Product News and Recalls

New York Times: Company knowingly sold defective implants

Johnson & Johnson executives decided to phase out a replacement hip joint and sell its remaining inventory to be surgically implanted in patients just weeks after the company got a letter from the Food and Drug Administration about serious safety concerns with the devices.

The Times cites documents it attained under the Freedom of Information Act.

A report in the New York Times says that after receiving the letter, company executives waited a year to take the DePuy hip implants off the ...

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Mother who lost job from implant wants reforms

A mother of three who had to quit her truck-driving job because of debilitating pain from a faulty vaginal mesh implant spoke up on Thursday, calling for federal lawmakers to close the loophole that allowed the implant to go on the market in the first place.

“It’s a question of loss,” said Colorado resident Jay Nevarez. “I lost my job and my health, and am in the process of losing my home.”

According to a report in The Boston Globe, Nevarez joined ...

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Birth control advocates call for over-the-counter pills

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration held a two-day hearing this week to discuss whether to expand the list of drugs that consumers can buy without a prescription, according to a Bloomberg report.

While the agency’s discussions center on cholesterol, asthma, migraine and blood-pressure medications, birth control advocates are using the debate to raise the question of whether contraceptives should be available over the counter.

Daniel Grossman, a senior associate with research and advocacy group Ibis Reproductive Health, said such an arrangement ...

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Blood Clot Symptoms and Treatment Advice from the Mayo Clinic

What should you do if you develop a blood clot?

According to the Mayo Clinic, the answer to that question depends on the severity of your situation.

Relatively inconsequential blood clots in the small veins near the surface of the skin may cause localized redness, pain and swelling, but present no significant danger.

On the other extreme is deep vein thrombosis, characterized by blood clots forming inside larger, deeper veins. The clots associated with deep vein thrombosis can migrate to the brain, heart ...

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Diabetics warned about drug to lower blood sugar

An Irish newspaper, the Evening Herald, reports that diabetics in Europe have been warned about a drug used to lower blood sugar, which has been linked to severe side-effects.

According to the report, patients have suffered “serious hypersensitivity reactions” including anaphylactic shock and acute pancreatitis.

Both the Irish Medicines Board and the European Medicines Agency issued warnings about the drug saxagliptin, which has the brand name Onglyza, prescribed for patients with Type 2 diabetes as part of a diet and exercise program ...

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Study shows promise for predicting heart attacks

Time magazine reports research that may eventually allow medical professionals to predict a heart attack.

The report cites a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, which examines dead blood cells associated with the formation of clots that can block the flow of blood through the heart.

According to the report, the first stages of a heart attack involve the weakening or erosion of blood vessel walls, attracting inflammatory cells that damage other cells lining the inside of the blood vessels. ...

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