According to its own website, the FDA “is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, quality, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products, and medical devices.” But does the FDA protect the public? As recently reported by Slate magazine: “When the…
If you’re young and single, you may think I’m talking about those little glasses of vodka or whiskey meant to be downed in one quick swallow. If you’re a parent of school-aged children, you know I’m talking about back-to-school vaccinations, which are not nearly so enticing. Way back in 1905,…
On April 23, 2014, the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication about corticosteroids administered through epidural injection. Commonly used for back and neck pain, the injections may cause permanent blindness, stroke, paralysis, and death, according to the FDA’s warning. Other serious adverse events have included spinal cord infarction, seizures, nerve…
As we wrote not too long ago, South Carolina is in the Diabetes Belt, with about 450,000 of our residents suffering from diabetes. In the news this week is an announcement by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) that prescription drug Avandia will now be widely available to treat type 2…
A low country pain clinic was one of the healthcare facilities that received a batch of tainted steroids linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak. Intervene MD, with locations in Mount Pleasant and North Charleston, posted the following on its blog: “Unfortunately, our practice was one of those provided medications from…
Researchers have uncovered a possible link between a common drug used to treat diabetes and an increased risk of vision problems, according to a HealthDay report. According to the study, which first appeared in the online edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine, users of thiazolidinediones may be two or…
Drug company giant GlaxoSmithKline made U.S. history recently in an agreement with U.S. authorities requiring the company to pay a $3 billion healthcare fraud settlement. The GlaxoSmithKline deal with the U.S. Department of Justice also has the drug maker pleading guilty to three misdemeanor criminal counts. The criminal counts are…
It seems medical research linking diabetes drug Actos to bladder cancer just keeps piling up. A new study from Canada, recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that the common diabetes treatment may be involved in raising bladder cancer risks for users by as much as 22 percent.…
After a five-year study, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that patients who took certain medications for diabetes may now have a much greater risk of bladder cancer. According to the FDA safety announcement, those who took the prescription drug pioglitazone, sold under the brand name Actos,…
A former University of Utah football player has filed a product liability lawsuit against the makers of the Stryker pain pump after claiming use of the pump after shoulder surgery resulted in permanent shoulder damage. The man developed chondrolysis, severe loss of cartilage in the joint, and his lawsuit claims…