January 2024
Osteoporosis occurs when there is a decrease in bone mineral density and bone quality that can weaken bones, making them susceptible to fracture easily. Learn about drugs that are associated with osteoporosis and related fractures.
April 2023
As seven years have passed since Toujeo’s approval without new major safety concerns being identified, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group has now designated it as Limited Use — a treatment for diabetes that should be used only if treatment with less concentrated and cheaper forms of insulin have first been tried and found to be inadequate.
June 2022
Learn about several drugs that can promote the formation of gallstones — stones in the gallbladder (a condition known as cholelithiasis) — and what you can do about it.
February 2022
It is estimated that more than a quarter of adult Americans take a magnesium supplement. However, preference should be given to relying on dietary sources of this critical mineral whenever possible to avoid adverse effects.
November 2021
Patients often wonder what steps they can take to minimize their chances of suffering a serious adverse drug reaction. This article reviews 10 simple rules developed by Public Citizen’s Health Research Group for ensuring safer drug use.
November 2021
Patients taking the oral antifungal drug itraconazole (SPORANOX, TOLSURA) should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with many other prescription medications that can affect the safety or effectiveness of itraconazole or the interacting drugs.
August 2021
Patients taking the widely prescribed calcium channel blocker nifedipine (PROCARDIA, PROCARDIA XL) should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with many other prescription medications.
August 2021
In this article, we discuss the most recent smoking-cessation recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the underlying research supporting these recommendations.
October 2020
Learn why patients with type 1 diabetes should never use any of the type 2 diabetes drugs known as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, which are often referred to as “flozins” or “gliflozins.”
August 2020
Patients taking the commonly used blood thinner warfarin (COUMADIN, JANTOVEN) should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with numerous other prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as some dietary supplements.
December 2019
Learn about results of two large, well-designed, randomized clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health demonstrating that high-dose vitamin D supplementation was not useful for preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
December 2019
In his editor’s column, Dr. Michael Carome discusses the failure of drug companies, researchers and the FDA to recognize the overwhelming evidence dating back to the early 1900s demonstrating that the new diabetes drugs known as “flozins” can cause life-threatening ketoacidosis.
August 2019
Most U.S. adults drink alcohol at least occasionally. Many also take prescription or over-the-counter drugs that have the potential to inter¬act adversely with alcohol. Avoid serious harm by knowing which drugs should not be taken in combination with alcohol.
January 2019
In response to a reader’s question about our article “Metformin: First-Choice Drug for Type 2 Diabetes” in the August 2018 issue, we discuss the risk of diarrhea and other adverse gastrointestinal effects that may occur when taking metformin.
January 2019
Learn about a rare but potentially fatal bacterial infection in the area of the genitals that has been linked to the diabetes drugs known as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, commonly called “flozins.”
December 2018
In his editor’s column, Dr. Michael Carome, prompted by a recent letter from one of our readers, discusses why our recommendations and designations for specific drugs sometimes change based on new information.
August 2018
Learn why metformin is the drug of choice for the initial treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes who are not able to control their blood sugar through diet and exercise alone and who do not have severe kidney impairment.
May 2018
Pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars annually advertising their products directly to consumers on TV. But as Worst Pills, Best Pills News Editor Dr. Michael Carome explains, prescription drug TV ads often fail to fully adhere to FDA regulations governing direct-to-consumer ads.
March 2018
Patients often wonder what steps they can take to minimize their chances of suffering a serious adverse drug reaction. This article reviews 10 simple rules developed by Public Citizen’s Health Research Group for ensuring safer drug use.
December 2017
In this article, we explain why the serious adverse effects of the injected diabetes drug pramlintide far outweigh the drug’s limited benefits.
October 2017
Canagliflozin is one of three medications in the newest diabetes drug class. In this article, we discuss why the FDA recently required that a black-box warning about the risk of amputations be added to the product labeling of canagliflozin.
June 2017
Many adverse drug reactions are severe enough to cause serious injury, hospitalization and even death. Find out which outpatient medications are most likely to cause adverse events that necessitate a visit to the emergency room.
June 2017
The food and dietary supplement industries have been swift to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the microbes living on or within our bodies by selling products that contain probiotics, or live microor¬ganisms purported to improve health by altering the microbiome. In this article, we explain which claims about probiotics have been tested in clinical trials — and why many probiotic supplements are very likely a waste of money.
January 2017
Falls remain by far the leading cause of injuries among adults age 65 and older in the U.S. In this article, we identify many of the drugs that can increase your risk of falling and offer advice on how to protect yourself from fall-related injuries.
November 2016
TOUJEO is a newer, long-acting, once-daily insulin approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in adults. Learn why you should avoid using this drug until at least 2022.
October 2016
Over the past year, the Food and Drug Administration has issued a series of new warnings about serious and, in some cases, potentially fatal events linked to the newest class of diabetes drugs. These drugs, known as "flozins," are being heavily promoted in TV ads. Learn more about these newly identified dangers and why you should avoid all flozins.
