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Category : Pharmaceutical Injury
Osteoperosis Drug Alarm: Docs Tell Patients to Take a Break From Bisphosphonates
Many doctors are changing the prescribing length of a class of osteoporosis medication known as bisphosphonates after mounting evidence has linked long-term use of the medication with femur fractures in postmenopausal women.
Fosamax, one bisphosphonate, is supposed to make bones stronger. But now there’s mounting evidence that for some women, taking Fosamax or its generic alendronate for more than five years could suffer spontaneous fractures.
Bones: Experts rethink long-term use of drugs
Bisphosphonates, a class of drugs that are highly beneficial in reducing bone fractures in people with osteoporosis, the experts say, should not be prescribed to patients who don’t have the disease but are at risk of developing it, as often has been the practice in recent years.
And osteoporosis patients should talk to their doctors about taking a “holiday” from the drugs after two or three years on the medications, says Ken Lyles, director of geriatrics research at Duke University. The drugs can be taken intermittently after several years, he says.
Chris Seeger to speak at Mass Torts Forum
Chris Seeger, along with Mike Papantonio of Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor, will be heading up a forum on Antidepressant/Anti-Seizure Birth Defect Litigation and Zimmer NexGen Litigation in Philadelphia on May 24, 2011. The details are below:
Antidepressant/Anti-Seizure Birth Defect
Litigation and Zimmer NexGen Litigation
presented by Mass Torts Made Perfect, a plaintiffs’
only forum on these two emerging mass torts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The Rittenhouse Hotel, Philadelphia
Topics to Include:
- SSRIs and Topamax and their role in causing birth defects
- Case selection and client intake – what to look for, what to avoid
- Calculating damages in both birth defect and Zimmer NexGen cases
- What we learned from the Kilker Paxil trial
- View from the bench: Insights from Judge Sandra Mazer Moss and Judge Mark Bernstein
- Zimmer NexGen MIS, the uncemented NexGen CR-Flex knee replacement, and the Zimmer Gender Solutions High-Flex Knee
- Company history and where to file cases in both Zimmer and birth defects
- In-depth discussion on the medical literature in birth defects
Presented by: Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor, PA, Pensacola, FL
Faculty: Mike Papantonio, Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor; Chris Seeger, Seeger Weiss; Tim Becker, Zimmerman Reed; Ed Blizzard, Blizzard McCarthy & Nabers; Bob Brown, Baron & Budd; Chris Coffin, Pendley Baudin & Coffin; Michael Goetz, Morgan & Morgan; Seth Katz, Burg Simpson; Kim Lambert, Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor; Tobi Millrood, Pogust Braslow Millrood; Hon. Sandra Mazer Moss, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas; Daniel Nigh, Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor; Ellen Relkin, Weitz & Luxenberg; Mark Robinson, Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro & Davis; James Ronca, Anapol Schwartz Weiss Coahn Feldman & Smalley; David Rosenband, Weitz & Luxenberg; and Jamie Sheller, Sheller P.C.
Price: $795
To register, call Sharon Boothe at 610-644-3943, or email sboothe@levinlaw.com. To view the entire agenda and speakers, click here to download the PDF.
Sponsorship and exhibitor information available by contacting Sharon Boothe. For hotel accommodations, please contact the Rittenhouse Hotel directly at 215-546-9000 and indicate that you are with the Mass Torts Made Perfect group. Any questions, please contact Sharon Boothe at 610-644-3943 for assistance. Exclusively endorsed by the National Trial Lawyers Association.
Osteoporosis Drugs: The Good, the Bad, the Natural Alternatives
The FDA, which approved bisphosphonates in the first place has backpedaled a bit. Last October the government issued a warning about the increased risk of fractures of the femur — the thigh bone — for those who take these drugs for more than five years.
What a quandry for those who need to halt and reverse the bone loss that can lead to “dowager’s hump,” spinal compression fractures and fractures of the leg. And the number of people who suffer from bone loss is in the hundreds of millions.
Lawsuit filed over manufacturer’s alleged ‘over-promotion’ of Fosamax
A Lafourche Parish resident has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturers of the drug Fosamax regarding over-promotion of the drug for alleged non-approved or “off-label” uses.
Josephine P. Naccio filed suit against Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. f/k/a Merck & Co. Inc., Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Barr Laboratories Inc. on April 18 in federal court in New Orleans.
According to the lawsuit, Naccio was prescribed Fosamax for long-term use for the treatment of osteoporosis and as a result, she states she suffered an unexplained femur fracture. Naccio states she would not have taken the drug had she known of the risks associated with long-term use.
Newer Birth Control Pills Carry a Higher Risk of Blood Clots
Time:
The two trials, one of which involved a U.S. population of women and the other a British cohort, found that women taking newer forms of oral contraceptives, which include drosperinone, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone, increased their risk of developing a blood clot by two or three times over those taking older birth control pills that rely on a different form of the hormone known as levonorgestrel. …Newer oral contraceptives include Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, and their makers all include warnings about increased risk of blood clots on the drugs’ labels.
Blood clot risk higher in newer birth control pills, study finds
Women who are using a newer version of birth control that contains the hormone drospirenone have a higher risk of serious blood clot, according to two studies published in the online version of the British Medical Journal.
Drospirenone is found in birth control pills such as Ocella, Yasmin and Yaz.
The studies found that drospirenone has two to three times more risk of blood clots compared with birth control pills containing an older form of a progestin hormone called levonorgestrel. Dr Susan Jick, lead authors said that these findings “provide further evidence that levonorgestrel pills appear to be a safer choice” pertaining to blood clots.
Calcium Supplements Linked to Increased Heart Attack Risk in Post-Menopausal Women: Study
White House launches effort to combat soaring prescription drug abuse
The effort, called “Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis,” is primarily aimed at cracking down on abuse of opioids, some of the most powerful pain relievers on the market. Opioids are a class of drugs used to treat chronic pain and include products like OxyContin, Vicodin, Darvon, Dilaudid and Demerol. When abused they can be highly addictive.
On November 19, 2010, the FDA requested the cessation of all sale of Darvon and Darvocet from the US drug market due to heart arrhythmia in patients who took the drug. The drug Darvocet may also be involved in combined drug intoxication because it may lead to confusion in patients and physicians. If you suffered from heart problems while taking Darvocet, contact us today to discuss your legal options.
Watchdog group makes second push to ban diet pill
Associated Press via the Ashbury Park Press:
Any U.S. citizen can file a petition with the FDA to ban a drug or medical device for safety issues. Most petitions are rejected, though Public Citizen has a rare track record of successful drug withdrawals. Last year, both the diet pill Meridia and painkiller Darvon were both withdrawn from the U.S. market, years after Public Citizen filed petitions against them.
If you have suffered from health complications while taking the diet pill Meridia or the painkiller Darvon, contact Seeger Weiss LLP to discuss your legal options.
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