About 1/3 of those who've experienced eye infections as a result of the use of Bausch & Lomb's ReNu eye contact solution are schedule to undergo corneal transplants. These new findings will be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association at the end of this month.
A US District Judge ruled yesterday that big tobacco companies conspired for years to hide the deadly effects of cigarette smoke from the public. This isn't suprising to most of us who've followed these battles. However, it will most likely lead to a groundswell of lawsuits against big tobacco. For decades now, the tobacco marketing strategy has focused on youth and many have suffered the...
According to a published report in the Wall St. Journal, Glaxo Smith Kline became the latest drug manufacturer to add a warning label to its ADHD drug, Dexedrine. The new warning label will include a warning about cardiac risks and psychiatric side effects. The new warning was posted on the FDA website yesterday.
A New Orleans jury returned a $50,000,000 award to a 62 year old plaintiff who had taken Vioxx for 31 months. Mr. Barnett had suffered a heart attack four years earlier and stopped taking the drug shortly before Vioxx was pulled from the market. The jury found that Merck failed to adequately warn doctors about Vioxx's potential harmful side effects and risks for cardiac incidents.
Since the initial news broke about a link between the arthritis drug Fosamax and jaw bone death or osteonecrosis, a panel of medical and pharmacological experts has been convened to study the issue. In most instances, the resulting jaw bone death has occurred after Fosamax patients have had dental surgery or tooth extraction. As a result of the panel discussions, a new moniker for the...
A drug touted as an effective treatment of epilepsy has been shown to cause birth defects or fetal death in cases where mothers were taking the drug during pregnancy. The birth defects include malformed hearts and genitals, cleft palate, and artery deformities among children born to women taking Depakote. The rate of serious adverse outcomes for the other anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) tested was...
After initially fighting each individual lawsuit, Taser International has decided to settle claims against the company for a reported $20 million. The company also agreed to appoint a lead independent director as part of the settlement.
There was an excellent editorial published in the Palm Beach Postyesterday. The editorial sharply criticizes the docility and unwillingness to monitor Florida doctors. The editorial cites Boynton Beach Dr. Mark Schreiber who was cited by state investigators 3 1/2 years ago yet continues to practice medicine. If public safety is paramount, the Board will start doing its job and discipline...
In the largest vehicle in history, Ford has announced that it will be forced to recall 1.2 million of its trucks, SUVs, and vans due to a faulty speed deactivation switch. The models affected include: 1994-2002 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550, 2000-02 Ford Excursion SUVs, 1994-96 Econoline vans and Mountaineers. This latest recall comes in the wake of mounting troubles for the US automaker.