Peggy Peck

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA said Bayer was not forthcoming with data from a retrospective study that suggested Trasylol (aprotinin injection) may increase the chance for death, serious kidney damage, congestive heart failure, and strokes.

WASHINGTON -- The Heart Rhythm Society said today that the FDA should tighten up post-market surveillance of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD). It would also ditch the word "recall" as not sufficiently specific.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Twelve of every 1,000 high school football players who played last year were injured during a game. So were 5.21 of every 1,000 girls during game-day soccer.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has alerted physicians to a new label warning for the anti-angiogenic colorectal-cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) that cites rare cases of a reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome.

WASHINGTON -- The Institute of Medicine has taken the FDA to the woodshed with a scathing report issued today that found the agency had lost credibility in its regulation of the pharmaceutical industry.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved Noxafil (posaconazole) to prevent invasive Aspergillus and Candida infections in immunosuppressed patients.

ATLANTA -- For the first time in years, there is no black-white racial gap in the immunization rates of the nation's toddlers, according to CDC data from 2006.

ATLANTA -- For the first time in years, there is no black-white racial gap in the immunization rates of the nation's toddlers, according to CDC data from 2006.

ATLANTA -- About one in three residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia are obese, which makes these the fattest states in the U.S.

ATLANTA -- About one in three residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia are obese, which makes these the fattest states in the U.S.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA said today that will convene a special meeting of an advisory committee to assess new data about "small but significant" increases in the rate of death and myocardial infarction among patients treated with drug-eluting stents.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA said today that will convene a special meeting of an advisory committee to assess new data about "small but significant" increases in the rate of death and myocardial infarction among patients treated with drug-eluting stents.

Drug-eluting stents essentially eliminated short-term restenosis as a complication of coronary angioplasty, but suddenly the coated devices have come under a cloud for possible late term risks. This Medpage Today survey asks your opinion about the future use of drug-eluting stents. Additional Stent Coverage from ESC: Meta-Analyses Find Increased Death and MI with Cypher Stent Real World Trial Confirms Drug-Eluting Stents Better in Small Vessels Investigational Drug-Eluting Stent Superior to Taxus Drug-Eluting Stent Debate Develops Fever Pitch

BARCELONA, Spain -- The concept of a single pill packed with the potency of aspirin, statins, and ACE inhibitors-the triad proven to prevent a recurrent heart attack-got a powerful push at the opening of the World Congress of Cardiology here.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has issued a nationwide warning to fans of raw Pacific northwest oysters to refrain from eating them raw, on pain of gastrointestinal distress, until the waters where they are harvested cool off.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has suddenly signaled that it is ready, after three years, to move forward on limited over-the-counter status for Plan B, an emergency contraceptive. The move came the day before Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., the acting FDA commissioner, is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on his nomination as permanent FDA chief.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- High-strength hydrogen peroxide, which is heavily marketed on the Internet for a diseases ranging from AIDS to emphysema, can cause serious harm or death when ingested, according to a warning issued by the FDA.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Mixing common migraine drugs such as Imitrex (sumatriptan) with antidepressants like Prozac (fluoxetine) or Cymbalta (duloxetine) can trigger a life-threatening condition called serotonin-syndrome, the FDA has warned.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The FDA has approved Gemzar (gemcitabine) in combination with Paraplatin (carboplatin) for treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer, Eli Lilly announced today.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The FDA has approved Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) for treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The FDA has approved a label revision for the antibiotic Ketek (telithromycin) warning of possible severe and sometimes fatal liver injury during or immediately following treatment with the drug.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The FDA today granted accelerated approval to Sprycel (dasatinib) for adults with chronic myeloid leukemia who are intolerant to Gleevec (imatinib) or become resistant to it.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The FDA has given Exelon (rivastigmine), already approved for treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's dementia, the added indication of mild-to-moderate Parkinson's dementia. It is the first agent approved for the Parkinson's condition.

ROCKVILLE, Md. ? The FDA said today that 580 automatic external defibrillators, a model known as AED20, are being voluntarily recalled by MRL, a division of Welch Allyn, because of a malfunction that could result in failure to resuscitate patients.

CHICAGO - The American Medical Association has crafted a radical proposed solution to the problem of Americans with no health insurance coverage.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The FDA today approved Wellbutrin XL (bupropion extended release) for prevention of major depressive episodes in patients with a history of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It is the first drug approved for SAD.

CHICAGO, June 12 ? It is unethical for physicians to participate in interrogation of prisoners by the military or law-enforcement agencies, pronounced the AMA's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA).

ROCKVILLE, Md. ? In the opening salvo of an FDA initiative to cleanse the market of unapproved drugs, the agency has ordered some 120 cough and cold medicines that contain carbinomoxamine off store shelves. The two approved carbinomoxamine-containing products can continue to be sold.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The FDA today approved Gardasil (quadrivalent human papillomavirus [Types 6, 11, 16, 18] recombinant vaccine) for prevention of cervical cancer and for prevention of cervical, vulvar and vaginal pre-cancers caused by HPV types 16 and 18.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - The FDA has cleared the way for Tysabri (natalizumab), the multiple sclerosis drug, to go back on the market but under a special restricted distribution program.