Prescription Drugs Addiction During Pregnancy And Opiate Abuse

Prescription Drugs Addiction During Pregnancy And Opiate Abuse

Opiate Painkiller Abuse Number of Newborns With Withdrawal Syndrome Triples

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on April 30, 2012 claims that the number of newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome, a postnatal withdrawal condition caused by maternal drug abuse, has increased threefold over the past decade. According to the research report, about 13,500 babies born in the United States in 2009 – roughly one baby per hour – experienced withdrawal syndrome because of their exposure to opiates while in the womb. A part of the larger national research on painkiller abuse, the study highlights that there has been a five-time increase in the consumption of opiate painkiller drugs, such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, by pregnant women between 2002 and 2009.

Opiate drugs, such as Oxycontin, Vicodin, Dilaudid, and others containing codeine, morphine, heroin, methadone, oxycodone, and hydrocodone, are allowed for the treatment of pain arising out of injuries or surgeries. However, the recent analysis by medical scholars and healthcare professionals gives startling revelations about the widespread abuse of the prescription opiate and its impact on public health. Almost 85 percent of the withdrawal syndrome cases in newborns are attributed to opiate abuse by expectant mothers. In 2009, the latest study year, researchers discovered traces of drugs in the bodies of 5/6 1,000 women.

The discharge records for newborns collected from 4,000 hospitals across the United States highlighted that

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Victoza Side Effects Lawsuit Information

Victoza Side Effects Lawsuit Information

Victoza Side Effects

Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has called for a ban on the sale of popular diabetes drug Victoza, claiming that side effects of the injectable medication outweigh its benefits. A petition filed with the FDA by the group on April 19, 2012 has cited enhanced risk of pancreatitis, thyroid cancer, renal failure, and severe allergic reactions as Victoza side effects, which pose serious health concerns for diabetics. The consumer advocacy group also referred to the objections made by two pharmacologists and one clinical safety reviewers against the drug prior to its approval.

Public Citizen Health Research Group director Dr. Sidney Wolfe has criticized the FDA for allowing marketing of the drug despite serious safety issues mentioned on the drug label. The consumer group has also presented documented facts, showing threefold increase in the risk of thyroid cancer and pancreatitis. According to the group, about 2,000 diabetes patients experienced painful Victoza side effects, including 200 cases of pancreatitis, within the first 17 months since the introduction of the drug in the market. The group advocates removal of the drug from the market, saying that the FDA label warnings have proved insufficient.

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