Posts Tagged ‘ Accutane ’

Prescription Hell: When Curing Your Ill Causes More Ills

August 4th, 2011. By AbiK

True Story: I saw a comment from a reader here at LawyersandSettlements.com who had gone to the doctor to get some help for his acne. While there, the doctor noticed that this guy’s hair was starting to thin. Long story short, the guy walked out of the doctor’s office with a prescription for Propecia. He now claims he suffers sexual side effects (like erectile dysfunction and impotence). Oh, and btw, he still had his acne.

It got me thinking…

I’m not a glass-half-empty type, but it’s easy to see how, with prescription drugs, one can envision a worst-case-scenario downward spiral of things—especially given the potential side effects with some drugs that are on the market.

So then I started thinking, what if…

What if a guy goes to the doctor for acne. What could happen based on which drugs he’s been prescribed and what the side effects of those drugs could be? The graphic above depicts “The Snake Pit” (classic movie if you haven’t seen it) version of taking prescription upon prescription. A modern day Dante’s “Inferno”. Only in this little vignette, no one emerges from hell in their attempt to mitigate (via new prescriptions) the snowball effect of increasingly negative side effects.

Here’s how this plays out.

(Note, yes, it’s hypothetical, assumes various doctors/specialists involved, and yes, assumes worst case and/or rare scenarios…but still, it could happen. And before you get on me for Accutane being off the market, the drug isotretinoin is still alive and kicking…)

A guy goes to the doctor for acne. He’s given Accutane (isotretinoin). A possible side effect of Accutane is Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). To treat the IBD, he’s given Cipro (antibiotic) and Prednisone (corticosteroid). Cipro has been linked to tendon rupture. Reported, though rare, side effects of Prednisone can include high blood pressure and osteoporosis. Assuming his luck is nil, he experiences these side effects and is given Lisinopril (ACE inhibitor) to combat the high blood pressure, and Fosamax to help combat the osteoporosis.

As we know, Lisinopril has been linked to liver damage (or worse, liver failure). And Fosamax has been under fire for femur fractures. Which, outside of pain meds—which have their own set of side effects—requires another form of medical intervention (surgery). So we come to a “STOP” on that path.

But between the Accutane and the Lisinopril, he begins to experience some hair loss as well—a rare side effect of both drugs, and he’s Mr. Unlucky. So next up, Propecia. Propecia side effects include sexual dyfunction. And he finds himself having some “issues” on the love-making front. Well, there’s a drug for that—Viagra! But let’s face it, between hair loss, sexual dysfunction, a broken thigh bone, a ruptured tendon, high blood pressure and some bowel problems, is it any wonder this guy’s now depressed? So, it’s time for some SSRI’s—like Prozac. And Prozac’s been linked to suicidal behavior.

And, with that, I guess it’s another “STOP”.

Tags: Accutane, Cipro, Depression, femur fracture, Fosamax, Hair Loss, IBD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Isotretinoin, Lisinopril, Osteoporosis, Prednisone, Propecia, Prozac, Sexual Dysfunction, SSRI, Tendon Rupture, Viagra
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 1 Comment »

Research Links Tetracycline to IBD – and to Lawsuits, too?

February 24th, 2011. By Hunter West

A recent study on UK patients conducted by the researchers at the University of Pennsylvania* could have an impact on Accutane lawsuits. As most know, class actions as well as individual lawsuits have attempted to hold the manufacturer of Accutane, Hoffman-LaRoche, accountable. The Vitamin-A drug has been linked to inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD. 

But wait a minute—so too are tetracycline drugs, say the U of P researchers. 

So how does that impact an Accutane lawsuit? 

Accutane (isotretinoin) has always been considered a last resort for problematic acne, which is the scourge of adolescents and, if left untreated, could scar the face for life.

Dermatologists will almost always start with more natural ways in which to control acne, such as diet and hygiene—or perhaps an OTC benzoyl peroxide or salicyclic acid solution. 

If that doesn’t work, then they turn to tetracycline, which is an antibiotic and thought to carry minimal risk. How can you go wrong with an antibiotic, a microbial? Are they not the magic bullets of our society? 

Antibiotic resistance notwithstanding, there’s now a fly in the ointment, if you will. That’s because Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Accutane, Accutane Lawsuits, accutane-inflammatory-bowel-disease-ibd, acne, Tetracycline
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 60 Comments »

Criminal Medicine: Best Defense, Sadly, is a Good Offense

October 6th, 2010. By LucyC

If finding the right medication feels a bit like a minefield lately, it’s no wonder.

It’s not been a banner time for Pharma—these past few years. So many drugs and medical products in general seem to be linked with serious, if not life-threatening adverse events. You may recognize some of the names on the hit parade: drugs such as Accutane and a possible link with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); proton pump inhibitors (antacid drugs) and increased risk for hip fractures; Reglan and its link with Tardive Dyskinesia; Byetta—a diabetes medication linked with kidney failure… 

And of course no list would be complete without Avandia—another diabetes medication—and its infamous association with serious, sometimes fatal cardiovascular events. 

Oh—there’s also allegations surrounding the class of antidepressants known as SSRIs and links with newborn heart defects. In fact the list is exhaustive.  

