Drug Side Effects

C.B. Fleet Co., a closely held maker of laxative products, said Thursday that it was voluntarily withdrawing its oral, over-the-counter bowel cleansing solutions after U.S. health regulators warned that such drugs may harm the kidneys. C.B. Fleet said it would recall its Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Phospho-soda EZ-Prep Bowel Cleansing System used to clear the bowels before a colonoscopy.

Taking menopause hormones for five years doubles the risk for breast cancer, according to a new analysis of a big federal study that reveals the most dramatic evidence yet of the dangers of these popular pills. Even women who took estrogen and progestin pills for just a couple of years had a greater chance of getting cancer. But when they stopped, their odds quickly improved, returning to a normal risk level about two years later.

Epilepsy drugs must carry a new warning about the risk of suicidal thoughts or actions, as urged by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel in July. The FDA announced changes to the drugs' prescribing information in a statement on its website. In keeping with the recommendations of its advisors, the FDA rejected a proposal to require that the drugs carry the agency's strictest caution, outlined in a black box. This year, regulators reviewed 199 studies of 11 epilepsy drugs and found 80% more suicidal thoughts and behavior in patients taking the drugs.

Genentech Inc. has received 36 reports of eye inflammation in Canadian patients who were given the cancer drug Avastin to treat eye diseases. The South San Francisco company said the injuries developed when doctors used Avastin to treat macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. Avastin isn't approved for use in the chronic eye diseases.

At least 2.2 million older adults in the U.S. take medicine in combinations that could trigger dangerous drug interactions, causing gastrointestinal bleeding, muscle breakdown, disruption in heart rhythm and other serious problems, according to a study by researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Half of the interactions involved over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin or dietary supplements. Overall, 1 in 25 older adults risked serious drug interactions, the study found.

Two drugs once commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease, pergolide and cabergoline, produce heart valve defects in as many as a quarter of the patients who use them, Italian and German researchers reported today. Scattered findings from smaller studies have already suggested that the drugs pose a risk, but the two new papers in the New England Journal of Medicine show that the risk is much higher than suspected. "This is not a rare side effect," said Dr. Bryan L.

Eli Lilly & Co. said Thursday that it would settle about 18,000 additional lawsuits alleging the drug maker did not adequately warn patients that its antipsychotic medication Zyprexa heightens the risk of diabetes. Lilly did not disclose the amount of the settlement but said in a statement that it would take a fourth-quarter settlement charge that's not expected to exceed $500 million.

Merck & Co. was granted a mistrial Thursday when a Los Angeles jury couldn't reach a verdict after six days of deliberations in a case over the heart attacks of two men who used the company's Vioxx painkiller. California Superior Court Judge Victoria Chaney sent the jury of seven women and five men home after they deadlocked. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the case would probably be retried in April. Merck, which faces 27,000 Vioxx suits, has won eight of 12 cases tried so far.

Thirty states, including California, have reached an $8-million settlement with Bayer Corp. over allegations that the drug maker failed to adequately warn consumers about risks associated with a cholesterol-reducing drug. The company allegedly learned after introducing Baycol in the U.S. in February 1998 that the drug posed significantly greater health risks than other similar drugs, Pennsylvania Atty. Gen. Tom Corbett said in a statement Tuesday.

Genentech Inc. said Friday that it warned doctors that Lucentis, a treatment for the leading cause of blindness among the elderly, may increase risk of stroke. Patients taking the highest dose of Lucentis to treat macular degeneration had a 1.2% risk of stroke, four times the risk of a lower dose, according to a letter to doctors from Genentech. Lucentis has been Genentech's most successful product introduction.