FDA advisers vote to take Vicodin, Percocet off market
Story Highlights
NEW: Panel votes to kill prescription drugs that combine acetaminophen, narcotics
Panel advises lower maximum doses of nonprescription acetaminophen drugs
Those drugs include Tylenol, NyQuil, Pamprin and Allerest
CDC estimates acetaminophen was the likely cause of most acute liver failures
(CNN) -- A government advisory panel voted Tuesday to recommend eliminating prescription drugs that combine acetaminophen with narcotics -- such as Vicodin and Percocet -- because of their risk for overdose and for severe liver injury.
Acetaminophen, found in drugs such as Tylenol, is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States.
The panel, assembled by the Food and Drug Administration, voted 20 to 17 to advise the FDA to remove such prescription combination drugs from the market.
The group recommended that the FDA "send a clear message that there's a high likelihood of overdose from prescription narcotics and acetaminophen products," Dr. Sandra L. Kweder of the FDA's Office of New Drugs said at a news conference after Tuesday's meeting.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/30/acetaminophen.fda.hearing/index.html
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
VA obstacles get in the way of homeless veterans
VA objections slow help for homeless vets
By Sean Rose
POST-DISPATCH WASHINGTON BUREAU
06/30/2009
WASHINGTON — A wing on the fourth floor of the St. Louis Queen of Peace Center for addiction treatment had been renovated, and rooms were ready for five homeless female veterans.
But Connie Neumann, the center's CEO, ran into an unlikely obstacle earlier this year: the Department of Veterans Affairs, which demanded more renovations before funding the project. Neumann, unable to afford what the government wanted, backed out.
"I don't pull out of things, but this was over the top," Neumann said. "It was not in the best interest of my business here to do that. There's too many other homeless people who need housing."
Her complaints are not uncommon among nonprofit groups that see the oversight that comes with VA funding as a hindrance to helping homeless veterans. Veterans Affairs relies on nonprofit groups and faith-based organizations for much of its groundwork, but some are being driven away from seeking funding, organizers say.
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VA objections slow help for homeless vets
By Sean Rose
POST-DISPATCH WASHINGTON BUREAU
06/30/2009
WASHINGTON — A wing on the fourth floor of the St. Louis Queen of Peace Center for addiction treatment had been renovated, and rooms were ready for five homeless female veterans.
But Connie Neumann, the center's CEO, ran into an unlikely obstacle earlier this year: the Department of Veterans Affairs, which demanded more renovations before funding the project. Neumann, unable to afford what the government wanted, backed out.
"I don't pull out of things, but this was over the top," Neumann said. "It was not in the best interest of my business here to do that. There's too many other homeless people who need housing."
Her complaints are not uncommon among nonprofit groups that see the oversight that comes with VA funding as a hindrance to helping homeless veterans. Veterans Affairs relies on nonprofit groups and faith-based organizations for much of its groundwork, but some are being driven away from seeking funding, organizers say.
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VA objections slow help for homeless vets
Anti-Anxiety Drugs Raise New Fears
Anti-Anxiety Drugs Raise New Fears
By Katie Balestra
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Stan Starr, a 54-year-old financial consultant, sat in the back of the room filled with blue chairs, quietly tapping his Converse sneakers on the carpet. The 12 steps to recovery, enshrined by Alcoholics Anonymous, were printed in large black letters on a wall. But Starr was there because of a different drug -- a class of prescription medication called benzodiazepines.
Five years ago, he couldn't sleep at night, his heart raced, he had wrenching stomach pains and felt as if his skin were crawling off his bones. He was in the midst of a 2 1/2 -year battle to withdraw from the drug Klonopin, which his psychiatrist had prescribed to him for anxiety. "I went through sheer living hell," he said. "I didn't know if I was going to make it."
Benzodiazepines, often prescribed to manage anxiety, panic and sleep disorders, include Xanax, Ativan, Valium and Klonopin. Originally pushed as an alternative to barbiturates, their use has grown rapidly in the past 30 years. But critics say their long-term effects have gone largely unaddressed. Health professionals and consumers are increasingly recognizing that taking the drugs for more than a few weeks can lead to physical dependence, often ending with a grueling withdrawal.
By Katie Balestra
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Stan Starr, a 54-year-old financial consultant, sat in the back of the room filled with blue chairs, quietly tapping his Converse sneakers on the carpet. The 12 steps to recovery, enshrined by Alcoholics Anonymous, were printed in large black letters on a wall. But Starr was there because of a different drug -- a class of prescription medication called benzodiazepines.
Five years ago, he couldn't sleep at night, his heart raced, he had wrenching stomach pains and felt as if his skin were crawling off his bones. He was in the midst of a 2 1/2 -year battle to withdraw from the drug Klonopin, which his psychiatrist had prescribed to him for anxiety. "I went through sheer living hell," he said. "I didn't know if I was going to make it."
