STUDY FINDS VIOXX INCREASES HEART ATTACK RISK

[Guest guest]

STUDY FINDS VIOXX INCREASES HEART ATTACK RISK

Patients taking Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx arthritis drug had a 50 percent

greater chance of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death than individuals

using Pfizer Inc.'s rival Celebrex medicine, according to a large study

financed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040825/ts_nm/health_merck_viox

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[Guest guest]

Here is that other article; again the email is cutting the link in half;

you can copy and paste the second line into the browser where it is chopped

off in the " address " .

I know a lot of times people don't want the whole article so I try to just

give the link.

Another thing you can do with some of these articles is copy and paste the

header into google with quotes around it and it will bring up all the places

on the web that it is posted; and related articles. In this case you would

put quotes around " Study Finds Vioxx Increases Heart Attack Risk " and it

will take you to the articles

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Study Finds Vioxx Increases Heart Attack Risk

Wed Aug 25, 5:39 PM ET

By Ransdell Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Patients taking Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx arthritis drug

had a 50 percent greater chance of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death

than individuals using Pfizer Inc.'s rival Celebrex medicine, according to a

large study financed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (news - web

sites).

The study, presented at an epidemiologists conference in Bordeaux, France,

on Wednesday, is the latest to suggest that the $2.5-billion-a-year drug

increases the danger of heart attacks. Lingering safety concerns have badly

hurt sales of Vioxx in recent years.

The study also found patients taking the highest recommended daily dosage of

Vioxx had three times the risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death as

those not taking standard painkillers.

Sudden cardiac death, an electrical disturbance of the heart that is not

considered a heart attack, is the biggest cause of death in the United

States.

Researchers came up with the potentially damaging findings on Vioxx after

analyzing the medical records of 1.4 million people insured by Kaiser

Permanente, the Oakland, California-based health maintenance organization.

The study found 8,199 heart attacks and cases of sudden cardiac death among

the Kaiser members between 1999 and 2001.

Dr. Graham, lead investigator for the trial, said another major

finding was that patients taking the typical starting dose of Vioxx had a 50

percent greater chance of heart attack and sudden cardiac death than

patients taking any dose of Celebrex.

" Based upon the evidence in this study, I don't think doctors should

prescribe high-dosage Vioxx, and patients shouldn't take it, " Graham said in

an interview.

Asked if the FDA (news - web sites) might consider banning use of high-dose

Vioxx, given the findings, Graham said, " The FDA has to decide whether they

think a three-fold increase in heart attacks outweighs the benefits of the

drug. "

Alise Reicin, vice president of clinical research at Merck, said the study

was merely " observational, " and not the preferred formal kind of study in

which patients are enrolled and then randomly placed into different

treatment groups.

" Observational studies have inherent limitations, " she said, and often

produce inaccurate results.

Most patients take daily Vioxx doses of 12.5 milligrams and 25 milligrams

for arthritis. But a higher dose of 50 milligrams is approved by the FDA for

treatment of pain for no longer than five days.

" The problem is that some patients continue to take it for 30, 60, or 90

days, " Graham said, putting themselves at elevated risk of heart attack and

sudden cardiac death.

Graham, senior scientist for the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, said his own

interpretations of the data did not necessarily reflect the views of the

FDA.

In Merck's own 8,000 patient trial of Vioxx before the drug was launched in

1999, over twice as many arthritis patients taking it had heart attacks and

strokes than those who took naproxen -- one of the most popular older

arthritis treatments.

Merck has argued that Vioxx itself did not cause the heart attacks but that

naproxen was somehow preventing them -- putting Vioxx in an unfair bad light

in the head-to-head trials.

But Graham said his trial suggested that naproxen actually slightly

increases the risk of heart attacks, casting doubt on Merck's theory.

Reicin said a group of smaller Merck trials have not shown any greater risk

of heart attack for Vioxx than Celebrex.

Although Merck has steadfastly defended the safety of Vioxx, its sales have

flattened in recent years amid the lingering safety concerns and

cardiovascular risks cited by independent researchers.

That has allowed Celebrex and a sister Pfizer drug, called Bextra, to

dominate the market for their class of arthritis drugs, called -2

inhibitors.

The newer drugs are designed to fight inflammation and pain while reducing

the risk of ulcers caused by traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory

drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, naproxen and ibuprofen.

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STUDY FINDS VIOXX INCREASES HEART ATTACK RISK

Patients taking Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx arthritis drug had a 50 percent

greater chance of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death than individuals

using Pfizer Inc.'s rival Celebrex medicine, according to a large study

financed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040825/ts_nm/health_merck_viox

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On 8/26/04 7:29 AM, " ceda " ceda > wrote:

>

> Subject: Re: STEM CELLS PUT WOMAN'S ARTHRITIS IN REMISSION

>

> Laxity, your last two post... the links don't work. Could you check and see if

> the web address is correct?

> Thanks Cindylouwho

[Guest guest]

My neuro had me taking 50 mgs of vioxx a day and it made me have

hallucinations, it was horrible it also gave me probelms breathing, i waent

to the ER once because it was so bad.

STUDY FINDS VIOXX INCREASES HEART ATTACK RISK

>

>

> STUDY FINDS VIOXX INCREASES HEART ATTACK RISK

> Patients taking Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx arthritis drug had a 50 percent

> greater chance of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death than individuals

> using Pfizer Inc.'s rival Celebrex medicine, according to a large study

> financed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

>

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040825/ts_nm/health_merck_viox

> x_dc_6

>

>

>

>

>

> To learn more about EDS, visit our website: http://www.ehlersdanlos.ca

>