Taking Seroquel to treat a mental disorder caused a Texas woman to develop diabetes and she wouldn’t have taken the drug if she knew of the risks, according to a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court.
Misty Peters claims she took the atypical antipsychotic drug, which is approved for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder but also is widely used by physicians to treat other unapproved “off-label” conditions, according to a report in the Southeast Texas Record.
Peters’ product liability lawsuit, filed last week in the Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas, accuses Seroquel’s maker, Astra Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, and others of promoting the drug’s benefits and downplaying its risks while knowing it could cause users to develop diabetes and other medical problems.
Seroquel Linked to Diabetes, Other Blood-Sugar Disorders
Seroquel was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997 as a member of a newer class of drugs called atypical antipsychotics. The drugs, which control levels of dopamine in the brain, are billed as being just as effective as older antipsychotic drugs like Haldol with fewer side effects, but more recent research has found a link between taking Seroquel and developing diabetes and other blood-sugar disorders.
READ MORE @ ATORNEY AT LAW
Showing posts with label diabetes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diabetes. Show all posts
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Antipsychotic Drugs Associated With High Blood Sugar in Older Adults With Diabetes
Older patients with diabetes who take antipsychotic medications appear to have an increased risk of hospitalization for hyperglycemia (elevated blood glucose level), especially soon after beginning treatment, according to a report in the July 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
An increasing number of older adults are being prescribed antipsychotic drugs for dementia and other conditions, according to background information in the article. However, these medications may be associated with a—including Parkinson’s disease symptoms, stroke and diabetes—in the older population. “The risk of diabetes may be partly related to chronic effects of the weight gain associated with antipsychotic agents,” the authors write. “However, case reports of acute hyperglycemia after the initiation of therapy with these drugs suggest that they may also be associated with acute glycemic [blood glucose level] changes.”
Lorraine L. Lipscombe, M.D., M.Sc., of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, University of Toronto and Women’s College Research Institute at Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues studied 13,817 individuals age 66 and older (average age 78) with diabetes who began treatment with antipsychotics between April 1, 2002, and March 31, 2006. Each patient who was hospitalized for hyperglycemia during the observation period—through March 31, 2007, an average of two years of follow-up—was considered a case and was matched with up to 10 control patients who were the same age and sex but were not hospitalized over the same time period. The researchers then compared the likelihood of hyperglycemia among those who were currently taking antipsychotic medications to those who had discontinued antipsychotic medications for more than 180 days.
Of the total group of 13,817 patients, 1,515 (11 percent) were hospitalized for hyperglycemia. Those who were currently taking antipsychotic drugs had a higher risk of hospitalization than those who had stopped the medications more than 180 days ago. The risk was highest among those who were just starting antipsychotic drug treatment.
READ MORE @ NEWSWISE
An increasing number of older adults are being prescribed antipsychotic drugs for dementia and other conditions, according to background information in the article. However, these medications may be associated with a—including Parkinson’s disease symptoms, stroke and diabetes—in the older population. “The risk of diabetes may be partly related to chronic effects of the weight gain associated with antipsychotic agents,” the authors write. “However, case reports of acute hyperglycemia after the initiation of therapy with these drugs suggest that they may also be associated with acute glycemic [blood glucose level] changes.”
Lorraine L. Lipscombe, M.D., M.Sc., of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, University of Toronto and Women’s College Research Institute at Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues studied 13,817 individuals age 66 and older (average age 78) with diabetes who began treatment with antipsychotics between April 1, 2002, and March 31, 2006. Each patient who was hospitalized for hyperglycemia during the observation period—through March 31, 2007, an average of two years of follow-up—was considered a case and was matched with up to 10 control patients who were the same age and sex but were not hospitalized over the same time period. The researchers then compared the likelihood of hyperglycemia among those who were currently taking antipsychotic medications to those who had discontinued antipsychotic medications for more than 180 days.
Of the total group of 13,817 patients, 1,515 (11 percent) were hospitalized for hyperglycemia. Those who were currently taking antipsychotic drugs had a higher risk of hospitalization than those who had stopped the medications more than 180 days ago. The risk was highest among those who were just starting antipsychotic drug treatment.
READ MORE @ NEWSWISE
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Diabetic pregnant women at risk for depression
Low-income pregnant women and new mothers with diabetes are nearly twice as likely as those without diabetes to be diagnosed with depression during and after pregnancy, new research indicates.
Depression during the last several months of pregnancy and the year following childbirth -- the so-called perinatal period -- affects at least 10 percent to 12 percent of new mothers, and approximately 2 percent to 9 percent of pregnancies are complicated by diabetes, the researchers note. Past research has established an association between diabetes and depression in the general adult population.
In the current study, Dr. Bernard L. Harlow, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and colleagues examined the association between diabetes and depression in the perinatal period among approximately 11,000 low-income women enrolled in Medicaid who gave birth between 2004 and 2006.
They found that women with diabetes had nearly double the odds of having a diagnosis of depression or taking an antidepressant during the perinatal period compared with women without diabetes (15.2 percent versus 8.5 percent).
READ MORE @ REUTERS
Depression during the last several months of pregnancy and the year following childbirth -- the so-called perinatal period -- affects at least 10 percent to 12 percent of new mothers, and approximately 2 percent to 9 percent of pregnancies are complicated by diabetes, the researchers note. Past research has established an association between diabetes and depression in the general adult population.
In the current study, Dr. Bernard L. Harlow, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and colleagues examined the association between diabetes and depression in the perinatal period among approximately 11,000 low-income women enrolled in Medicaid who gave birth between 2004 and 2006.
They found that women with diabetes had nearly double the odds of having a diagnosis of depression or taking an antidepressant during the perinatal period compared with women without diabetes (15.2 percent versus 8.5 percent).
READ MORE @ REUTERS
Monday, December 8, 2008
AstraZeneca Was Aware of Seroquel Risks in 2000, Records Show
AstraZeneca Plc., facing more than 15,000 consumer claims alleging the antipsychotic drug Seroquel causes diabetes, knew about the risk as far back as 2000, according to company documents shown in federal court.
AstraZeneca Global Safety Officer Wayne Geller concluded there was “reasonable evidence to suggest Seroquel therapy can cause” diabetes and related conditions, according to documents presented yesterday in federal court in Tampa, Florida. Geller drew his conclusions following a review of available studies and internal trials, according to the documents.
The internal documents were shown publicly for the first time during a hearing over the qualifications of expert witnesses the plaintiffs plan to use at trial. They are to testify in a lawsuit over the drug’s effects when the proceeding begins in February. While portions of the documents were shown in court, the filings remain sealed at the request of the London-based pharmaceutical company.
READ MORE @ BLOOMBERG
AstraZeneca Global Safety Officer Wayne Geller concluded there was “reasonable evidence to suggest Seroquel therapy can cause” diabetes and related conditions, according to documents presented yesterday in federal court in Tampa, Florida. Geller drew his conclusions following a review of available studies and internal trials, according to the documents.
The internal documents were shown publicly for the first time during a hearing over the qualifications of expert witnesses the plaintiffs plan to use at trial. They are to testify in a lawsuit over the drug’s effects when the proceeding begins in February. While portions of the documents were shown in court, the filings remain sealed at the request of the London-based pharmaceutical company.
READ MORE @ BLOOMBERG
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