And to be clear, it’s not just drugs. Products such as the DePuy metal hip replacement are also in trouble. DePuy is currently facing a class action lawsuit over failure rates seen with its ASR acetabular cup. DePuy, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, has also had global product recalls.

Gadolinium is another one. It’s a clear, non-radioactive chemical compound used with patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). In 1988 the FDA approved gadolinium as a contrast agent to provide a clearer picture of organs and tissues. Since that time, more than 200 cases of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD) have been linked to the product. 

This week, news out on Bloomberg indicates that the powers that be at Pfizer Inc, ‘failed to properly warn doctors and consumers that its Prempro menopause drug could cause Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Accutane, Avandia, Byetta, DePuy, DePuy Orthopaedics Metal Hip Replacement, Drugs, Gadolinium, Medical, Norian SRS, Prempro, Proton Pump Inhibitors, Reglan, SSRI
Posted in DePuy ASR Hip Recall, Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Will Generic Accutane Spawn more Lawsuits?

March 30th, 2010. By janem

Accutane may be buried but the generic form, isotretinoin, is alive and may be hurting. Roche Holding pulled Accutane off the market in June 2009, about 15 years too late for countless victims of Accutane injury. Since its approval in 1984, the drug had been linked to psychological changes, suicidal behavior, auto-immune disease, central nervous system problems, birth defects and most notably,  inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

But Roche didn’t discontinue manufacturing its blockbuster drug for safety reasons. Instead it had to do with legal and economic issues: generic competitors reduced the drug’s market share to less than 3 percent — Accutane’s departure leaves Claravis (Teva/Barr) with 54.8 percent of the isotretinoin market, followed by Amnesteem (Mylan/GenPharm) and Sotret (Ranbaxy), each with 22.8 percent. And Roche has paid out plenty in personal injury lawsuits. (To date, juries have awarded more than $33 million to patients who blame Accutane for their IBD.)

So the pharmaceutical industry spawns other generic forms of Accutane, called isotretinoin, priced from 10 percent to 65 percent (Sotret) less than Accutane. That may be good news for some lawyers–one attorney has filed more than 100 similar cases against makers of generic isotretinoin–but bad news for teens and young adults who (might) weigh the odds and decide they would rather develop IBD than suffer with acne and hey, the medication is now so much more affordable. Granted, acne can be debilitating emotionally. It can cause high levels of anxiety or depression during teen years, reason enough to disregard more dangerous side effects such as IBD.

The dermatology jury isn’t out on isotretinoin, yet. One dermatologist says that pharmacists mistakenly believe all isotretinoin products are therapeutically equivalent and they prescribe the generic brand because their patients wanted a cheaper product. “Dermatologists were essentially forced by patients to abandon [Accutane],” says Dr. Taub, who believes that “bioavailability from patient to patient differs so much more with generic isotretinoin than with Accutane.” Dermatologist Ty Owen Hanson says Claravis didn’t seem to work for his patients. “It was almost like patients were taking a placebo.”

Another dermatologist, Dr Webester, says Accutane and its generics possess identical pharmacokinetic curves. Dr. Feldman says he sees no difference between Accutane and its generics and doesn’t know which generics his patients get. Generally dermatologists stopped prescribing Accutane when the Roche reps stopped coming by with free samples, about the same time the generic isotretinoin debuted. More than two decades after Accutane’s introduction, it still cost up to $1,200 monthly, versus $600 to $900 for generics.

So the end of  Roche’s blockbuster drug paves the way for other drug companies to cash  in.  But will generic manufacturers remain in the marketplace if they begin to get slapped with personal injury lawsuits? After all, there’s only one way to spell isotretinoin…

Tags: Accutane, Add new tag, defective drugs, Isotretinoin, Roche
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 3 Comments »

First Zits, then Accutane, then IBD, then Kidney Stones?

March 12th, 2010. By AbiK

Remember that  book, “Because a Little Bug went Ka-CHOO!”–the one where there’s this tiny little sneeze that leads to a chain reaction that winds up with a huge circus marching through town? Yeah, that one. Well, this article from over at HealthDayNews this week kind of reminds me of that book, only not in a warm ‘n fuzzy kind of way.

The article is about Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)—which has been linked to the anti-acne prescription medication Accutane. And it seems IBD can affect more (actual quote is “much more”) than just your digestive system.

The National Women’s Health Information Center states that IBD can actually contribute to the following health problems:

• Arthritis and pain in the joints
• Fractures and weakening of the bones
• Problems with the eye, including inflammation
• An inflamed liver
• Kidney stones or gallstones
• Skin ulcers or a red, bumpy rash
• Problems with growth and delayed onset of puberty in children and teens
• Problems with the lungs (though such cases are rare)

The article just helps to highlight that IBD is a serious disease that can not only wreak havoc on the intestines, but also a number of other areas. And, as such, careful consideration should be taken when considering anti-acne treatments that use the drug, isotretinoin—Accutane, Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret. And, as we previously posted, parents should be aware that a number of these drugs are available online, sans prescription.

Tags: Accutane, IBD, Isotretinoin
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »