Latest news with #MedWatch
Miami Herald
07-04-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Depression medication recalled after possible ‘metal shaving' in a tablet
One lot of an antidepressant that carries an FDA boxed warning has been recalled after a customer complaint about 'the presence of foreign material embedded resembling a metal shaving in one tablet.' That's in the FDA's Enforcement Report on the March 21 recall of 75 mg strength Venlafaxine by Zydus Pharmaceuticals, a recall that covers 13,128 bottles. No announcement was made in a news release or consumer advisory. The enforcement report was issued because the FDA placed this as a Class II recall, which the agency defines as 'use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.' This covers lot No. M314265 with expiration Oct. 31, 2025, of NDC No. 68382-021-01. Return recalled bottles to the pharmacy and notify the prescribing medical professional. Report any medical problems, first, to a medical professional. Then tell the FDA's MedWatch program, either online or by calling 888-463-6332 (INFO-FDA) and pressing '2' when prompted. Next, inform Zydus by calling 877-993-8779, Prompt 2, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, or by emailing Medicalaffairs@ For questions about this recall, reach out to Zydus at the phone number above, but Prompt 1, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, or by email at customerservice@ Venlafaxine carries a boxed warning, the strongest the FDA requires, about the 'increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults in short-term studies of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Anyone considering the use of venlafaxine tablets or any other antidepressant in a child, adolescent, or young adult must balance this risk with the clinical need.'
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Measles cases grow to 351 — plus more headlines
Medical Watch Digest for March 24 The measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico now total 351 cases. Two unvaccinated people have died from measles-related causes. Cases are also being reported in 17 other states. Measles is caused by a highly contagious airborne virus and spreads easily when an infected person sneezes or coughs. Doctors warn about claims that vitamin a will prevent infection. They say, while the vitamin is part of a regulated treatment for measles, taking too much vitamin a can cause liver damage. The only way to prevent measles is a vaccine. More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Health officials are raising the alarm over new cases of a dangerous, drug-resistant fungus. Georgia and Florida are both reporting cases of candida auris, also called Cases have increased every year since it was first identified in 2016. Since then, more than 1600 cases have been reported in Illinois. There is no treatment for the fungus, and the CDC is now calling it an 'urgent threat.' People with a healthy immune system may be able to fight it on their own. But those with health issues are vulnerable. A rare red meat allergy believed to be caused by one type of tick, may involve other species, in other parts of the U.S. Alpha-gal syndrome can cause full-on anaphylactic shock. The CDC estimates 450,000 people in the U.S. have it. Most cases are linked to the Lone Star Tick, common in the Southeast and lower Midwest. But new reports show cases in Maine and Washington state. Scientists say tick populations are increasing all over the country. Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team, including, the latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments, as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Herpes' connection to cancer: What doctors are learning from the virus
Herpes can cause cold sores and fever blisters, and it may also hold the key to understanding cancer. A local scientist has spent 30 years studying a virus so ubiquitous it's estimated to affect 80 percent of the global population. And now he and his team say their findings may apply to another disease impacting millions. The scientists in a UIC lab found a sort of tipping point in a common virus. Dr Deepak Shukla, a professor of microbiology and immunology, leads the charge. The virus is herpes simplex one. 'Virus, per se, is a quiet virus. It just quietly likes to live in our neurons,' Shukla said. Herpes hides in the trigeminal nerves that stretch to the eyes, nose and mouth, where it commonly produces a cold sore or fever blister. It's spread through tears and saliva. Stress and a compromised immune system can reactivate the virus. 'So there is a constant battle going on between the virus trying to replicate in our neurons and host system trying to suppress it,' Shukla said. To determine the impact herpes makes when it spreads from the eyes or nose, the team injected the virus directly into the nasal cavity of mice. 'The virus caused havoc in their brain, killed or inflamed a bunch of their neurons and that could be all different kinds of neurons,' Shukla said. More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch The herpes virus impact on the brain changed the animals' behavior – the mice were anxious and experienced motor impairment and cognitive issues. 'What we showed with mouse is an extreme possibility but over time since virus is hiding in our neurons and it's periodically reactivating, something similar could happen in humans, too,' Shukla said. A specific enzyme called heparinase played a critical role in inducing damage in the brain. It's the same enzyme known to increase in different forms of cancer. 'Not just simple cancer but these are metastatic forms of cancer … majority of them have high heparinase,' Shukla said. Heperinase protects cells from dying – a good thing in healthy cells. But when a cell is infected, it too wants to live. That's where heperinase and herpes appear to work together to promote spread. The same might be true in cancer cells. When heparinase wasn't present, Shukla said there was an interesting finding. 'Animals that did not make heparinase at all,' he said. 'They were fine they did not have any issues same amount of virus same rate.' Shukla says the ultimate goal is to teach heperinase the difference between good and bad cells. 'Might prevent a lot of these issues down the road,' he said. The next step is to develop a non-toxic heparinase inhibitor they can test in animals and ultimately humans. Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team, including, the latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments, as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Identifying the cause of one of the most deadly brain tumors — and more
For Monday, March 17, WGN's Dina Bair has the latest on new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that is incredibly difficult to treat. Now, doctors in Sao Paulo say their discovery could improve treatment and save lives. By singling out a protein they say is involved in the growth of glioblastoma, scientists say they can create targeted therapies to attack the prion protein and halt the spread of the deadly brain cancer. When the protein is blocked, tumor stem cells die off rather than replicate. Current treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, fail to eradicate cancer cells, so the disease recurs shortly after therapy stops. Most patients with a glioblastoma diagnosis only live 12 months. When children have breathing problems that prevent them from sleeping, doctors say surgery is the best option. Children who undergo surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids visit the doctor less often and take less medication than their peers who do not have the operation. A National Institutes of Health study shows that surgery reduces medical visits by 32% and prescriptions by 48%. Parents should seek help for their children if they snore loudly or experience breathing pauses while asleep. The issues can also impact sleep quality, behavior, and blood pressure. Surgery lowers blood pressure and improves sleep quality and quality of life. A pacemaker may be able to ease addiction. Much like an implanted device regulates the heart, Cambridge doctors say a brain implant can normalize abnormal brain activity that triggers impulse behaviors. They are implanting electrodes to halt cravings and improve self-control. They are recruiting others to get deep brain stimulation for addiction control. People with severe alcohol and opioid dependence qualify. Deep brain stimulation is already widely used for neurological and psychiatric disorders and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Now, doctors want to employ it for cravings, severe addiction, and relapse. Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team, including, the latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments, as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘You are always fighting the disease:' Cancer survivors face long-term health consequences years after treatment
We're in the midst of a cancer crisis. More young people being diagnosed. And while the treatments can be life-saving, years later they are life-altering. Tina Chip is a two-time cancer survivor having fought the disease twice in her life. Dr James Flaherty is an interventional cardiologist with Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. 'Those that have come out of that experience often manifest cardiac problems 20, 30 years later,' he said. More from Med Watch: Research shows resiliency of newborns' hearts and what it could mean for adults For Chip, 30-plus years later, it's the aortic valve. Its function compromised by cancer treatment she received in 1989. 'I was 16, a senior in high school and just super excited to have that fun year and I felt a lump in my neck,' she said. That lump was Hodgkins Lymphoma. 'So I went every day for four months and received the radiation from pretty much my entire body,' she said. Just six years later, another cancer diagnosis. Breast cancer caused by the very treatment – radiation to her chest wall — that cured her Hodgkins. 'So very advanced disease,' she said. 'I was 22, just finishing college and not in the plan of what I wanted to do for my future.' More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch The future for childhood and young adult cancer survivors is the potential for what doctors call the late effects of radiation and chemotherapy. Dr Aarati Didwania is an internal medicine physician with Northwestern Medicine. 'I can't take away the therapies they received, nor would I want to because it helped cure them, put them in remission. But I would like to try to find things before they become a problem,' Didwania said. That's where STAR comes in – Survivors Taking Action and Responsibility. Through the program at Northwestern Medicine, doctors monitor for liver, kidney and thyroid malfunction; secondary skin and breast cancers; and blood and heart abnormalities. Karen Kinahan is a nurse practitioner with Northwestern Medicine. 'So we end up getting a lot of patients, sometimes in their 40s even 50s, that have not been in a pediatric survivor program because there wasn't one for them and now they have had a medical consequence,' she said. 'I've survived cancer as a young adult and now I'm going to make sure I stay on top of everything else my body may give into,' Chip said. More News, Weather and Headlines at For the mother of three, the fight is far from over. 'My aortic valve is part of the area that would have gotten hit by the radiation and also possibly chemo long-term effects,' she said. 'And as time progresses, my valve isn't pumping blood out to the rest of my body.' 'We did what's known as an aortic valve study,' Flaherty said. 'We went across the aortic valve and measured the pressure below it and above it, in the left ventricle and the aorta to see how much narrowing or pressure drop there was across that valve.' 'Even though you are further away, and you think it was so far in the past that (you) don't have to worry about recurrence or late effects, it's actually as we get further away, age also plays a factor into that,' Didwania said. As survivors age – thanks to effective treatments — so does their tissue that was damaged long ago. Only exacerbating potential problems. 'It means we have a bigger survivorship population. There are more people surviving,' Didwania said. 'It's bad because there are more effects we have to look out for, and we have to train providers to be aware of these things and to know when and how to look for them.' Doctors will continue to monitor Chip's heart. Eventually, she'll likely require a valve repair. 'You have to become your own advocate and fight for yourself and know that this is now part of your life,' she said. 'You are always fighting the disease.' Radiation has changed since her treatment, more targeted and precise, in some cases lower doses. Still, even patients diagnosed and treated today will likely be at risk 20 or 30 years from now. Knowledge is power. You can learn more about the STAR program here. Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team, including, the latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments, as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
