Latest news with #Zyprexa
Wall Street Journal
15-05-2025
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
‘Unshrunk' Review: The Toll of the Treatment
For nearly 15 years, Laura Delano was, in her own words, a 'professional psychiatric patient.' She believed she had an incurable psychiatric disease that could be managed only with medication, therapy and the occasional hospitalization. Over the course of her long career as a patient, Ms. Delano was medicated with Seroquel, Geodon, Abilify, Zyprexa, Risperdal, Depakote, Topamax, Lamictal, Klonopin, Ativan, Ambien, Provigil, Prozac, Effexor, Celexa, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, and lithium. So convinced of her condition was Ms. Delano that if anyone had handed her a memoir like the one she has now written, 'Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance,' she would have been insulted and outraged. Her story begins when she was 13 years old. A competitive squash player and the soon-to-be president of her eighth-grade class, Ms. Delano was brushing her teeth in front of a mirror one evening when she had a harrowing experience: The edges of her vision blurred; she felt a terrifying sense of disembodiment and fragmentation; and the figure in the mirror was no longer recognizable as her. The episode didn't last very long, but it left her with a profound sense of unease. Reflecting on it in bed later that night, Ms. Delano began to see herself from the outside. The view was unsettling. Convinced that her life was all fakery and mindless rule-following, she resolved to escape. What followed was a self-destructive spiral that went far beyond adolescent rebellion. Ms. Delano gives us an unsparing account of her alcoholism, cocaine abuse, eating disorders and episodes of self-harm. In the ninth grade, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and given prescriptions for an antidepressant and a mood stabilizer. Later came an antipsychotic and a drug to help her sleep. If anything, medication accelerated her decline. By age 19, when she was a sophomore at Harvard, she writes, 'I'd morphed from a raw, suffering, lost young woman . . . into a detached, absorbed, empathyless machine.' Ms. Delano marks her eventual turnaround at age 27 to a moment of profound revelation in a Vermont bookstore. That was where she encountered Robert Whitaker's 2010 book, 'Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America.' The question Mr. Whitaker asked was simple: How is it possible that rates of mental illness have skyrocketed in parallel with the development of so many supposedly groundbreaking psychiatric drugs? Mr. Whitaker's book forced Ms. Delano to pose a question that had never before occurred to her. 'What if it wasn't treatment-resistant mental illness that had been sending me ever deeper into the depths of despair and dysfunction, but the treatment itself?'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Lancaster County school van driver gets prison time for transporting students while DUI
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A woman was sentenced to prison for driving a school van in Lancaster County with students under the influence of drugs. Online court records show Heather Shumberger, 41, of Harrisburg, was sentenced by Judge Jeffrey Conrad to spend between four months and three days to nearly eight years in prison. Once she is out, she will be on probation. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now In January, she pleaded guilty to charges of recklessly endangering another person, endangering the welfare of children, DUI, and one summary traffic offense. Shumberger was pulled over by East Hempfield Township Police on Route 283 near the State Road exit after reports of a school van going under the speed limit and weaving in and out of lanes. Pirates fan who fell over railing at PNC Park identified as former college football player She was taking four students to the Janus School in Mount Joy, and passed multiple exits she could have taken to get there. Police were able to get someone else to take the students. Some of the children even recorded Shumberger's erratic driving, and there was an inward-facing dash camera in the van that police obtained. As police were interacting with her, Shumberger dozed off, and she failed standardized field sobriety tests. She was then taken into custody and transported to the hospital. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Shumberger eventually told police she had a prescription for Xanax and other medications. A blood test showed she had Xanax, Klonopin, Pristiq, Soma, Zyprexa, Effexor and Buprenorphine in her system. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Malaysian Reserve
24-04-2025
- Health
- Malaysian Reserve
J&J and Eli Lilly Concealed Breast Cancer Risks in Blockbuster Antipsychotics for Decades, Wisner Baum Lawsuit Alleges
