Grapefruit juice reacts with expanding list of drugs - including effects such as sudden death -
More prescription drugs are coming on the market that can interact with grapefruit juice with potentially serious effects such as sudden death, Canadian doctors warn.
David Bailey, a clinical pharmacologist at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ont., discovered the interaction between grapefruit and certain medications more than 20 years ago. Since then, he said the number of drugs with the potential to interact has jumped to more than 85.
The researchers advised people taking certain medications not to consume grapefruit. (Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty)
Grapefruit juice is known to interact with some types of medications, leading to an overdose hazard.
Bailey reviews new product monographs and prescribing information for the Canadian Pharmacists Association, and keeps a close eye on those with the potential to produce serious adverse reactions.
"What I've noticed over the last four years is really quite a disturbing trend and that is the increase in the number of drugs that can produce not only adverse reactions but extraordinarily serious adverse drug reactions," Bailey said. "Between 2008 and 2012, the number of drugs in the list has gone from 17 to now 44."
Many of the drugs are common, such as some cholesterol-lowering statins, antibiotics and calcium channel blockers used to treat high blood pressure. Others include agents used to fight cancer or suppress the immune system in people who've received an organ transplant.
People older than 45 buy the most grapefruit and take the most prescription drugs, making this group the most likely to face interactions, researchers said in an article published in Monday's issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, titled Grapefruit-medication interactions: forbidden fruit or avoidable consequences?
Older adults also tend to be less able to compensate when faced with excessive concentrations of drugs compared with young and middle-aged people — another reason that those over 45 seem to be particularly vulnerable, they added.
Of the 85 known drugs that interact with grapefruit, 43 can have serious side-effects, including sudden death, acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, gastrointestinal bleeding and bone marrow suppression in people with weakened immune systems.
The authors noted that all sources of grapefruit — the whole fruit or 200 mL of grapefruit juice — and other citrus fruit such as Seville oranges (often used in marmalade), limes and pomelos can lead to drug interactions.
Read more -
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/11/26/grapefruit-juice-drug-interactions.html
More prescription drugs are coming on the market that can interact with grapefruit juice with potentially serious effects such as sudden death, Canadian doctors warn.
David Bailey, a clinical pharmacologist at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ont., discovered the interaction between grapefruit and certain medications more than 20 years ago. Since then, he said the number of drugs with the potential to interact has jumped to more than 85.
The researchers advised people taking certain medications not to consume grapefruit. (Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty)
Grapefruit juice is known to interact with some types of medications, leading to an overdose hazard.
Bailey reviews new product monographs and prescribing information for the Canadian Pharmacists Association, and keeps a close eye on those with the potential to produce serious adverse reactions.
"What I've noticed over the last four years is really quite a disturbing trend and that is the increase in the number of drugs that can produce not only adverse reactions but extraordinarily serious adverse drug reactions," Bailey said. "Between 2008 and 2012, the number of drugs in the list has gone from 17 to now 44."
Many of the drugs are common, such as some cholesterol-lowering statins, antibiotics and calcium channel blockers used to treat high blood pressure. Others include agents used to fight cancer or suppress the immune system in people who've received an organ transplant.
People older than 45 buy the most grapefruit and take the most prescription drugs, making this group the most likely to face interactions, researchers said in an article published in Monday's issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, titled Grapefruit-medication interactions: forbidden fruit or avoidable consequences?
Older adults also tend to be less able to compensate when faced with excessive concentrations of drugs compared with young and middle-aged people — another reason that those over 45 seem to be particularly vulnerable, they added.
Of the 85 known drugs that interact with grapefruit, 43 can have serious side-effects, including sudden death, acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, gastrointestinal bleeding and bone marrow suppression in people with weakened immune systems.
The authors noted that all sources of grapefruit — the whole fruit or 200 mL of grapefruit juice — and other citrus fruit such as Seville oranges (often used in marmalade), limes and pomelos can lead to drug interactions.
Read more -
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/11/26/grapefruit-juice-drug-interactions.html
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