side-effects

Study: Safety Issues Plagued 1/3 of FDA-Approved Drugs from 2001-2010

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tasked with making sure that drugs and medical devices are safe and efficient for Americans to use. However, it appears that the agency doesn’t take its job seriously enough, because a new study shows that nearly 1/3 of medications approved from 2001 to 2010 had safety issues years after they were made widely available to patients, and some were quite serious. [1]

Study: Cannabidiol-Based Medication Reduces Intense Seizures by 50%

Marijuana has been associated with reducing seizures in people with epilepsy for years, but only now is the topic getting more of the scientific scrutiny it deserves. In a recent study, cannabidiol (CBD) reduced the number of seizures by half in a substantial number of children and adults with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a severe form of epilepsy.
GW Pharmaceuticals, a developer of cannabidiol, sponsored the study.

Mom Treats Daughter with Marijuana, Loses Custody of Her 2 Kids

A Gooding, Idaho, mom lost custody of her children and is facing charges after treating her daughter’s seizures with marijuana butter. [1]
Three-year-old Madyson began suffering seizures and hallucinations in early October after coming off of the prescription anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, which was being used to treat a history of seizures.
Madyson’s mom, Kelsey Osborne, explained:

“They [the seizures] would stop and come back, stop and come back with the hallucinations and everything else.” [2]

New Painkiller as ‘Effective as Morphine,’ but Without the Side Effects

Scientists have created a new opioid compound that’s as effective at killing pain as morphine, but without the side effects. It could mean thousands fewer people becoming addicted to prescription pain medication in the future. But untold effects are questionable, as it is modified by man.
The finding represents a turning point in the way scientists have traditionally tried to handle opiate addiction and overdoses.

Cancer Study Halted After 3 People Die

U.S. regulators in July of 2016 halted a trial of Juno Therapeutics Inc.’s experimental cancer therapy, known as JCAR015, after three patients died.
JCAR015 uses genetically engineered cells as a treatment for cancer. However, one of the pursuits in oncology was temporarily halted by the FDA when some of the participants developed fatal swelling in the brain.
Hans Bishop, Juno’s chief executive, said in a conference call with securities analysts that the deaths were “difficult and humbling for everyone involved.”

‘Female Viagra’ is Close to FDA Approval Despite Serious Side Effects

As if there are not already way too many highly substandard pharmaceutical drugs on the market: now along comes ‘female Viagra.’ This same drug, while in the testing phase, has already been rejected by the FDA twice since 2010. Nevertheless, the FDA almost always follows the advice of its appointed experts, so it is expected to be fully approved soon despite serious side effects.