It has recently come to light that the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration has sought manufacturers to voluntarily issue a Darvon recall and Darvocet recall. Darvon, which is also made available as Darvocet, is a medication containing the drug propoxyphene which was manufactured by Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Darvon, used to alleviate mild to moderate post-surgical pain, was first introduced in 1957.
Consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, first filed an appeal to prohibit the use of the propoxyphene in 1978 but nevertheless, sales proved strong for Darvon and Darvocet. Likewise, another appeal was made by the organization in 2006 which was acted upon by the FDA by calling on an expert advisory committee in 2009 and has gotten a vote of 14-12 to ban the drug. Despite the ruling of the panel, the FDA decided to repeal the vote and requested Xanodyne to conduct a study that would see how propoxyphene affects the heart. Results of these tests prompted the FDA Darvon recall request.
An electrocardiogram (ECG) was used in the clinical trials that measured the heart’s activity. The electrical activities of the heart was discovered to be affected by propoxyphene, even when the prescribe dose was taken. Indicative of heart problems, the drug may be a cause for symptoms like decreased or difficulty breathing, convulsions, low blood pressure, decreased heart function and irregular heartbeat (arrythmia). Cardiac arrest and sudden death may be likely in the event of complications suddenly arising from the use of Darvocet.
“These new heart data significantly alter propoxyphene’s risk-benefit profile. The drug’s effectiveness in reducing pain is no longer enough to outweigh the drug’s serious potential heart risks,” said Dr. John Jenkins, director of the Office of New Drugs at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER).
Since the side effects of Darvon are not cumulative, individuals who have been taking the drug for a long period of time should not worry too much. Ending the use of the drug should make the symptoms go away but seeking the advice of your doctor is still important before trying another medication.
Millions are affected by the Darvon recall as the medication has been around for a long period of time and is often the popular choice drug. Further digging regarding the withdrawal of the product should be on your to-do list especially if you are one of those who have been taking the drug. Information is available in the Darvon Darvocet Recall Center.
Mail this postThe pharmaceutical industry has come up with lots of chemotherapy drugs classified according to the chemical structure, the working principle and the possible associations with other medication. Most drugs are based on chemicals obtained from plants and this very origin or source leaves room to further classification. And, last but not least, one drug may be found in various categories as they may have several effects on the body of the patient. Medical science and professional competence in the health care realm involves a good knowledge of chemotherapy drugs and their specificity.
Alkylating agents is a first class of chemotherapy drugs worth mentioning. These drugs are pretty damaging to the bone marrow because they destroy the DNA to prevent the cancerous cells from reproduction. Lots of cancer cases get treated with this kind of chemotherapy drugs, with the mention that doses are always kept low because of the risk to develop leukemia up to ten years after the cessation of the treatment. Platinum based medication is classified together with alkylating agents because of the similarity in their action.
Antimetabolites are another distinct class of chemotherapy drugs. They are prescribed for the treatment of leukemia, breast tumors, ovary and intestinal cancers and they also interfere not only with the DNA but also with the RNA. The anthracyclines are another variety of chemotherapy drugs included into the antibiotic group. Their action is directed against enzymes that help in DNA replication which is why they prove efficient in a large number of cancer cases.
The category of inhibitors comes next. The topoisomerase inhibitors separate and copy the DNA strands efficiently treating leukemia. The mitotic inhibitors are more natural-based derived from plants and they help in preventing enzymes from producing proteins required in cell reproduction. However, there is one huge risk that patients take when following such a treatment: these chemotherapy drugs may cause peripheral nerve damage to mention only one of the health threats you may fear.
Finally, the corticosteroids represent chemotherapy drugs derived from hormones and designed to treat myeloma, lymphoma and leukemia besides other diseases. In addition to decreasing the cancer cellular growth, they also have a good impact on the way the body reacts to chemotherapy by preventing nausea, vomiting or other types of allergic reactions. These types of drugs may be used as chemotherapy ones or not, depending on the purpose they are supposed to serve.
