Category Archives: Dangerous Drugs
Our Birth Trauma Lawyers Discuss the Dangers of Terbutaline and Autism in Infants
Terbutaline is a generic version of name-brand drugs Brethine and Bricanyl. The generic drug is commonly used “off label” to halt pre-term labor, lengthen pregnancy and prevent premature birth. Annually, approximately 1 million women are treated with terbutaline for this purpose. Terbutaline is actually used to treat asthma, making its use to control pre-term labor highly controversial. Some physicians contend that the drug is dangerous while others say it is no more effective at prolonging labor than a placebo. The US Food and Drug Administration has not approved uses of terbutaline for anything other than controlling asthma. Recent studies have raised concerns that the drug may have a profound, negative impact on an unborn baby’s brain development due to overstimulation of certain brain activity. Overstimulation could lead to autism, particularly in twins. Further, the study’s findings suggest that exposure to drugs like terbutaline early in development could leave the brains…
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Posted in Autism, Birth Defects, Birth Trauma, Brain Damage, Brain Injury, Dangerous Drugs Tagged birth trauma attorneys, birth trauma lawyers, fraternal twins with autism Comments Off on Our Birth Trauma Lawyers Discuss the Dangers of Terbutaline and Autism in Infants
Mother Given Unneeded Drug during Birth Receives Payout from Negligent UK Hospital
In 2007, Portia Kupahurasa was admitted to the Doncaster Royal Infirmary to give birth to her son. However, Kupahurasa was given an intravenous drip during labor that contained the drug Syntocrin. This drug is commonly used to induce and help with delivery, but unfortunately it was not needed and caused Kapahurasa’s contractions to excessively strengthen. As a result, the force of her contractions deprived her baby, Darryl Munashe Kupahurasa, much-needed oxygen at birth. He was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a disability that affects his ability to walk, talk and process information. In a High Court ruling, Kupahurasa and her now 6-year-old son were awarded £2.45 million as well as annual payments that will increase as Munashe ages. A spokesperson for the National Health Service trust which paid for the hospital’s damages told BBC News, “We are deeply sorry for what happened and for the enormous impact it has had…
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Posted in Birth Trauma, Cerebral Palsy, Dangerous Drugs Tagged birth injury, birth trauma lawyer, cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy attorney, traumatic birth Comments Off on Mother Given Unneeded Drug during Birth Receives Payout from Negligent UK Hospital
10 Epilepsy Drugs Appear To Cause Birth Defects
There is an ever-increasing list of prescription drugs found to increase the risk of birth defects, and new evidence shows that FDA should add some of the most common epilepsy drugs to the list. AdverseEvents, Inc. a company that analyzes the FDA’s adverse drug event database says that 10 of the most popular epilepsy drugs in the United States have been found to have a large numbers of birth defect-related adverse events. Carbatrol/Tegretol, Depacon/Kene/Kote, Dilantin, Keppra (and IR, Klonopin, Lamictal, Neurontin, Topomax, Trileptal, and Zonegran were found to have more than 25 individual birth defect case reports. AdverseEvents is recommending that the drugs be re-classified to D class from C class, associating them with “positive evidence of human fetal risk”. Class D drugs are generally not prescribed to pregnant women unless there is no less risky alternative. It is especially significant that the FDA re-classify these drugs because most epileptic…
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Posted in Birth Defects, Dangerous Drugs Tagged AdverseEvents Inc., Birth Defects, birth injury, birth trauma attorney, Carbatrol, Depacon, Keppra Comments Off on 10 Epilepsy Drugs Appear To Cause Birth Defects
