In the past the FDA has stood as a protector of the american people although sometimes slow to act and often without the full enforcement power of some other government branches.

This may soon change.

The new chair of the FDA Margaret Hamburg has spoken out lately and probably with the Obama administration has been given a bit more rein and ear to the Oval Office than her predecessors have had.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, vowed that the agency would be more aggressive in enforcing food and drug safety regulations and quicker to act when a company breaks the law. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: chair, Commissioner, fda, food, Food and Drug Law Institute, food safety situations, Margaret Hamburg, Maryland, Obama administration

The FDA watches risk factors of different drugs and occasionally they will either put out a warning or in some cases pull a product all together. Well today one product type for pain relief did get pulled

On July 7, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced actions it was taking to reduce the risk of overdose in people who use pain medications, such as Darvon and Darvocet. These medications contain the drug propoxyphene, which is linked to death from overdoses.

FDA finds there is evidence that propoxyphene can effectively treat pain at recommended doses. But because of the drug’s potential risks, the agency is requiring manufacturers to provide more information to help physicians and patients decide whether propoxyphene is the appropriate pain treatment. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Darvon, dizziness, fda, food and drug administration, lightheadedness, nausea, pain, vomiting

If you are are a man affected by a receding hairline or a bald patch, you are going to be wanting an effective way to treat baldness so that you can keep looking young as long as possible.

First let’s be clear that there are different kinds of baldness. There is complete alopecia which can happen at any age, develops quickly and often results in the person having no hair anywhere, not just on the head. This can be caused by cancer treatments, by stress, disease or sometimes has an unknown cause. In the case of cancer therapy, the hair usually grows back when the treatment is over. In other cases it may or it may not. There is no real treatment for this type of baldness and most people either live with it or wear a wig.

What we will be considering here is Male Pattern Baldness, which happens gradually to many men as they get older (sometimes starting right after adolescence) and is inherited. The hairline recedes on the forehead and sometimes a bald patch develops at the crown. Women may also find their hairline receding but it tends to start at a later age and they do not get the patch of baldness on the top of the head. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: alopecia, baldness, cancer, cancer therapy, fda, good head, head of hair, Male Pattern Baldness, Minoxidil, Propecia, treating cancer

There are many types of baldness treatment advertised on the internet, and the good news is that some of them do work in slowing the progression of Male Pattern Baldness or even helping hair to grow back. But don’t go buying the first ‘miracle cream’ that you see. Here we take a look at some of the genuine treatments that are available.

The first of these methods, and the most drastic, is to transplant hair follicles that are still active, from another part of the head. This is a surgical procedure that works best for men whose remaining hair is thick and abundant, so they can afford to lose some of it. It does not create new hairs, but redistributes the hair more evenly over the head. However, the area of baldness will continue to grow, so once you begin transplant treatment, you must be prepared to repeat it.

Alternatives to straight one-for-one transplanting of hairs are currently under development and testing. If proven, these will allow multiplication of transplanted hairs so that several new follicles can be developed from one existing follicle. This could revolutionize baldness treatments because it would mean that in theory, nobody need ever go bald. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: baldness, fda, high blood pressure, Male Pattern Baldness, surgery, treatment for high blood pressure, United States

As soon as Botox was approved by the FDA for cosmetic use in 2002, there was a huge demand for Botox injections for wrinkles. Botox remains one of the most popular anti aging procedures available, and is often chosen as an alternative to face lifts and other plastic surgery.

What is Botox?

Botox is derived from a highly poisonous substance called botulinum toxin which is responsible for the form of food poisoning known as botulism. Botulinum toxin makes the muscles unable to contract. It began to be injected in tiny doses into the muscles around the eyes in the 1980s to treat uncontrollable blinking spasms and crossed eyes. That’s why the rights to Botox are owned by the opthalmic product manufacturer Allergan Inc.

The opthalmologists using Botox to treat eye spasms soon noticed that it also had the effect of reducing wrinkles around the eyes. Clinical trials then began for its use for cosmetic purposes. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Allergan Inc., allergic reaction, botox, botulism, Dysport, Europe, face lifts, fda, Ipsen Ltd, Korea, Medy-Tox Inc, opthalmic product manufacturer, physician, plastic surgery, poisoning, spasms, This site

Every diet pill ad I’ve ever seen has marketed the product as being the revolutionary solution to all my dieting woes. Some diet pill ads even claim to cause you to lose weight in your sleep. I would love to just take a pill before bed and be able to slide easily into my “skinny jeans” in the morning, and I’ll bet you would too.

When I started looking into how diet pills work, I noticed that not only are there tons of them on the market, but so many of them work in different ways to effect weight loss. Some pills are meant to decrease appetite while others change the way the body processes food.

With the weight loss industry amassing several billion dollars a year in sales, it’s clear that most of us are searching for the winning edge to stay in shape and we’re willing to spend money to get it. In fact, the cost of a single bottle of diet pills in the U.S. Can be as much as 100 dollars.

One of the most common types of diet pills is the appetite suppressant. They work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain, which in turn affects appetite. There has been some controversy surrounding appetite suppressants and phenylpropanolamine and ephedrine were at one time banned from dietary supplements.

