Reports: Other Drugs May Raise Heart Risks (Celebrex)

[RedEarth]

Scientists in the United States and Great Britain are calling for a fresh look at Celebrex and other medications similar to Vioxx, the heavily advertised arthritis drug pulled from the market last week after a study suggested it doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

........

In the United States, a cardiologist who had researched these drugs published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine (news - web sites) suggesting problems might extend to the entire class of medications, not just Vioxx. Another prominent doctor writing in the same journal charged that the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) did not do everything needed to make sure the drug was safe. He also called for a congressional review of the matter.

.....

I've been concerned all along," he said. "I believe this is a class effect," not just a problem with Vioxx, he said.


But FitzGerald and colleagues published two studies in 1999 and another in 2001 suggesting that by selectively blocking one of the two substances called prostaglandins that lead to inflammation, these so-called cox-2 inhibitors were sparing the stomach at the expense of the heart.

Suppressing both, as older painkillers like aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS do, helps the heart. But shutting down just the "good" one raises the risk of high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries and clotting, he reports

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041007/ap_on_he_me/arthritis_drugs&e=5

[On the Road]

1. "Celebrex" Leads to a Celebration by Your Ex

:silly:

[Sven77]

2. this is all planned

once a drug looses its patent, they say it is unsafe and take it off the market. then they introduce a drug that is almost identical, under a new patent.

[tishaLA]

3. NSAIDs are always forbidden

for people with heart failure. I'm not sure why this is shocking to researchers. My doctor has always forbidden their use.

[daleo]

4. You had to figure this

After all, it makes sense it is the active ingredient in Vioxx that caused the trouble, so it should be the same with other drugs that use the same or very similar chemistry.

I have yet to see an estimate of the damage caused by Vioxx, but doubling the incidence of heart attacks and strokes among the population who use the drug (which is bound to be an older group who would use the drug for long periods, given that most prescriptions are for arthritis pain control) must have killed a lot of people prematurely.