Re: [AF] El Gobierno japonés suspende el uso de Tamiflu en menores

[Martín Cañás]

Estimados Pedro  y Ramón
realmente sonaba raro el ultimo parrafo de El PAis , pero no lo confirme 
gracias por vuestra celeridad
envio la nota del Pharmatimes sobre el descargo de Roche

No link between Tamiflu and psychiatric symptoms - Pharmatimes. 21/03/2007

Roche says that new data from the USA and Japan shows there is no 
established causal link between neuropsychiatric symptoms and treatment with 
the firm's antiviral Tamiflu.

The Swiss firm was responding to fears, especially coming from Japan, that 
the drug may induce fatal side effects. Two people who were taking Tamiflu 
(oseltamivir) fell to their deaths in the country last month, one of whom 
was a 14-year-old boy who plunged 30 metres from the 11th floor of an 
apartment block in Miyagino-ku, Sendai.

Roche said it is "aware that a number of reports have been received in Japan 
of neuropsychiatric symptoms including delirium, with associated abnormal 
behaviour, and very rare cases of death in patients suffering from 
influenza" who had also been taking the antiviral but added that "the 
Japanese Ministry for Health and Welfare stated that they see no causal 
relationship between these cases and Tamiflu."

The company also cited data from US health insurance records between 
1999-2006 of over 101,000 patients treated with Tamiflu and over 225,000 not 
taking the drug which have shown that the former group "showed a lower 
likelihood of experiencing a central nervous system event such as delirium, 
delusion, confusion, hallucination, aggressive behaviour etc compared to 
those not receiving treatment." A study carried out during the 2005/2006 
influenza season by the JMHLW came to a similar conclusion.

The company added that influenza-associated delirium and neuropsychiatric 
disorders are not uncommon and occur in the USA in approximately four of 
every 100,000 influenza patients, resulting in hospitalisation and "the 
incidence in Japan is believed even higher." A recent survey based on 1,219 
Japanese paediatric patients reported abnormal behaviour in 1.7% of the 
patients and the company's chief medical officer Eduard Holdener, declared 
that since the introduction of Tamiflu, "Roche has continuously monitored 
and reviewed post-marketing safety information and provides regular updates 
to the regulatory agencies."