Nearly 25 million Americans experience acute pain each year as a result of injury, surgery, or disease. A new tool, the Ultra-cetTM Rapid Pain Response Scale (Ortho-McNeil), allows patients to characterize their pain through a series of questions designed to make it easier to describe and rate their experience of pain. Patients can use the [...]
The first new treatment in more than a decade for patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood, has proved so effective that the manufacturer, Millennium, has halted the control arm of the trial to give patients receiving generic dexamethasone the option of immediately switching to bortezomib (Velcade™ for Injection, Millennium). The first of [...]
Although scientists had hoped that the painkiller rofecoxib (Vioxx®, Merck) would help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an earlier study this year found that this drug, along with naproxen generic (e.g., Aleve®, Naprosyn Drug, Roche) did not benefit patients who already had AD. The findings were revealed at the annual meeting of the American College [...]
The FDA has approved a combination of the acid suppressor generic lansoprazole (Prevacid®, TAP) and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) naproxen (Naprosyn drug) for patients who must take NSAIDs to treat the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), and ankylosing spondylitis. The product, called Preva-cid® NapraPAC™, has been found to reduce the [...]
The FDA has approved propoxyphene napsylate and acetaminophen (Darvocet A500™, AAIPharma) for the treatment of mild to moderate pain. Darvocet A500™ is the only approved propoxy-phene napsylate/acetaminophen combination product that contains a lower dose (500 mg) of acetaminophen combined with 100 mg of propoxyphene napsylate. (Darvocet-N® 100 contains 100 mg of propoxyphene and 650 mg [...]
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors now have an established reputation for causing less gastrointestinal toxicity than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, some speculation remains about a possible increased cardiovascular thrombotic risk, because COX-2 inhibition—unlike the simultaneous inhibition of COX-1 and COX-2 by NSAIDs—does not stop platelet thromboxane synthesis and, therefore, platelet aggregation. COX-2 inhibition also reduces systemic [...]
Merck & Co. said that it is withdrawing its painkiller rofecoxib (Vioxx®), a flagship brand, which generated $2.5 bil lion in worldwide sales last year, because of data showing an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The company’s shares fell 17%. The decision to pull the drug from markets worldwide was based on a [...]
