Medical News-New Board!

[Franky]

Hey guys and gals, just wanted to let you know of this new board. I was brainstorming with a member and we realized, why didn't we have a section on general medical news, besides morgellons.

I think this would be a great section to discuss other medical info and articles the members might find interesting and helpful, morgellons related or not.

Peace and Love
Frank

[niecy]

I like this new board Franky, thanks!

This was a surprising and scary thing I found while doing a little searching on a pill my doc gave me to use as a "sleep" aid. The name is Seroquel, but there are many many more like it. ALL anti-psychotic drugs can cause this potentially fatal syndrom!!

One thing I found ironic about the symptoms is, many times it is mis-diagnosed as a mental illness. If not treated in a timely manner, it is very dangerous, and deadly in some cases.

Niecy


Neuroleptic malignant syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a life-threatening neurological disorder most often caused by an adverse reaction to neuroleptic or antipsychotic drugs. It generally presents with muscle rigidity, fever, autonomic instability and cognitive changes such as delirium, and is proven on a raised creatine phosphokinase (CPK). Treatment is generally supportive.

Causes

NMS is caused almost exclusively by the blocking of dopamine receptors with antipsychotic medications, including all types of neuroleptics (typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs).[1] The higher the dosage of the antipsychotic, the more common the occurrence. Rapid and large increases in dosage can also trigger the development of NMS. Other drugs, environmental or psychological factors, hereditary conditions, and specific demographics may cause greater risk, but to date no conclusive evidence has been found to support this. The disorder typically develops within two weeks of the initial treatment with the drug, but may develop at any time the drug is being taken. NMS may also occur in people taking a class of drugs known as dopaminergics when the dosage is reduced (i.e. Levodopa).

Pathophysiology

The mechanism is thought to depend on decreased levels of dopamine due to:

• Dopamine receptor blockade
• Genetically reduced function of dopamine receptor D2[2]

However, the failure of D2 dopamine receptor antagonism or dopamine receptor dysfunction to fully explain the presenting symptoms and signs of NMS, as well as the occurrence of NMS with atypical antipsychotic drugs with lower D2 dopamine activity,[3] has led to the hypothesis of sympathoadrenal hyperactivity as an etiological mechanism for NMS.[4] There is also thought to be considerable overlap between malignant catatonia and NMS in their pathophysiology, the former being idiopathic and the latter being drug-induced form of the same syndrome.

Signs and symptoms

The first symptom to develop is usually muscular rigidity, followed by high fever, symptoms of instability of the autonomic nervous system such as unstable blood pressure, and changes in cognition, including agitation, delirium and coma. Other symptoms may include muscle tremors and pharyngitis. Once symptoms do appear, they rapidly progress and can reach peak intensity in as little as three days. These symptoms can last anywhere from eight hours to forty days.
A raised creatine phosphokinase (CPK) plasma concentration will be reported due to increased muscular activity. The patient may be hypertensive and suffering from a metabolic acidosis. A non-generalised slowing on an EEG is reported in around 50% of cases.
Unfortunately, symptoms are sometimes misinterpreted by doctors as symptoms of mental illness, delaying treatment.[5] NMS is less likely if a person has previously been stable for a period of time on antipsychotics, especially in situations where the dose has not been changed and there are no issues of noncompliance or consumption of psychoactive substances known to worsen psychosis.

Synopsis of Symptoms

• Increased Body Temp >100.4 degrees °F, or >38 °C
• Confused or Altered Consciousness
• Diaphoresis "sweat shock"
• Rigid Muscles
• Autonomic Imbalance

Mnemonic

A mnemonic used to remember the features of NMS is FEVER.[6]

• F - Fever
• E - Encephalopathy
• V - Vitals unstable
• E - Elevated enzymes (elevated CPK)
• R - Rigidity of muscles

Prognosis

As with most illnesses, the prognosis is best when identified early and treated aggressively. In these cases NMS is usually not fatal, although there is currently no agreement on the exact mortality rate for the disorder. Studies have given the disorder a mortality rate as low as 5% and as high as 76%, although most studies agree that the correct percentage is in the lower spectrum, perhaps 10–15%. Re-introduction to the drug that originally caused NMS to develop may also trigger a recurrence, although in most cases it does not.

