Posts Tagged 'cholesterol'

Study Urges Caution in Patients Taking Rifaximin with Statins

Patients taking Rifaximin to combat gastrointestinal distresses like traveler’s diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and hepatic encephalopathy should be pleased to know that a study published by the American Gastroenterological Association has found the drug to be “largely safe and well-tolerated.” However, the same study urges caution for those patients taking the drug with statins. Statins are used to treat high cholesterol and include commonly prescribed medications such as Lipitor, Zocor, and Crestor.

Rifaximin, more commonly known as Xifaxan, is generally known ...

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Study Suggests Statin Use May Increase Risk of Cataracts

A new study has emerged that links statin medication to the risk of developing cataracts, according to US News and World Report.

Researchers with the VA North Texas Health System published study results in the online edition of JAMA Ophthalmology, in which they analyzed data from over 14,000 statin users. They found that statin users had a 27% greater risk of developing cataracts. Even after analyzing the data several different ways, the same association emerged: statin use was ...

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Study: Pharmaceutical Advertising Increases Chances of High Cholesterol

When is the last time you went to watch your favorite television show or listen to your favorite radio program and you were able to do so without being exposed to an advertisement from a pharmaceutical company? It feels like almost every day we are introduced to a new drug that claims to improve our lives. It is true that modern medicine can greatly improve our quality of life, but all drugs carry risks, and the risks are often minimized ...

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Man blames health problems on statins

A story in the British newspaper Daily Mail deals with mounting concerns about serious side effects related to the popular anti-cholesterol drugs known as statins. The story includes a profile of a Welsh man who began taking statins for high cholesterol at the age of 57. Soon afterward, he began suffering from side effects he blames on the drug.

According to the story, he had troubling bouts of memory loss.

The story quotes him as saying: “I was constantly losing my thread ...

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FDA warns of mixing statins, protease inhibitors

The federal Food and Drug Administration put out a warning on March 1 about mixing protease inhibitors, used to treat HIV and hepatitis C, and certain types of the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins.

The combination of the drugs can cause a form of muscle injury called myopathy, according to the FDA. The most serious form of myopathy, called rabdomyolosis, can lead to deadly kidney failure.

According to the FDA, labels for both the protease inhibitors and the affected statins are being updated ...

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