Drug to Prevent Preterm Labor Shows Little Benefit Nov 29, 2008
No difference found between intensive nifedipine therapy and placebo, researchers say ... So say U.S. researchers who conducted the first ever placebo-controlled test of nifedipine and its effect on premature delivery with prolonged treatment ... The women were randomly assigned to receive either nifedipine or placebo every six hours until 37 weeks of pregnancy or delivery, whichever came first. (MEDLINEplus)
Study: Premature-birth drug has no benefit Nov 27, 2008
Nifedipine, a muscle relaxant used to maintain pregnancy after an initial bout of preterm labor, is no more effective than a placebo, according to the study ... "We all want to prevent preterm birth, but prolonged treatment with nifedipine doesn't appear to be an answer.". (Palo Alto Online, CA)
Just how safe is 'off-label' use of drugs? Nov 26, 2008
When women seem bound to give birth early, many doctors give them a drug called nifedipine to try to delay delivery. You might know nifedipine better as Procardia, a name that implies its approved use -- easing heart pain from angina or high blood pressure ... In fact, the government has never approved using nifedipine for premature labor. (OregonLive, OR -- News)
Stanford/Packard study shows no benefit from drug widely used to prevent premature births Nov 26, 2008
The new trial is the first-ever placebo-controlled test of nifedipine, a muscle relaxant originally developed to lower blood pressure, and its effect on premature delivery with prolonged treatment ... Serious side effects of nifedipine in pregnancy are rare, Lyell said, but even a low risk isn't worthwhile if the drug has no benefit ... "We all want to prevent preterm birth, but prolonged treatment with nifedipine doesn't appear to be an answer.". (EurekAlert!)
Slimming drug: Doctors warned off after links to suicide Oct 29, 2008
- The calcium blocker nifedipine used to treat high blood pressure has been singled out by the US's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for increasing th. - Americas drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is finally trying to toughen up its act. (What Doctors Don't Tell You)
FDA Says Drug Stores Sold Expired Medications Aug 10, 2008
Nifedipine (30 mg) -- hypertension. Diclofenac Sodium (30 mg) -- anti-inflammatory. (W-USA News, DC)
Understanding High Blood Pressure Aug 6, 2008
Calcium channel blocking medications can give some people marked constipation (eg verapamil) or ankle swelling and headaches (eg nifedipine, amlodipine) while drugs known as ACE inhibitors (enalapril, ramipril, perindopril etc) are notorious for causing persistent cough. Being aware of the likely side effects before you start treatment is important. (Suite101.com)
Common drugs may lead to physical slowdown in elderly May 4, 2008
Common anticholinergic medicines cited in the study included the blood pressure medication nifedipine (Adalat or Procardia), the stomach antacid ranitidine (Zantac) and the incontinence medication tolterodine (Detrol). The reseach, presented at American Geriatrics Society Meeting in Washington, studied 3,000 people of whom 40 percent were taking more than one anticholinergic drug. (Xinhuanet, China)
Commonly used medications associated with impaired physical function in older adults May 4, 2008
Some of the most common anticholinergics in the GEMS participants include the blood pressure medication nifedipine (Adalat or Procardia), which has mild anticholinergic properties, the stomach antacid ranitidine (Zantac), which has moderate anticholinergic properties, and the incontinence medication tolterodine (Detrol), which is highly anticholinergic. In the GEMS study, the researchers sought to determine the effects of taking multiple anticholinergic drugs on walking speed and the ability... (EurekAlert!)
Grapefruit juice doesn’t play well with statin drugs Feb 29, 2008
The grapefruit interaction, in fact, first came to light with felodipine and nifedipine, another calcium blocker. People who washed down these drugs with grapefruit juice were unaware that the juice was turning a normal dose into an overdose. (Albany Democrat-Herald, OR)
FDA Approves Additional Indication for Astellas' MYCAMINE(R) Jan 23, 2008
MYCAMINE can be used concomitantly with a number of other drugs, including the HIV protease inhibitor ritonavir and the transplant medications cyclosporine and tacrolimus with no alteration in the pharmacokinetics of MYCAMINE. Patients should be monitored for sirolimus, nifedipine or itraconazole toxicity if receiving these drugs in combination with MYCAMINE and their dosage reduced, if necessary. MYCAMINE is available in two sizes, 50mg vial and 100mg vial, offering clinicians convenience of... (PR Newswire)
Choose with caution: Drug plans more expensive next year Dec 10, 2007
The organization found up to a $2,000 annual difference between the lowest and highest-cost plans in Illinois for premiums plus the five commonly-used medicines, which include the cholesterol drug Lipitor, 10 milligrams; the arthritis drug Celebrex, 200 mg; the depression drug Zoloft, 100 mg; the blood pressure drug Altace, 10 mg; and the angina drug Nifedipine, 30 mg.. Anne Gargano of Champaign County Health Care Consumers said seniors are being inundated by phone solicitors and mail offering... (Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette)
Ugandan Children Are Among the First to Receive Abbott's Lower-Strength Aluvia (lopinavir/ritonavir) Tablet Dec 2, 2007
g., felodipine, nifedipine, nicardipine) and medicines used to correct heart rhythm (e. g., bepridil, systemic lidocaine, quinidine), antifungals, (e. (PR Newswire)
AUA and EAU release new guidelines on ureteral stone management Nov 16, 2007
The joint EAU/AUA Nephrolithiasis Panel was convened in 2003 to incorporate the significant body of research that has become available over the past decade into the document, including the use of shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), ureteroscopy (URS) and other treatments, including medical expulsive therapies (MET) such as alpha blockers and nifedipine designed to aid in spontaneous stone passage. One of the biggest changes in this document is the shift in indications for URS. The 1997 AUA Guideline... (EurekAlert!)
