About Bextra: Vioxx Withdrawl and Drug litigation

Here is a resource About Bextra: Vioxx Withdrawl and Drug litigation. On Sept. 30, 2004 Merck announced a worldwide withdrawal of Vioxx® (rofecoxib). Vioxx had previously been prescribed in the treatment of arthritis and pain. Worldwide sales of Vioxx in 2003 were an estimated $2.5Billion and the drug was marketed in more than 80 countries around the world. This is one of several recent pharmaceutical products to have been put in the spotlight by both the national media and plaintiff lawyers.

Since sometime in the mid to late 90s a substantial number of pharmaceutical medications and medical devices have been removed from the market due to possible adverse health implications. The FDA acts as a regulatory body in approving health related products before they are marketed to consumers. The FDA moved to ban Ephedra in the US in 2004. However, the recent headlines about voluntary drug withdrawals have produced questions as to the FDA's recent performance...

Many people believe that the FDA did not test the drugs rigorously enough to determine all the possible health problems that they might cause. People believe that the rise in litigation over these medications was due to the fact that the FDA now allows pharmaceutical companies to “fast track” their products and get them through the process in a year. In fact, Vioxx was only released in 1999.

Some of the latest drugs where concerns have also arose are Bextra, Celebrex and Zyprexa. Litigation over these drugs may commence in the near future. US plaintiff lawyers have begun to put some serious time and research into possible claims that may arise from pharmaceutical drugs. Plaintiff lawyers also handle Mesothelioma, Car Accident, and a wide variety of different personal injury cases.

If you think that you may have been injured by one of these drugs that have recently made headlines, you may consider consulting with a lawyer. Many plaintiff attorneys handle cases on a contingency basis.

More about → About Bextra: Vioxx Withdrawl and Drug litigation

About Bextra: Vioxx Personal Injury Lawsuits

Here is an article About Bextra: Vioxx Personal Injury Lawsuits. Personal injury attorneys representing clients who have allegedly been harmed by the prescription drug Vioxx are congratulating themselves over a historic judgment rendered recently. On August 19, 2005, a judge awarded the family of Bob Ernst $253.4 million due to his death from the drug. Vioxx, which had been prescribed most often for arthritis pain, was withdrawn globally by its maker, Merck, after research trials showed it increased patients' chances of a heart attack. Although Merck pulled the drug off the market in September 2004, legal action against this leading pharmaceutical giant will continue and expand. Let’s take a look at why Vioxx has become a litigation lightning rod.

In 1998 as Merck was running clinical trials for Vioxx, company reports to the FDA stated that there were no cardiovascular signals apparent. This meant that there were no telltale signs that the drug could cause heart problems for users. Later, however, it was revealed that an internal study conducted by Merck around the same time – Study 090 – revealed serious cardiovascular problems as compared to patients not taking Vioxx. The study was never published by Merck as the company insisted that it was not large enough to provide definitive data.

The following year the FDA gave Vioxx its approval and the drug became the second nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication [or COX-2 inhibitor] to hit the market. Celebrex, another problem drug, was the first.

Merck widely and thoroughly launched a marketing campaign upon the introduction of Vioxx to the marketplace. Indeed, by 2003 the drug had entered 80 nations with sales exceeding $2.5 billion. Still, there were problems looming as ongoing tests conducted by Merck hinted of potential deadly side effects.

As early as 2001, the FDA recommended label warnings be put on prescriptions warning users of potential side effects. In addition, Merck was warned by the FDA to quit misleading physicians about potential side effects.

As potential problems began to surface, they served as red flags to industry watchdogs, to the FDA, as well as to personal injury attorneys who began to gather evidence to show that Merck was negligent. Indeed, web sites and advertising campaigns – meant to inform and attract patients harmed by the drug – were launched and fairly soon the internet, radio, television, and print media were flooded with advertisements asking those suspecting harm from Vioxx to come forward.

With the September 2004 announcement that Merck was withdrawing Vioxx, personal injury litigation was well on its way to being established. By early 2005, the first cases were filed and the Ernst case became the first Vioxx lawsuit to be settled.

Wrongful death lawsuits against Vioxx’s maker, Merck, are expected to increase as the result of the Ernst decision. Personal injury attorneys insist that thousands of former Vioxx users and/or their families are due compensation for Merck’s neglect. It remains to be seen if juries will render judgments as large as the Ernst judgment and whether courts will uphold these amounts. Nevertheless, it is certain that Merck is in for a long battle that will reach well beyond its US base.

