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By Alex Johnston Epoch Times Staff Created: March 9, 2013 Last Updated: March 9, 2013 Merck drug side effects: A study found that a cholesterol drug from Merck had serious side effects. The pharmaceutical giant said it would take it off the market in other countries and would not seek U.S. approval. A study of Merck & Co.s Tredaptive, which is used to raise good HDL cholesterol, showed serious and unexpected side effects, it was reported Saturday. Tredaptive was pulled from the market earlier this year because it had serious side effects like bleeding and infections, reported Bloomberg News, citing results of a clinical trial. It also did not help patients. The drug is intended to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, death, and reduce the need for surgery. However, after a study of 25,673 patients, the drug failed to produce positive results, the news agency said. Reuters reported that the Tredaptive is primarily used by people taking drugs to lower bad LDL cholesterol. Tredaptive is comprised of niacin with laropiprant, an experimental drug that is used to prevent facial flushing that occurs when a person takes niacin. Niacin has been used for many years in the belief that … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology Also Included In: Cholesterol;Vascular Article Date: 11 Mar 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for: Merck's Long-Acting Niacin Drug Has Serious Side Effects A major study (HPS2-THRIVE) found that Tredaptive, which consist of the vitamin niacin combined with anti-flushing agent laropiprant, provides no benefit and may even be hazardous for patients with vascular disease. The HPS2-THRIVE study involving 25,673 patients, which lasted four years, tested a combination of ER (extended-release) niacin with laropiprant on patients with heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular problems - 14,741 patients were from Europe (United Kingdom and Scandinavia) and 10,932 were from China. They were randomly selected to receive either ER niacin/laropiprant 2g/40mg or a placebo. They were all on simvastatin (with or without ezetimibe) - simvastatin is a widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drug. HPS2-THRIVE did not meet the primary endpoint of reducing the risk of a major vascular event, defined as the composite of nonfatal heart attack or heart-related death, a need for angioplasty or bypass surgery, or stroke. Those in the ER niacin/laropiprant group had approximately the same rates of major vascular events as participants in the placebo group (13.2% vs. 13.7%). Tredaptive combines extended-release niacin with … Continue reading →

Attorney (866) 735-1102 Ext 530 Scientists from Microsoft, Stanford and Columbia Universities have discovered information on unreported side effects due to prescription drug interactions. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDAs) Adverse Event Reporting System did not indicate drug interactions between an antidepressant, paroxetine and a cholesterol-reducing drug, pravastatin. The data indicated a combination of the two drugs, according to a recent New York Times article, causes an increase in blood sugar, hyperglycemia, in some patients. The FDA requests physicians report adverse drug reactions they are aware their patients have experienced using the Adverse Event Reporting System. Because the data compiled are reported by physiciansand more often the adverse reactions are noted by patients who dont always inform their physiciansthe Adverse Event Reporting System is not completely comprehensive. Instead, scientists used a data-mining technique to review FDA reports on drug-drug interactions which contained anonymized data gleaned from a software toolbar used by people who allowed their search histories to be collected. The data consisted of 82 million individual searches for drug, symptom and condition information, according to Markoff. (NYTimes, 3/7/13) The scientists determined that people who had searched on side-effects from both drugs were more likely to have included … Continue reading →

New Infographic released by dOliveira & Associates details potential Side Effects, Company Reports, and Independent Medical Studies that surround the drug meant to prevent blood clots in patients. (PRWEB) March 11, 2013 Sources: *http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/UCM231720.pdf **us.boehringer-ingelheim.com/content/dam/internet/opu/us_EN/documents/Media_Press_Releases/2010/Pradaxa%20fact%20sheet%20101910.pdf ***http://www.adverseevents.com/monitor/2012/12/20/fda-states-pradaxa-contraindicated-in-patients-with-mechanical-heart-valves/ The FDA approved Pradaxa for sale on the market in October 2010 and in its first two years on the market, Pradaxa accounted for more than $1 billion in sales for the drug maker Boehrigner Ingelheim*. The drug was marketed as a better option than the traditional drug, Warfarin. However, medical studies have discovered that Pradaxa is actually more dangerous than Warfarin, for example, a study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic found that the drug increased a patients risk of heart attacks by 33 percent compared to other similar drugs as reported by CBS News article Study: Higher heart attack risk from pradaxa**. Additionally, excessive bleeding from Warfarin has an antidote, Vitamin K, but no such antidote exists for Pradaxa*. The number of side effects combined with the absence of an antidote has caused patients to file nearly 18,000 adverse event reports with the FDA*. According to Adverse Events, an organization that standardizes, the most common side effects were gastrointestingal bleeding (1668 reports), indigestion … Continue reading →