Common preterm labor drug not without side effects Jul 7, 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A drug commonly used to arrest preterm labor, magnesium sulfate, works just as well as another commonly used drug, nifedipine, but is much more likely cause mild to serious side effects in pregnant women, a study shows ... Dr. Deirdre J. Lyell from Stanford University Medical Center, and colleagues compared the efficacy and side effects of magnesium sulfate and nifedipine in 192 pregnant women in preterm labor ... Ninety-two women were treated with magnesium and 100... (Scientific American)
Magnesium Sulfate Stops Preterm Labor, With a Maternal Penalty Jul 3, 2007
July 2 -- Compared with nifedipine (Procardia), magnesium sulfate was significantly more likely to cause serious maternal side effects when used to prevent preterm labor ... 04) and had significantly longer stays in the NICU than babies born to mothers in the nifedipine arm (P=0 ... And, 87% of the women treated with magnesium sulfate delayed labor for at least 48 hours versus 72% of women in the nifedipine arm, a small but statistically significant difference (P=0. (MedPage Today)
Study Compares Drugs to Delay Preterm Birth Jul 2, 2007
FRIDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- The largest study of its kind has found that magnesium sulfate, the drug traditionally used to delay preterm labor, has more side effects than nifedipine, a newer treatment. The effectiveness was about equivalent, suggesting that nifedipine is a viable alternative to the older drug ... "It's OK to use nifedipine," said study author Dr. Deirdre Lyell, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University Medical School. (Forbes)
Common preterm labor drug criticized Jun 30, 2007
The drug most commonly used is magnesium sulfate, but nifedipine and some others occasionally are used. "There is no free lunch with any of these drugs," said Dr. Deirdre Lyell of the Stanford University School of Medicine's Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, "but magnesium sulfate has some particularly unpleasant side effects, including vomiting, lethargy and blurry vision. The alternative nifedipine often leaves women feeling better." ... The team reported in the journal Obstetrics &... (FOX59, IN)
Birth drug leaves some moms feeling worse Jun 30, 2007
The drug most commonly used is magnesium sulfate, but nifedipine and others are occasionally used ... "But magnesium sulfate has some particularly unpleasant side effects, including vomiting, lethargy and blurry vision. The alternative, nifedipine, often leaves women feeling better." ... Half were randomly assigned to receive infusions of magnesium sulfate, and half oral nifedipine. (Los Angeles Times)
Common preterm labor drug has more side effects than alternative Jun 29, 2007
"But magnesium sulfate has some particularly unpleasant side effects, including vomiting, lethargy and blurry vision. The alternative treatment, nifedipine, often leaves women feeling better." ... Magnesium sulfate, nifedipine and other preterm labor treatments, called tocolytics, are thought to work by relaxing overactive uterine muscles and halting ongoing cervical changes that may lead to delivery ... Lyell and El-Sayed and their collaborators randomly assigned 192 patients at Packard... (EurekAlert!)
Effectiveness Of Serotonin And Nerve Stimulants On Irritable Bowel Syndromes Evaluated May 25, 2007
g., via Ca2+ channels with nifedipine, a drug used in the treatment of hypertension because it relaxes blood vessels). "Our results show that odorants present in the gut may stimulate serotonin release via olfactory receptors expressed in human enterochromaffin cells in the gut mucosa," said Petra Voland, Ph. (Science Daily)
"Get Wise" to Spring Cleaning Safety Apr 10, 2007
Special caution is needed with antipsychotics (chlorpromazine, thioridazine); calcium channel blockers (nifedipine, verapamil); opioids (methadone, morphine); quinine derivatives (chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine); tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, desipramine); and certain oral hypoglycemics (chlorpropamide, glipizide). Even seemingly harmless vitamins and minerals can be dangerous in excessive doses. (WREG.com, TN)
Overgrowth of gums, unexepected side effect of blood pressure med Mar 29, 2007
It's actually more common with CCBs (especially nifedipine) than one might think: The incidence of gingival hyperplasia with the use of CCBs is thought to be anywhere between 10 percent and 20 percent ... In a patient with significant periodontal disease who is taking a CCB (especially nifedipine), it would not be unreasonable to ask his physician whether it would be possible to change to a drug of another class. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Insurers raised drug costs Mar 1, 2007
Researchers tracked the changes among plans in five states in five drugs: blood pressure drug Altace; pain-killer Celebrex; cholesterol drug Lipitor; angina drug Nifedipine ER; and depression treatment Zoloft. Costs include co-payments and prices paid for the drugs by enrollees. (USA Today -- Money)
Teaching An Old Drug New Tricks: Fighting Iron Disorders With Drug Against Hypertension Feb 21, 2007
nter Weiss, a clinician from the Innsbruck Medical University, and his collaborators from the University of Heidelberg and EMBL now found out that nifedipine, a substance commonly used to control blood pressure, helps the body deal with too much iron. "We observed in mice with iron overload that nifedipine helps mobilise iron from stores in the liver and enhances its excretion into the urine," says Weiss, an EMBL alumnus who now heads a lab at the Department for General Internal Medicine at the... (Science Daily)
Drug Could Help Save Mountain Climbers' Lives Feb 15, 2007
According to Zafren, a heart drug called nifedipine remains the best-studied medication to treat high-altitude pulmonary edema. Nifedipine, brand named Adalat, "is safe and effective both as prophylaxis (a preventative) and as treatment.". (MEDLINEplus)
