Further Evidence That Celebrex Is Not All
It Is Cracked Up to Be
Previous research suggesting
that a COX-2 inhibitor painkiller had fewer stomach side effects than
traditional drugs such as ibuprofen was flawed. There is more uncertainty
about COX-2 inhibitors than is presently acknowledged.
It was hoped that
COX-2-inhibitors would help patients avoid stomach problems linked to the
use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a class of drugs that
includes aspirin and ibuprofen. Such drugs are used to treat chronic
illness, such as arthritis, but can cause gastrointestinal problems
including ulcers and bleeding.
Traditional NSAIDs block two
enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2; however, COX-1 helps protect the stomach lining.
Selective blocking of COX-2, in theory, would improve arthritis pain without
robbing the stomach of the protective COX-1.
That was the belief, at least.
Then in September 2000, The Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA) published findings from a
new study that
appeared to show that patients taking Celebrex did, indeed, have fewer
stomach side effects that those who took NSAIDs.
Out of 8,000 patients with
arthritis, those on Celebrex had a 52% to 65% lower risk of gastrointestinal
problems than did those on either ibuprofen or another NSAID called
Cataflam. Overall, 1.4% of patients on those NSAIDs suffered ulcer
symptoms compared with less than 1% of those taking Celebrex.
Now an editorial in the British
Medical Journal highlights the fact that the original study contained
significant design flaws: it combined findings from two separate studies,
and included results from only the first 6 months of data, whereas the
studies collected data for a total of 12 and 15 months.
When data from the entire study
period were analyzed, Celebrex appears to produce no fewer ulcer
complications than the two NSAIDs. There is currently no evidence to support
the notion that Celebrex leads to less ulcer-related complications in the
long-term than traditional NSAIDs.
Furthermore, the entire data
were available when the authors of the September article submitted the
manuscript.
Data from the entire studies
were later submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and
criticisms of the JAMA paper appeared in the Washington Post in August 2001,
and in two letters published in JAMA in November of that year.
Based on this data, the FDA
still requires that the drug label carry a warning about potential
gastrointestinal side effects. A competitor, Vioxx, has dropped this warning
as studies have shown it does have fewer gastrointestinal side effects than
other NSAIDs.
Experts are concerned that many
doctors may have missed these and other subsequent attempts to clarify the
original study findings on Celebrex, and may still consider the first report
to be fully accurate.
British Medical Journal June 1, 2002;324:1287-1290 (Full Text Article
Link)
Finally, one of the top
journals in the world is picking up on this issue.
Ok, folks, here are three
questions for today:
1. Who makes Celebrex?
If you answered
Pharmacia, you are correct.
2. What else does
Pharmacia own?
Pharmacia Corporation
was created in April 2000 through the merger of Pharmacia & Upjohn with
Monsanto
Company and its G.D. Searle unit. Pharmacia employs 59,000 people
worldwide and has research, manufacturing and administrative sales
operations in more than 60 countries.
3. So, Pharmacia owns
Monsanto. Now, what does Monsanto do or make?
If you answered Round Up
Insecticide, the controller of nearly all genetically modified seeds,
you answered correctly.
Here we see a MAJOR
integrity glitch in a company that essentially did not tell the full story.
They lied to us so their drug would have favorable reviews in
JAMA and they
could make more money. Don't you find it interesting that Pharmacia, the
drug's manufacturer, can not even prove that this new drug is any less
damaging than aspirin? Causing less GI toxicity is supposed to be the huge
advantage of this drug.
Can you really trust a
company that would do this? Can you really believe that the GMO plants they
are introducing are any different?
Folks, this is a huge
problem. Only recently did I realize Monsanto is owned by Pharmacia. I have
always been very concerned about the GMO issue, but in light of this new
information, I truly believe we need to be especially vigilant about these
foods.
I talked about Celebrex
before (February
2001) when this issue first hit the FDA panel. Because Celebrex is the
number one anti-inflammatory drug, the false claims unveiled in this study
are important information. Many people take this drug under the impression
that it will reduce their risk of ulcers.
The market for analgesics is
about TEN BILLION dollars per year.
That is one big number, and the reason it is an important drug to watch. You
need to remember that anytime you are dealing with that much money, there
will inevitably be corruption, greed and negative influences.
So ALWAYS be alert to
deception. As one of my friends, Dr. Tom Stone, is fond of saying "The
PLANET is RULED by GREED and DECEIT!"
Note: Celebrex has also been
shown to reduce beneficial protaglandins and increase your risk for heart
attack.
Related Articles:
Drug Company Lies
About Celebrex in JAMA
Another "Nail in
the Coffin" for Daily Aspirin Use
Celebrex Not
Shown to Lower Ulcer Risk
How Vioxx
and Celebrex Increase Your Risk of Heart Attack
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