Adverse effect

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In medicine, an adverse effect is a harmful and undesired effect resulting from a medication or other intervention such as surgery. An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect, and may result from an unsuitable or incorrect dosage or procedure, which could be due to medical error. Adverse effects are sometimes referred to as "iatrogenic" because they are generated by a physician/treatment. Some adverse effects only occur only when starting, increasing or discontinuing a treatment. Using a drug or other medical intervention which is contraindicated may increase the risk of adverse effects. Adverse effects may cause medical complications of a disease or procedure and negatively affect its prognosis. They may also lead to non-compliance with a treatment regimen.

The harmful outcome is usually indicated by some result such as morbidity, mortality, alteration in body weight, levels of enzymes, loss of function, or as a pathological change detected at the microscopic, macroscopic or physiological level. It may also be indicated by symptoms reported by a patient. Adverse effects may cause a reversible or irreversible change, including an increase or decrease in the susceptibility of the individual to other chemicals, foods, or procedures, such as drug interactions.

In clinical trials, a distinction is made between adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs). Generally, any event which causes death, permanent damage, birth defects, or requires hospitalization is considered an SAE. The results of these trials are often included in the labeling of the medication to provide information both for patients and the prescribing physicians.

For more information about Adverse effect, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with side effects

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Study confirms that cannabis is beneficial for multiple sclerosis

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (17) | comments 0

Cannabis can reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A systematic review, published in the open access journal BMC Neurology, found that five out six randomized controlled trials reported a reduction in spa ...


Drug shows positive responses, low side-effects in multiple myeloma

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

NEW ORLEANS ― The second-generation proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib is showing noteworthy response rates and low levels of adverse side effects among multiple myeloma patients in a phase II clinical trial, researchers ...


Second-line CML drugs evoke faster response than front-line therapy

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Two medications approved as treatment for drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia continue to provide patients with quicker, better responses as a first treatment than the existing front-line drug, researchers at The University ...





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Glaxo's swine flu shot may give kids fever

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- The European Medicines Agency warns that young children given GlaxoSmithKline's swine flu shot may get a fever after their second dose.


High-risk women reluctant to take tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer, study finds

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Even when women at high-risk of breast cancer are well-informed about the risks and benefits of using the drug tamoxifen for prevention, only 6 percent said they were likely to take it.


Chicken capsules good for aching joints

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Chicken collagen can provide relief from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms. A randomised, controlled trial, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy, has found that Chicken type II col ...


Drug shows promise for T315I-mutated chronic myeloid leukemia

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Results from a phase II clinical trial indicate a novel drug may provide a treatment option for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who do not respond to current therapies, researchers from The University of Texas M. ...


Is cannabis the answer to Booze Britain's problems?

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 1

Substituting cannabis in place of more harmful drugs may be a winning strategy in the fight against substance misuse. Research published in BioMed Central' open access Harm Reduction Journal features a poll of 350 cannab ...


Delivering medicine directly into a tumor

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers at Burnham Institute for Medical Research at University of California, Santa Barbara have identified a peptide (a chain of amino acids) that specifically recognizes and penetrates cancerous tumors but not normal ...


Report shows CIMT may improve arm use in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a potentially effective form of intervention for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, but more research is needed, according to a new systematic review published in the November ...


WHO approves Glaxo's swine flu shot

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

(AP) -- Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline says one of its swine flu vaccines has been certified by the World Health Organization, making it available for donors to buy for developing countries.


MSU researcher studies effects of experimental depression medication

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Michigan State University researcher is leading a clinical trial on an experimental medication he hopes will give doctors another weapon in the fight against depression and prove to be more effective among ...


New safety concern related to antipsychotic treatment

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Overall, antipsychotic medications are reasonably effective, and fairly well tolerated treatments for mood and psychotic disorders. However, treatment with a number of antipsychotic medications is associated with weight ...



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