Two years ago a series experiments to develop a new prescription drug that would successfully alleviate the pain caused by arthritis, conducted by some of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, was put on hold by the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after reports revealed that the drugs were causing bone decay and joint deterioration. On Monday, March 12, Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will argue that they should continue to study the drug, while taking the necessary safety precautions to protect their patients. The FDA's proposed questions seem to attempt to continue to keep the companies from moving forward with their experiments and limit future testing. "Considering what is known thus far about the risks and benefit associated with this class of biologic agents, are there any populations for which further clinical development would be acceptable?" asks one agency discussion question, according to AP. If the drugs are approved by the FDA their use may be more narrowly defined than originally intentioned. The drugs were once touted by pharmaceutical companies. They are known as nerve-growth-factor inhibitors, and considered to be potential breakthrough for treating osteoarthritis, back pain and chronic pain conditions. For over a century … Continue reading →

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff When the US Food and Drug Administration told the makers of cholesterol-lowering statins to add new side effect warnings to their labels last week, many of the 40 million statin users may have been unaware of the extent of the risks associated with these drugs that have been touted by some cardiologists to be safer than aspirin. No question, statins -- which include Lipitor (atorvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), and Crestor (rosuvastatin) -- are relatively safe drugs, and theyve saved thousands of lives over the past 20 years, particularly in men with established heart disease. But like any drug they can cause problems in some, including muscle aches, an increased risk of diabetes, and, gaining recent attention, memory loss. University of California-San Diego researcher Beatrice Golomb published a paper two years ago describing 171 statin users who reported that they had developed memory problems and dementia-like symptoms that they attributed to their use of the medications. The vast majority experienced an improvement in their symptoms after stopping the drugs and many saw their symptoms return after going back on statins. Robert Grindell, a state employee from Makinen, Minn., told me his short-term memory began to deteriorate after … Continue reading →