Appetite suppressants do seem to reduce appetite but there are sometimes negative side effects. One of the most common side effects is sensations like you might get from taking a stimulant drug. Pulmonary hypertension and heart valve damage have also been reported.

Such negative news makes finding a safe, effective diet pill seem like a scary venture. Those of us who are very overweight often have the option of seeking medical assistance in our weight loss journey.

If you have a BMI of 30 or higher, or if you have a BMI of 27 or higher and obesity-related health problems, your doctor may offer a prescription diet pill such as Meridia or Xenical. These two medications have been FDA approved for long term use to combat obesity.

Diet pills like Xenical are fat absorption blockers. Prescription strength fat blockers keep the body from absorbing about 30% of consumed fat. An over-the-counter version, called Alli, works at about half the strength of Xenical.

I am pleased to report that both of these products have proven to be successful in aiding weight loss. Unfortunately, users of fat absorption blockers can also expect some side effects. The most common side effect is gastro-intestinal problems, including involuntary stool leakage.

While many diet pills seem very promising, the truth is that most of them require diet modification and exercise from the user, and all of them have side effects. A lot of diet pill takers have gotten excellent results from appetite suppressants, fat blockers, metabolism boosters, or herbal supplements along with healthy eating and moderate exercise.

I’m still looking for that magic cure.

Tags: dietary supplements, fda, food, Meridia, obesity, Pulmonary hypertension, USD, Xenical

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to improve contact lens safety by reminding consumers of the importance of following proper cleaning and storing procedures. Consumers who do not follow instructions for contact lens care and use increase their risk of serious eye infections that can lead to blindness.

To support proper cleaning and storage, the FDA has developed a new video on contact lens safety, which can be found on the FDA’s Web site (www.fda.gov), along with an in-depth Consumer Update article. The video and the article stress the importance of emptying the solution out of the contact lens case after each use and using the rub-and-rinse method for added effectiveness. Other important lens care tips include:

• Do not top off or reuse lens cleaning solution;
• Use a contact lens solution to clean, rinse, and then air dry contact lens cases after each use;
• Do not expose contact lenses or lens storage cases to any type of water or other non-sterile solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: contact lens multipurpose solution products, contact lens product, contact lens solutions, fda, FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, multipurpose contact lens care products, ophthalmic devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Caldolor, the first injectable dosage form of the common pain medication ibuprofen, to treat pain and fever.

“Injectable ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are promising pain management options,” said Bob Rappaport, M.D., director, Division of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Rheumatology Drug Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “But until now there were only oral forms of most NSAIDs. An injectable ibuprofen product can provide patients with relief from pain and fever when they cannot take oral products.”

Caldolor will be available for hospital use only. It is approved to be administered in 400 mg to 800 mg doses, over 30 minutes, every 6 hours for acute pain. To treat fever, the drug is approved in a 400 mg dose administered over 30 minutes, followed by 400 mg every 4 to 6 hours, or 100-200 mg every 4 hours, as necessary. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: allergic reactions, Bob Rappaport, Congestive heart failure, director, Division, Division of Anesthesia, fda, FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, fever, headache, high blood pressure, hysterectomy, ibuprofen, nausea, pain, pain management, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, vomiting

The fitness industry is replete with theories, some of which are facts while others are myths. You should separate the facts from myths to ensure that you reach your fitness goals quickly and easily. In the following article I will tell you about the top two fitness myths.

Weight loss pills would keep you fit: Different people consume diet pills and weight loss supplements for different reasons; some do it to lose weight while others take them to ensure that they never gain weight in the first place. In either case, if you are not doing anything else for fitness apart from consuming these pills and supplements, you are merely fooling yourself and wasting your money. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: fda

I just saw an official FDA warning about a number of weight loss pills being sold online as well as probably on store shelves.

Here is the list: Fatloss Slimming, 2 Day Diet, 3x Slimming Power, Japan Lingzhi  24 Hours Diet, 5x Imelda Perfect Slimming, 3 Day Diet, 7 Day Herbal Slim, 8, Factor Diet, 7 Diet Day/Night Formula, 999 Fitness Essence, Extrim Plus, GMP, Imelda Perfect Slim, Lida DaiDaihua, Miaozi Slim Capsules, Perfect Slim, Perfect Slim 5x, Phyto Shape, ProSlim Plus, Royal Slimming Formula, Slim 3 in 1, Slim Express 360, Slimtech, Somotrim, Superslim, TripleSlim, Zhen de Shou, Venom Hyperdrive 3.0

I am not sure how aware that people are but all it takes to make a diet pill is to go to a lab and tell them what you want to put in each pill and then bottle, market and sell. This is a very lucrative industry because there are always people trying to lose weight.

The above products were put out in the warning by the FDA becasue the contained one or more of the following ingredients.  sibutramine (a controlled substance), rimonabant (a drug not approved for marketing in the United States), phenytoin (an anti-seizure medication), and phenolphthalein (a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer causing agent). Some of the amounts of active pharmaceutical ingredients far exceeded the FDA-recommended levels. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: above products, active pharmaceutical ingredients, cancer, chemical experiments, fda, Imelda Perfect Slim, Imelda Perfect Slimming, Lida DaiDaihua, seizure, United States