Diseases & Conditions Blog

Seroquel Produces Lengthy List of Adverse Effects - Monday, October 29, 2007

Seroquel is a drug manufactured by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis, such as visual and auditory hallucinations. Seroquel has also been prescribed for the treatment of bipolar disorder and is in the group of drugs called atypical antipsychotics, which were developed to avoid the loss of motor control caused by the older antipsychotic drugs. Seroquel has recently been linked to several very serious side effects including diabetes, neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), and tardive dyskinesia (TD). NMS is a life-threatening nervous system disorder whose symptoms include high fever, stiff muscles, irregular heartbeat, changes in blood pressure, and confusion. TD is a disorder characterized by muscle movements that cannot be controlled.

To date, Seroquel has not been recalled and there is no black box warning for the drug; however, in 2004, there was an FDA warning regarding all atypical antipsychotics due to their link to diabetes and hypoglycemia. If you have taken Seroquel and have experienced any of the serious side effects discussed here, you should contact your physician immediately.

Deaths Linked to Ortho-Evra Patch - Tuesday, October 23, 2007

For more than two years now, the efficacy of the birth control patch, Ortho-Evra, has been in question after research indicated 23 deaths related to the. About 17 of those deaths appeared to be blood clot related. Dozens more women in their teens and twenties suffered strokes and other blood clot related events.

Due to the many adverse side effects associated with Ortho-Evra, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered that changes be made to the patch's label. In November 2005, a new warning stated that women who use the patch are exposed to approximately 60% more total estrogen in their blood than if they were taking a birth control pill containing about 35 micrograms of estrogen. Because the patch had been marketed with claims stating that it was just as safe as the pill, the FDA required the manufacturer, Ortho McNeil Pharmaceuticals, to add another warning about the increased risk of injury due to high levels of estrogen released from the patch.

Smoking cigarettes while wearing the patch increases the risk of serious adverse effects on the heart and blood vessels. This risk increases with age. Simply put, women who take hormonal birth control medication should not smoke.

Ortho-Evra should not be taken by women with a history of:

• High blood pressure
• Heart attack or stroke
• Blood clots in the legs, lungs, or eyes
• Diabetes with complications
• Chest pain
• Cancer
• Vaginal bleeding

Mesothelioma Victim Awarded $5.2 Million - Wednesday, October 17, 2007

New Jersey engineering and construction firm Foster Wheeler Corp. has been ordered to pay $5.2 million to the survivors of an employee who died in 2006 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer related to asbestos exposure. Richard Walmach was a career naval machinist who died after filing the suit, which claimed the company failed to disclose asbestos risks. Foster Wheeler Corp. is a supplier of boilers, steam generators and other power equipment for the U.S. Navy.

Foster Wheeler has faced many other asbestos-related suits and has paid over $100 million in damages, but this is the first time the company has been ordered to pay punitive damages. Of Walmach's $5.2 million, $2 million was for punitive damages. Walmach worked at the company for 37 years and used jackhammers to remove asbestos-packed insulation from boilers. He also worked at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard when asbestos was being removed there in the 1960's.

Memory Loss After Traumatic Brain Injury - Monday, October 15, 2007

Memory loss is one of the most common cognitive side effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Even in mild TBI, memory loss is still very common. The more severe the victim's memory loss after the TBI, the more significant the brain damage will be most likely. TBI's are very common, especially in motor vehicle accidents, motorcycle accidents. Falls often cause both minor and severe traumatic brain injuries.

Some TBI-related amnesia such as patients unable to recall what happened just before, during and after the head injury is temporary. Temporary memory loss is often caused by swelling of the brain in response to the damage it sustained. But because the brain is pressed against the skull, even parts that were not injured are still not able to work. The patient's memory typically returns as the swelling goes down over a period of weeks or even months. Temporary memory loss may also be an emotional response to the stressful events surrounding a TBI.

