A recent report published by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has highlighted a significant risk of death associated with exposure to methylene chloride among workers re-surfacing or re-finishing bathtubs. Exposure to this chemical, which is widely used as a degreaser and paint stripper, has previously been identified as a potential fatal hazard for […]

A study of more than 80,000 women found that low to moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a 17% to 21% reduction in the risk of stroke. Compared with women who didn’t drink, the relative risk of stroke ranged from 0.83 for drinking less than 5 grams per day to 0.79 for those who consumed […]

The HSE has identified 30 cases of the sleeping disorder Narcolepsy as part of an investigation into a possible link between the condition and the drug vaccine, Pandemrix. This figure included those who have not had a final clinical diagnosis and a small number of patients who did not receive the vaccine. The HSE is […]

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Bus Eireann against a High Court judgement in a personal injury case where an injured plaintiff was awarded a sum of €260,000.00 damages for injuries sustained in a road traffic accident on 31st of July 1999 at Rathcoole County Dublin. The High Court awarded damages to Ms. […]

 A year before recalling an artificial hip product, an Executive at Johnson & Johnson reported in an internal e-mail that the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S.A had refused to approve the device. After reviewing company studies it showed that it had failed early with ‘significant’ numbers requiring revision surgeries. Before recalling the device […]

The Medicines and Health care products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the U.K has issued updated advice to surgeons that patients with a particular type of metal-on-metal  hip replacements should be monitored annually for the life of the hip replacement. This updates previous advice from April 2010 that patients with this type of hip replacement need […]

 A year before recalling an artificial hip product, an Executive at Johnson & Johnson reported in an internal e-mail that the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S.A had refused to approve the device. After reviewing company studies it showed that it had failed early with ‘significant’ numbers requiring revision surgeries. Before recalling the device […]

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland handled 11,166 queries and complaints in 2011. The FSAI stated that there was an increase of over 13% in 2011 in calls relating to consumers reporting issues concerning food and food establishments. The 2,405 complaints ranged from reports of unfit food, low hygiene standards, inaccurate labelling information and cases […]

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) has recalled more than 394,200 bottles of a drug used in the treatment for high-blood pressure due to the potential for tablet mix-ups at a plant that supplies the drug. U.K-based  Glaxo said on Friday last that it had issued a voluntary recall of all bottles of  DynaCirc remaining in the U.S […]

The European Medicines Agency has finalised a review of aliskiren-containing medicines, recommending that these should be contra-indicated in patients with diabetes or moderate to severe renal impairment who take angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). The agency has also recommended the inclusion of a warning that the combination of aliskiren and […]