According to a Fox news report, more people die in America every year from prescription drug abuse than die from heroin and cocaine combined.  This leads us to the questions:

1. Are doctors over prescribing?
2. Are doctors closely monitoring drug usage of patients?
3. Are people illegally obtaining prescription drugs?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, most people who die from prescription drug overdose are taking someone else’s medicines, medicines that we left in the medicine cabinet, medicines that were given to a friend or a relative, maybe innocently, maybe maliciously.

In a study done by the CDC it was found that enough narcotics are prescribed every year to medicate each and every adult in America every day for a month.

Thomas Frieden, Director of the CDC, has said “It’s astonishing.  When I went to medical school, we were incorrectly assured, don’t worry, if patients have short-term pain, they won’t get hooked.  That was completely wrong, and a generation of doctors, patients, and families have learned that’s a tragic mistake.”

Although many states have passed new laws to monitor the prescribing of narcotic painkillers, the death rate due to this issue remains high.

A Sheriff of Pinella County in Florida, calls this issue widespread.  “This problem crosses all walks of life, crosses all socio-economic classes.  Crosses all races and gender, national origin, and age”, he said.

Several lawsuits have been filed against Merck Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of Propecia,

Propecia is used to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH, enlargement of the prostate gland) and baldness.  The lawsuits accuse Merck of downplaying the risks associated with Propecia and failing to warn patients about the severity of sexual side effects.

The side effects that have plagued men are:  decreased libido, decreased semen output, and depression.  Because so many men feel embarrassment about the side effects of Propecia, scores have chosen to remain anonymous or to not report their conditions.

According to a study published by the Journal of Sexual Medicine in March 2011, drugs in the same class as Propecia are linked to a variety of sexual side effects.  It is possible that they are also linked to an increased risk of the development of breast tissue.

In a separate study in March 2011, the Journal of Sexual Medicine researches reported “men who developed side effects suffered those effects on average for 40 months after discontinuing medication”.

In June 2011, the FDA issued a warning that Propecia could be linked to an increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer.

Preemies are sometimes given steroids known as glucocorticoids after birth to improve lung function and to stabilize low blood pressure. These are common complications of being born prematurely.  “Premature” is defined as being born under 32 weeks of gestation.

A new study conducted at University of British Columbia and University of CA, San Francisco shows that preemies given the steroids hydrocortisone or dexamethasone had on average a 10 percent smaller cerebellum than premature babies who were not given the drugs.

Lead study author Dr. Emily Tam said: “Their cerebellums were growing slower, and we know from other studies that a smaller cerebellum in preemies is associated with poorer outcomes.”  The cerebellum is the area of the brain that is associated with not only motor skills but also learning and behavior.

The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends avoiding high dose dexamethasone in babies after birth.

The study did not involve those premature babies that were given steroids BEFORE birth.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Suzette Fransen Cain and Julius Cain filed suit against Wyeth Company in federal court in New Orleans.

 The lawsuit alleges that Wyeth Co. knowingly made and manufactured hormone replacement drugs which are harmful to patients.

The drugs at issue are Prempro, Premarin, and Provera.  Wyeth is accused of manufacturing hormone therapy drugs that dramatically increase the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, strokes, blood clots and cardiovascular disease.

Cain was prescribed Prempro for over eight years. She was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2010 and has undergone a mastectomy and extensive treatment.

The defendants are accused of wrongdoing on several levels including providing an unreasonably dangerous product, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unjust enrichment, manufacturing a product with redhibitory defects, intentional misrepresentation or fraud, negligently misrepresentation and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Cain is asking for more than $10 million in damages for loss of earnings, medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, court costs, interest and attorney’s fees.