The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Expanding the list of drugs that interact with grapefruit juice

    Dr. David Bailey from the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, reported the “grapefruit effect” more than 15 years ago.

    Now, Dr. Bailey and coworkers at the University of Western Ontario tell us that while 17 drugs were identified in 2008 as having the potential to cause serious problems when taken with grapefruit, this number has now grown to 43.

    The study does not include an abstract, but ABC News [link below] has listed the offending drugs.

    Among the side effects sometimes seen with grapefruit-induced overdoses are heart rhythm problems, kidney failure, muscle breakdown, difficulty with breathing, and blood clots. Atorvastatin (Lipitor) is one of the drugs linked to serious cases of drug toxicity when combined with grapefruit products. Other common heart medications — including verapamil (Isoptin, Verelan, Verelan PM, Calan) and amiodarone (Cordarone) — have also led to serious interactions when consumed with grapefruit or grapefruit juice.

    While there are many reported cases of serious side effects attributable to this problem, the total number of Americans who have been affected is not known.

    The bottom line?

    Talk to you doctor for guidance.

    The list of interacting drugs is listed here.

    11/27/12 15:31 JR

    Comments are closed.