Consumers of Medicines Containing PPA v PPA Drug Manufacturers

DO YOU QUALIFY? Have you or a family member taken any product(s) containing Phenylpropanolamine (PPA)? Have you or a family member suffered a stroke or developed a heart condition as a result of taking PPA? CLICK HERE

Cold and Diet Drug Lead to Stroke

The Dugan Law Firm is investigating possible legal actions on behalf of people harmed by PPA (phenylpropanolamine) against drug companies who made drugs containing PPA. In November, 2000, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took steps to remove PPA from all drugs available in America. Before this, PPA was found in two main types of over-the-counter drugs. It was used in cold, cough and allergy medicines to relieve nasal congestion, and it was used in diet drugs as an appetite suppressant.

The FDA action followed the release of a six-year Yale University study which showed that women aged 18 to 49 who took PPA for weight loss were 16 times more likely than the average person to suffer a hemorrhagic stroke (a stroke caused by bleeding from a blood vessel in the brain). The study also found that women who used PPA for the first time for any reason were three times more likely than others to suffer a hemorrhagic stroke.

The FDA cautioned that men may also be at risk. In 1988, Brian Glaser, a 20-year-old Dexatrim user, collapsed while in line at a Detroit bank and suffered a stroke. The drug manufacturer later settled with Mr. Glaser.

PPA constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. In certain cases, it can cause blood vessels to rupture, leading to bleeding in the brain and stroke. The Yale study found that people with high blood pressure were at most risk of hemorrhagic stroke from taking drugs containing PPA.

PPA was used in dozens of products, including the diet drugs Acutrim and Dexatrim and Contact, Dimetapp, Robitussin CF, Tavist D, Triaminic DM and Alka-Seltzer Plus cough, cold and allergy products.

The legal actions filed in or transferred to federal court have been consolidated in a Seattle federal court. Many other actions are being pursued in various state courts.

Do you believe you can make a claim? Click Here!