http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news Just another WordPress weblog Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:04:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Smoking cessation drug Chanitx has been under scrutiny in recent months as links to dangerous side effects emerge. Made by drug manufacturer Pfizer, Chanitx was approved by the FDA in 2006 and quickly became a top seller, amassing $883 million its first year on the market. Chantix Timeline May ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2008/09/18/smoking-cessation-drug-chantix-emotional-side-effects/ After six years, the U.S. Senate finally, and unanimously, passed Senator Patty Murray's Ban Asbestos in America Act last October. The act prohibits asbestos where present at more than 1% by weight, calls for a public education campaign about the dangers of asbestos exposure, and directs critically-needed federal research to ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2008/02/28/asbestos-legislation-bruce-vento-ban-asbestos-and-prevent-mesothelioma-act/ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued a Public Health Advisory to alert health care providers, patients, and caregivers to new safety warnings concerning Chantix (varenicline), a prescription medication used to help patients stop smoking. On Nov. 20, 2007, FDA issued an Early Communication to the public and ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/product-liability/harmful-drugs/2008/02/01/fda-issues-public-health-advisory-on-chantix-agency-requests-that-manufacturer-add-new-safety-warnings-for-smoking-cessation-drug-2/ On October 29, 2007, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) was notified by a tertiary-care provider of unexplained neurologic illnesses among workers in a swine slaughterhouse (plant A) in southeast Minnesota. As a result, MDH initiated a detailed investigation at plant A to characterize the outbreak. This report describes the ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2008/01/31/cdc-investigation-of-progressive-inflammatory-neuropathy-among-swine-slaughterhouse-workers-minnesota-2007-2008/ The Minnesota Department of Health has learned that the Indiana Department of Health and CDC are investigating illnesses in several plant workers at a pig slaughtering plant in Indiana to determine if their illnesses are similar to what has been found in Minnesota. MDH continues ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2008/01/16/quality-pork-processor-worker-neurological-illnesses-update/ The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is investigating a cluster of 11 cases of neurological illness in workers at Quality Pork Processors, Inc. (QPP) in Austin, Minn. QPP staff and physicians in the Austin and Rochester area recently realized there had been a pattern of cases of ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2007/12/03/minnesota-health-officials-investigate-illnesses-at-quality-pork-processors-in-austin-no-evidence-to-suggest-general-public-or-food-supply-at-risk/ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that the manufacturer of Avandia (rosiglitazone), a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, has agreed to add new information to the existing boxed warning in the drug's labeling about potential increased risk for heart attacks. People with type 2 diabetes who have ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2007/11/14/fda-adds-boxed-warning-for-heart-attacks-to-anti-diabetes-drug-avandia-agency-says-drug-to-remain-on-market-while-safety-assessment-continues/ Distribution of two types of defibrillators, Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy-Defibrillators (CRT-Ds), is being suspended by Medtronic as a result of lead fractures. If a lead fractures, defibrillators may deliver unecessary shocks or may not function at all. Issues with the leads was first ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2007/10/24/defribrillator-leads-recall-sprint-fidelis-lead-fractures/ Statement by Daniel Schultz, M.D., director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health: Medtronic's decision to voluntarily remove its Sprint Fidelis defibrillation leads from the market is in the best interest of patient safety. These electronic wires are prone to fracture in a small number of patients which ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2007/10/22/fda-statement-on-medtronics-voluntary-market-suspension-of-their-sprint-fidelis-defibrillator-leads/ On Monday, October 15, Medtronic, Inc. said voluntarily suspended worldwide distribution of the Sprint Fidelis® family of defibrillation leads because of the potential for lead fractures. In addition, the company recommends against new implants of the leads (Sprint Fidelis Models: 6930, 6931, 6948, 6949). The Sprint ... http://www.gpwlaw.com/news/news/personal-injury/2007/10/19/defect-in-sprint-fidelis-defibrillation-leads-medtronic-halts-distribution/