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m 14A STYLE/The Charlotte Post Thursday August 14, 1997 Drug maker settles Millions of 1 plaintiffs in research scandal By Amy Westfeldt THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ■ NEWARK, N.J. - A New jJersey drug maker has agreed •to pay up to $135 million to set- jtle claims that it suppressed •research saying its prescription •thyroid drug Synthroid has •several cheaper, generic equiv- Jalents. ; As many as 8 million people Jwho paid two to three times Jmore for Synthroid are eligible, Jthe plaintiffs’ lead attorney jsaid Monday. i l Knoll Pharmaceutical Co., Jthe Mount Olive-based sub sidiary of BASF Corp. in (jermany, admitted no wrong doing under the settlement, wiiich was reached August 1 aftd still needs a federal judge’s approval. Jn a news release last week, Kpoll president Carter Eckert s^id he agreed to the settle- n^nt “to avoid burdensome apd expensive litigation which w|)uld drain the resources needed to continue building upon our leadership position in thjyroid disease treatment.” The settlement follows the April release of a University of California at San Francisco study, commissioned by Knoll, that concluded Synthroid, which controls 85 percent of the market for synthetic thy- rcfld hormone, was no better than cheaper, generic alterna tives. Knoll disagreed with Betty Dong’s study, and considered suing to stop its publication, Knoll spokeswoman Linda Mayer said Monday. Dong told The Journal of the American IVt’edical Association, which published her research in April, that the company sup pressed her study for more than six years. Dong did not return a tele phone message left at her office Monday. Under the settlement. Knoll will contribute $98 million to a fund to pay plaintiffs in about 60 lawsuits filed nationwide over the past several months. The money will cover up to 5 million plaintiffs who used the drug between 1990, when Dong began the study, and August 1, said Allan Kanner, a New Orleans attorney coordinating the lawsuits. If more apply for reimburse ment, the company will pay up to $135 million. . The settlement should trans late into a $25-per-person pay off, less court costs, for Synthroid users, said Kanner. He said he only expects half of the users in the $600 million retail market for the drug to apply to become eligible. They diould get reimbursed by the end of the year, he said. ■ Synthroid is used by people virhose thyroid glands have been damaged by disease or have been surgically removed. Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism. One hundred tablets of a typ ical daily dose costs about $28, cpmpared to about $11 for the spme amount of Levoxyl, a bTand-name alternative. ;The settlement will save mil- Itons of users more money over the long run by making the public aware of the cheaper, equivalent drugs, he said. Publication of the JAMA study has not hurt Synthroid sales ofer the past four months, he sud. SDoctors weren’t really changing their habits,” said fonner. “That has to give you concern.” HEALTHY BOD Y/ HEALTHY MIND Myths about chOdbirth refuted Vicki L. Seltzer, M.D. By Vicki L. Seltzer, M.D. President, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists With more than five milUon Americans of childbearing age experiencing infertility at any given time, it is no surprise that many people are confused about the causes and treatment of this problem. Here are some myths about infertilily that are worth challenging: MYTH: If 1 am not pregnant after six months of intercourse carefijlly timed around my cycles, I am infertile. While six months may seem like a long time, cou ples are generally not considered infertile unless they have been unable to conceive after 12 months of having sex without using any birth control. MYTH: Women are responsible for infertility more often than men are. Untrue. About 50 per cent of the time, the male is at least partly responsible for infer tility problems. In some cases, no cause can be found in either part ner. MYTH: Since I have had a mis carriage, I am unlikely to get pregnant again. In fact, nine out of ten women who lose a preg nancy will go on to have a child. Even with repeat ed miscar riages (two to three in a row), there is stiU a good chance to have a successful pregnancy. MYTH: My fidends tell me that I am thinking too much about wanting to get pregnant and that's why I'm having trouble conceiving. While stress C2m play a part, infertibty is generally con sidered a physical problem. If you meet the definition for infertility, you and your partner should get examined by a physician. MYTH: The reason I'm not get ting pregnant is because I have fibroids. Fibroids are benign growths that can appear inside or outside the uterus and are most common in women aged 30 to 40. They do not automatically lead to fertility problems, and a couple should explore other possible causes before assiuning the fibroids are to blame. Problem fibroids can often be removed through surgery. MYTH: My insurance will not cover the cost of finding out why my husband and I are infertile.' Look into it. Twelve states cur rently have laws that require insurers to either cover or offer to cover some form of infertility diag nosis and treatment. Don't get caught up in the myths. Take action. Dr. Vicki 1. Seltzer is the presU dent of the American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists. Researchers assess fallout affects By Lauran Neergaard THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Fallout from 1950s nuclear bomh tests exposed millions of children across the country to radioac tive iodine, raising the possibil ity that 10,000 to 75,000 of them might develop thyroid cancer, the National Cancer Institute said. But government doctors emphasized they have no proof this radioactive substance causes