The crazy FDA Would you be willing to take a prescription drug if it reduced your risk of developing breast cancer? If you answered yes, would you still be willing to take the drug if it didn't prevent all types of breast cancer? If you answered yes again, would you still be willing to take the drug if common side effects (according to the drug's web site) included "hot flashes, leg cramps, swelling, flu-like symptoms, joint pain, and sweating"? If that warning doesn't put a damper on your enthusiasm, would you still be willing to take this drug if the FDA cautioned that it "can cause serious side effects including blood clots in the legs and lungs, and death due to stroke"? If anyone is still saying yes to this drug, don't be surprised. Worldwide sales totaled nearly $1.5 billion in 2005. The drug is Evista - originally approved by the FDA to help prevent bone loss in postmenopausal women. But here's the truly astonishing thing about that dire warning: It's contained in an FDA news release with this title: "FDA Approves New Uses for Evista." If you ever needed proof that the inmates are running the asylum, there you go.
Sources:
"FDA Approves New Uses for Evista" FDA News, 9/14/07, fda.gov
"Important Safety Information about EVISTA" evista.com
| 
