The Legal Examiner Orlando Archives

• Zelnorm Suspended for Heart Risk

  Staff Writer | March 31, 2007 8:36 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: FDA & Prescription Drugs

  The irritable bowel drug Zelnorm has been been suspended due to links with such heart related ailments as angina, heart attacks, and strokes. Zelnorm, manufactured by Novartis, is the second drug in two days to come off the market for links to heart problems.

• Parkinson's Drug Permax Pulled from Market

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2007 12:44 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: FDA & Prescription Drugs

  Permax will be pulled from the market after the FDA asked Valeant Pharmaceuticals International to stop marketing the drug which had been used to treat Parkinson's disease. Permax has been linked to heart valve damage in two recent stuides. According to the FDA, approximately 12,000 to 25,000 people now take the drug. If you've taken Permax, please consult your healthcare physician for...

• Controversial Stent Study Open to Question

  Staff Writer | March 27, 2007 8:08 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  A recent study concerning the utilization of cardiac stents has found that the stents are no more effective than medcines in preventing future heart attacks. However, the study was funded in part by pharmaceutical companies. This brings up a broader ethical issue concerning the objectivity of medical research, especially when that research is funded by organzations or companies that have a...

• Natural Remedies Can Prove Lethal for Kidney Patients

  Staff Writer | March 17, 2007 10:48 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: FDA & Prescription Drugs

  While the homeopathic medicine market is booming, the effects of such remedies can prove fatal if not properly monitored by health experts. The problem with some homepathic remedies is that they are sold over the counter and are not monitored by the FDA or prescribed by doctors. Researchers writing in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases stated that, "results suggest that routine...

• Dangerous Driver Distractions

  Staff Writer | March 15, 2007 9:07 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  As if drivers don't have enough to distract them, the Wall St. Journal recently reported about the dangers of drivers text messaging. While I've either seen or heard about drivers shaving, doing their hair, or even reading the newspaper, this new distraction is really dangerous! For one thing, the text messager has to have both eyes OFF the road and at least one hand on the portable device. ...

• Taser and Excited Delirium-A Controversy that Continues

  Staff Writer | March 14, 2007 6:00 AM | 1 Comments
  Category: Defective & Dangerous Products

  The relationship between excited delirium and taser stun gun use is a controversial topic. Excited delirium is a medical condition that is hotly debated in the medical and law enforcement communities. Taser International has used the condition to argue that its stun gun did not cause people's death but rather death was brought on by this state of excited delirium. The company has been...

• Government Probes J&J Prescription Drug Marketing Practices

  Staff Writer | March 13, 2007 9:55 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: FDA & Prescription Drugs

  The federal government has widened its probe of prescription drug maker Johnson & Johnson for its marketing practices. Specifically, the company is coming under further scrutiny for its antipsychotic Risperdal; Topamax, a treatment for epilepsy and migraines; and Natrecor, for patients suffering from severe heart failure.

• Jury Awards Vioxx Victim $47.5 Million

  Staff Writer | March 12, 2007 9:59 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: FDA & Prescription Drugs

  An Atlantic City jury has awarded an Idaho man $47.5 million, $27.5 million of the total comprised punitive damages in the ongoing litigation against the pharmaceutical giant Merck. The verdict in the case of Frederick "Mike" Humeston, who was granted a second trial in light of new evidence, means Merck has now won nine cases and lost five in the mushrooming litigation over its former...

• La mantequilla de mani contaminada con salmonella

  Staff Writer | March 02, 2007 5:04 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Defective & Dangerous Products

  La mantequilla de mani contaminada con salmonella se extiende a los fabricantes de helados y a un vendedor mayorista de cubierta para postres. La Administración de Alimentos y Drogas de los Estados Unidos (FDA) anuncio hoy que una planta en el estado de Tennesee tambien tiene salmonella.

• Carvel and Sonic Hit by Peanut Butter Recall

  Staff Writer | March 02, 2007 4:29 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Defective & Dangerous Products

  The same peanut butter that was recalled a few weeks ago due to salmonella contamination is now being linked to peanut butter used in Carvel Ice Cream stores and Sonic restaurants. This peanut butter had been shipped from the ConAgra plant in Sylvester Georgia to its sister plant in Humboldt Tennessee where the peanut butter is sold to Carvel and Sonic. According to the FDA, the topping was...