Valsartan for treating high blood pressure

Valsartan is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist. Valsartan keeps blood vessels from narrowing, which lowers blood pressure and improves blood flow. It is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults and children who are at least 6 years old. Valsartan is also used in adults to treat heart failure, and to lower the risk of death after a heart attack. It is sometimes given together with other blood pressure medications.

If you have diabetes, do not use valsartan together with any medication that contains aliskiren (Amturnide, Tekturna, Tekamlo, Valturna). Before taking this medicine. Do not use valsartan if you are allergic to it. You may take valsartan with or without food. Take the medicine at the same time each day. If a child taking valsartan cannot swallow a capsule whole, your pharmacist can mix the medicine into a liquid. Shake this liquid well just before you measure a dose.

Measure the liquid with a special dose-measuring spoon or medicine cup, not with a regular table spoon. You may have very low blood pressure while taking valsartan. Call your doctor if you are sick with vomiting or diarrhea, or if you are sweating more than usual. Drinking alcohol can further lower your blood pressure and may increase certain side effects of valsartan. Do not use potassium supplements or salt substitutes while you are taking valsartan, unless your doctor has told you to.

Avoid getting up too fast from a sitting or lying position, or you may feel dizzy. Get up slowly and steady yourself to prevent a fall. Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. In rare cases, valsartan can cause a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. Call your doctor right away if you have unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness especially if you also have fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine.
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Clenpiq for Colonoscopy Prep

Food and Drug Administration FDA has granted approval of Clenpiq (sodium picosulfate, magnesium oxide, and anhydrous citric acid) oral solution for cleansing of the colon in adults undergoing a colonoscopy. Colonoscopies can reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer and deaths associated with this disease. Successful bowel prep is critical for gastroenterologists to clearly see the inside of the colon during a colonoscopy.

The sheer volume of a prescribed bowel prep solution can be a barrier for some patients to adequately complete their prep regimen, leading to suboptimal visualization of the colon, A ready-to-drink, low volume colonoscopy prep in a pre-mixed oral solution is an excellent start to prepare patients for this important procedure to detect and prevent colorectal cancer.

Clenpiq is a ready-to-drink cranberry-flavored, dual-acting, combination of sodium picosulfate, a stimulant laxative, and magnesium oxide and anhydrous citric acid, which forms magnesium citrate, an osmotic laxative indicated for cleansing of the colon as a preparation for colonoscopy in adults.

Clenpiq is contraindicated in the following conditions: patients with severe renal impairment (creatnine clearance less than 30mL/minute), gastrointestinal obstruction or ileus, bowel perforation, toxic colitis or toxic megacolon, gastric retention, or in patients with a known hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients in Clenpiq.

Patients should be advised to hydrate adequately (before, during and after use of Clenpiq), and post-colonoscopy lab tests should be considered if a patient develops significant vomiting or signs of dehydration, including orthostatic hypotension, after taking Clenpiq. Patients with electrolyte abnormalities should have them corrected before treatment. The most common adverse reactions in those trials were nausea, headache, and vomiting.
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Green tea slimming pills linked to liver damage

Green tea capsules are a popular supplement marketed for their anti-cancer fighting properties, anti-oxidant benefits and as a slimming aid. They are sold in various forms including capsules, tablets, powders and liquids.But experts now say taking the pills on an empty stomach especially may cause the active ingredients to have a more powerful and toxic effect on the liver.

Green tea's active ingredient is a type of antioxidant called catechins. In particular, epigallocatchin gallate (EGCG) – the most abundant catechin appears to be the culprit. Extracts contain these at much higher levels than are found in the brewed version of the popular drink.

The users are advised to stop using the product and seek medical help if they develop yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice), dark urine, sweating, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, unusual tiredness, or loss of appetite, as they may be symptoms of liver problems. There are many cases of liver failure associated with green tea supplements.Pharmacology have linked dozens of cases of liver damage to green tea EGCG.

CBC say at least two deaths have been partially linked to taking the capsules.
Last March, the Norwegian food safety authority issued a similar warning about the supplements.
Mattilsynet acted after it received several reports of adverse events, the majority of which were liver damage. It pointed to higher levels of EGCG as a concern.

Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council, said taking the pills on an empty stomach may be dangerous. The presumption is that people are taking these EGCG-containing supplements on an empty stomach. Concentrated catechins that hit the liver in a fasting state might have an effect that is different than when the liver is metabolising food.
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Idhifa drug for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Idhifa (enasidenib), an isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 inhibitor for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 (IDH2) mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test.

Idhifa is a prescription medicine used to treat people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 (IDH2) mutation whose disease has come back or has not improved after first treatment.

Enasidenib is an active ingredient in Idhifa while the inactive ingredients are: colloidal silicon dioxide, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hypromellose acetate succinate, iron oxide yellow, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium starch glycolate, talc and titanium dioxide

The drug may cause serious side effects like:nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice and lack of appetite.
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