Checking on pharmaceutical drugs
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 5:24 am
The commentary below was written by the late Irene de Villiers. Does anyone have something to add or to deny?
Ellen Madono
====
How to check out a drug:
Google the drug name to get the original drug name as opposed to generic equivalents.
In this case that is Citalopram.
First option:
Then Google Drugname Medline
(eg Citalopram Medline)
Click on the Medline documentation for the drug. This is the National Library of Medicine updated official version.
In this case that will be:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 99001.html
Scroll down for the 40 side effects listed.
It includes unusual bleeding
Second option:
After that google Citalopram side effects
Look for sites with credibility, like drugs.com .
(Always look for an author or organization with credibility)
For example, the first site looks specific - but is written by one doctor. I'd skip it:
]] >
Drugs.com has a good reputation, and divides the data into lay and professional - look at the professional area;
]] >
eg They include Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and under the hematologic subtopic they include:
"Hematologic side effects including purpura, anemia, epistaxis, leukocytosis, leukopenia, and lymphadenopathy have been reported infrequently. Pulmonary embolism, granulocytopenia, lymphocytosis, lymphopenia, hypochromic anemia, coagulation disorder, and gingival bleeding have rarely been reported. Decreased prothrombin, hemolytic anemia, and thrombosis have been reported" and that NSAIDs like aspirin increase the bleeding risk to potentially life-threatening.
The other one (less which is not as good as Drugs.com ) is WebMD (no specific author system)
]] >
Some drugs like the one above have a notorious reputation and you will find a lot of information.
Some drugs are less easy to look up, eg new drugs, or those too well protected by their inventors- and then go to third option:
Google drug name MSDS
(MSDS = material safety data sheet)
This leads to the refs provided by the drug manufacturer/s and the studies on mice or whatever that were done to show how great it is while claimed safe (and is in no way as useful as actual experience in humans but for some things it is all there is!) In this case:
]] >
Then click on the measly 5 studies there, and their abstracts. You usually will get more scientific information there, for example:
"Conclusion: SSRIs may exhibit an anti-inflammatory activity on endothelial cells and reduce circulating VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 in vivo, a mechanism which may partly mediate their cardioprotective effects."
You'd need to know what consequences to expect in the system from this chemical principle.
Also, they will tend to include what they call benefits in the abstracts and you have to purchase the full paper to see the adverse/side effects.
However, with new drugs, it may be all you can find.
With well-known drugs, I'd start with both Medline and Drugs.com
If they are not enough, look for the equivalent in Australia and New Zealand. Drugs are often approved in Australia, five years or more ahead of USA approval and the drug side effect history is longer.
New Zealand data is usually more comprehensive (honest?) than most countries.
For the NZ information, go to www.medsafe.govt.nz click on "Data Sheets" type the generic name in the search box AND ask the search engine to look for the generic name, voila; it is generally extremely complete by law, and I have been surprised many times by facts I did not know about very old and well-known (I thought) drugs…. Dr. Roz
Namaste,
Irene
REPLY TO: > only
Ellen Madono
====
How to check out a drug:
Google the drug name to get the original drug name as opposed to generic equivalents.
In this case that is Citalopram.
First option:
Then Google Drugname Medline
(eg Citalopram Medline)
Click on the Medline documentation for the drug. This is the National Library of Medicine updated official version.
In this case that will be:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 99001.html
Scroll down for the 40 side effects listed.
It includes unusual bleeding
Second option:
After that google Citalopram side effects
Look for sites with credibility, like drugs.com .
(Always look for an author or organization with credibility)
For example, the first site looks specific - but is written by one doctor. I'd skip it:
]] >
Drugs.com has a good reputation, and divides the data into lay and professional - look at the professional area;
]] >
eg They include Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and under the hematologic subtopic they include:
"Hematologic side effects including purpura, anemia, epistaxis, leukocytosis, leukopenia, and lymphadenopathy have been reported infrequently. Pulmonary embolism, granulocytopenia, lymphocytosis, lymphopenia, hypochromic anemia, coagulation disorder, and gingival bleeding have rarely been reported. Decreased prothrombin, hemolytic anemia, and thrombosis have been reported" and that NSAIDs like aspirin increase the bleeding risk to potentially life-threatening.
The other one (less which is not as good as Drugs.com ) is WebMD (no specific author system)
]] >
Some drugs like the one above have a notorious reputation and you will find a lot of information.
Some drugs are less easy to look up, eg new drugs, or those too well protected by their inventors- and then go to third option:
Google drug name MSDS
(MSDS = material safety data sheet)
This leads to the refs provided by the drug manufacturer/s and the studies on mice or whatever that were done to show how great it is while claimed safe (and is in no way as useful as actual experience in humans but for some things it is all there is!) In this case:
]] >
Then click on the measly 5 studies there, and their abstracts. You usually will get more scientific information there, for example:
"Conclusion: SSRIs may exhibit an anti-inflammatory activity on endothelial cells and reduce circulating VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 in vivo, a mechanism which may partly mediate their cardioprotective effects."
You'd need to know what consequences to expect in the system from this chemical principle.
Also, they will tend to include what they call benefits in the abstracts and you have to purchase the full paper to see the adverse/side effects.
However, with new drugs, it may be all you can find.
With well-known drugs, I'd start with both Medline and Drugs.com
If they are not enough, look for the equivalent in Australia and New Zealand. Drugs are often approved in Australia, five years or more ahead of USA approval and the drug side effect history is longer.
New Zealand data is usually more comprehensive (honest?) than most countries.
For the NZ information, go to www.medsafe.govt.nz click on "Data Sheets" type the generic name in the search box AND ask the search engine to look for the generic name, voila; it is generally extremely complete by law, and I have been surprised many times by facts I did not know about very old and well-known (I thought) drugs…. Dr. Roz
Namaste,
Irene
REPLY TO: > only