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Article: A Second Look at an Asthma Medication; Long-acting beta agonists, which can be risky if used alone, are getting renewed attention.
- Article from:
- U.S. News & World Report
- Article date:
- October 3, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 All rights reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: January W. Payne
A class of asthma medications called long-acting beta agonists, linked three years ago to worsening asthma and even death, is back on the agenda at the Food and Drug Administration. There was a burst of coverage (http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/060607/7asthma.htm) after the FDA issued a public health advisory (http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/LABA/historical.htm) in 2005 saying that these medications were tied to a possible heightened risk of worsening wheezing, but then the issue faded. The agency plans to call another meeting on the safety of LABAs this fall or winter.
The drugs--which include salmeterol xinafoate ...