Originally published July 31 2005
Asthma drugs making patients sicker
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The FDA is currently questioning the effectiveness of the asthma drugs Serevent, Advair and Foradil. In some cases these drugs made asthma complications worse. While the F.D.A.'s panel recommends these drugs stay on the market, they ask that a warning to the drug Foradil be put on the package.
Three popular asthma drugs used by millions of patients could, in some cases, be making them sicker.
Wednesday, the F.D.A. asked a panel of lung experts if Serevent, Advair and Foradil should remain on the market.
The concern about these drugs began two years ago when a clinical trial was called off early due to a small but significant number of flare-ups and deaths.
Patricia Younger uses the drug Advair to prevent asthma attacks.
"It helps a lot because it opens up your air passages and it maintains you most of the day," Younger says.
Two years ago, a clinical trial of salmeterol was stopped early because some patients' asthma got worse and 13 out of 13,000 died.
Frequent F.D.A. critic Sidney Wolfe with the Public Citizen's Health Research Group says the drugs shouldn't be used.
"Given that the purpose of treating asthma is to prevent people from dying, if a drug increases the death rate, it really shouldn't be used," Wolfe says.
"We firmly believe that Salmeterol remains a valuable medication that has improved the level of care for patients with asthma and COPD," Dr. Katharine Knobil with Glaxo Smith Kline says.
Serevent and Advair already have black box warnings on the labels but another asthma drug, Foradil, does not.
A separate trial found asthma flare-ups in patients whose used twice the recommended dose.
The F.D.A. is asking a panel of experts if warnings should be added, changed or if the drugs should be pulled altogether.
"I think there are lots of questions yet to be answered and research that needs to be done," Chris Ward with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America says.
The F.D.A.'s expert panel is recommending these drugs stay on the market, but they want to add a warning to the drug Foradil.
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