Product News and Recalls

Many sources for carcinogen benzene

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the carcinogenic compound benzene has both natural and man-made sources.

Natural sources include volcanoes and forest fires. Benzene is frequently used in an industrial setting, as part of the manufacturing process for plastics, resins, nylon, detergents and pesticides.

But there are other ways you could be exposed:

  • Outdoor air contains low levels of benzene from tobacco smoke, gas stations, motor vehicle exhaust, and industrial emissions.
  • Indoor air generally contains levels of benzene higher than ...
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Writer wonders if even Don Draper could help J&J

An entry on blog ThePopTort.com mentions Don Draper, the preternaturally slick ad executive at the center of AMC’s Mad Men, and wonders whether even he would be able to help Johnson & Johnson these days.

“Last week watching Mad Men, when I heard Don Draper’s pitch to Dow Chemical about the wonders of Napalm (coincidently just as the country was recognizing the 40th anniversary of that iconic photo), I thought, ‘wow, if Don Draper were alive today – er, I mean ...

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Dangerous vaginal implants can’t be removed

One of the dangers of transvaginal mesh devices, according to an article in The Trial Lawyer magazine, is that they typically can’t be removed once they’ve been implanted in a patient’s body.

This is bad news for the thousands of implant recipients who have reported problems including debilitating pain and organ perforation after the devices have started to erode. According to The Trial Lawyer, doctors can trim ...

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More hip recalls: Smith & Nephew R3

A newspaper report warns New Zealanders to brace for another round of invasive surgery after a recall of more hip implants.

According to The Dominion Post, Smith & Nephew R3 hip implants were recalled after unusually high rates of replacement surgery were required in Australia and the United Kingdom.

The report mentions a similar recall of DePuy all-metal hip implants from 2010. ...

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More antidepressant users without documented disorder

More people without any documented psychiatric condition are taking antidepressants and getting them prescribed by doctors who aren’t psychiatrists, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The article mentions a study finding that nearly three-quarters of antidepressants in the U.S. were prescribed by non-psychiatrists in 2007, up from 60% a decade earlier. The study drew on the analysis of a national sample of 233,144 doctor office visits, the latest ...

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FDA issues stricter warning for epilepsy drug Gilenya

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reviewed Novartis AG’s multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya, and concluded that patients who’ve suffered a heart attack or stroke within the past six months shouldn’t take it.

The review came about after a 59-year-old patient died in November, less than 24 hours after taking the first dose of the drug.

Europe’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, recently requested stronger safety warnings for Gilenya after the agency concluded its review of the drug.

According to Dow Jones ...

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