August 2016
In this month's news briefs, we report on the FDA's decision to require new black-box warnings in the labeling of all immediate-release opioid drugs about the risks of abuse, addiction, overdose and death, as well as the agency's recent drug safety alert reminding consumers not to purchase over-the-counter chelation products. We also discuss the decision of a major drugmaker to terminate its involvement in the marketing of an inhaled form of insulin.
August 2016
Incretin mimetics, one of the newer classes of diabetes drugs, are widely prescribed in the U.S. Find out why Public Citizen's Health Research Group recommends against using any of these medications.
February 2016
In our news brief this month, we report on two recent warnings issued by the Food and Drug Administration about the diabetes drugs known as SGLT2 inhibitors, more commonly known as “flozins.” This family of drugs, all designated as Do Not Use, includes canagliflozin (INVOKAMET, INVOKANA), dapagliflozin (FARXIGA) and empagliflozin (JARDIANCE).
December 2015
Find out why this new form of insulin, which is inhaled as a powder, is a dangerous alternative to injected forms of insulin and never should have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of diabetes.
July 2015
In a recent complaint to the FDA, we took several makers of diabetes drugs to task for direct-to-consumer ads that promote the drugs for unapproved uses. Find out the names of the drugs targeted in our complaint and the nature of the off-label uses being promoted in the ads.
July 2015
Recent research revealed that many patients consume alcohol while using drugs that may can cause dangerous side effects when combined with alcohol. Read this article to learn about the many ways alcohol can adversely interact with prescription and over-the-counter medications.
February 2010
The article discusses why all of these 16 diabetes drugs carry a label stating: "There have been no clinical studies establishing conclusive evidence of macrovascular risk reduction [heart attacks, strokes, etc] with oral antidiabetic drug[s]." The article also explains why lifestlyle changes such as diet and exercise to prevent or even treat type II diabetes are not heavily promoted or usually reimbursed.
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.
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.
December 2008
On Oct. 30, Public Citizen formally petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately ban the dangerous diabetes drug rosiglitazone (AVANDIA) because the drug causes multiple types of serious toxicity.
July 2008
An increasing body of evidence documents both the risks and lack of evidence of clinical benefits associated with sitagliptin, and several reviews have cautioned against its use.
February 2008
Recent updates on this diabetes drug that we have urged our readers not to use for three years are reviewed, including the delisting of the drug by the Veterans Administration because of its dangers and warnings by the Canadian government. We are renewing our call for a ban on the drug in the U.S.
July 2007
Yet another reason has arisen to support our several years-old warning not to use the diabetes drugs AVANDIA or ACTOS. Randomized trials of both drugs, compared to other diabetes drugs, showed an increase in fractures in women (not men) using them.
July 2007
In addition to years-old information about increased heart failure in patients using AVANDIA, that Worst Pills readers have been warned about for years, new evidence has emerged about increased heart attacks as well. The article reviews the evidence for both of these serious problems and why we continue to advise people not to use either AVANDIA or the related drug, ACTOS.
June 2007
Worst Pills, Best Pills reviews side effects and long-term effects of type-2 diabetes drug sitagliptin (JANUVIA) in this article.
December 2006
In addition, there was an almost significant 37 percent excess in the rosiglitazone group of what the authors called cardiovascular events composite, comprised of heart attacks, strokes, cardiovascular deaths, heart failure, the appearance of new angina attacks, and the need for heart surgery such as bypass or angioplasty. You have a greater likelihood of preventing type 2 diabetes by improving your diet and getting a moderate amount of exercise than by taking a prescription drug. The effects of such a change in lifestyle can last a lifetime.
November 2006
A joint effort of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) has resulted in recent warning letters to a large number of companies who are illegally marketing unproven diabetes treatments online. The article lists many of these products.
April 2006
If you experience visual deterioration while taking rosiglitazone (AVANDIA)or the combination of rosiglitazone with metformin (AVANDAMET), report this potential adverse drug reaction to your physician as soon as possible.
September 2003
Government-sponsored research published in the July 2, 2003 Journal of the American Medical Association found that the diabetes drugs metformin (GLUCOPHAGE), rosiglitazone (AVANDIA), and pioglitazone (ACTOS) were being prescribed inappropriately to patients with heart failure and that the inappropriate prescribing of these drugs has been increasing over time.
August 2003
The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) issued a public warning on May 21, 2003 not to use the combination of repaglinide (PRANDIN), a drug for lowering blood sugar in type-2 diabetics, and the cholesterol drug gemfibrozil (LOPID). The warning was based on a recent publication in the March 2003 issue of the medical journal Diabetologia that found the use of these two drugs in combination can enhance the blood sugar lowering effects of repaglinide and can thereby result in severe blood sugar lowering (hypoglycemia).
September 2002
A new warning was added in May 2002 to the professional product labeling, or “package insert,” for the type-2 diabetes drug chlorpropamide (DIABINESE) concerning its use in the elderly. The new warning cites increased risks of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), low blood sodium levels (hyponatremia), or both in patients aged 65 and over.
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