Rare Cases of Liver Injury Reported with Use of Orlistat
MiraLAX travel packets
MiraLAX (polyethylene glycol 3350) is now available in a travel-size carton containing 10 single-dose powder packets. The contents of each packet must be mixed with 4 to 8 oz of a beverage such as water, juice, soda, coffee, or tea.
• Diet soda as a treatment for kidney stones? A study in the June 2010 issue of the Journal of Urology reports that a number of commonly consumed diet sodas—including Diet Sunkist Orange, Diet 7Up, Sprite Zero, Diet Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Sierra Mist Free, Diet Orange Crush, Fresca, and Diet Mountain Dew—have a citrate content at least as great as that of a homemade lemonade beverage commonly used to treat hypocitraturic calcium nephrolithiasis. Citrate is a known inhibitor of calcium stone formation. (J Urol. 2010;183:2419-23.)
Does the metabolic syndrome—the common clustering of metabolic abnormalities including abdominal obesity, elevated blood glucose, abnormal lipids, and elevated blood pressure—confer a cardiovascular risk that is greater than the sum of its parts?
In the largest study of its kind to date, fish oil supplements were found to have no effect on cognitive function in cognitively healthy older people.
According to study results presented at Heart Rhythm 2010—the Heart Rhythm Society’s 31st Annual Scientific Sessions—8 of the 10 dietary supplements used most commonly by American consumers have been reported to interact with warfarin.
In an investigation conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, nearly all of the herbal dietary supplements tested contained trace amounts of lead and other contaminants, and some sellers provided potentially harmful medical advice to elderly “patients.”
Mistaken Ingestion of Topical Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping Gel
The FDA has received reports of serious adverse effects occurring in people who mistakenly swallowed topical Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping Gel.
Nicorette mini Lozenge
The Nicorette line of nicotine replacement therapy products now includes the mini Lozenge, a breath-mint–sized lozenge that is reported to dissolve up to three times faster than other nicotine lozenges.
• A report in the May 7, 2010, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) presents new recommendations regarding use of the combination measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccine.