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Arthritis drugs put on urgent review

By Ruth Pollard, Health Reporter

December 29, 2004 - The medicines watchdog is under increasing pressure to recall two anti-inflammatory drugs after safety warnings from the US and the voluntary withdrawal of advertising by the drugs' maker, Pfizer.

The new-generation drugs used to treat arthritis, Celebrex and Bextra, were the subject of a public health advisory from the US Food and Drug Administration late last week. It follows Pfizer's announcement a fortnight ago that a clinical trial had shown Celebrex could carry an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Another drug in the Cox-2 inhibitor class, Vioxx, was suddenly withdrawn from the market by its manufacturer, Merck, on September 30 because of evidence it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The US agency advised that doctors should prescribe the two drugs only to patients with a history of gastrointestinal bleeding, or to those whose pain was not controlled with other drugs. It said doctors should evaluate patients' risk of heart disease before prescribing a Cox-2 inhibitor.

At least 300,000 arthritis sufferers around Australia were affected by the withdrawal of Vioxx. It is unclear how many take the other two drugs in that class.

After Vioxx was withdrawn from the market, the senior medical director of Pfizer Australia, Bill Ketelbey, said the firm was "confident in the long-term cardiovascular safety of Celebrex, based on a large body of clinical evidence". Celebrex's chemical composition is similar to that of Vioxx.

But while Celebrex remains on the market, Pfizer has voluntarily withdrawn its consumer advertising in the US and New Zealand (direct to consumer advertising is not permitted in Australia).

Jon Jureidini, the chairman of Healthy Skepticism, a website that exposes pharmaceutical marketing techniques, said consumers could return to taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs - the "cheaper and safer alternatives". He said: "There is no reason to keep taking the risk with [these drugs]. I can't see a rational scientific basis for the [Therapeutic Goods Administration] refusing to withdraw them. The drug company involved has withdrawn its advertising ..."

Dr Jureidini said the warning signs on that class of drugs had been there for four years.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has asked all firms researching Cox-2 inhibitors to produce their results as a matter of urgency. It has instructed organisations conducting trials not to enrol any more patients and to discuss the new developments with existing trial participants.

The administration said the report on the Cox-2 inhibitors was due to be completed in mid-January; in the meantime, it had advised doctors and consumers of the concerns about Celebrex.

The medical director of Arthritis Australia, Graeme Jones, said last week that there was no evidence that the Celebrex dose commonly prescribed to Australian patients, 200 milligrams, raised the risk of heart disease.

Vioxx (tm) Gone, Celebrex (tm) May Be Next - Arthritis and Joint Pain Sufferers Look to Safer Natural Solution.

Do you or someone you love suffer from arthritis, joint or muscle pain? Now there"s a new solution to a very old problem! Introducing Flex Easy™ - No more pills and no more pain from arthritis, stiff joints, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, hi...

(PRWEB) December 28, 2004 -- The genius behind Flex Easy™ is Dr. Brad Krueger; a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.), Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner. As a specialist in joint extremity problems, Dr. Brad Krueger has worked with athletes on all levels; high school, college and even professional. He also runs a very successful general family chiropractic practice, serving all ages, at Cedar Rapids Chiropractic.

Dr. Brad Krueger first started looking into how to alleviate the pain of arthritis and aching joints in his 8th year of practice. "My patients we"re telling me that glucosamine and chondroitin didn"t help in reducing the pain. I found it odd that the science behind the products say it work, but they didn"t for the most part. And they wanted a safer alternative than prescription drugs for their arthritis", explains Dr. Brad Krueger.

As to when he started looking for an alternative solution, Dr. Brad Krueger says, "When I personally received an injury in the fall of 2002 playing golf, I found it hard to work with my patients. I thought I had torn in my left rotator cuff and damaged my right acromio-clavicular joint. It was like pulling a chicken wing apart, that popping and snapping sound would be made every time I lifted my shoulder."

Nothing Dr. Brad Krueger tried worked for alleviating the pain he felt, "I personally know pain! I've had three knee surgeries before the age of 18 from athletics. But I've never had this intense a pain before, and in two sides of my body at one time. I finally gave in to my manly stubbornness and went and got both an MRI and X-Ray examinations on both shoulders. My mind was already preparing to undergo some sort of surgical procedure at least on my right shoulder to "tie down" my sliding clavicle."

Needless to say, after $2000 of exams and orthopedic consultations, Dr. Brad Krueger was both disheartened and relieved to find absolutely nothing was torn in either shoulder. The Orthopedic Surgeon told him he had a really loose clavicle and his only real option was taking a cortisone shot for the pain.

What the exams did reveal was the start of some arthritic degeneration in both of his acromio-clavicular joints (where your collar bone meets your shoulder). And that comes directly from the work he does directing a downward force with his arms all day long.

"I figured I needed to heal my ligaments/cartilage and knew that glucosamine and chondroitin and another sulfur compound called MSM have been shown in studies to do so. I immediately started taking the full regimen of that", explained Dr. Brad Krueger.

By the Winter/Spring of 2003 he was not better. He was going to have to quit his practice due to the pain. He knew supplements were capable of healing and repairing his condition but didn"t know why they weren"t working. "That"s when I decided to research the problem. I found that glucosamine products in pill form can have only a fraction of the potency of liquid glucosamine. But liquid glucosamine can still take months to actually work. Neither I nor anyone I know want to wait months for pain relief", exclaimed Dr. Brad Kruger.

"I knew if I wanted pain relief as well as repair I was going to have to develop my own formula for use. I needed something to both heal and provide pain and inflammation relief naturally without the harmful side effects of prescription drugs. After much painstaking research and trial and error with a pharmaceutical manufacturer, we developed Flex Easy™ in early summer 2003."

Within just a couple of weeks, months of suffering with pain were over and Dr. Brad Krueger had his normal active pain free life back.
Consumers spend billions on pain relief every year to deal with the pain of arthritis, stiff joints, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, hip pain, elbow pain, sore back, chronic back ache, bursitis, tendonitis and more.

Too often, the result is upset stomach, increased odds of ulcer, liver and kidney problems - and you still have pain.

Thanks to Mother Nature - pain has now met its match. No more pills & no more pain!
Flex Easy™ is the only product (whether liquid or pill form) that provides ingredients that maintain and repair cartilage, fight joint and muscle inflammation, and fight the release of pain triggers without harmful side effects. Other companies' products have one or two components, but not all three.

If you would like more information about Flex Easy™ and how it can help with your pain check out Dr. Brad Krueger"s website at www.flexeasy.com or call him at 319-364-0030.

Flex Easy™ comes with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. The only thing you have to lose by trying Flex Easy™ is – the pain!

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DR. BRAD KRUEGER
Brad Krueger
319-364-0030

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