Benzodiazepines, often prescribed to manage anxiety, panic and sleep disorders, include Xanax, Ativan, Valium and Klonopin. Originally pushed as an alternative to barbiturates, their use has grown rapidly in the past 30 years. But critics say their long-term effects have gone largely unaddressed. Health professionals and consumers are increasingly recognizing that taking the drugs for more than a few weeks can lead to physical dependence, often ending with a grueling withdrawal.
The ordeal of withdrawing from benzodiazepines can rival that of kicking a heroin habit, according to some who have had success. Abrupt withdrawal can result in hallucinations, seizures and even death, experts say.
Last year, after jail officials in Cleveland denied R and B singer Sean Levert's repeated requests for his Xanax, he hallucinated for hours and ultimately died from the effects of withdrawal, according to the coroner's report cited in court records. His widow sued the corrections center and medical staff. The suit is pending.
Some seeking to withdraw from the drugs have turned to online support groups. Debra Standiford, a nurse who leads a benzodiazepine support site on the Yahoo Web site, said membership has grown to 3,800 people from 200 in 2000, gaining two to three members each day.go here for more
Students shot at bus stop in Detroit
Seven people hurt in Detroit bus stop shooting
Story Highlights
At least five of the victims are students
Police say gunmen asked for specific person
Two victims are in critical condition
Gunmen covered their faces; no one in custody, police say
(CNN) -- Seven people, at least five of them high-school students, were shot Tuesday at a bus stop in Detroit, Michigan, officials said.
Tuesday's shooting occurred off school property, a Detroit Public Schools spokesman said.
Two of the victims were in critical condition; the others were in serious condition at area hospitals, Police Chief Roderick Grimes said.
"Two perpetrators, possibly three, pulled up in a vehicle, exited their vehicle with weapons, asked for a person by name and then opened fire onto the crowd," he said.
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Seven people hurt in Detroit bus stop shooting
Story Highlights
At least five of the victims are students
Police say gunmen asked for specific person
Two victims are in critical condition
Gunmen covered their faces; no one in custody, police say
(CNN) -- Seven people, at least five of them high-school students, were shot Tuesday at a bus stop in Detroit, Michigan, officials said.
Tuesday's shooting occurred off school property, a Detroit Public Schools spokesman said.
Two of the victims were in critical condition; the others were in serious condition at area hospitals, Police Chief Roderick Grimes said.
"Two perpetrators, possibly three, pulled up in a vehicle, exited their vehicle with weapons, asked for a person by name and then opened fire onto the crowd," he said.
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Seven people hurt in Detroit bus stop shooting
Lung disease of soldier linked to burn pits
Lung disease of soldier linked to burn pits
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 30, 2009 17:09:31 EDT
Even as military health officials continue to say there are “no known long-term health effects” caused by open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, a team of Army doctors says a soldier’s cystic lung disease is “related to the burn pits in Iraq.”
A second set of doctors, trying to determine why 56 soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division came back from Iraq short of breath, found each had bronchiolitis that could be diagnosed only with a biopsy.
That disease normally comes with organ transplantation, infection, rheumatoid arthritis or toxic fume inhalation. Because there was no scarring on the soldiers’ lungs, doctors decided it must have been toxic inhalation and added a fifth cause of bronchiolitis to their list: “Iraq.”
Since Military Times began reporting in October about burn pits in the war zones, 400 troops have contacted Disabled American Veterans to say they have breathing problems or cancers they believe came after exposure to the burn pits.
Many say they have been diagnosed with “asthma-like” or “allergy-like” symptoms when they’ve complained of shortness of breath, but their doctors can’t come up with an exact diagnosis.
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Lung disease of soldier linked to burn pits
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 30, 2009 17:09:31 EDT
Even as military health officials continue to say there are “no known long-term health effects” caused by open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, a team of Army doctors says a soldier’s cystic lung disease is “related to the burn pits in Iraq.”
A second set of doctors, trying to determine why 56 soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division came back from Iraq short of breath, found each had bronchiolitis that could be diagnosed only with a biopsy.
That disease normally comes with organ transplantation, infection, rheumatoid arthritis or toxic fume inhalation. Because there was no scarring on the soldiers’ lungs, doctors decided it must have been toxic inhalation and added a fifth cause of bronchiolitis to their list: “Iraq.”
Since Military Times began reporting in October about burn pits in the war zones, 400 troops have contacted Disabled American Veterans to say they have breathing problems or cancers they believe came after exposure to the burn pits.
Many say they have been diagnosed with “asthma-like” or “allergy-like” symptoms when they’ve complained of shortness of breath, but their doctors can’t come up with an exact diagnosis.
go here for more
Lung disease of soldier linked to burn pits
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