Quinine Sulfate Side effects

FDA Focuses on Off-Label Uses of Quinine

What is Quinine?

Quinine is a naturally-occurring substance that has been used for hundreds of years to treat patients with malaria with generally successful results. In recent years, however, quinine has also been marketed and prescribed for off-label uses including the prevention of leg cramps. However, several alarming statistics have been discovered that prompted the FDA to warn the public about serious potential side effects from the off-label use of non-approved drugs containing quinine.

How has Quinine Come to Be So Prevalent?

Quinine is a substance that occurs naturally in the bark of the cinchona tree, which is a species of plant that grows naturally in South America. Native South American tribes discovered the use of this tree bark hundreds of years ago for treatment of malaria, one of the most deadly diseases in history. In the 17th Century, European missionaries learned of the use of this substance and brought it to the "modern world." Since then, quinine has been in use all over the world for the treatment of this disease.

Quinine Injury - Contact a Quinine Lawyer

If you have been taking quinine for any condition not related to malaria, the first thing you need to do is contact your doctor so that he or she can recommend a different treatment protocol. The next step you need to take is to contact a quinine lawyer who has experience representing the victims of negative drug reactions. You have rights, but only a certain amount of time to enforce them, so contact us today.

Quinine Side Effects, Uses, Problems:

In recent years, quinine has also been discovered to provide aid for those patients who suffer from chronic leg cramps, and thousands of patients have been using it for this purpose. However, recent statistics have revealed several potentially-serious problems with the off-label use of this drug.

Heart Attack
Stroke
Quinine Cardiac arrhythmias
Thrombocytopenia
Liver failure or damage
Kidney failure or damage
Hearing loss
cardiovascular problems
allergic reactions to Quinine

Side effects that have been reported include cardiac arrhythmias, thrombocytopenia (a decrease in blood platelets that can cause hemorrhage or clotting problems) and severe hypersensitivity reactions. Quinine has also shown to cause problems in patients due to its negative reaction with other drugs that patients are taking at the time. Hundreds of patients have reported these side effects, and nearly 100 people have died as a result of these off-label uses of quinine.

Quinine and optic neuritis, blindness

Optic neuritis is inflammation of the optic nerve. Many of theses cases result from demyelinating disease, and multiple sclerosis. Chemicals such as Quinine and others have been known to cause optic neuritis.

FDA Reaction on Quinine

Officially, the FDA has approved only one drug, Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, Inc.'s Qualaquin, for use to treat malaria. No other quinine-containing drugs have been approved, even though hundreds of these drugs are currently on the market. Many of these products are also specifically marketed for this controversial off-label use.

In December of 2006, the FDA issued a press release announcing that firms were immediately ordered to stop manufacturing and marketing quinine-containing substances for off-label usages, specifically for the treatment of leg cramps. The government agency cited the troubling statistics above as a basis for this order.

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Comments on This Topic: There are 2 comments related to:
Defective Drugs: News, Statistics and Legal Guide.

Lucy Redd says:	2010-04-08 08:02:20
I have been taking this medicine since June 09. The doctor said I didn;t need blood work because the side effects wete so rare. I recently had blood work and my liver enzymes are elevated.

Florence N. Hall says:	2009-09-14 09:43:41
I have used quinine since May 1960 when I went into the Air Force. I have so many health problems and vascular also. I have been taking Qualaquin 324MG

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