Posted by: Salvatore J. Zambri, Esquire
According to the The Wall Street Journal, staff from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicate that three medications “currently approved to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in adults were effective at treating the disorders in children and adolescents, but carry significant risks.” As a result, the FDA is now “considering applications for AstraZeneca PLC’s Seroquel [quetiapine] and Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zyprexa [olanzapine] to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in children and adolescents, and Pfizer, Inc.’s Geodon [ziprasidone] to treat bipolar disorder in children 10 to 17,” comments the report. In fact, “an FDA panel of outside medical experts is scheduled to meet to discuss” these atypical antipsychotic medications, and will be “asked to vote on whether each product is safe and effective for children ages 10 to 17.” The report goes on the add that the FDA and the drug-makers announced that “studies showed the products were effective at treating the symptoms of bipolar and schizophrenia,” but also warned that “all had side effects.” These sides effects include “sedation and weight gain.”
We encourage our readers to speak with their doctors before taking any medication. Mixing drugs can be particularly dangerous. Some drugs pose greater health risks than others. Relying, too, on what the FDA reports and what the drug-makers themselves state about their own medications may not be sufficient.
Our firm has experience pursing cases for patients that involve tragic medication errors, pharmacy mix ups and unsafe medications. For information about your legal rights, please click here or contact us at Regan Zambri & Long, PLLC at (202) 463-3030.