Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee has narrowly voted to recommend that the indication for Eli Lilly’s antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine) be expanded to include use as a treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain. The Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee also voted that the benefits were minimal but outweighed the risks, which includes a black box warning of suicidality in children, adolescents and young adults; a potential for liver damage; and a risk of developing the rare skin disease Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and its more serious form, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN).

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“For me, just being here alive is a story to tell,” Karyl Bell told WNYT-TV. In October 2009, the then-17-year-old unexpectedly developed a rash on her face. Her tongue swelled and she had trouble swallowing and breathing. Her condition quickly worsened. Red, painful blisters broke out on her body. Lesions in her eyes caused her eyes to swell shut. All doctors could tell her worried mother was to sit by as the reaction ran its course and, “hope for the best.”

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The Epilepsy Foundation is warning people who take Dilantin or Lamictal to control their seizures that the medications can cause users to suffer from a rare but serious skin condition known as Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS).

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On September 21, 2008, Kendra Schmidt was pushed in a wheelchair through the track of the Fox Cities Marathon. “My sister ran it that year and my husband (Mike) pushed me,” she told the Post Crescent. But Kendra was determined. “I knew I’d run in it eventually.”

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Famotidine, the heartburn drug most known by the brand name Pepcid, is yet another drug that has been linked to a deadly skin reaction known as toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), the most serious version of Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS). Famotidine is available by both prescription and over-the-counter in either a tablet or suspension (liquid) that is taken by mouth. It is in a class of medications called H2 blockers and works by decreasing the amount of acid made in the stomach. Famotidine is used to treat ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and conditions where the stomach produces too much acid.

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The passing of former NBA star Manute Bol from an allergic reaction to medication has promoted many people to ask, What is Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and who is at risk? The answers, unfortunately, are not always clear. SJS is a serious skin and mucous membrane condition that has been associated with thousands of medications, both over-the-counter and prescriptions. The most common ones linked to SJS include some of the most widely used medications – ibuprofen and antibiotics. Others on the list are anti-viral and anti-seizure drugs.

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Eva Uhlin was 15 when a capsule of acetaminophen (sold over-the-counter as Tylenol) caused her face to “turn black and fall off,” according to Natural News. The young woman experienced a serious allergic reaction to the medication called toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), the most severe form of the skin condition Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS).

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A medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat migraine headaches is scheduled to become available in the United States this month. Cambia (diclofenac potassium for oral solution) was found to reduce migraine pain within 30 minutes, according to a study published in Cephalalgia, the international journal of headache.

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A newly approved drug for the treatment of arthritis in patients at risk of developing NSAID-associated gastric ulcers has been linked to a rare but serious hypersensitivity disorder known as Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS).

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A medicine used to treat and help prevent the flu may put patients at risk for a rare but life-threatening condition in which the skin peels off the body in sheets, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The agency notified the public that it has approved safety label changes for Relenza (zanamivir) Inhalation Powder for oral inhalation. The Adverse Reactions section of the drug’s new safety label now includes a risk of rash, including serious cutaneous reactions (e.g. erythema multiforme, Stevens Johnson Syndrome, SJS, and toxic epidermal necrolysis, TEN).

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