Recent Cases Blog
Understanding Paxil Birth Defects
In December 2005, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) posted its Paxil findings on its
website regarding pregnant women taking antidepressants. In this announcement,
GSK noted that it was revising its pregnancy precaution category from C to D.
This revision was based on recent studies that indicated positive evidence of
human fetal risk. In addition, GSK was placing this information in the WARNINGS
section of the Paxil label.
The FDA then advised pregnant women to switch from Paxil to another SSRI
drug, such as Prozac or Zoloft. This warning was based on the results of an
analysis of Sweden’s birth registry that showed women who took Paxil were 1.5 to
ANTIDEPRESSANT WITHDRAWAL: NC man gets 27 years in mother’s beating death
CHARLOTTE, N.C. A North Carolina man has been sentenced to nearly three
decades in prison in the beating death of his 83-year-old mother.
The Charlotte Observer reported that 56-year-old Jerry Heath was sentenced to
27 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to second-degree murder.
Pfizer Dodges Fraud Prosecution AGAIN By Paying Over $1 Billion Fine
A division of Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, has agreed to plead
guilty to two felonies and pay $430 million in penalties to settle charges that
it fraudulently promoted the drug Neurontin for a string of unapproved uses.
In an agreement announced by government prosecutors Thursday, Pfizer unit
Warner-Lambert admitted that it aggressively marketed the epilepsy drug by
illicit means for unrelated conditions including bipolar disorder, pain,
migraine headaches, and drug and alcohol withdrawal.
A company whistle-blower, whose 1996 civil suit spurred
government investigations of Neurontin’s marketing campaign, will receive about
$26.6 million through the settlement under legal provisions that reward citizens
for helping to recover government money obtained by fraud.
The settlement includes $152 million to pay back amounts spent on Neurontin
by the federal Medicare program and 50 state Medicaid programs for the poor. In
addition, Pfizer will pay a $240 million criminal fine, the second-largest such
fine ever imposed in a health care fraud prosecution, the Department of Justice
said.
Treating Depression Alternatively: BC Docs Use new treatments for depression
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-doctors-learn-new-treatments-for-mood-disorders/article1492091/ Treating Depression B.C. doctors learn new treatments for mood disorders David Floody is a retired schoolteacher and now writer based in Tofino, B.C., where he uses a mental health training program and activities like running to battle effects of depression and seasonal affective disorder. GEOFF HOWE FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL Program trains GPs to…
ANTIDEPRESSANTS: Murder-Suicide: Four Dead: Oregon
Paragraph three reads: “The reports also indicates that Clackamas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeffrey A. Grahn was taking antidepressants that can trigger suicidal thoughts. Grahn also told witnesses he had a couple of drinks before heading out on what would become a horrific shooting rampage.” Last three paragraphs read: “He then grabbed Charlotte and hustled her…
DEPRESSION MED: Murder-Suicide: Man Shoots three Deputies: Kills One
Reporting from Minkler Trouble had been brewing in tiny
Minkler, a Sierra foothills community about 20 miles east of Fresno, for months.
But residents never envisioned that it would end with two people — one a
sheriff’s deputy — dead and two other law enforcement officers
wounded.
Time Released Prozac for Dogs Approved in the UK
A dog version of the anti-depressant Prozac has been approved for sale to
British pet owners.
The one-a-day tablet, which tastes of beef, is said to help cure ‘canine
compulsive disorder’ and ‘separation anxiety’ brought on by owners’ long
absences during the day.