Originally published October 11 2005
Doctor questions why medications are becoming increasingly dangerous
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Roxanne Allegretti talks about medication scares over the course of the past few years, including the recent warnings issued for Strattera, a drug designed to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
I think the FDA has a lot of 'splainin' to do (this will mean something only to those of you old enough to remember Lucy and Ricky Ricardo--OK, so I'm old).
Last week, Eli Lilly announced that it would be adding a "black box warning" to labeling on its ADHD drug, Strattera.
The warning states that the drug may increase suicidal thoughts in children, especially in the first weeks or months of treatment, or when there is a dosage change.
Eli Lilly said it provided the FDA with results from Strattera clinical trials of 1,357 patients that found five youths taking the medication reported having suicidal thoughts, while none of 851 patients taking a placebo reported having any.
One young person taking Strattera attempted suicide (by overdosing on Strattera, no less) but survived, company and FDA officials said.
This black box warning is very similar to the one added to all anti-depressants last year, because several of them also cause a small but significant increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and teens.
I guess this news is not surprising, since the molecular structure of Strattera is similar to anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac.
Apparently, there have been five reports of teens developing Guillain-Barre Syndrome within 2-4 weeks of receiving the new Menactra vaccine.
More than 2.5 million doses of Menactra have been distributed to date, so the rate of GBS is similar to what would have been expected to occur by coincidence.
Often, I think the research is valid, but the number of patients in trials is lower than the number of people who subsequently receive the drugs or vaccines.
So, tiny risks that might not have shown up in a trial of 10,000 will show up when a million prescriptions are written.
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