More about → About Bextra: Vioxx Personal Injury Lawsuits

About Bextra: The New Drug Recall Lawyers

Now let's see About Bextra: The New Drug Recall Lawyers below. Given the monstrous size and profitability of drug companies, some plaintiff lawyers are considering focusing more of their practice on drug litigation. In fact, shortly after Merck's announcement of the Vioxx recall, some large plaintiff firms started aggressive media campaigns aimed at bringing in prescription drug injury victims. The media blitz has been non stop. Billboards, TV, web marketing, radio, and direct mail are just some of the marketing vehicles that attorneys have used to try and find new cases for them to work on. Many plaintiff law firms are no longer focusing on chasing run of the mill car accidents. Some of them have gone so far as to reposition themselves as “drug recall lawyers,” seeing that the future of their practice may be shaped by the initial outcome of these new pharmaceutical cases.

When Merck chose to withdraw Vioxx, the CEO stated that a voluntary recall was the responsible course of action. Prior to pulling Vioxx from the market, Merck was spending $500 Million per year on advertising Vioxx. Vioxx is classified as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID. However, Vioxx belongs to a new family of NSAIDs called “COX-2 inhibitors.” There are not many COX-2 inhibitors on the market in the US: Bextra and Celebrex may be the only other two...

Both the number of potential Vioxx plaintiffs and award amounts of the lawsuits are projected to be extremely large. The investment bank S.G. Cowan recently estimated that eventually more than 600,000 plaintiffs could file suit in the Vioxx case. Furthermore, some investment banks think that plaintiffs may file for more than $10Billion in damages in years to come. Even the national TV networks have covered the Vioxx withdrawal. A November 2004 story on the Vioxx withdrawal appeared on CBS News' 60 Minutes. The CBS story implied that the US Justice Department is conducting an investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into Merck's conduct. Given the media coverage of the Vioxx withdrawal and the number of people who were prescribed Vioxx, there may be many new “Drug Recall Firms” founded in years to come.

More about → About Bextra: The New Drug Recall Lawyers

Bextra Warning: Taking Bextra May Harm Your Health!

Now let's see an article about Bextra Warning: Taking Bextra May Harm Your Health! Another Vioxx-like occurrence may be on the rise, as warnings about Pfizer's arthritis pain drug, Bextra, continue to mount.

According to a study of more than 1,500 patients who had previously undergone cardiac surgery, those who were treated for pain with Bextra were more likely to have heart and blood clotting problems than those who received no drug at all...

Associated problems included:

* Stroke

* Heart attack

* Blood clots in the lung

* Deep vein blood clots in the leg

Regardless of the fact that taking Bextra presents such serious health risks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still believes the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks when used by the right patients. In light of these health concerns, however, the FDA approved a new label for the drug, which warns that those who recently had heart surgery (or who are allergic to sulfa products) should not take the drug. The revised label also strengthens the warning of the likelihood of severe skin reactions -- two of which may result in death.

Bextra is a cox-2 inhibitor, which is a class of painkillers that are popularly used due to their efficiency in treating arthritis pain and other ailments. Vioxx is also a cox-2 inhibitor and was pulled from the market due to the cardiovascular risks linked to taking the drug.

Considering the health risks involved with cox-2 inhibitors, the FDA will be holding a public advisory meeting to discuss the safety concerns of these and other related drugs.

USA Today December 9, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

I have previously posted an article warning that Bextra's risks are even higher than Vioxx's. And, as this article stated, the FDA is now modifying Bextra's label to state that taking the drug after having cardiac surgery could increase one's likelihood of heart and blood clotting problems.

Folks, I saw this one coming years ago: In 2001 I warned my readers of the adverse effects from taking Bextra. This drug is just another cox-2 inhibitor disaster waiting to happen. Pain-killing drugs -- meant to relieve symptoms but never the true condition -- are rarely necessary.

Why take the risk of serious side effects from anti-inflammatories when you can create your OWN anti-inflammatory, merely by changing the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in your diet?

These two types of fatty acids are BOTH essential for human health. However, the typical American consumes far too many omega-6 fats and not enough omega-3 fats to be healthy.

While the ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats should be 1:1, most people's intake ratio averages from 20:1 to 50:1! This unbalanced intake could lead to several health problems, whereas proper consumption of omega-3 can help prevent disease or improve many chronic conditions such as:

* Breast cancer

* Diabetes

* Heart disease

* Ulcerative colitis

* Arthritis

* Childhood asthma

* Depression

* Hyperactivity

The easiest way to balance your ratio is to consume more omega-3 fats from good sources and to reduce your intake of omega-6 fats. The primary sources of omega-6 are corn, soy, and canola, safflower and sunflower oils; these foods are overabundant in the typical American diet, which explains our excess omega-6 levels. You want to avoid or limit these oils in order to be optimally healthy.

