Reports linking the blood pressure medication Benicar to intestinal problems were a hot topic of conversation at this year’s Digestive Disease Week meeting — considered the largest and most prestigious meeting in the world for the gastrointestinal professionals.
A report in Gastroenterology and Endoscopy News says Benicar has been linked to severe symptoms similar to those of sprue, or celiac disease.
That’s not the only concern that health care professionals have raised ...
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether olmesartan-based blood pressure drugs Benicar, Azor, and Tribenzor increase the risk of enteropathy.
Benicar, known as olmesartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, was approved by the FDA on April 25, 2002, to treat high blood pressure. It is manufactured under the brand names Benicar, Benicar HCT, Azor, and Tribenzor.
Recently, the FDA issued a safety warning that Benicar, Azor, and Tribenzor can ...
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An article in Forbes analyzes the likely impact of an opinion piece published in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine, which journalist Peter Lipson concludes is “sure to start some fights.”
In the JAMA column, retired but respected physician Iona Heath argues that mild high blood pressure is over-treated, and that medical professionals should raise the blood pressure rate at which they begin prescribing medication.
Not only might the blood ...
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A story in The Oregonian deals with the controversial question of whether people with borderline high blood pressure are taking medicine unnecessarily.
The issue is getting a good deal of discussion in the medical community following a recent column in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, in which a British doctor called for raising the blood pressure levels at which medication is prescribed.
Among the doctor’s concerns is that prescribing medication too ...
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A study suggests that the practice of yoga may help control high blood pressure, according to a story in U.S. News and World Report.
Although the study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between yoga and lower blood pressure, the story quotes a cardiologist as saying that the findings suggest “yoga would be a useful adjunct in the lowering of blood pressure in certain populations.”
That could be valuable for patients at ...
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Ranbaxy, a subsidiary of Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo, has pleaded guilty to drug safety violations. According to a story in the New York Times, the company will pay $500 million in fines over allegations that it sold subpar drugs.
Company officials also allegedly made false statements to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about manufacturing practices at two factories in India.
Daiichi Sankyo has faced other allegations recently concerning its medications.
Two ...
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