The New York Times ran an interesting article over the weekend called, “When Drugs Cause Problems They Are Supposed to Prevent.” The article discusses how in just the past month, the Food and Drug Administration has found at least two medications that were supposed to be preventing serious medical problems were actually causing them.
Here are the drugs the article discusses: “One is bisphosphonates, which is widely used to prevent the fractures, especially of the hip and spine, that are common in people with osteoporosis. Those drugs, like Fosamax, Actonel and Boniva, will now have to carry labels saying they can lead to rare fractures of the thigh bone, a surprising new discovery that came after another surprise — that they can cause a rare degeneration of the jawbone.”
“The other is Avandia, which is widely prescribed for diabetics, whose disease puts them at risk for heart attacks and heart failure. Two-thirds of diabetics die of heart problems, and a main reason for taking drugs like Avandia is to protect them from that.”
So why has this become such a big problem? Well, a professor from Harvard says the population is aging and “drug companies are going after giant markets, huge parts of the population, heavily advertising drugs.”
The other reason: the FDA’s system for assessing the safety of drugs is ineffective. Right now, the system mainly consist of asking doctors to report side effects or problems they see with drugs. Experts say more needs to be done— some suggest doing clinical trials after a drug is approved and for several years after, even for drugs that meet all the “premarket requirements.”
This is an interesting subject and a problem we see a lot in my office. Every day people call us saying they’ve had an adverse reaction to a drug. If you or someone you love has experienced dangerous side effect to a drug, call my office at 888-235-3090 or chat with a representative now. Our home location is in Las Vegas, and we have a personal injury lawyer that is waiting to hear about what happened to you.
–Edward M Bernstein and Associates
October 16, 2010
When Drugs Cause Problems They Are Supposed to Prevent
By GINA KOLATA
In the past month, the Food and Drug Administration has concluded that in some cases two types of drugs that were supposed to be preventing serious medical problems were, in fact, causing them.
Find article at: NY Times