On the other hand, the best omega-3 fats are those found in fish. That's because the omega-3 in fish is high in two fatty acids crucial to human health: DHA and EPA. Unfortunately, eating most fresh fish -- whether from the ocean, lakes and streams or farm-raised -- is no longer recommended.

This is because (if you are an avid reader of the newsletter then you already know) mercury levels in almost all fish around the world have now hit dangerously high levels, and the risks of mercury now heavily outweigh the benefits gained from fish-derived omega-3 fats.

Fortunately there are clean sources of fish oil you can access without having to worry about mercury levels and added toxins, Vital Choice Alaskan Wild Red Salmon comes from the relatively pristine waters of Alaska that have virtually no mercury pollution

Not only is this salmon mercury-free, but it is also loaded with omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, is high in antioxidants to help you live longer and tastes absolutely delicious!

You can also achieve omega-3 benefits by taking fish oil and cod liver oil, as this is a clean, safe and pure alternative to fresh fish. I have researched brands and types of fish oil and cod liver oil extensively and can say with absolute confidence that I recommend Carlson's brand fish oil and cod liver oil. Carlson's fish oils are rigorously tested for potency and purity and is a healthy addition to most any diet.

More about → Bextra Warning: Taking Bextra May Harm Your Health!

About Bextra: Night Sweats and Medications

Here is an article About Bextra: Night Sweats and Medications. Night sweats from medications is more common than one would think. This article will list medications that cause sweating. In order for us to understand where the sweating is coming from, we should understand that medications cause night sweats as well as diseases and other natural changes. There are several different reasons for the sweating as related to drugs but we will not deeply analyze that issue.

Many medications can not be removed from our daily requirements and often times we can not add any other drugs to get relief. Take for example women that are dealing with breast cancer and have to deal with menopause at the same time. There are very few options for women when it comes to taking night sweat prevention medicines. The options that are available can increase the chances of cancer reoccurring. There is hardly anything that they can do internally to find relief from night sweats; they must look for other options.

With some medications confusion in the natural cooling system of our body will occur. Our temperature regulation system is unable to stabilize our body and keep it a constant temperature. At times we are just fine and then other times we are getting hot for unknown reasons thus developing night sweats. The fluctuation makes the sleeping environment unstable and difficult to maintain healthy sleep...

Located below you will see several medications listed that will cause night sweats. Each drug can cause night sweats or extreme sweating. Some of these medications list fever as a symptom, some come right out and say night sweats. All of these are doing the same thing; they are making people sweat at night.

There are ways to relieve yourself of night sweats, if you can keep your body cool during the night you will be able to stop sweating and start sleeping comfortably. The objective is to keep your body cooler when it needs the cooling boost. In order to do this you must either cool your room, sleep with less covering and a fan, or use a fan designed specifically for cooling your body while sleeping.

A special fan that can generate a light breeze between your sheets will be more effective than lowering your thermostat by six to eight degrees. A system like this will generate a light breeze that will travel between your sheets along your body and push the hot air out of your bed. It will also eliminate the heat that has been building-up within your bed and keep you body cool.

This type of cooling system will also benefit you in the following ways.
# Lower air conditioning bills.

# Rapid reaction time, with the fan speed controller right under your pillow

# Can be directed at a single user

# Cools your body and your bed

The extra body heat that you generate during the night, will be quickly moved out from between your sheets. This simple breeze will keep your body from ever reaching the point at which you start to sweat. This is the most effective method of dealing with night sweats when you look at it from a thermal dynamics point of view.

Sweating at night can be controlled once you understand the mechanics of sweating. It is also imperative that you know the origin of the problem. If you are sweating due to a medical condition, a medication, a natural change, or if you are just a hot sleeper, you should know why you are sweating. Once you understand why you are sweating then you will be able to make the necessary changes needed to start sleeping and stop sweating.

The following is a short list of medications that are known to cause night sweats.

1. Accupril
2. Accutane
3. Altace
4. Ambien
5. Amnesteem
6. Anzemet
7. Arava
8. Aricept
9. Aromasin
10. Avinza
11. Bextra
12. Black Cohosh
13. Biaxin-xl
14. Cozaar
15. Cymbalta
16. Dilaudid
17. Diovan
18. Eligard
19. Evoxac
20. Fortovase
21. Oxycontin

More about → About Bextra: Night Sweats and Medications

About Bextra: Eazol - The Natural Pain Reliever

Below here you can find About Bextra: Eazol - The Natural Pain Reliever. Modern drugs are designed to treat the symptom and not the cause of the problem. If the underlying problem exists, and you treat the symptoms, then a patient is going to need the drug for as long as they have the problem, which could be a lifetime.

