Zyprexa Information and Legal Guide

Zyprexa Information and Legal Guide

When news of the dangerous and potentially deadly side effects of Zyprexa forced the Food and Drug Administration to mandate the addition of a warning label to the bottle in 2003, many patients were left confused, frightened, and unsure of where to turn.

Zyprexa is an atypical antipsychotic prescription medication used to help manage symptoms of schizophrenia, the manic phase of manic-depression, and other psychotic disorders. Unfortunately, atypical antipsychotic drugs like Zyprexa have been shown to complicate the metabolism in some users, leading to serious blood sugar disorders like hyperglycemia and pancreatitis.

February 6, 2008 FDA To meet on the Safety of Zyprexa:

The FDA will meet on Wednesday to determine the safety to a long lasting version of Zyprexa, made by Eli Lilly.

Zyprexa has fallen under heavy scrutiny over the past few years by consumer advocacy groups and medical professionals pointing towards the dangerous and sometimes deadly side effects linked to its use; diabetes, diabetic coma, pancreatitis and in rare cases even death. There have already been two large scale rounds of thousands of lawsuits that the company has settled with plaintiff lawyers for hundreds of millions of dollars.

There will be a panel of outside experts evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the drug Zyprexa Adhera, which is an injectable version of the drug. Although many times they do, the FDA is not bound by law to follow the advice the panel of experts provides. Scientists’ of the FDA have noted that although he drug appears to work, it does seem to have an increased sedation effect among a portion of patients, which may warrant a black box warning to alert doctors and patients to the possible dangers.

Lilly states that the sedation effect is almost certainly caused by physicians performing improper injections and it not due to the drug itself.

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The active ingredient of Zyprexa, known as olanzapine, is believed to work by opposing the action of serotonin and dopamine transmission, two of the brain's important chemical messengers. Serotonin is involved in the regulation of sleep, appetite, sexual desire, and mood, while dopamine helps control movement, cognition, and motivation.

Zyprexa differs from older antipscyhotic drugs because it allegedly causes fewer cases of severe side effects such as extrapyramidal symptoms, tardive dyskinesia, and potentially fatal neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Atypical antipsychotic drugs were heralded from the onset because they differed from first generation antipsychotics by blocking certain neurochemical reactions within the brain, effectively alleviating the drug's negative aspects.

While these drugs did in fact reduce these chronic and often debilitating side effects, the unique neurochemistry of Zyprexa later proved to cause other unexpected and adverse reactions. Zyprexa ultimately alters the metabolism of some patients, reduces the body's sensitivity to insulin in others, and creates a host of different issues in other users. News of complaints of serious conditions such as hyperglycemia, diabetes, ketoacidosis, and pancreatitis by Zyprexa users began to emerge, and a paper written in late 2001 for the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reports the FDA has been alerted of warnings of 19 case reports of diabetes associated with the use of Zyprexa. Potential side effects were considered such a risk that in 2002 the Japanese Health and Welfare Ministry and the Great Britain Medicines Control Agency issued emergency warnings concerning Zyprexa and diabetes-related complications. The FDA was forced to intervene in 2003 after studies found even more serious side effects associated with Zyprexa, mandating the addition of a warning label to all second generation antipsychotics.

Substantial evidence has since surfaced suggesting that Eli Lilly (the maker of Zyprexa) allegedly knew about the potentially deadly side effects of Zyprexa since at least 2002 and perhaps earlier, but chose to take the path of apathy and inaction in order to protect huge profit margins. The success of Zyprexa for the company was indeed extraordinary - news reports show that the drug is currently the most popular antipsychotic medication in the United States, and Eli Lilly enjoys annual revenue of about $2.6 billion from the sale of Zyprexa.

If you've taken Zyprexa and have experienced any of these dangerous side effects, you can help ensure that innocent consumers like yourself are protected from future health scares by holding the powerful pharmaceutical companies accountable for these kinds of dangerous omissions. You may deserve to be personally compensated for your needless physical and emotional suffering caused by Zyprexa and other prescribed medications. Contact an experienced Zyprexa lawyer who knows how to navigate the complexities of personal injury law to help you what you are entitled to.

Don't let varying statute of limitations constraints impede your opportunity to take a stand against large pharmaceutical companies - read the steps below in order to learn about news and info on how to begin your free case review today.

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