Health Highlights: April 9, 2004

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

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Chicago Drugstores Plagued by Pricing Errors: Report

More than three out of four of Chicago’s chain drugstores overcharged customers for their purchases due to mistakes at the checkout counter, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

However, an investigation by the Chicago Department of Consumer Services found no evidence that the overcharges at more than 100 Walgreen’s, Osco, and CVS stores were deliberate, the newspaper said.

Most of the overcharges were between 50 cents and $2, although they ranged from a penny to $45, the investigators found. Experts cited by the newspaper said many customers didn’t notice the discrepancies because prices often weren’t listed on the items themselves, just on the store shelves.

While spokespeople for the drugstore chains said many perceived scanner mistakes stemmed from employee failure to correct aisle signs following a sale, the investigators considered the price posted near the item to be what customers should have been charged, the Tribune reported. Also, items similar in appearance can frequently be misplaced under a price sign that represents a different item, industry observers told the newspaper.

An unnamed city spokesman told the Tribune that the city is in the early stages of investigating the matter.

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Children Should Avoid Antidepressants: Researchers

People younger than 18 should avoid newer antidepressants like Paxil and Zoloft because the drugs offer little benefit to this age group and pose “disturbing shortcomings,” according to a HealthDay report on an Australian study.

In the April 10 issue of the British Medical Journal, the researchers concluded that the medications “cannot confidently be recommended as a treatment option for childhood depression.”

Their pronouncement follows a move last month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration instructing the makers of 10 antidepressants to add a visible warning on the drug label indicating the potential for suicidal thinking and behavior.

The authors of the new review examined six randomized controlled trials of newer antidepressants — Effexor, Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft — that had been published in refereed journals. They concluded that the benefits were exaggerated and that the side effects — including suicidal thoughts — were not well-documented. The researchers added that the studies were sometimes funded by the drugmakers.

Practicing psychiatrists and other critics of the study, however, dismissed its conclusions. They claimed that the authors of the review never adequately delineated what the serious adverse effects are, and that funding by pharmaceutical companies does not necessarily compromise a study’s results.

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FDA Warns of Possible Lead Contamination in Mexican Candy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it’s aware of a problem associated with lead contamination of some Mexican candy products being sold in the United States. So the agency is advising parents, care providers and other responsible adults to not allow children to eat these products at this time.

The FDA said it has information showing candies and related products that contain significant amounts of chili powder may contain higher lead levels than other types of candy, such as candy that contains predominantly sugar. Examples of chili-containing products include lollipops coated with chili and powdery mixtures of salt, lemon flavor and chili seasoning sold as a snack item.

Also, tamarind, a popular Mexican candy item, can become contaminated with lead if it is sold in poorly made glazed ceramic vessels that release lead from the glaze into the candy, according to the agency.

FDA officials said they will work with the Mexican government and industry personnel to resolve the problem.

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Experimental Drug May Prevent Irregular Heartbeat

Researchers say they have found a medication to correct the cause of a deadly type of irregular heartbeat in people with heart failure, according to HealthDay.

About half of the deaths related to heart failure are caused by arrhythmia, a fast and erratic heartbeat. Columbia University Medical Center researchers discovered the cause of that problem more than three years ago, according to lead researcher Dr. Andrew Marks, the schools’ chairman of physiology and cellular biophysics. It is a leakiness of the cellular channels through which calcium flows to control the regular beating of the heart. That leakage can result in a fatal arrhythmia.

In the April 9 issue of the journal Science, the researchers reported that a new drug, designated JTV519, makes a protein that attaches itself to the leaky calcium channels, closing them to stop the leakage. In laboratory tests, the drug prevented arrhythmias in 10 mice with the same molecular defect found in human heart failure, while eight of nine mice with the same defect who did not get the drug developed fatal arrhythmias.

Heart failure, which affects an estimated 4.6 million Americans and contributes to 300,000 deaths a year, is a progressive loss of the heart’s ability to pump blood. Drugs can help many patients, but the ultimate treatment often involves more drastic measures such as implanted defibrillators or heart transplants.

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Flaws Seen in West Nile Blood Screening

After noticing that people were contracting West Nile virus through blood transfusions in 2002, U.S. health officials began screening donations in 2003. While that prevented many infections, the government reported Thursday, some still got West Nile from donated blood.

The number was small, but it was enough to prompt the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to call for changes in blood screening this year.

The CDC reported that the screening method identified more than 800 donations containing West Nile from a total of 6 million units, which the agency said prevented more than 1,000 infections through transfusions. Still, six people got the virus from donated blood.

According to a report in the CDC publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the blood was screened, but viral concentrations were so low that the test didn’t detect them. Officials plan to have more sensitive tests later this year, but in the meantime they said that the risk of getting the virus is much lower than the danger in not getting a blood transfusion.

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Recall of Painkiller Patch Widened

Janssen Pharmaceutica has announced what the company called an “urgent” expansion of its recall of its painkiller patch Duragesic because of a leak that could cause life-threatening complications.

Janssen originally announced the recall of one batch in February, but now the recall has widened to four more batches.

The transdermal patches contain the opioid fentanyl in gel form. The company discovered that a seal along one edge allowed the drug to leak onto the skin. As a result, users could either be not getting enough, which can lead to withdrawal systems, or too much, which can lead to dangerous overdoses.

The recall applies to Duragesic patches releasing 75 micrograms per hour. The control numbers listed on the package are: 0327192, 0327193, 0327294, 0327295, and 0330362. Patients and caregivers who are exposed to the gel are urged to wash their hands with water only.

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