Other Fluoride Drugs........ie Baycol (othrees Redux, Fen-Phen and Pondimin)
Paxil
Prozac
One of the most frequently used anesthesias for general surgery is
fluorinated halothane. A finding of significantly higher incidence of
cardiac arrhythmias in children who were undergoing outpatient dental
extraction and who were anaesthetised with halothane compared with
sevoflurane, is reported on at:
http://www.doh.gov.uk/cmo/cmo99_13.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2001/aug/18/fluoride_drugs.htm
Baycol - Another Fluoride Drug Bites the Dust
By Andreas Schuld and Wendy Small
Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children (PFPC)
Yet another fluoridated drug was withdrawn from the global market this week.
"Baycol" (made by Bayer AG) - a cholesterol-lowering drug taken by 700,000
Americans - was pulled off the market on Wednesday, August 8th. It had been
linked to 31 U.S. deaths. Bayer would not disclose the total number of
deaths worldwide, but at least nine more fatalities abroad are known.
Baycol had been found to cause muscle destruction - a condition known as
rhabdomyolysis - and displayed compounded toxicity when used with other drugs.
On August 9th, the European Medicines Evaluation Agency announced a safety
review of other drugs in the same class as Bayer 's "Baycol".
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COMMENT (by Andreas Schuld and Wendy Small):
This is not the only recent withdrawal of a fluorinated drug.
The pulling of Baycol follows the earlier withdrawal of other fluorinated
"weight-reducing" drugs such as Redux, Fen-Phen and Pondimin (September 1997).
Regarding the once very popular drug combination Fen-Phen, it is important
to note that only the fluorinated compound ("Fen" - fenfluramine) was
withdrawn, while Phentermine ("Phen") was not pulled.
Rhabdomyolysis
Concerning rhabdomyolysis - other fluorinated medications have shown the
same adverse effect.
Since 1988 - their introduction on the market - many cases of tendonitis
and rhabdomyolysis have also been reported due to fluoroquinolone
antibiotics, which are used in the treament of a large variety of infections.
In October 1994 the Japan Pharmaceutical Affairs Bureau amended the product
information for Enoxacin, Fleroxacin, Norfloxacin, Sparfloxacin and
Tosufloxacin to state that rhabdomyolysis may occur. (Reference:
Information on Adverse Reactions to Drugs No.128, October 1994.)
In 1996, the Sri Lanka Drug Evaluation Sub-Committee decided that the
product information of fluoroquinolone antibiotics should include a warning
stating: "The onset of tendon pain calls for immediate withdrawal of
fluoroquinolone antibiotics." (Reference: 27th Meeting of the Drug
Evaluation Sub-Committee, Ministry of Health, Colombo, 26 November 1996.)
Fluorophenyl
"Baycol" (Cerivastatin) is yet another drug containing a fluorophenyl
compound. Prozac and Paxil are some other well-known drugs containing
fluorophenyl compounds, as are pesticides including Flusilazole and
Fluorbenside.
Starting in the 1930s, fluorophenyl compounds were used as successful
agents in the treatment of hyperthyroidism. Originally used mainly in the
dye and pesticide industries, it had been found by IG Farben (Bayer) and
Knoll's scientists that all fluoride compounds - organic or inorganic -
interfere with thyroid hormone activity.
[It is important to realize that this disturbance is not caused by the
thyroid gland itself. Any effects on the actual gland are a secondary
effect and a result of the severe disturbance caused elsewhere in
peripheral tissue, particularly the liver and brain.]
Organic fluoride compounds undergo extensive transformation in the liver,
mainly via a process called oxidative demethylation, involving the thyroid
hormone (T3) mediated P-450 enzyme system.
In many instances the resulting metabolites may have higher activity and/or
greater toxicity than the original compound.
Ironically, an example often used as textbook case to demonstrate of how
more-toxic metabolites are produced after passing through the liver, is a
compound called "Sevoflurane", which is one of many fluorinated agents used
in anesthesia.
Inorganic fluoride is a normal metabolite of Sevoflurane and thought to be
responsible for the renal failure observed.
Fluvoxamine (Luvox) transforms to at least 9 metabolites.
