Vioxx, a powerful arthritis medication, is recalled based upon clinical evidence (not to be confused with the same preliminary findings during its FDA reviews) that twice as many people who took the drug experienced a nasty side effect called cardiovascular disease. Faced with potential settlements of $10BillionUS (or more) from as many as 27,000 possible wrongful death suits, Merck & Co. is rumored to be preparing a defense based on the understanding that none of the 27,000 dead persons died from Arthritis and (if they could communicate from beyond) all of those “stiffs” would agree that they are no longer suffering from the pain of Arthritis. The lawyers of the deceased are countering that claim with scientific experts who will testify that rigor mortis is nothing more than the most advanced state of arthritis.
Breaking story: “Push(er) over Vioxx” – Merk & Co. competitor, Pfizer Inc. recently admits that their popular painkiller, Celebrex “might” also heighten the risk of heart and stroke if you can trust the results of 1 out of 2 trials. As I write, pressure is being brought to bear on Health Canada to pull Celebrex off of shelves.
Related story: Drug companies are advertising SSRI anti-depressants for use on children (and other individuals) suffering the “debilitating effects of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)” For those of us that weren’t born yesterday, that’s what we used to call shyness. There is growing evidence that SSRIs “cause or ex-acerbate a wide range of abnormal mental and behavioral conditions… these reactions can worsen the individual’s mental condition and can result in suicidality, violence, and other forms of extreme abnormal behavior.”