The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it is reviewing adverse event reports of liver injury in patients taking the weight loss drug orlistat, marketed as the prescription drug Xenical and the over-the-counter medication Alli.
Between 1999 and 2008, the FDA received 32 reports of serious liver injury in patients taking orlistat. Of those [...]

Following a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency, the huge pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis has halted the sale of the anti-obesity drug Acomplia in the EU. Acomplia joins An ever growing list of approved drugs that are found to be high risk after approval
“The risks of taking Acomplia are now greater than the benefits that [...]

Over 4,000 deaths linked to drug adverse reactions during the quarter.
According to a new report from Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a non-profit consumer watchdog, “A record number of deaths and serious injuries associated with drug therapy were reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first quarter of 2008.”
The report detailed [...]

ETHEX Corporation announced today that it has voluntarily recalled three specific lots (77946, 81141 and 81142) of Dextroamphetamine Sulfate 5 mg tablets, as a precaution, due to the possible presence of oversized tablets. Oversized tablets may contain as much as about twice the labeled amount of the active ingredient. The recalled lots were [...]

Oral mucositis is a breast cancer treatment side effect.
As millions of Americans participate in educational initiatives as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they should keep in mind an important yet under-recognized consequence of breast cancer therapy: oral mucositis, one of the most common and debilitating side effects of cancer treatment.
Oral mucositis (OM) is [...]

Short-Term Use of antipsychotics in older adults With dementia associated with serious adverse events.
Older adults with dementia who receive short-term courses of antipsychotic medications are more likely to be hospitalized or die than those who do not take the drugs, according to a report in Archives of Internal Medicine.
“Newer antipsychotic drugs (olanzapine, quetiapine fumarate and [...]