Alli weight loss drug

So it seems that the FDA is ready to approve the sale of weight loss pill Alli over the counter. It is nothing but a low-dose version of Xenical, a prescription weight loss drug. So the question is if this drug is worth taking.

Remember Meridia? Well, in this case too both doctors and GlaxoSmithKline are saying that it has to be combined with healthy eating and exercise to see any results. Well don't you think that almost everyone can lose weight with diet and exercise? "There is no magic pill for weight loss and orlistat is definitely not a magic pill," John Dent, a R&D executive at Glaxo, said at the FDA advisory committee's meeting recently to discuss the approval. "Orlistat is a tool that will help people control their calorie intake," he added.

In other words, a way to take money out of your pocket with promising any results. Thousands of dishonest companies have been pitching fat burning pills for decades that do nothing but cost a fortune. In fact in the company's clinical trials obese people who took orlistat lost on average 5.3 pounds to 6.2 pounds more than did those who were given placebos. You know what? I can lose that much weight within a matter of days by exercising just 5 minutes more each day and skipping an extra helping of potato salad.

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Elidel and Protpic to carry black box warning

According to the FDA, two drugs used for treating eczema - Elidel and Protopic - will now carry what are known as the black box warning. In other words, it is just one step away from a recall/ban of the drugs. The main reason for this action is the cancer risks associated with the use of these drugs.

What this means is that you must exhaust all other treatments for eczema have been tried. And if you have been using either of the two drugs and see any troubling signs, you must consult with your doctor and a personal injury attorney.

Drew Barrymore goes braless

At the Golden Globes awards ceremony, when Drew Barrymore was on the stage, there was no mistaking that she was not wearing a bra. While it is perfectly acceptable not to wear one, but the outfit should be chosen appropriately. The problem with Barrymore's outfit was that it made her breasts look saggy. And she also had no excuse to skip the bra. The dress was such that the bra would have been easily hidden as compared to other formal gowns that often make it hard to find the right bra to wear with.

So what is the message here?

• Be careful when you do not wear a bra. Look at your outfit and definitely check yourself out in the mirror before leaving your home.
• Shelf bra is clearly a better choice when you want the braless look but do not want to show your sag to the world.
• For almost every formal dress out there, bra manufacturers now have a choice. So do your research and make sure that you wear the right bra.

Photo © MMVI Hollywood Foreign Press Association®© HFPA and 63rd Golden Globe Awards®

Scios hid deaths from Natrecor

When Merck decided to hide the number of deaths from a Vioxx trial, it was not the company that disclosed it. The New England Journal of Medicine, which published a paper written by Merck scientists, discovered the omission and made it public. It is expected that this misconduct on the part of Merck will come to haunt it it in ongoing Vioxx litigation.

In the case of Scios, the manufacturer of controversial drug Natrecor, at the least the company has come clean that it did not disclose two deaths during the PROACTION trial. These cases were not included in a report on the PROACTION study that was published in the 2005 October issue of the Journal of Emergency Medicine. In that publication, according to the company, the difference in all-cause mortality (patient deaths due to all causes, including those unrelated to medical treatment) at 30 days post treatment between the NATRECOR and placebo arms was not statistically significant. There are reports, however, that Natrecor damages kidneys.

There have been repeated calls for recall of Natrecor but the company says that it is confident these two additional cases have no impact on the overall benefit/risk profile of NATRECOR when prescribed according to the approved label.

The authors of the PROACTION report published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine will submit a study update to the Journal once the data collected through the final expanded analysis are complete. Also, the PROACTION data included in the currently approved NATRECOR product labeling do not include the two additional patient deaths. The company anticipates working with the FDA, as well as with relevant regulatory authorities in other countries, in coming weeks to determine the most appropriate way to ensure that these two cases are accurately reported as part of the full data set for this study.

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