JTGAMBLE
2
Seroquel (Quetiapine Fumarate ) Lawsuit
Seroquel, manufactured by AstraZeneca, is an oral medication used to
manage the symptoms associated with schizophrenia such as delusions
, thought disorder, hallucinations, social withdrawal, lack of energy,
apathy, and reduced ability to express emotion.
The drug, which was approved by the FDA for marketing in 1997, affects
a broad range of neurotransmitter receptors, including serotonin
receptors. It is also sometimes used to treat the mania associated
with bipolar disorder.
News of Seroquel's side effects and emerged as a result of observational
data released at a medical conference in Philadelphia which showed that
patients on Seroquel had 3.34 times as many cases of diabetes as those
on older antipsychotics such as haldoperidol.
Towards the end of August, 2003, news of side effects associated with
Seroquel became widely publicized and caused the value of
AstraZeneca's stock to decrease by almost one percent.
Soon after, the law firms of Parker & Waichman and Aylstock, Witkens &
Sasser announced that a class action lawsuit had been commenced in the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of
all those who had used Seroquel.
This lawsuit contends that AstraZeneca was aware that Seroquel was
associated with a high occurrence of diabetes, but they did not take steps
to adequately warn doctors or patients in the United States of this
potential risk.
The pending lawsuit seeks statutory, exemplary and punitive financial
damages from AstraZeneca for their alleged disregard of the well being
and health of the plaintiffs and class members (the people who took
Seroquel and subsequently developed diabetes).
In addition, the lawsuit also alleges that AstraZeneca aggressively
marketed and promoted Seroquel for "off label" use that was beyond
its FDA approved indications at the time in question.
AstraZeneca is accused of unfairly offering incentives to doctors and
other medical professionals in an effort to increase the number of
Seroquel prescriptions that were written.
The Seroquel class action lawsuit seeks to establish a medical monitoring
fund to pay for anyone who has taken Seroquel so that they can be tested
for diabetes and other blood sugar disorders.
On January 30th, 2004, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, the company
that markets Seroquel in the United States sent a "Dear Doctor" letter
to thousands of doctors throughout the USA. The letter indicated that:
"...Hyperglycemia, in some cases extreme and associated with
[COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]ketoacidosis[/COLOR][/COLOR] or hyperosmolar coma or death, has been reported in
patients treated with atypical antipsychotics, including Seroquel."
[ Click Here to read the actual Seroquel "Dear Doctor" letter]
Would you like to see more information regarding Seroquel?
CONCLUSION
Seroquel, Risperdal, and Zyprexa (as well as other atypical antipsychotics
such as Clozapine or Clozaril) are drugs with the potential to cause
dangerous side effects which should not be overlooked and should be
taken very seriously.
The issue of these risks has become more pressing as the drugs are now
being prescribed for adults with milder medical conditions and children
who may better off taking different drugs that are not associated with side
effects such as pancreatitis, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.
As with any drug, the critical consideration is whether the benefits of
taking these drugs outweigh the potentially dangerous side effects,
the rate of adverse incidents reported, and the cost of the drugs
themselves.
The option of prescribing older, less risky conventional antipsychotic
drugs is also a consideration.
Another factor which must be taken into account is the strong connection
between diabetes and schizophrenia which has been noted and studied
by scientists since the 1920s.
Patients with schizophrenia and other forms of mental illnesses develop
diabetes at a rate up to four times higher than the general population,
whether they are on anti-psychotics or not.
This is due to the fact that people with schizophrenia often display many of
the risk factors associated with diabetes such as a sedentary lifestyle, a
lack of good medical care, a poor diet, and a high rate of obesity.
The research surrounding Seroquel, Ripserdal, and Zyprexa is still
developing.
It is the opinion of many physicians that although people with
schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses are already at a
greater risk of developing diabetes.
However, if a patient did not have diabetes before being prescribed
an atypical antipsychotic such as Zyprexa, Risperdal, Seroquel, and
developed symptoms shortly after beginning a regimen on any of the
above medications, then it is possible that the drug may responsible
for their deteriorating physical health.
this docters have had me addicted to this stuff for like two years a local attorney here is running adds to come see him about it I need to get a test to see if I have diabetes
Seroquel, manufactured by AstraZeneca, is an oral medication used to
manage the symptoms associated with schizophrenia such as delusions
, thought disorder, hallucinations, social withdrawal, lack of energy,
apathy, and reduced ability to express emotion.