Damage to the nerves and axons (connection between nerves) of the brain may also result in memory loss. The brain cannot heal itself like an arm or a leg, so any function that is damaged during a TBI is permanently impaired unless the brain learns how to perform that function differently. Fixed amnesia may include the loss of meanings of certain common, everyday objects or words, or a person may not remember skills he had before the TBI.

A different kind of memory loss is called anteretrograde amnesia, which is an inability to form memories of events that happened after the injury. Doctors are not sure, exactly, why this happens, but some research has shown that it may have something to do with the fact that TBI's reduce the levels of a protein in the brain that helps the brain balance its activity. Without enough of that particular protein, the brain can easily overload and memory formation is affected.

At the current time, there is no treatment for memory loss following TBI; if the memory does not come back on its own, it will be lost permanently. There is a great deal of research in the field of TBI and memory loss, but, sadly, there are no cures for TBI-related amnesia at this time.

Brain Injuries Often Due to a Lack of Oxygen - Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. The severity of a TBI may range from mild, such as a brief change in mental status or a temporary loss of consciousness to severe, such as an extended period of loss of consciousness or amnesia. In the United States, there are over 1.4 million traumatic brain injuries each year. Of those 1.4 million, over 200,000 require hospitalization for those injuries, and 50,000 of those TBIs result in death.

High Schools Paying More Attention to Sports-Related Concussions - Monday, October 8, 2007

Head injuries such as concussions are very common in high school sports, especially contact sports like football. Players often do not display typical symptoms of a brain injury in the days immediately following the injury, but now there is technology available that allows a closer look at brain function following a traumatic injury.

In Colorado, high school officials are not in agreement about how best to treat brain injuries among young athletes, prompting debate in a state that has seen three high school student-athletes die from on-the-field brain-related trauma in 16 years. Experts estimate that between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur each year in the United States.

However, there may be a solution in the midst. A computerized test, called ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing), was developed in 1998 by University of Pittsburgh doctors to assist trainers and physicians in determining when athletes suffering from brain injuries can safely return to play. The program is a 20- to 25-minute computer test that measures a variety of brain functions, including memorization.

Family Sues After Woman Dies Following Gastric Bypass - Tuesday, October 2, 2007

The family of a woman who died two weeks after gastric bypass surgery has filed a lawsuit against her doctors and a Houston, Texas hospital. Freda Brantley, 48, was discharged from the hospital after vertical-banded gastroplasty on June 6, 2005. The suit alleges that Ms. Brantley was discharged to go home without the appropriate treatment. She died from kidney failure on June 21, 2005, just fifteen days after the surgery. She had vomited for those two weeks and was malnourished.

The suit seeks unspecified damages against Dr. Nisar Ahmed, Dr. Beryl Harberg and Park Plaza Hospital. Hospital officials who were contacted for comment stated, "While patient privacy laws prohibit us from speaking directly to this case, we will vigorously defend the integrity of our care, quality and services."

In March 2007, the mother of a Houston woman who died one year after undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2004 filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Houston surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan and Houston Community Hospital. Prior to that, an Austin woman died from a heart attack also just two weeks following gastric bypass surgery.

If you or a loved one has suffered or died due to medical malpractice or negligence, please visit the Personal Injury Lawyer Directory to find an experienced Gastric Bypass Malpractice Attorney in your area.

Brain Diseases Linked to Dementia - Monday, October 1, 2007

A new study indicates that a person's likelihood of having clinical signs of dementia increases with the number of different disease processes present in the brain. Although many older adults show some sort of brain abnormalities, the new research suggests that the combination of Alzheimer's disease and strokes is the most common mix of pathologies in the brains of people suffering from dementia.

A study of 1,200 elderly volunteers who agreed to be evaluated every year and to donate their brains upon death compared clinical and autopsy date on the first 141 participants who died. Exams showed that while they were alive, 50 of the 141 had dementia. Upon their deaths, their brains were analyzed by a neuropathologist. The autopsies showed that 85% of the people had evidence of at least one chronic disease such as Alzheimer's, strokes, tumors, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease, or others. Only 30% of the people studied with signs of dementia had Alzheimer's disease alone.