th}Toid cancer, so their estimate is a worst-case sce nario. Nobody was tested in the NCI study. “We do not feel that we have the data to support the idea that there was a large risk. On the other hand, we carmot rule it out,” said Dr. Richard Klausner, NCI’s director. Independent thyroid experts immediately urged caution, noting that even if a link is proved, thyroid cancer grows very slowly and is highly cur able. “What we don’t want to have happen is mass hysteria about this,” said Dr. Stanley Feld, past president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. If the estimate is accurate, 30 percent of the radiation-related cancers already would have been diagnosed in the 40 years since the blasts, the NCI said. Anyone worried about fallout exposure during childhood should get a thyroid exam, the NCI advised. The government asked the prestigious Institute of Medicine to determine within six months the health risks raised by the radiation study and recommend whether peo ple need routine thyroid test ing. Everyone living in the 48 con tiguous states between 1951 and 1958 received some fallout from 90 nuclear bomb tests in DAN & INA’S HOME IMPROVEMENT "Affordable & Reliable Craftsmanship w HOME • CHURCH • OFFICE Repairing or Remodeling? Call us First.. Jind SAVE! INSURANCE CASES: Fire, Water & Wind Damage FREE ESTIMATES 548-9914 • LICENSED • 451-4922 Nevada, the NCI study found. People who lived directly downwind of the tests already were known to have been heav ily exposed, especially in south west Utah, where some people have been compensated by the government. But wind and rain can carry radiation far afield, so NCI spent 14 years stud3dng county-by-coimty fallout. Average national exposure was 2 rads, about five times the radiation delivered by a mod em mammogram. But 25 counties - in Montana, Utah, Idaho, Colorado and South Dakota - were exposed to an average of 9 to 16 rads, enough to be called hot spots. Dozens of other counties throughout the Farm Belt and Northwest received above- average fallout as well. Children living in the most- exposed areas received five to seven times the average fall out, the NCI said. Adults at the time have little risk, because the radioactive iodine-131 concentrates most in the thyroids of children and is spread mostly by drinking contaminated milk. Particularly risky was goats’ milk or fresh milk from back yard cows. Processed milk allowed more time for the iodine to dissipate; it was gone within two months of each Nevada blast. The NCI study did not actual ly test any person. But the gov ernment already recommends precautionary medical monitor ing for people exposed to more than 10 rads of iodine-131. And NCI doctors separately concluded that if the radiation proves cancer-causing, then 10,000 to 75,000 thyroid can cers might develop from the fallout. That number would be in addition to the almost half a million cases of thyroid cancer that would normally occur. Our Lady of Consolation Catholic School ALUMNI Come Join Us As We Visit With The Oblate Sisters of Providence Friday, August 22nd, 7 pm Meet & Greet "Covered Dish" at Parish Hall & Sunday, August 24 th at 11:00 Mass Our Lady of Consolation Church, 2301 Statesville Ave. For Further Information Call: 394-1499 Mildred Donald Cancer detection By Larry Jones, M.D. SPECIAL TO THE POST A popular topic for health articles can include discus sions of specific cancers. Less often are there articles on the general recommenda tions for early detection of can cer in people without cancer. This article will hopefully give you timely information and make your physician appoint ments more specific. I caution you to understand that what is discussed in this article are general guidelines. Cancer can still occur at any age and its detection can escape general screenings techniques. The following recommenda tions are currently the ones of which I am familiar: Occult fecal blood test and flexible signoidoscopy should be performed by age 50 and repeated every 3-5 years. Digital rectal exams should start by age 40 and should be repeated every year. These methods are aimed at the detection of colon cancer. Fecal occult blood test and dig ital rectal examinations should continue every year. Prostate cancer screening should start every year by age 40. However, this particular carcinoma is more prevalent in African American men. My personal recommendation is for African Americans to start obtaining a rectal exam and a prostatic specific antigen level by age 40. I reiterate to you that this is a personal recom mendation. Lack of physician visits probably contributes to the fact that this particular cancer is more prevalent in the African American population. Pap tests should be done annually on all women who have been sexually active or have reached age 18. However, if three consecutive normal exams have been achieved, the discretion of your physician should be used. Family history and other risk factors will influence the physician’s decision for contin ued annual pap smears. Pelvic exams in females should occur every 1 -3 years in women 18 - 40 years old, but should be done yearly in women age 40 and older. Dr. Larry Jones is a physi cian at C.W. Williams Health Center. BIG LEAGUE SPORTS ARE HERE WHICH WILL COME FIRST? SUPERBOWL? WE’RE ON OUR WAY CHARLOTTE HASN’T HAD EITHER ONE N.B.A. CHAMPIONSHIP? YOU CAN COUNT ONUS BUX WE’VE ALREADY HAD A WORLD CHAMPION BOXER, KELVIN SEABROOKS, and HIS CHIROPRACTOR KELVIN SEABROOKS COMMUNITY RELATIONS DIRECTOR DR. WATTS OF A&W CLINIC, HELPS KEEPKELVIN’S BACK IN SHAPE IF YOUR BACK OR NECK IS INJURED 35^3-3333 DR. DENNIS WATTS. D.C. WITH 2 OFFICES ON: BEATTIES FORD & WILKINSON OUR STAFF WILL TREAT YOU LIKE A WORLD CHAMPION
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 14, 1997, edition 1
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