Phenylpropanolamine: An Update

We have come to know very well the drug Phenylpropanolamine as it is a popular medication that doctors give for decongested noses. But it has a history that most people do not know, a history that supposedly have been improved but never known publicly.

SCIENTIFIC studies in 1988, 1999 and 2000 agreed that there is a risk for hemorrhagic stroke among women who used phenylpropanolamine (PPA).

The 1999 study came from the Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut). And the one in 2000 was conducted by a team that WN Kernan led and published in the December 2000 issue of the North England Journal of Medicine, a publication of the Massachusetts Medical Society. The 1988 study was a psychiatric review of 37 cases published in North America and Europe since 1960. In this study that the Lake-Masson-Quirk team published in Pharmacopsychiatry (July 1988), it was noted that ingestion of phenylpropanolamine had resulted in diagnosed cases of acute mania, paranoid schizophrenia and organic psychosis. These are serious psychological problems.

The interesting thing is these diagnoses came from not recognizing the symptoms arising from the intake of PPA. And these diagnoses resulted to lengthy hospitalization and treatment with therapeutic doses of lithium drugs.

No wonder PPA, and any formulations containing it, was banned in India on Feb. 10, 2011. Based on the report of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, Dr. Surinder Singh (Drug Controller General of India) noted that the adverse effects outweigh the benefits. And so far, there had been no news that it had been lifted there.

In the United States, it is no longer sold without a prescription. In Canada, it had been withdrawn from the market on May 31, 2001. In Europe and still a few countries like the Philippines it remains an over-the-counter (OTC) drug.

This information alarmed me for two reasons. First, it has never been... [READ MORE]

This article appears in SunStar Cebu newspaper on 06 February 2013.

Comments

POST-PRESS: Narcissistic Disorder, Ground for Annulment

On 20 May 2011 (Friday), the First Division of the Philippine Court of Appeals dismissed the plea that Julie Balarbar, wife of 15 years of House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, filed questioning the November 25, 2010 decision of the Makati Regional Court declaring the marriage null and void on the ground that Balarbar had been diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Pyschiatric evaluation show a diagnosis of NPD with anti-social features, from her involvement in a shoplifting incident, her closeness to and trips abroad with her male students, and a kissing incident with a co-professor. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder Fourth Edition (DSM IV-TR) enumerated nine indicators of NPD, with only five of them needed for the diagnosis. It is not clear however which indicators have been found in the case of the Tañada annulment case. The Archdiocese of Manila also declared their canonical marriage void ab initio (void from the start) due to "gra

Sex Industry Weathers Financial Crises

Varmus Christopher Forbes.com 12/29/08 14:00:05 GMT The sex industry traces back to 500 B.C., when traders from the Greek port of Miletus sold olisbos, an early version of the dildo. Today, the business of sex (including pornography) now runs into the tens of billions of dollars. (No official estimates are available; Wall Street analysts don't tend to track this stuff.) And while print and video sales are ebbing, as more free adult content has become available online, sales of un-reproducible sexual aids are still healthy. "Of course, there's concern about the economy, but right now our sales are growing," says Michael Trygstad, founder of Wet, a lubricant manufacturer in Van Nuys, Calif. "We've grown 30% this year alone. We've had to completely automate our factories to meet the tremendous demand. People are deciding to stay at home and engage in inexpensive entertainment.'' Slick marketing--and the ability to shop anonymously online--helps, too

POST-PRESS: Filipinos Get Vitamin C from Vegetables

The DOST Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) recently issed a survey showing that 34 to 53 percent of Vitamin C consumed among Filipinos came from vegetables. Fruits merely contribute around 19 to 29 percent as a source. More than 50 percent of Vitamin C intake among adults, the elderly, and lactating women came from vegetables. Adolescent and pregnant women comprised 42.2 and 41.7 percent, respectively. Children have the lowest use of vegetables as Vitamin C source, contributing only 34.6 percent to diets among 6-12 agers and 17,2 percent among those ageing 6 months to 5-year olds. Vitamin C-rich vegetables include leafy greens like malunggay, ampalaya, petsay, saluyot, peppers (red and green), sitsaro and raw cabbage. Despite this figures, only 3 in every 10 households met the estimated average requirement (EAR) for Vitamin C, which is 80 percent of the recommended intake of the vitamin. And worse vegetable consumpion is on the downtrend over the years. It has decreased

Breakthroughs Today

Search This Blog