ALAMEDA, Calif., April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court alleges pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly knowingly concealed evidence that their blockbuster antipsychotic medications Risperdal (risperidone) and Zyprexa (olanzapine) cause breast cancer. Attorneys from Wisner Baum filed the complaint on behalf of plaintiff Bridgett Brown, who was prescribed both brand-name and generic versions of Risperdal and Zyprexa. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in approximately 2024. This is the first lawsuit to allege that these antipsychotic drugs cause breast cancer. The complaint centers on the drugs' capacity to cause hyperprolactinemia—a hormonal imbalance directly tied to breast cancer development. Recent studies cited in the lawsuit show significant increased breast cancer risks: 62% increased breast cancer risk for high-prolactin drugs like Risperdal and 54% increased risk for medium-prolactin drugs like Zyprexa – A study of 540,737 women (Rahman, 2023) 59% increased breast cancer risk for Risperdal – A review of 15 studies conducted on over 1 million individuals (Bird, 2025) 47% increased breast cancer risk after 5+ years of exposure to prolactin-increasing antipsychotics like Risperdal and Zyprexa – A Swedish registry study of 132,061 women (Solmi, 2024) Atypical antipsychotic drugs were initially approved for treating severe schizophrenia. However, the lawsuit alleges the drug manufacturers broadened their customer bases by gaining approval for milder indications and promoting off-label use, including ADD in children and dementia in the elderly, generating billions in profits. 'These companies transformed narrow-use schizophrenia drugs into multi-billion-dollar per year blockbusters by targeting extremely vulnerable segments of our population, all while hiding a cancer risk they've known about for decades,' said Pedram Esfandiary, attorney for Ms. Brown. The lawsuit alleges that despite knowledge dating back to the 1990s connecting these drugs to hyperprolactinemia, drug labels denied any cancer risk, stating until 2025, 'neither clinical trials nor epidemiological studies conducted to date have shown an association between chronic administration of this class of drugs and tumorigenesis in humans.' 'The science has been clear on prolactin-elevating antipsychotics for decades,' said Monique Alarcon, attorney for Ms. Brown. 'These companies had a duty to inform; they failed, and now individuals nationwide are suffering the consequences. We intend to hold them accountable.' The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, alleging strict liability for failure to warn, negligence, and fraud. The case is Brown v. Johnson & Johnson et al (Case No. 25CV119808). Read the complaint here. The award-winning law firm of Wisner Baum has successfully litigated cases against many of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Since 1985, the firm has earned a reputation for breaking new legal ground, holding corporations accountable, influencing public policy, and raising public awareness on important safety issues. Using its longstanding tradition of success in the courtroom, the firm always strives to expose unsafe products or harmful practices to protect consumers from dangerous products. The firm has won over $4 billion in settlements and verdicts across all practice areas. MEDIA CONTACTSteve Crighton, steve@
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
$3.3 million awarded to family of man who overdosed on fentanyl at Orange County jail
A jury awarded $3.3 million to the family of a man who overdosed on fentanyl in an Orange County jail in 2022 on Tuesday. The Orange County Sheriff's Department stated that Joshua James Campos was found unresponsive in his cell at the Theo Lacy Facility in the city of Orange on Mar. 7, 2022. He had been booked into the jail three days prior on a solicitation charge, OCSD said. The Orange County District Attorney's office noted that Campos had been arrested multiple times before over the years for various different charges. A death report issued by the OCDA in November 2023 states that during his receiving screening at the jail on Mar. 4, Campos reported being prescribed several different medications – including Albuterol, Depakote, Haldol, Visteril and Zyprexa – and that he also had asthma. He denied the use of alcohol or illegal street drugs like heroin or opiates. 'Campos also reported that he was diagnosed with 'schizo' and admitted hearing voices or seeing things others do not hear or see,' the death report reads. 'He also reported having past suicidal ideations and suicide attempts but denied having suicidal ideations [at the time].' Popular rock band's lead singer arrested in Torrance: reports On the evening he was booked, Campos was prescribed 30 mg of Zyprexa by an Orange County Health Care Agency physician that was to be taken daily. The physician also recommended daily observation of Campos and follow-up should continue. 'The doctor documented that Campos had reported approximately ten psychiatric hospitalizations and diagnosed him with schizoaffective disorder, unspecified and stimulant dependence,' the death report continued. 'Campos was placed in the male triage loop for observation.' The following day, however, Campos was listed as 'cleared' on an OCSD Inmate Health and Mobility Notification Form, and after showing compliance with medications, orientation to place and time and appropriate speech, observation was discontinued, and he was placed in regular housing. 