Thursday, March 16, 2006

60: patients die on Aricept in drug trial

Just now posted to Yahoo news:

Eleven patients die in Eisai drug trial
Eleven patients have died while takingAlzheimer's disease drug Aricept during a clinical trial, Japan's Eisai Co., which makes the medicine, said on Thursday.
There were no deaths among patients who were taking a placebo, said Eisai, which markets Aricept with Pfizer Inc.
The drug treats mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, but was being tested in patients with vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease.


That's a little scary. But it goes on to say that the problem with this study is that zero people in the control group died. Usually some die (of unrelated factors).

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