The FDA has made strides in improving its oversight of drugs after they are approved for consumers. The drug recall lawyers of Elk & Elk want you to know about the steps taken to keep your drugs safe.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration often takes a lot of flak for failing to monitor drugs once they have gone to market. In answer to that criticism, the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research released a report over the weekend detailing the improvements the organization has made in that area.

“Advances in FDA’s Safety Program for Marketed Drugs” describes how a strengthened and modernized postmodern drug safety program has substantially improved the FDA’s oversight of drugs after they reach consumers. New scientific tools and enhanced capabilities have allowed the FDA to give the same priority to postmarket drug safety monitoring as it does to premarket drug review. (more…)

The FDA has added new labeling warnings to a class of newer birth control pills because of increased risk of blood clots. If you have experienced harmful side effects while taking Yaz, contact the drug recall lawyers at Elk & Elk.

Millions of women across the country use birth control pills. While it has been known for many years that all common forms of birth control pills increase a woman’s chances of getting potentially fatal blood clots, one popular class of birth control pills may increase a woman’s blood clot risk compared to older contraceptives.

In the wake of thousands of reported problems and lawsuits, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has added new warnings to labels for birth control pills containing the compound drospirenone, a synthetic hormone. That includes the popular contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin.

The labels of these products will now reflect the new information about the increased risk of blood clots. According to the FDA communication, the new labels will show that some studies reflected as high as a threefold increase in a woman’s risk of blood clots when using oral contraceptives that contain drospirenone compared with products that contain levonorgestrel or other progestins. (more…)

Ohio pediatric doctor urges parents against the use of acetaminophen (Tylenol) for children with asthma. If your child has asthma and is taking acetaminophen drugs (Tylenol), the Ohio personal injury lawyers at Elk & Elk want you to be aware of potential long-term consequences.

If you have children with asthma, a popular over-the-counter drug could be making it worse.

Dr. John McBride of Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio recently wrote an article in the online “Journal Pediatrics” urging against the use of acetaminophen for kids with asthma.

According to his study published in the American Journal of Pediatrics, McBride found that children suffering from asthma “were over twice as likely to have an asthma attack as the children who took ibuprofen.” In addition, asthma was three times as common in children who took acetaminophen at least once a month.

McBride points out that a dose of acetaminophen decreases the level of a molecule called glutathione which is problematic in asthma patients because the molecule protects against inflammation.

While more data on the correlation between acetaminophen and asthma is needed, the Ohio personal injury attorneys at Elk & Elk encourage parents to talk to their pediatrician about any long-term effects associated with your child’s use of acetaminophen (Tylenol).

Learn more about the Ohio personal injury attorneys at Elk & Elk.

The popular birth-control drug Yaz is facing an uphill debate after being linked to serious side effects. If you experience unusual side effects while taking Yaz, contact the Ohio drug recall lawyers at Elk & Elk.

After receiving a number of reports from women who suffered serious side effects from Yaz, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking action to issue new proceedings regarding its use.

According to the Southern District of Illinois’ U.S. District Court, Bayer, the pharmaceutical manufacturer of Yaz, has been faced with more than 10,000 lawsuits in federal court since the birth-control pill was introduced in 2001. If you think you have a claim, contact an Ohio injury lawyer at Elk & Elk.

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Pregnant women with depression may be more likely to deliver infants  with birth defects. The Ohio birth defect lawyers at Elk & Elk are sharing information about the risks of antidepressant use during pregnancy.

Pregnancy can bring on a flood of conflicting feelings, such as sadness and depression. If  you’re one of thousands of women taking antidepressants while pregnant, you may be  at risk.

According to a recent article published in the Archives of General Psychiatry,  researchers found that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as luoxetine (Prosac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), venlafaxine (Effexor), nefazodone (Serzone) and citalopram (Celexa)  have been linked  to birth defects.

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