Drug Interaction
The activity of organic fluoride compounds on the P-450 enzyme system is
also important as it relates to the elimination of many other drugs.
Inhibition of these enzymes can cause other drugs to accumulate to
dangerous levels in the body, and many cases implicating fluorinated
medications are documented in hundreds of studies on MEDLINE.
As just one example, fluoxetine (Prozac) increased up to 13 times the
concentrations of thioridazine and its metabolites in the plasma when both
medications were administered (Daniel et al, 1999).
Drug interaction was also part of the reason for the Baycol withdrawal.
Liver
Liver damage is often observed when fluorinated agents are used. This,
again, is true for all organic fluoride compounds.
In 2000, 3M announced a phase-out of "Scotchgard" products after
discovering that the product's primary ingredient-a fluorinated compound
called perfluorooctanylsulfonate (PFOS) -- was found in all tested blood
bank examinations.
PFOS and related compounds are known to cause liver dysfunction and liver
cancer.
Paxil and Prozac are also known to cause liver disease.
Fluoxetine (Prozac) has been shown to cause severe liver dysfunction such
as hepatitis (Cai et al, 1999; Johnston & Wheeler, 1997; Mars et al, 1991;
Friedenberg & Rothstein, 1996).
Fluoxetine has also shown tumor-promoting activity in the liver (Lin et al,
1999).
Tolrestat (fluorinated anti-diabetic) was withdrawn in 1997 after the
appearance of severe liver toxicity.
Thyroid Hormones
All fluoride compounds interfere with thyroid hormones.
Example: Prozac (fluoxetine)
Several studies show that fluoxetine causes a decline inT3 levels and
affects T3 production (Eravci et al, 2000; Lin et al, 1999; Baumgartner et
al, 1994; Shelton et al, 1993).
In rat brain, fluoxetine has also been shown to interfere with T3
metabolism (Eravci et al, 2000; Baumgartner et al, 1994).
In 1983 Golstein et al. stated that, "the major effect of the drug seems to
be stimulation of TSH synthesis and release via the inhibition of
T4-mediated thyroid-pituitary feedback. Additionally, fluoxetine could
exert a minor direct central stimulatory effect on TSH secretion".
Fetal/Infancy
The metabolites produced by organic fluoride compounds in the liver are
tranferred to the fetus through various pathways, including circulatory via
placental passage, gastrointestinal via fetal swallowing, and respiratory
secondary to fetal lung absorption (Hostetter et al, 2000). Numerous
congenital abnormalities have been reported due to first trimester exposure
to Fluconsazole, a systemic antifungal agent (Pursley et al, 1996).
Infants who were breastfed by mothers taking fluoxetine (Prozac)
demonstrated a growth curve significantly below that of infants who were
breastfed by mothers who did not take the drug (Chambers et al, 1999).
This is of urgent concern. The potential for severe mental dysfunction is
immense.
Other F-Drugs Recently Withdrawn:
Most of the fluorinated drugs withdrawn have shown to cause serious cardiac
adverse effects, which is not surprising considering their influence on
thyroid hormone activity.
(Ironically many were first held of benefit in heart disease).
1) In 2000 Cisapride ("Propulsid") was withdrawn because it caused severe
cardiac side effects
2) The drug Mibedrafil ("Posicor") was withdrawn after it was shown that
patients with congestive heart failure showed a trend to higher mortality
(1998).
3) Flosequinan was withdrawn in 1993 after it was shown that the beneficial
effects on the symptoms of heart failure did not last beyond the first 3
months of therapy. After the first 3 months of therapy, patients on the
drug had a higher rate of hospitalization than patients taking a placebo.
4) Astemizole (allergy drug) was withdrawn in 1999 because it also became
associated with serious life threatening cardiac adverse events.
5) Fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine were withdrawn in 1997 due to serious
cardiac adverse health effects.
(Other fluorinated drugs have also shown serious cardiac toxicity, such as
Halofantrine, but remain on the market with only warnings issued so far.)
6) Tolrestat (anti-diabetic) was withdrawn in 1997 after the appearance of
severe liver toxicity and deaths.
7) In 1992 Abbott withdrew Temafloxacin (anti-biotic) ("Omniflox"). The
drug had caused deaths, liver dysfunction, etc.