Treatment

Although treatment is not always necessary, it will help to cure the disease and prevent fatal developments from occurring. The first step in treatment is generally to remove the patient from any neuroleptic or antipsychotic drugs being taken and to treat fever aggressively. Many cases require intensive care, or some kind of supportive care at the minimum. Depending on the severity of the case, patients may require other treatments to contend with specific effects of the disorder. These include circulatory and ventilatory support, the drugs dantrolene sodium, bromocriptine, apomorphine and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) if medication fails. Benzodiazepines may also be of great benefit.

NMS and serotonergic syndrome

The clinical features of NMS and serotonergic syndrome are very similar. This can make differentiating them very difficult.[7]
Features, classically present in NMS, that are useful for differentiating the two syndromes are:[8]

• Fever
• Muscle rigidity
• Laboratory Values (WBC & CK)

History

NMS was known about as early as 1956, shortly after the introduction of the first phenothiazines, and is derived from the French syndrome malin des neuroleptiques.[9]

[niecy]

FDA OKs 1st drug from genetically altered animals - Yahoo! News

FDA OKs 1st drug from genetically altered animals

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By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 11 mins ago


WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration made history Friday as it approved the first drug made with materials from genetically engineered animals, clearing the way for a new class of medical therapies.
GTC Biotherapeutics said regulators cleared its drug ATryn, which is manufactured using milk from goats that have been scientifically altered to produce extra antithrombin, a protein that acts as a natural blood thinner.
The drug's approval may be the first step toward new kinds of medications made not from chemicals, but from living organisms altered by scientists. Similar drugs could be available in the next few years for a range of human ailments, including hemophilia.
The FDA cleared the drug to treat patients with a rare hereditary disorder that causes a deficiency of the protein, putting them at higher risk of deadly blood clots. The injectable treatment will be marketed in the U.S. by Deerfield, Ill.-based Ovation Pharmaceuticals
About 1 in 5,000 people don't produce enough antithrombin protein, according to Framingham, Mass.-based based GTC. As a result, their blood is more likely to stick together, occasionally causing clots that can travel to the lungs or brain, causing death. Pregnant women with the disorder are at higher risk of miscarriage or stillbirth, because of blood clots in the placenta.
Patients with hereditary anithrombin deficiency are currently prescribed conventional blood thinners, like Plavix from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis. That will not change with the new approval. ATryn is only approved for use when patients are undergoing surgery or having a baby, times when the risk of dangerous clots is particularly high. Those patients would receive the drug by intravenous infusion for a limited time before and after their procedures.
To make the drug, scientists at GTC put DNA for the human antithrombin protein into single cell embryos of goats. Goat embryos with the gene were then inserted into the wombs of surrogate mothers who gave birth to baby goats that produce the protein-charged milk.
Genetically engineered animals are not clones but rather animals that have had their DNA changed to produce a desirable characteristic.
Amid growing questions about the technology, the FDA last month issued guidelines for how it will regulate products made from genetically altered animals.
FDA said it will not allow any such products to be sold without first submitting them to scrutiny by independent advisers at a public meeting. The agency's panel of blood product experts recently concluded ATryn was safe and effective.
But consumer groups said the FDA's long-awaited policy will not require all genetically engineered foods to be labeled as such. And they said the government has not done enough to examine the potential impact of genetically engineered animals on the environment, particularly if some escape and begin to mate with animals in nature.
The drug received European approval in 2006.
Shares of GTC Therapeutics rose 5 cents, or 5.5 percent, to 87 cents in midday trading.
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AP Business Writer Matthew Perrone contributed to this story.

[carla]

Nevermind Terrorism ,it is the FDA we need protecting from right now.

FDA said it will not allow any such products to be sold without first submitting them to scrutiny by independent advisers at a public meeting. The agency's panel of blood product experts recently concluded ATryn was safe and effective.

They have to be having laugh.

[Kritters]

I'd love to know who the 'independent' advisors and blood product 'experts' are.

"I have seen the enemy....and it is us"

Kritts

[posey]

I can hardly believe what I am reading!!

We have the right to know what we are putting in our bodies.

Every once in a while when nothing is on TV I check the Sci Fi Channel to see if they have a movie on. Somehow, much of it does not seem science fiction any longer.

I am saddened for the future of our kids, grandkids, and great grandkids.

posey