Herbal products are naturally occurring, and are generally accepted by the body better than synthetic products. Natural products are used to treat the problem and not the symptom, so once the problem has been rectified, there is no need to continue taking the natural product unless the problem returns.

Eazol, an effective and the most powerful anti-inflammatory, all-natural, pain reliever. Its ingredients help to ease the feeling of strain related with tenderness and might help to reduce 'pain-stress-more pain' loop...

It is most commonly used by those who suffer form chronic pain, which is often caused by inflammation as well as annoyance of the gastrointestinal tract, joints, muscles and. Eazol is also used to control the prostaglandin levels when they are too high in a body. A variety of side effects may appear for the increase levels of prostaglandin, including pain, fever and inflammation. It does not only control the level of prostaglandin but also turn it to work for controlling the unwanted side effects.

After the latest development in the research over the drugs of supplied by Cox-2 inhibitors, which included the renowned Vioxx, sold by Merck, and Celebrex and Bextra, sold by Pfizer, the drugs were banned from the market, people were desperate to get an all in one natural pain reliever. Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in last September after studies indicated taking the drug increases the risk of heart attack and brain stroke.

Recent studies showed that before the drug was withdrawn Vioxx net sales were $2.5 billion last year. Where as the investment firm William Blair & Co. estimated that sales of Celebrex dropped from $3.3 billion to $1.5 billion last year. Even with an improvement in terms of side effects, COX-2 inhibitors still resulted to cause some abdominal distress.

On the other hand Eazol is scientifically researched and proved to be the safest and 100% natural pain reliever. It contains powerful ingredients like Boswellia, Lobelia, and White Willow. The ingredients in it are proved to be more effective together than they are alone. In addition they do not cause any sort of gastrointestinal irritation.

In the current market Eazol is the most unique natural pain relief health supplement which contains a complete list of active botanicals. It has changed hundreds of thousands of people's lives by finally easing their pain without any side effects.

All Eazol supplements are manufactured using Good Manufacturing Practices set forth by the US Federal Drug Administration. In addition, both scheduled and surprise inspections by the Quality Assurance staff during different aspects of the manufacturing process help to ensure specific quality, strength and purity for both the raw materials and the finished supplements. It is currently planning to put its another plant in Australia.

More about → About Bextra: Eazol - The Natural Pain Reliever

Bextra Doctor... What Do I Do Now That They've Taken Away My Vioxx!

You can ask, Bextra Doctor... What Do I Do Now That They've Taken Away My Vioxx! Ever since the huge tidal wave of publicity that surrounded COX-2 drugs hit the American public, patients with arthritis have had to deal with the consequences. While some deaths possibly could have been attributed to cardiovascular side-effects, there has been a huge downside. This has been the radical removal of medicines which had been the source of better quality of life for thousands of patients.

So what are the options?

Well for one, there is still one COX-2 drug available. Celebrex has been shown to be effective for pain associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The down side is that patients with a history of allergy to sulfa should not take it because of cross-reactivity. Also, despite the touted safety for patients with prior peptic ulcer disease, the benefit of COX-2 drugs has been negated when patients have had to take concomitant aspirin therapy. Nonetheless, Celebrex remains a viable option for patients who are in need of the benefits of COX-2 inhibition....

Older non-steroidal drugs also remain on the market. These include drugs like Relafen, Lodine, Mobic, Daypro, Motrin, Naprosyn, and Voltaren. Unfortunately, data has indicated that all non-steroidal drugs share an increased risk of cardiovascular events. In fact, it appears that many of the older drugs such as Clinoril, Voltaren, and Indocin probably have a higher cardiovascular risk than many of the newer medications.

A new plant-based cyclooxygenase inhibitor called Limbrel appears to be both effective as well as safe. Clinical trials in osteoarthritis are ongoing.

Interest in nutritional supplements has also offered a possible alternative. The recent NIH GAIT (Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Trial) has been called a “negative” study by some. Nonetheless, 66% of patients taking glucosamine/chondroitin benefited vs. 60% in the placebo group. While the numbers may not be statistically significant, no one can explain why the actual treatment group did better than the placebo group and why animals studies also show a benefit. (It’s hard to fake placebo effect in animals).

Non-drug therapies such as weight loss, thermal modalities (heat and cold), topical agents (rubs), and exercise play an important role in the management of arthritis.

Integrative therapies such as acupuncture, various herbal supplements, and hypnosis might benefit some people.

Newer therapies such as electrical pulsed coils might also help. This type of therapy has drawn much interest because of its non-invasive, non-drug properties.

It’s important that patients consult knowledgeable rheumatologists to assist them in their quest for safe, effective relief from arthritis pain.

More about → Bextra Doctor... What Do I Do Now That They've Taken Away My Vioxx!