"Health News - Medicine, Diet and Fitness"

Will Consider Data Suggesting Trasylol Can Cause Kidney Damage, Heart Failure, and Death

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

An August 22, 2007 article, “FDA panel will review Trasylol safety”, published in the TheBoston Globe informed that the FDA will convene an advisory committee of drug safety experts on September 12, 2007 to discuss Bayer AG’s blood-clotting drug Trasylol.

SACRAMENTO—Members of the OURx Bill of Rights Coalition gathered in the state Capitol this morning to applaud Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature of AB 2911 (N

I’ve only just started going through the transcript of the oral argument in Kimbrough, the case the Supreme Court heard today on the crack-powder sentencing disparity, but I think it’s interesting that the 1996 case of Neal v. United States is coming up again and again as a point of reference.

Neal concerned the federal sentencing scheme around LSD, and specifically the use of blotter paper weight to calculate the amount of LSD a person possessed.

In today’s case, Justice Stevens suggests that he thinks Kimbrough may be “controlled by the decision in Neal,” while Justice Souter describes one argument as a way of saying “well, in the LSD case, you approved of incoherence and irrationality, therefore, you want to do it across the board.”

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ST. LOUIS, Oct. 2 — Many pregnant obese women should gain less weight than currently recommended and women who are severely obese should actually lose weight during pregnancy, researchers here said.

Women with a prepregnancy body mass index of 30 to 34.9 kg/m2 should gain no more than 10 to 25 pounds during pregnancy to minimize the risk of preeclampsia, Caesarean delivery, and an infant who’s large or small for gestational age, according to the findings of a cohort study in the October issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. Action Points
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NEW YORK, Oct. 2 — Giving bigger ribavirin doses to heavier hepatitis C patients appears to result in better outcomes, especially for African Americans, researchers here said.Action Points
Explain to interested patients that the combination of ribavirin and pegylated interferon alfa-2b has been a standard treatment since 2001, but there has been controversy over how to choose the best dose of ribavirin.

Note that this study suggests that giving ribavirin based on weight appears to produce better outcomes than a single flat dose for all patients.

The finding, from a prospective randomized trial of more than 5,000 treatment-naïve patients, supports the idea of so-called true weight-based dosing of ribavirin, in combination with pegylated interferon alfa-2b, according to Ira M. Jacobson, M.D., of Weill Cornell Medical College, and colleagues.

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BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 2 — More than 30% of American children and adolescents take dietary supplements regularly, most often multivitamins and multiminerals, according to an NIH study. Action Points
Explain to interested patients that although 30% of American children regularly take basic dietary supplements, use among young teenagers is low and given their poor diets, nutrient deficiencies may pose a Men’s health risk.

Also note that calcium, vitamin D, and iron are nutrients of most concern for (more…)

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 2 — The FDA has approved terbinafine oral granules (lamisil), which can be sprinkled on food, for tinia capitis in children four years and older.

The FDA said it asked Novartis to develop a “palatable formulation” for use in children against ringworm. In response, the company developed the easy-to-swallow granules.

The approved pediatric doses, recommended for six weeks, were determined through clinical trials in children, the FDA said. The actual dosage amount will be determined by the weight of the child.

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WORCESTER, Mass., Oct. 1 — In a collision of the best-selling weight-loss books, the neovegetarian fare pushed by the Ornish diet earned heart-healthy honors, according to the standards of an index that dices the risks of fats and carbohydrates.Action Points
Explain to patients that this study found that diets high in fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates were superior to the Atkins-style low-carbohydrate diets at reducing risk of future cardiovascular disease.

The investigators used the Alternate Men’s health (more…)