Saturday, June 5, 2010

Pfizer Sued Over Pill For Sex & Gambling Addictions

0 comments
More than 100 people who claim they developed gambling and pornography habits after taking drugs used to treat tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease have filed a class-action lawsuitin Australia against Pfizer as well as Aspen Pharmacare, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Some of the plaintiffs claim they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and suffered family breakdowns thanks to the compulsive behavior allegedly linked to the pills. Most developed gambling addictions but a few exhibited compulsive sexual behaviour such as looking at pornography on the Internet, the paper continues. The lawsuit claims Pfizer, which sold Cabaser, and Aspen, which sold Permax, failed to provide adequate warnings of increased risk of compulsive disorders.

This is by no means the first time such litigation has been prompted by a class of pills known as dopamine agonists, which cause a rush and have been linked to risky behavior. In 2008, a jury in Minnesota awarded $8.2 million to a man who became a compulsive gambler after using Mirapex, which is sold by Boehringer Ingelheim, to treat Parkinson’s disease .

Last month, by the way, a study published in the Archives of Neurology found that dopamine agonist treatment for Parkinson’s disease was associated with increasing the odds of developing an impulse control disorder - such as gambling, binge eating and compulsive shoping - by two to 3.5 times.

Read complete post here..
http://www.pharmalot.com/2010/06/pfizer-sued-over-pill-for-sex-gambling-addictions/

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Depressed? You’re Likely To Get An Antidepressant

0 comments
This isn’t surprising. A new survey finds that 78 of those seeking treatment for depression or anxiety were prescribed antidepressants, but roughly half of those taking such a pill report being helped ‘a lot.’ Meanwhile, 91 percent of respondents who stuck with ‘talk therapy, reported this approach made things “a lot” or “somewhat” better, according to Consumer Reports, which conducted the survey.

The survey also found that older, often less expensive SSRI antidepressants - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Lexapro, Celexa, Prozac and Zoloft - work just as well, and with fewer side effects, than newer, more costly SNRIs, including Cymbalta and Effexor (see Consumer Reports cost data here). Last year, doctors prescribed $9.9 billion worth of antidepressants, a 3 percent increase, according to IMS Health.

“Our survey shows that a combination of therapy and medication works best, and that despite the intense marketing push consumers are subjected to,” Nancy Metcalf, senior program editor for Consumer Reports Health, says in a statement, “there is no evidence that newer drugs like Pristiq and Cymbalta work any better than older medications in their class.”

Among those taking SSRIs, 53 percent say they helped “a lot,” compared with 49 percent given SNRIs. As to side effects, 31 percent of those on SSRIs reported sexual side effects, 16 percent cited weight gain and 12 percent had sleep problems. Of those taking SNRIs, 36 percent reported sexual side effects, 22 percent had weight gain and 16 percent cited sleep problems. Wellbutrin, which is also known as Bupropion and is neither an SSRI nor an SNRI, helped 48 percent of respondents “a lot.” In terms of sexual side effects and weight gain, it was tolerated better than the SSRIs and SNRIs.
 

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved Revolution Two Church theme by Brian Gardner Converted into Blogger Template by Bloganol dot com