Vioxx three times as dangerous as Celebrex, study indicates

Main Category: Arthritis / Rheumatology
Article Date: 07 Dec 2004 - 11:00 PDT

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An independent study carried out at the University of Pennsylvania has shown that your risk of having a heart attack is three times greater with Vioxx than with Celebrex. Celebrex and Vioxx are both arthritis pain medications (prescription drugs).

This study is looking at the variations of safety of COX-2 Inhibitors (both Vioxx and Celebrex are COX-2 Inhibitors). Researchers say further research is needed to identify fully the safety variations among drugs of this class.

Before COX-2 inhibitors were available, people used to take aspirin or ibuprofen for arthritis pain - these drugs caused serious stomach or intestinal bleeding. The COX-2 Inhibitors were brought in because they were thought of as 'safer'. People were shocked when some of these new drugs brought with them, as in the case of Vioxx, a high risk of heart attack.

Dr. Stephen Kimmel, study leader, said "At this point the evidence is that there are differences between Vioxx and Celebrex. Does that mean Celebrex is safe? I cannot tell you…..We compared 1,718 people with non-fatal heart attack to 6,800 people who did not have heart attacks and asked them about their use of COX inhibitors and NSAIDS."

They found Vioxx was three times as likely to cause a non-fatal heart attack as Celebrex. Kimmel presumes the rates of fatal heart attacks will also be three times higher for Vioxx.

However, when the researchers examined heart attack rates between Vioxx, Celebrex and NSAIDS they found no difference. Kimmel commented "That could be because ... we were studying a relatively healthier population. Most people were taking (Vioxx or Celebrex) for less than 12 months."

Some say it is possible that the risk is only higher for people already at risk of a heart attack. Others say the risks may be more obvious when patients have been taking the drug(s) over a long period.

The researchers believe that maybe we should only use COX-2 Inhibitors on certain types of people.

What are Cox-2 inhibitors?

COX-2 inhibitors are newly developed drugs for inflammation that selectively block the COX-2 enzyme. Blocking this enzyme impedes the production of the chemical messengers (prostaglandins) that cause the pain and swelling of arthritis inflammation. Cox-2 inhibitors are a new class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Because they selectively block the COX-2 enzyme and not the COX-1 enzyme, these drugs are uniquely different from traditional NSAIDs.

What are NSAIDs?

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed medications for the inflammation of arthritis and other body tissues, such as in tendinitis and bursitis. Examples of NSAIDs include Aspirin, indomethacin (Indocin), ibuprofen (Motrin), naproxen (Naprosyn), piroxicam (Feldene), and nabumetone (Relafen).

http://www.celebrex.com
http://www.vioxx.com