News Tagged ‘heart attacks’

FDA panel member ‘well utilized’ by Yaz maker

bayer logo 100x100 FDA panel member well utilized by Yaz makerA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel member who voted to keep the birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin on the market despite studies that showed the pills put women at greater risk for deadly blood clots was praised by the drugs’ maker Bayer in a 2008 report saying, “She will be well utilized.” The adviser, Paula Hillard, M.D., with Stanford’s School of Medicine, is listed on the medical school’s website as a paid consultant receiving $5,000 or more annually from a division of Bayer.

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FDA advisor warns ‘do not use’ Yaz, Yasmin

fda logo 100x100 FDA advisor warns do not use Yaz, YasminWhen Dr. Sidney Wolfe was asked in 2009 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to join the agency’s Risk Management Advisory Committee for a 4-year term, the head of the Washington, DC-based watchdog group Public Citizen took the task to heart. He championed the removal of the longstanding painkiller Darvocet/Darvon, calling the drug “extremely dangerous” based on reports of more than 2,000 accidental deaths since 1981. He also pushed for stronger warnings on prescription drugs, including the type 2 diabetes drug Avandia, which has been linked to fatal heart attacks.

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Drug companies may delay, withhold trial data from medical journals

BritishMedicalJournal Logo 100x100 Drug companies may delay, withhold trial data from medical journalsMissing data from clinical trials that test the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical drugs “distorts scientific record” and puts patients lives in danger, the British Medical Journal warns. The medical publication, which serves as a resource for policy makers and doctors, released several papers looking into the problem of unpublished trial data. One study from Yale University found that fewer than half of the 635 National Institutes of Health-funded trials were published in peer-reviewed medical journals within 30 months of trial completion. This includes experimental drugs as well as those already licensed on the market.

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Pros and cons of birth control pills for nuns

nuns WIKI 300x221 Pros and cons of birth control pills for nunsFor centuries, nuns have been at greater risk for developing breast, ovarian and uterine cancers – diseases that are more common in women who do not have children. But a new study published in The Lancet suggests nuns could greatly reduce their risk of these deadly cancers if they started taking birth control pills.

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Women should be aware of blood clot risk with birth control pills, patches

yasmin1 100x100 Women should be aware of blood clot risk with birth control pills, patchesThe recent recommendations from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee about safety concerns with contraceptives may make women more leery when deciding which birth control is best for them. But even for women who are currently on birth control, understanding the risks is vital.

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FDA panel warns of elevated blood clot risk with patch, Yaz

fda logo 100x100 FDA panel warns of elevated blood clot risk with patch, YazA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel said Friday that the Ortho Evra birth control patch, made by Johnson & Johnson, should remain on the market despite an elevated risk for blood clots. The panel voted 19-5 in favor of patch as an alternative contraceptive for women who are unable to take a daily birth control pill.

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Why would FDA panel not ban Yaz over blood clot risk?

fda logo 100x100 Why would FDA panel not ban Yaz over blood clot risk?Why did an advisory panel of experts for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not vote to ban the popular birth control pill Yaz and other pills of its generation containing the hormone drospirenone, instead opting to recommend that the pills carry a stronger warning for life-threatening blood clots?

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New studies show increased risk of blood clots with Yaz

blood cells 100x100 New studies show increased risk of blood clots with YazA new study backs up concerns of previous studies that show birth control pills containing the hormone drospirenone, such as Yaz and Yasmin, are more likely to cause deadly blood clots than oral contraceptives made with older generation hormones.

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FDA approves generic Yaz despite serious blood clot warnings

fda logo 100x100 FDA approves generic Yaz despite serious blood clot warningsYaz, and other birth control pills made with the hormone drospirenone, have been shown in studies to put women at greater risk for developing deadly blood clots, yet generic versions of the drug are still being approved for sale in the United States. Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. has just been granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Vestura, its generic version of Bayer’s Yaz.

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FDA panel member stripped of voting rights in Yaz-blood clot safety review

fda logo 100x100 FDA panel member stripped of voting rights in Yaz blood clot safety reviewSid Wolfe, head of the Public Citizen Health Research Group, was stripped of his voting rights on a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel just before the committee was to review the safety of the popular birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin. Wolfe’s consumer advocacy group has waged a campaign warning women about what it perceives to be the dangerous risk of blood clots with oral contraceptives containing the hormone drospirenone, such as Yaz and Yasmin.

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