry Bialek offered a lemons-to-lemonade account on CoverMd.com. In reviewing these sad tales, Bialek demonstrates how medical errors — and the resolve to right a wrong — can advance science and the notion of best practice. Bialek provides some historical perspective as….
Continue ReadingDiabetes Warning Issued for Statin Drugs
A class of drugs called statins lowers blood cholesterol levels by reducing the production of cholesterol by the liver. Lipid regulators, which are primarily statin drugs, are the most commonly prescribed medication in the U.S., according to a report by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. Last month the FDA acknowledged that statins may play….
Continue ReadingHealth Savings Accounts for the Private Sector
If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole culture to ensure adequate health care for all. One Idaho obstetrician recently explained to his state’s legislators how he thinks it can be done. Dr. Loel Fenwick, as reported by the Idaho Reporter, said in order to curb the rising cost of….
Continue ReadingFDA Warns Merck About Its Diabetes Drugs
Merck can’t say it wasn’t warned. In what the FDA Law Blog calls the first of its kind, the FDA last month sent the pharmaceutical manufacturer notification that it violated its promise to conduct postmarket research (PMR) on its diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet. The letter represents new authority Congress granted the FDA to compel….
Continue ReadingAre Medical Device Industry Dollars Funding Lax Oversight?
No one is unaware of the influence wielded by lobbyists during the sausage-making mess that is our federal legislative process. For these lobbyists, and especially medical industry lobbyists, what they can keep out of laws is just as important to them as what goes into the laws. And that spells Trouble with a capital T….
Continue ReadingQnexa Weight-Loss Drug Makes a Comeback
It’s as if they’re playing hokey-pokey over at the FDA. The Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee recently gave a thumbs-up to Qnexa fewer than two years after recommending against it. It’s the first time since 1999 that an advisory panel for the federal agency has approved a weight-loss drug. The FDA doesn’t have to….
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