Some anti-obesity drugs cause liver damage

Thursday, October 22, 2009

U.S. health officials said they went on to study reports of damage in the liver of people who used "Propecia", a drug to combat obesity, which is produced by Roche, which is marketed by Smith GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) under the name Alli.

Said the Food and Drug Administration Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it had received 32 reports between 1999 and 2008 refer to cases of liver damage of this kind.

All cases except two, relating to prescribing Propecia, which produced outside the United States, of the 32 cases, 27 patients were taken to hospital, six cases of hepatitis have stopped working, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Alli drive to combat obesity pose a health risk
The Food and Drug Administration: "Analysis of these data are continuing and there is no conclusive link between liver injury and orlistat [the active ingredient of the drug] has been identified at this stage", adding that people who use this treatment should continue to be used as described to them.

Obese people prone to liver problems
Said the U.S. laboratory GlaxoSmithKline GSK said in a statement that "there is no evidence of damage caused by drug Alli in the liver.

But people who are overweight or obese are at high risk for health problems related to the liver .. According to the British pharmaceutical group.

And defended her medicine from Roche, saying that there was no evidence of a link between Propecia and the occurrence of liver damage.

A spokesman for the Swiss group said in a statement: "The Roche has always been to monitor and analyze the safety of the liver under the influence of Propecia, and even now, there is no evidence of a link between Propecia and liver damage."

He added that Roche was taking "very seriously the safety of patients" and "continue to work closely with the Food and Drug Administration, both the drugs do not constitute a major source of income for GSK and Roche.