Lipitor Cholesterol Medication Users
Plaintiff
v
Pfizer Inc.
Defendant
Cholesterol-Fighting Drug Tied to Liver, Kidney Injury
A number of legal actions are being pursued against Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (atorvastatin), to recover for liver or kidney damage suffered by patients prescribed Lipitor. Like other drugs in its class (the statins), Lipitor can cause elevated liver enzymes. In clinical trials, this occurred in 0.7 percent of the patients, but the rate was much higher for those taking the 80 mg dose. Another serious side effect of Lipitor and other statins is a condition called rhabdomyolysis, in which muscle cells break down and release potentially toxic cell contents into the bloodstream.
Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle pain, tenderness and weakness–most commonly in the calves and lower back. Malaise, fever, dark urine, vomiting and nausea can also be symptoms. The most feared consequence of rhabdomyolysis is acute kidney failure, occurring in 30-40% of the cases.
Some of the warning signs of liver failure are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, dark urine, and generalized skin discoloration.
Other related mortal diseases are Cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure are serious conditions that can threaten your life. Health Insurance policies usually don’t cover diseases being consequence of drugs abuse or drugs sideeffects, once you have reached these stages of liver disease, your treatment options may be very limited, also treatment cost are usually above $700.000.
What Is Liver Cancer?
The liver continuously filters blood that circulates through the body, converting nutrients and drugs absorbed from the digestive tract into ready-to-use chemicals. The liver performs many other important functions, such as removing toxins and other chemical waste products from the blood and readying them for excretion. Because all the blood in the body must pass through it, the liver is unusually accessible to cancer cells traveling in the bloodstream.
The liver can be affected by primary liver cancer, which arises in the liver, or by cancer which forms in other parts of the body and then spreads to the liver. Most liver cancer is secondary or metastatic, meaning it started elsewhere in the body. Primary liver cancer, which starts in the liver, accounts for about 2% of cancers in the U.S., but up to half of all cancers in some undeveloped countries. This is mainly due to the prevalence of hepatitis, caused by contagious viruses, that predisposes a person to liver cancer. In the U.S., primary liver cancer strikes twice as many men as women, at an average age of 67.
Because the liver is made up of several different types of cells, several types of tumors can form there. Some of these are benign (noncancerous), and some are cancerous and can spread to other parts of the body (metastasize). These tumors have different causes and are treated differently. The outlook for health or recovery depends on what type of tumor you have.
That’s why it’s important to catch liver disease early, in the inflammation and fibrosis stages. If you are treated successfully at these stages, your liver may have a chance to heal itself and recover.
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