A number of dangerous drugs have been in the news recently. These reports started to surface when Congress was having hearings about the painkiller, Vioxx. A Food and Drug Administration staff member testified in front of Congress that there are safety concerns about several medications. These medications are Accutane, Arava, Bextra, Celebrex, Crestor, Lotronex, Meridia, and Serevent.
When you put the problems in perspective, the number of problems related to these medications is incredibly small compared to the number of people who took the drugs. If five million people have taken the medication and one has had a serious side effect, thats one in a five million, or 0.00002%. The chances are not that great, but the chance is there.
The following is a quick summary of what the FDA believes are some of the concerns with these medications.
Accutane
This medication is very effective for severe acne. It is also well-known that Accutane causes serious birth defects. Because of this, the manufacturer has set guidelines for its dispensing. If the patient is female, she must have a negative pregnancy test EVERY month before the doctor writes the...