The Rheumatoid Arthritis drug, Enbrel, has been linked to adverse side effects
Enbrel, the brand name for the drug Etanercept, has been linked to serious central nervous disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Myelitis and Optic Neuritis, Pancytopeni and Aplastic Anemia. Immunex Corp., who manufactures the drug, stated in 2000 that the problems began as soon as two weeks after taking Enbrel. There were 10 cases reported, and five patients died.
More recently, in 2002, in Chicago, four women with Rheumatoid Arthritis developed Lupus, an autoimmune disease. Symptoms including face reddening and body rash disappeared when they were taken off the drug.
Enbrel has been used to treat other diseases
Enbrel is manufactured as a TNF blocker. TNF stands for Tumor Necrosis Factor, and occurs naturally in the body, but certain auto-immune disorders cause patients to create too much TNF. In this case, too many white blood cells will increase inflammation response in areas of inflammation, causing the inflammation response to be intensified. Enbrel molecules bind to the active TNF and force the body to metabolize the TNF, allowing the excess TNF to be flushed from the system. In this way, problem joints or skin will have reduced pain.
In addition to rheumatoid arthritis, Enbrel has been prescribed to treat plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, all diseases or conditions affecting skin or joints.
Enbrel Side Effects
Because Enbrel works by lowering the body’s natural immune system defense response, it opens up the opportunity for many different types of infections and other diseases to the patient. Some of the most commonly reported adverse side effects that have been linked to the use of Enbrel are:
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Fungal infections
- Legionnaires’ disease
- Listeriosis
- Bone fractures
- Histoplasmosis
- Cancer, including lymphoma, leukemia, melanoma, organ cancers
There is help available
If you or someone you love has taken Enbrel and suffered adverse side effects, you may have a case. In order to determine your eligibility, it is important that you contact us right away. Our personal injury attorneys can review your case and decide the best way to proceed.
Simply want to say: Thank you so very much for your extreme caring for the American people by going after such companies like Immunex Corp, who made ENBREL. The harm of such a drug is unbelievable! Horrifying. People are being so very harmed when all they want is to be healed and have good lives.
Thank you for your help in trying to get ENBREL off of the market: we must stay healthy! Right now especially (March 2014), since we MUST KEEP DOWN BEING ILL, to help with the extreme costs of health and to KEEP OUR NATION HEALTHY.
We MUST keep such harmful drugs off of the market – even as a matter of National Security: we must be strong as a nation to handle anything the world throws at us!
Keep our great nation strong AND HEALTHY!
Thank you so very much for allowing me to speak up. I’m passionate: I love America.
My daughter used enbrel before she got sick blood problems and she died. Drs claim they don’t know what happen
Husband died from long term use of Humira then Enbrel. Feeling bad, tired, having problems with stomach, was getting black blotches on arms, lost weight , started running high fever, hard time breathing, went to hospital, died that nite, had bad infection in blood, and no white blood count, no immune system to help fite for him. Cause of death, sepsis shock. Dr. said that he did everything but did not know where such a hard hitting infection came from. It was from the medicine. There was another incident with broken ankle, I have more info. And a Lot of paperwork. Looking for someone who would fite for me. They not only killed him. I have suffered from such a loss in so many ways. And I know without doubt that this is what killed my husband!