“Safe” Drugs May Pose Liver Risk to Some

Drug-induced liver injury is the most common reason for a drug to be withdrawn from the market. A new study seeks to identify risk factors for medications and identify individuals who may be at risk for liver damage from certain drugs.

Thursday, July 7, 2005

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Durham, N.C. -- Even if a drug is safe for most patients, it may not be safe for everyone. The most common reason a medication does not receive FDA approval or has to be pulled from the market is its effect on the liver, says Dr. Keyur Patel, an assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology at Duke University Medical Center. “We’ve known about the effects of drugs on the liver for over 50 years. But with recently well-publicized drugs that have been withdrawn from the market due to drug-induced liver injury, there’s been an increased focus on coming up with better definitions of what constitutes drug-induced liver injury.” Patel says a large, multi-center study is now underway to help identify genetic and environmental factors that may put some patients at risk for drug-induced liver injury, either from a single drug or from the interaction of prescription drugs, over-the-counter or herbal medicines, even recreational drugs. “Clearly, the more combinations of medications one takes, there is the potential for interaction between medications and the ability of the liver to handle these drugs.” I’m Cabell Smith for MedMinute.