FDA

Dangerous Diet Pills

The FDA has issued a warning that some over-the-counter weight loss pills, being sold as dietary supplements, are actually dangerous, unapproved and misbranded drugs.  Pure Edge Nutrition recently announced that it is recalling several of its products, after it was discovered the supplements contained undeclared Sibutramine or a combination of both Sibutramine and Phenolphthalein. Sibutramine,...

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Bed Rails in Nursing Homes: What you need to know

A 94-year-old woman died last weekend when her head became stuck between her mattress and a bed rail at a Pennsylvania nursing home. The county coroner ruled the cause of death as “accidental asphyxiation due to compression.” Sadly, this tragic event could have been prevented. Experts have known about bed rail dangers for nearly...

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Black Box Warning for Testosterone Drugs

As we previously reported, multiple studies revealed a link between the use of Low-T medications and the risk of blood clots, stroke, heart attack and death. Now, consumer watch group Public Citizen has petitioned the FDA to add a Boxed Warning to all testosterone medications and require manufacturers to inform patients about the increased...

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You Are What You Eat

FDA proposes new guidelines for nutrition labels Making healthy choices at the grocery store may soon get a bit easier. The FDA announced that it will focus on updating nutrition labels this year. The details have not been made public yet, but nutrition experts are hopeful that the new labels will be more straightforward....

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Some Supplements Too Good to Be True

It seems you can’t turn on the radio without hearing an ad for dietary supplements claiming to help with everything from diabetes to erectile dysfunction. Sometimes scams are obvious, but such a distinction is not always as clear. Advertisements like these can confuse consumers because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates dietary supplements...

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FDA to Track Medical Devices

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new rule requiring that most medical devices distributed in the United States carry a unique code. The code, also known as a unique device identifier (UDI), will include information about each specific device, including: model number, lot or batch number, serial number, the date the...

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Pet Food Recall Due to Salmonella

Procter and Gamble has issued a recall of several types of pet foods for dogs and cats, citing an increased risk of salmonella poisoning. The FDA reports that salmonella bacteria can affect not only the animals eating the contaminated food, but also people who handle it or come into contact with exposed surfaces. According...

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Laser toys put children at risk

Lasers are everywhere. They allow us to listen to a CD, scan our purchases at the checkout counter and then, there is the omnipresent laser pointer. As adults we know not to shine these devices into anyone’s eyes, but what about lasers in the hands of children? In the U.S., toys are generally overseen...

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What is off-label drug use?

In the United States before a drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it must undergo extensive testing. These tests, known as clinical trials, are used to determine if a drug safely works the way it is expected, to treat a specific medical condition. Once the FDA is satisfied that the...

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Comeback for Avandia?

Once the world’s best-selling treatment for type 2 diabetes, GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia is currently banned in Europe and severely restricted in the U.S – due to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. But new recommendations from federal health advisors may change things. The New York Times reports, “A panel of experts voted Thursday...

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