'He denied having any suicidal thoughts or ideations, or hallucinations,' OCDA said. 'OCHCA recommended that observation be discontinued and cleared Campos for regular housing.' On the morning of Mar. 6, Campos refused to take his prescribed medication, stating 'I don't know what you're talking about,' while also refusing to sign a release of liability for refusing treatment against medical advice. However, Campos was said to have taken his prescribed Zyprexa the following evening, Mar. 7, which is the night he died. Colombian national pleads guilty in Beverly Hills armed robbery; theft group possessed gun belonging to murderous ex-LAPD officer 'At approximately 9:15 p.m., Campos and John Doe 1 [his cellmate] could be seen together in their cell on jail surveillance,' officials said. 'John Doe 1 appeared to manipulate an unknown object or substance on top of one of the two metal stools attached to a table in the cell. At that time, Campos was standing and moving around the cell.' Two minutes later, Campos 'bent forward at the waist, lowered his head toward the metal stool and appeared to snort something' before abruptly standing upright. Just under an hour later, at 10:03 p.m., a deputy performing a safety check noted nothing unusual in the cell and recalled seeing Campos lying on his bunk and appeared to be breathing. Jail surveillance footage captured the two cellmates rising from their bunks and moving towards the cell's metal table just one minute later. Campos was observed sitting at the table while John Doe 1 sat on the floor, according to the DA's office. Suspect wanted for parole violation crashes after pursuit in Los Angeles 'At approximately 10:07:29 p.m., Campos rose from his seat and moved to the east stool, where John Doe 1 had just snorted what he subsequently told OCDA investigators was Subutex,' officials said. Subutex is used to treat addiction to narcotic pain relievers. 'At approximately 10:07:38 p.m., Campos bent forward at the waist, lowered his head toward the east stool and appeared to snort something again,' officials continued. 'He then abruptly stood upright, turned toward John Doe 1 – who was still seated on the floor – and handed him something. John Doe 1 then scooted back toward the stool and duplicated the motions consistent with snorting something.' After this, Campos was said to have put his shirt back on and laid down on his top bunk; his cellmate was observed appearing to check on him around 10:20 p.m. and appeared to shake him without any response for several minutes. The cellmate then attempted chest compressions, and once that failed, he pushed the in-cell emergency button to alert deputies that he needed assistance around 10:31 p.m. Multiple deputies rushed to the cell and carried Campos out so they could have more room to provide medical aid. Campos was given multiple doses of Narcan while deputies performed chest compressions. Paramedics were requested at 10:32 p.m., and they arrived four minutes later; according to the OCDA, there was an elevator outage that caused a delay in their arrival. More life-saving measures were performed, including the use of an automated external defibrillator, but Campos' condition remained unchanged. He was transported to UCI Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 11:09 p.m. Driver in fatal pursuit crash has 'history of fleeing from law enforcement,' causing crashes, police say An autopsy was conducted on Mar. 18 that revealed no major issues on Campos' body other than minor injuries consistent with someone scratching themselves. He was found to have several natural diseases and pre-existing conditions, but his official cause of death was listed as acute fentanyl intoxication, and the manner of death was ruled accidental. The Orange County DA's office concluded their death report with the finding that there was 'no evidence to support a finding that any OCSD personnel or any individual under the supervision of OCSD failed to perform a legal duty causing the death of Campos.' Campos' family and attorney, however, believes that he should have never been put in the general population at the jail due to his mental health history and what staff already knew about him from previous run-ins with the law. 'Somebody says [Joshua was] gravely ill, suicidal and hearing things, and then two days later, they reevaluate him and say he's fine?' Jay Campos, Joshua's father, said at a press conference on Tuesday. 'Mental illness doesn't work like that… [Putting him] in the general population was the big mistake that led to my son's death.' Southern California teen's e-bike stunt for police backfires The family's attorney, Christian Contreras, said that the jury's verdict indicates deputies are ill-equipped to handle situations like Joshua's. 'The jury has spoken, and they said these folks aren't adequately trained to deal with these types of individuals, and I agree,' he said. 'We should equip law enforcement, jail staff and medical professionals in the jails to ensure they are adequately trained to deal with people like Joshua, so that this doesn't happen again.' Orange County officials declined to comment on the incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