The drug, which was approved by the FDA for marketing in 1997, affects
a broad range of neurotransmitter receptors, including serotonin
receptors. It is also sometimes used to treat the mania associated
with bipolar disorder.
News of Seroquel's side effects and emerged as a result of observational
data released at a medical conference in Philadelphia which showed that
patients on Seroquel had 3.34 times as many cases of diabetes as those
on older antipsychotics such as haldoperidol.
Towards the end of August, 2003, news of side effects associated with
Seroquel became widely publicized and caused the value of
AstraZeneca's stock to decrease by almost one percent.
Soon after, the law firms of Parker & Waichman and Aylstock, Witkens &
Sasser announced that a class action lawsuit had been commenced in the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of
all those who had used Seroquel.
This lawsuit contends that AstraZeneca was aware that Seroquel was
associated with a high occurrence of diabetes, but they did not take steps
to adequately warn doctors or patients in the United States of this
potential risk.
The pending lawsuit seeks statutory, exemplary and punitive financial
damages from AstraZeneca for their alleged disregard of the well being
and health of the plaintiffs and class members (the people who took
Seroquel and subsequently developed diabetes).
In addition, the lawsuit also alleges that AstraZeneca aggressively
marketed and promoted Seroquel for "off label" use that was beyond
its FDA approved indications at the time in question.
AstraZeneca is accused of unfairly offering incentives to doctors and
other medical professionals in an effort to increase the number of
Seroquel prescriptions that were written.
The Seroquel class action lawsuit seeks to establish a medical monitoring
fund to pay for anyone who has taken Seroquel so that they can be tested
for diabetes and other blood sugar disorders.
On January 30th, 2004, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, the company
that markets Seroquel in the United States sent a "Dear Doctor" letter
to thousands of doctors throughout the USA. The letter indicated that:
"...Hyperglycemia, in some cases extreme and associated with
[COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]ketoacidosis[/COLOR][/COLOR] or hyperosmolar coma or death, has been reported in
patients treated with atypical antipsychotics, including Seroquel."
[ Click Here to read the actual Seroquel "Dear Doctor" letter]
Would you like to see more information regarding Seroquel?
[*]
- Recently Published News On Seroquel ; updated in real time from Google
Official Website portal; consumer and professional information
[*]Official prescribing Information- PDF File; this is what the doctor goes by when he makes the decision to prescribe Seroquel.
[*]Prescribing Information Source B - HTML; RxList.com
[*]Patient Information; Medline Plus; National Institutes of Health
[*]Scientific Literature Search ( Medline)
[*]General Information - side effects, warnings, precautions, picture of pill
[*]FDA Database; Seroquel (Sorted by date)
[*]See Also: Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Information
CONCLUSION
Seroquel, Risperdal, and Zyprexa (as well as other atypical antipsychotics
such as Clozapine or Clozaril) are drugs with the potential to cause
dangerous side effects which should not be overlooked and should be
taken very seriously.
The issue of these risks has become more pressing as the drugs are now
being prescribed for adults with milder medical conditions and children
who may better off taking different drugs that are not associated with side
effects such as pancreatitis, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.
As with any drug, the critical consideration is whether the benefits of
taking these drugs outweigh the potentially dangerous side effects,
the rate of adverse incidents reported, and the cost of the drugs
themselves.
The option of prescribing older, less risky conventional antipsychotic
drugs is also a consideration.
Another factor which must be taken into account is the strong connection
between diabetes and schizophrenia which has been noted and studied
by scientists since the 1920s.
Patients with schizophrenia and other forms of mental illnesses develop
diabetes at a rate up to four times higher than the general population,
whether they are on anti-psychotics or not.
This is due to the fact that people with schizophrenia often display many of
the risk factors associated with diabetes such as a sedentary lifestyle, a
lack of good medical care, a poor diet, and a high rate of obesity.
The research surrounding Seroquel, Ripserdal, and Zyprexa is still
developing.
It is the opinion of many physicians that although people with
schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses are already at a
greater risk of developing diabetes.
However, if a patient did not have diabetes before being prescribed
an atypical antipsychotic such as Zyprexa, Risperdal, Seroquel, and
developed symptoms shortly after beginning a regimen on any of the
above medications, then it is possible that the drug may responsible
for their deteriorating physical health.
this docters have had me addicted to this stuff for like two years a local attorney here is running adds to come see him about it I need to get a test to see if I have diabetes
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