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  View the entire July 2010 issue in PDF format

• Zolpidem (AMBIEN) Reinvented As Zolpidem Sublingual (EDLUAR) For Sleep
  (July 2010)
  Learn more about zolpidem sublingual tablets (EDLUAR), a newly approved drug for the short-term treat­ment of difficulty falling asleep.
• Dexlansoprazole (KAPIDEX, DEXILANT): The Sixth Proton Pump Inhibitor for Heartburn
  (July 2010)
  This sixth drug for treating "heartburn" has no advantage for patients over older drugs such as PREVACID, generic name lansoprazole. Any advantage is for the industry because the manufacturer of DEXILANT charges three times more for this drug than the cost of generic lansoprazole, sold by another company and just as effective for patients.
• Preserving Bones with Bisphosphonates: Should You Avoid NSAIDs?
  (July 2010)
  It appears likely that patients who take bisphosphonates (such as FOSAMAX) and NSAIDs at the same time have an increased risk of gastrointestinal ulcers as opposed to taking either drug alone. The article reviews the studies demonstrating this and offers some practical advice on what the cautious drug user should do.
• Severe Liver Toxicity Added to Already Lengthy List of Risks for Diet Drug Orlistat (XENICAL, ALLI)
  (July 2010)
  New evidence of severe liver failure, sometimes fatal, caused by orlistat (over-the-counter as ALLI, prescription version, XENICAL) adds to the many other reasons why no one should use this drug. They include Do not use orlistat. This drug has a meager effect on weight, but its potential to cause serious side effects, including pre-cancerous lesions of the colon (aberrant crypt foci), liver damage and pancreatitis, is significant. The most common side effects of orlistat include oily spotting, gas with discharge, fecal urgency, fatty/oily stools and fre­quent bowel movements. The article lists symptoms of liver failure.
• Alternatives for Sleeping Problems
  (July 2010)
  Experts in sleep and aging have stated, “It’s extraordinarily rare to find an old person who actually requires sleeping pills." This article lists many over-the-counter and prescription drugs that can actually cause difficulty with sleeping and also discusses a variety of non-pharmacologic alternatives to sleeping pills. Sleep experts have also said that “Nonpharmacological treat­ments not only cause fewer side ef­fects, but they can sustain long-term improvements more successfully than pharmacological treatments.”

  View the entire June 2010 issue in PDF format

• Should Vitamins Be Regulated As Drugs?
  (June 2010)
  Increasing knowledge about the risks and, in some cases, lack of benefits of vitamins suggests that by classifying vitamins as drugs, companies would be forced to give patients much more information than they now provide and would have to back medical claims for efficacy and safety with evidence. The article also provides recent evidence of previously unknown harms from certain vitamins and updates on current knowledge about the 13 most commonly used vitamins.
• Dextromethorphan (DELSYM, ROBITUSSIN DM) for Cough: More Reasons to Avoid It
  (June 2010)
  Find out why you should not use cough products such as ROBITUSSIN DM that contain dextromethorphan. Also view a list of 22 other drugs that can have harmful interactions with dextromethorphan.
• Safety Update for Transplant Drugs Mycophenolate (CELLCEPT) and Mycophenolic Acid (MYFORTIC)
  (June 2010)
  For these drugs, approved only for people who have had organ transplants, there are more than one million prescriptions a year filled at a cost of more than $700 million dollars. There is clearly some prescribing for medical conditions for which the drugs are not approved. This has serious implications since the drugs can cause several kinds of life-threatening toxicity, described in the article.

  View the entire May 2010 issue in PDF format

• Oral Drugs for Diabetes: Avoiding Hypoglycemia
  (May 2010)
  After explaining the symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) the article lists 42 prescription drugs that can interact with one or more diabetes drugs to increase the chance of hypoglycemia.
• Smoke & Mirror Marketing (& Other Clever Big Pharma Tricks)
  (May 2010)
  The article reviews 12 prescription drugs, many of which are top-sellers, all of which are greatly overpriced in comparison to older "versions" of the same drugs. The patents on the old drugs expired so the "innovative" companies patented these new products, gaining a patent on them, and, for all practical purposes, using them as a license to print money. There is no evidence that any of the new ones are better than the now less-expensive, old versions.
• Safety Concerns Lead to Label Changes For Topical Testosterone
  (May 2010)
  The article reviews the dangers of testosterone gels and gives recommendations that adults who use testosterone gels should follow.
• Drugs for Cold Sores: How Well Do They Work?
  (May 2010)
  The article reviews studies showing that widely-sold prescription drugs for treating cold sores, such as ZOVIRAX, DENAVIR, FAMVIR, and VALTREX and ABREVA have significant side effects, are expensive and, on the average, only reduce the duration of the cold sore by less than one day. The article describes other non-drug methods to treat cold sores that make more sense.

   View back issues January 2004 - present

• Letter Urging FDA to Halt Rosiglitazone (Avandia) Trial (HRG Publication #1908) (May 10, 2010)
  We urge the FDA to halt an international diabetes trial that would put patients at unnecessary risk.