8) Grepafloxacin was removed from the market in 1999 because of serious
cardiac events.
Etc., etc., etc...
This is also what we call - fluoride poisoning.
Andreas Schuld, Wendy Small
Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children (PFPC) -http://www.bruha.com/fluoride/
Vancouver, BC, Canada
PS: Last year, U.S. District Judge Louis C. Bechtle approved a $3.75
billion national settlement of health claims stemming from "Fen-Phen". More
than 9,000 lawsuits were filed against American Home Products, maker of
fenfluramine.
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Additional comments from Jeff Green of Citizens for Safe Drinking Water
(phone - 800-728-3833):
One of the most frequently used anesthesias for general surgery is
fluorinated halothane. A finding of significantly higher incidence of
cardiac arrhythmias in children who were undergoing outpatient dental
extraction and who were anaesthetised with halothane compared with
sevoflurane, is reported on at:
http://www.doh.gov.uk/cmo/cmo99_13.htm
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For more information, please refer to the following:
Scientific References - Fluoride and the Thyroid
Scientific References - PFOA/PFOS (Scotchgard)
3M and Scotchgard: "Heroes of Chemistry" or a 20-year coverup?
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References:
Baumgartner A, Dubeyko M, Campos-Barros A, Eravci M, Meinhold H -
"Subchronic administration of fluoxetine to rats affects triiodothyronine
production and deiodination in regions of the cortex and in the limbic
forebrain" Brain Res 635(1-2):68-74 (1994)
Chambers CD, Anderson PO, Thomas RG, Dick LM, Felix RJ, Johnson KA, Jones
KL - "Weight gain in infants breastfed by mothers who take fluoxetine"
Pediatrics 104(5):e61 (1999)
Eravci M, Pinna G, Meinhold H, Baumgartner A - "Effects of pharmacological
and nonpharmacological treatments on thyroid hormone metabolism and
concentrations in rat brain" Endocrinology 141(3):1027-40 (2000)
Friedenberg FK, Rothstein KD - "Hepatitis secondary to fluoxetine
treatment" Am J Psychiatry 153(4):580(1996)
Golstein J, Schreiber S, Velkeniers B, Vanhaelst L - "Effect of fluoxetine,
a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, on the pituitary-thyroid axis in rat" Eur J
Pharmacol 91(2-3):239-43 (1983)
Hostetter A, Ritchie JC, Stowe ZN - "Amniotic fluid and umbilical cord
blood concentrations of antidepressants in three women" Biol Psychiatry
48(10):1032-4 (2000)
Jackson IM, Luo LG - "Antidepressants inhibit the glucocorticoid
stimulation of
thyrotropin releasing hormone expression in cultured hypothalamic neurons"
J Investig Med 1998 Dec;46(9):470-4 (1988)
Johnston DE, Wheeler DE - "Chronic hepatitis related to use of fluoxetine."
Am J Gastroenterol 92(7):1225-6 (1997)
Lin X, Levitsky DA, King JM, Campbell TC - "The promotion effect of
anorectic drugs on aflatoxin B(1)-induced hepatic preneoplastic foci"
Carcinogenesis 20(9):1793-9 (1999)
Mars F, Dumas de la Roque G, Goissen P - "Acute hepatitis during treatment
with fluoxetine" Gastroenterol Clin Biol 15(3):270-1 (1991)
Pursley TJ, Blomquist IK, Abraham J, Andersen HF, Bartley JA -
"Fluconazole-induced congenital anomalies in three infants" Clin Infect Dis
22(2):336-40 (1996)
Shelton RC, Winn S, Ekhatore N, Loosen PT - "The effects of antidepressants
on the thyroid axis in depression." Biol Psychiatry 33(2):120-6 (1993)
Be sure to read the other two articles on Baycol in this week's issue:
Baycol Pulled From Market as Numerous Deaths Linked to It
The Baycol Recall: How Safe Is Your Statin?
Related Articles:
Cholesterol Drugs: How Expensive Is Too Expensive?
New Cholesterol Guidelines Issued
Lipitor May Suppress Your Immune System: There Are Far Better Options