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  View the entire November 2009 issue in PDF format

• A Review of Exenatide (BYETTA) for Type-2 Diabetes
  (November 2009)
  Because exenatide (BYETTA) is a new drug with increasing reports of severe, hospitalization-requiring pancreatitis and offers no significant breakthrough compared to other diabetes drugs, we urge readers not to use it until 2012--seven years after its approval, by which time much more will be known about its dangers.
• Middle Ear Infections and Antibiotic Use in Children
  (November 2009)
  The article explaions how parents, in consultation with their doctors, in certain circumstances can safely avoid using antibiotics for treating children's middle ear infections.
• New Gout Drug Febuxostat (ULORIC) Has Important Drug Interactions: Do Not Use Until 2016
  (November 2009)
  The article explains why febuxostat (ULORIC) should not be used because of problems with both its safety and effectivness.
• An Update on the HPV Vaccine GARDASIL
  (November 2009)
  The article updates our previous information on the benefits and risks of this important vaccine.

  View the entire October 2009 issue in PDF format

• Antacid Drug Interactions
  (October 2009)
  Antacids can interact with a number of medications, either increasing or decreasing drug effect.
• A Review of Homeopathy
  (October 2009)
  This article reviews how homeopathy is said to work and concludes that there is no condition for which its effectiveness has been convincingly demonstrated.
• Insulin Glargine (LANTUS) and Cancer: Is There a Link?
  (October 2009)
  We review recent studies potentially implicating one form of insulin in cancer and conclude that there is insufficient evidence to link the drug to cancer at present.
• Are We Now Twice as Sad? The Drug Industry and Doctors Think We Are!
  (October 2009)
  The use of anti-depressants in the U.S. nearly doubled in a 10-year period as drugs displaced "talk therapy" and the drugs came to be used for an ever-widening set of disorders.

  View the entire September 2009 issue in PDF format

• Milnacipran (SAVELLA) Fails to Alleviate Fibromyalgia Pain, Has Safety Concerns
  (September 2009)
  This article raises serious questions about the the limited effectiveness of SAVELLA and reviews evidence of serious toxicity.
• Oxycodone: Be Careful What You Take With It
  (September 2009)
  The article lists 24 drugs that can increase the toxicity of oxycodone if taken together with the drug and 11 other drugs that can weaken its effectiveness as a painkiller if they are simutaneously used.
• A Review of Shingles Vaccine ZOSTAVAX
  (September 2009)
  The article reviews the benefits and risks of the new shingles vaccine and discusses who should and who should not get the vaccine.
• Facts and Myths about Generic Drugs
  (September 2009)
  Common myths, often spread via the brand name drug companies who lose as a result of competition from lower-priced generic drugs, are discussed and rebutted in this article.

   View back issues January 2004 - present

• Ghostly Prescriptions
  (September 2009)
  The article describes how many noted physicians lent their name to articles they had not actually written resulting in much more prescribing of hormones to post-menopausal women. As a result, this misinformation caused thousands of cases of breast cancer and heart disease. Some doctors received medical school tenure on the basis of their "literary production" when they had merely agreed to stake their names (and, by extension, the reputations of their institutions) to enhance pharmaceutical company's profits and line their own pockets.

• Comments on FDA Draft Guidance on Postmarketing Studies and Clinical Trials (HRG Publication #1894) (October 13, 2009)
  Public Citizen has reviewed the draft guidance in detail and supports its purpose and approach.