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Mail this postCancer refers to the uncontrolled growth of cells combined with malignant behavior – invasion and metastasis. The cause for this disease is believed to be the interaction of environmental toxins and the genetic susceptibility. Basically, the principle that makes a chemotherapy drug functional is the impairment of the cellular division of tissues with a fast growth rate. The fact that these drugs destroy cells leads to their being named cytotoxic.
In broad general terms, chemotherapy kills cells by means of chemical substances. Particularly speaking, chemotherapy is used to kill the cells of micro-organisms or cancer. The most common chemotherapy drug regimen is made up from a combination of antineoplastic medication that represents the cytotoxic standardized treatment. Besides the reference to cancer treatment, chemotherapy also has an antibacterial dimension when it involves the use of antibiotics.
A chemotherapy drug, or better a combination of such drugs, functions by destroying cells that divide quickly. Unfortunately, these drugs cannot make a selection between normal fast-dividing body cells and cancer cells. These other cells that get attacked by a chemotherapy drug are digestive tract linings, the bone marrow and the hair follicles. These results on the normal rapid-dividing cells are the side effects of chemotherapy: alopecia – hair loss, myelosuppression – decreased production of blood cells, and mucositis – inflammation of the digestive tract.
Among the other uses of the chemotherapy drug and cytostatic chemotherapy agents there are the treatment of autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis) and the suppression of transplant rejections. More modern cancer treatments known as targeted therapy use anti-cancer medication that attacks only the abnormal proteins in cancer cells.
Different classes of chemotherapy drug medication are available at present. Thus there are antimetabolites, alkylating agents, topoisomerase inhibitors, anthracyclines and several others. While all these chemicals interfere with the DNA structure, there are newer and revolutionary medicines like the tyrosine kinase inhibitors or the monoclonal antibodies that leave the nucleic acids unaffected.
These ones target a molecular abnormality in particular types of cancer such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors or chronic myelogenous leukemia. More special chemotherapy drug options only change the behavior of the tumor cells without affecting other tissues. From these so-called adjuvant therapies, the hormone treatment will be commonly used. Depending on the stage of the disease and the aim of the treatment, doctors will choose to administer one chemotherapy drug or a combination of drugs according to one or another of the existing strategies.
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Mail this postThe title of best anxiety drug will not make medication totally safe and efficient. Tranquilizers require great caution of administration because of the many side effects they cause, such as metabolic changes, brain function impairment, physical addiction and lots of others. Drugs are normally prescribed for clinical patients, but for the treatment of random panic attacks doctors often prescribe antidepressants from various classes of medication.
Fewer side effects: this is the element that one ought to look for when reading about various classifications of best anxiety drug categories. Doctors too, go for the newer antidepressants that have a lower range of life-altering or threatening reactions when administered on the long term. Tricyclic antidepressants for instance belong to the traditional category of medication normally used for anxiety disorders. Unfortunately, the medical mechanism of such drugs is not fully known and the number of adverse reactions is too high in comparison with the benefits they bring.
Normally, the best anxiety drug class is considered to be that of the SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors that enhance the presence of serotonin in the cells and thus reduce depression and anxiety. The treatment is gradual and it only shows results after a few weeks of administration. An abrupt discontinuation of this drug administration may cause serious unpleasant reactions.
Although not always considered the best anxiety drug choice, monamine oxidase inhibitors can be the only chance of treatment for certain forms of depression. The risk of drug interactions and the strength of the chemical compounds are the main downsides of such remedies. In some cases, this kind of medication makes it easier for people to quit smoking.
The issue with anti-anxiety medication is that even the best anxiety drug will pose some risk or threat to one’s health, although the administration be for short term. Plus, drugs only alleviate the symptoms or alter their intensity to a bearable level, but without other forms of therapy conducted at the same time, anxiety cannot be identified and eliminated. The vicious circle would thus continue without much hope for the sufferer.
Last but not least, it is a doctor’s duty to prescribe the best anxiety drug for a patient’s condition, after having studied his/her health status, medical history and after having understood personal specificity. Without one of these steps, therapy may not work, and the patient will deteriorate.
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