Amanda Antell  |  August 28, 2014

Category: Legal News

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benicarIn the midst of Benicar lawsuits alleging chronic diarrhea and permanent gastrointestinal damage, French researchers are now warning doctors to be on the lookout for another Benicar side effect, villous atrophy, which was announced this month at the annual Digestive Disease Week conference in Chicago.

Villous atrophy is described as when microscopic tentacles that line the wall of the small intestines are damaged, and can interfere with the patient’s ability to absorb nutrients, which can lead to chronic dehydration and malnutrition.

The scientists had conducted a study at their home university, the University of Paris, and had also collaborated with the French National Health Insurance Fund. The study found that patients who were taking Benicar were several times more likely to develop villous atrophy than those who are taking other high blood pressure medications.

The study analyzed data from more than 4.5 million patients from the French national health insurance plan. Each patient had been prescribed Benicar to treat their blood pressure levels between the years of 2007 and 2012. The number of patients hospitalized for intestinal malabsorption was 2.6 per 100,000 patients during the first year, but that number jumped to 6.7 for patients who had stayed on Benicar for two years, and then jumped to 8.9 for patients who had stayed on Benicar for three years.

In contrast, only 1.5 per 100,000 patients that were on other medications in the same drug class as Benicar, known as angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), had suffered signs of villous atrophy after two years of taking Benicar.

In a report published by Family Practice News, health experts indicated that this study provides a key lesson for gastroenterologists, stating that healthcare providers should be aware that villous atrophy is not always caused by celiac disease.

Additionally, while villous atrophy was not indicated to be seen in any of the patients in this study, the fact that these signs were seen in other medications in the same drug family is alarming to medical experts. Once again, researchers encourage doctors to be on the lookout for potential intestinal damage for Benicar patients, and not automatically dismiss the symptoms as celiac disease.

Overview of Benicar Side Effects

Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) is a popular blood pressure medication that is commonly prescribed to patients with hypertension. It was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002, and is manufactured and distributed by Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories.

Generic versions of Benicar are sold under the brand names Benicar HCT, Azor and Tribenzor. Ideally, this drug would prevent patients from suffering a heart attack, but has been recently accused of causing serious gastrointestinal damage in patients.

In July 2013, the FDA issued a drug safety warning to the public, warning of Benicar possibly causing sprue-like enteropathy, chronic diarrhea, weight loss and permanent gastrointestinal damage.

The FDA also stated that these problems may not surface for months or even years after the patients start using Benicar. While many patients have reported that their diarrhea issues had been resolved after they ceased taking the medication, some have reportedly been left with permanent gastrointestinal damage, such as villous atrophy.

Due to the specific nature of the condition, it is often misdiagnosed, which allows the condition to worsen until the correct diagnosis is made.

Because these Benicar side effects were not listed on the drug’s warning label, Daiichi and Forest are now facing a growing number of Benicar lawsuits. Each plaintiff alleges that they experienced severe or permanent injuries from Benicar, and that they never would have taken the drug if they had known about these side effects ahead of time.

In general, Benicar lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

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