More warnings on Celebrex
WELLINGTON,
NEW
ZEALAND - The Wall Street Journal disclosed people taking Pfizer Inc.'s Celebrex had nearly twice the risk for heart attacks as those using rivals, a study by the Medical Research Institute found. The study of Cox-2 inhibitors was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine "shows increased risk of heart attack in patients taking celecoxib," said Richard Beasley, institute director. In August, Pfizer put a "black box" warning on Celebrex after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendation. The label warns the drug may increase the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke. Celebrex is the only Cox-2 inhibitor being sold. Pfizer's Bextra and Merck & Co.'s Vioxx were withdrawn from the market amid safety concerns. Beasley said this study reviewed six studies of 12,780 patients to determine if the increased risk with Vioxx was present with celecoxib. It found a 1.88-fold increased risk of heart attack with celecoxib versus other arthritis pain treatments. "These findings are critical as the risk is similar to the 2.24-fold increased risk with Vioxx," Beasley said. "Drug regulatory authorities urgently need to re-examine the assessment of the drug in light of these findings," Beasley said. Pfizer New
Zealand
general manager Mark Crotty said the findings represent "very much an incomplete review of the data - six studies out of 48 available."
WASHINGTON
- The Associated Press reported Darvon, Darvocet, and related painkillers were tied to at least 2,110 deaths 1981-1999, critics said asking the government to ban them. Several hundred more people have died after taking the drugs each year since then, Public Citizen's Health Research Group said petitioning U.S. Food and Drug Administration acting commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach. Dr. Sidney Wolfe, Public Citizen director, said the main active ingredient, propoxyphene, is a relatively weak painkiller and poses unacceptable toxic risk to millions of patients prescribed it yearly since 1957. "This a black-and-white example of a drug where its risks far outweigh benefits," Dr. Wolfe said. Ddoctors wrote 23 million prescriptions for propoxyphene-containing drugs last year. Darvocet, with propoxyphene and acetaminophen, is among the best known. An analysis of 26 studies comparing propoxyphene and acetaminophen with just acetaminophen or a dummy pill found the "narcotic combination offered little benefit over acetaminophen alone" in treating pain. "Propoxyphene provides minimal if any added analgesia to acetaminophen alone and is associated with significant adverse effects. It can’t be recommended for routine use," Carolyn Sachs, of the
University
of
California
/
Los Angeles
, wrote in her analysis in March 2005 in American Family Physician.
READING
,
ENGLAND
- MedPage Today reported underarm deodorants may raise the risk of breast cancer because they have aluminum salts with metal ions that mimic estrogen. It was thought such estrogen-mimicking substances were uniformly organic, but evidence mounts that some metals can bind to estrogen receptors, said Dr. Philippa Darbre, of the
University
of
Reading
. Aluminum salts comprise up to 25% of some deodoramts and appears to be one of those estrogen-mimicking metals, Dr. Darbre noted in online at the Journal of Applied Toxicology. It joins a growing list of so-called "metalloestrogens," including antimony, arsenite, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenite, tin, and vanadate. Aluminum salts "form a major source of aluminum exposure in humans," Dr. Darbre said, but "the effects of widespread, long-term and increasing use of these cosmetics remain unknown." Reasons for concern, she said, are: cosmetics are applied near the breast; aluminum salts are left on the skin, allowing continuous exposure and possible migration through the skin; shaving armpits may damage the stratum corneum of the skin, allowing direct chemical access to underlying tissue. "It is reasonable to question whether this aluminum could then influence breast cancer," Dr. Darbre said. Other substances that mimic estrogen include: Phytoestrogens, found in nature as organic components of plants, and natural and synthetic steroidal estrogens used in contraceptive pills and hormone replacement therapy.
WASHINGTON
- Monday Morning in Washington DC (mmwdc@inclusionresearch.org, and Arc of the
United States
,
301-565-3842
, info@thearc.org; or National Down Syndrome Society,
800-221-4602
, info@ndss.org) disclosed that every night
MSN
Autos receives pricing data from over 90,000
U.S.
gas stations. Note that gas prices in your area may change more frequently. To see the Web site with gas station prices in your area, enter your zip code at join.buddywalk.org/site/R?i=mliQjE8ejJN6EI6aanTqNA.
BETHESDA
,
MD
- Foods that contain plant sterols and stanols have proven effective in lowering
LDL
, the lethal or bad cholesterol. It isn’t practical to consume enough of those foods to make a significant difference - i.e., lower
LDL
cholesterol 10-14%. Can you imagine eating “10 heads of cauliflower twice a day or 44 apples in the morning and five cups of almonds in the evening? That would provide the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recommended amount of sterols and stanols, but it’s impractical to even contemplate. To get a 10-14% reduction in
LDL
cholesterol, Dr. Robert Nicolosi, director of the Center for Health and Disease Research at the
University
of
Massachusetts
, says an average American diet contains 100-300mg of plant sterols or stanols daily. To help reach the
LDL
-lowering level of 1,000-2,000mg daily foods that are supplemented with sterols and stanols are the wiser way to go. Primarily, they’re margarine-like spreads, snack bars, and salad dressings. Three years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began permitting food labels to claim their ability to lower
LDL
cholesterol encouraging more manufacturers to try to qualify for this labeling. Sterols and stanols block absorption of cholesterol, lowering the amount entering the bloodstream following eating. Combine these foods with other dietary changes such as reduction in saturated fats, addition of soy and more fiber and the improvement can be compounded.
