Posts Tagged 'cholesterol medication'

Researchers say statins are over-prescribed

Researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have published the results of a survey that concluded many doctors are too quick to prescribe the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins.

A Reuters story on the findings quotes Dr. Franz Messerli, who runs the hypertension program at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, as saying: “Many physicians are trigger happy, and do just prescribe a statin, which obviously is not ...

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Drug-maker to resume atorvastatin sales in U.S. after recall

The Indian company Ranbaxy will resume production of its generic version of the anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor in the United States, according to a Reuters story.

The company had recalled the drug, called atorvastatin, in November after particles of glass were found in certain lots.

The original Lipitor, manufactured by Pfizer Inc., has also been the source of some safety concerns.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has added warnings to the labels of ...

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Study says statins increase risk of kidney failure

A new study by Canadian researchers found that strong doses of the anti-cholesterol drugs called statins put patients at risk of potentially deadly kidney problems, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The researchers, from the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research in Quebec, said that taking high doses of atorvastatin — better known by its brand name Lipitor — simvastatin or rosuvastatin increases the risk of being hospitalized with a condition called acute ...

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Cholesterol drug linked to serious side effects

A study linked the cholesterol drug Tredaptive to serious side effects that included development of diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, bleeding and infections, according to a Reuters report.

Manufacturer Merck had already decided not to sell the drug in the United States and to take it off the market in dozens of other countries, after findings that it failed to prevent heart attacks, strokes, death and other complications in heart patients.

Tredaptive isn’t ...

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Study says USA’s diabetes costs are $245B

A recent study has put America’s health care and work-related costs related to diabetes at $245 billion in 2012, according to a story in USA Today. That represents a 41 percent increase from 2007, when the cost was $174 billion.

Diabetes, a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal, is the country’s seventh leading cause of death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study, commissioned ...

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Maker of generic Lipitor sued

Indian company Ranbaxy Laboratories is being sued by a New Jersey man over its decision to recall a generic version of the cholesterol medication Lipitor because glass particles were found in some lots.

According to a report on Pharmalot, the recall was made only at the pharmacy level, which means consumers were not directly notified of the problem or how to respond if they became aware of it. The New Jersey ...

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