Current Events

AUDIENCE: Endocrinology, Nursing, Family Practice

ISSUE: FDA has strengthened the warning for the type 2 diabetes medicine canagliflozin (Invokana, Invokamet) related to the increased risk of bone fractures, and added new information about decreased bone mineral density. To address these safety concerns, FDA added a new WARNING AND PRECAUTION and revised the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the Invokana and Invokamet drug labels.

FDA is ontinuing to evaluate the risk of bone fractures with other drugs in the SGLT2 inhibitor class, including dapagliflozin (Farxiga, Xigduo XR) and empaglifozin (Jardiance, Glyxambi, Synjardy), to determine if additional label changes or studies are needed. Health care professionals and patients are urged to report side effects involving canagliflozin or other SGLT2 inhibitors to the FDA MedWatch program.

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General Motors Co. said Wednesday it is recalling 121,000 Cadillac ATS cars for fire risks linked to a fault in the rear defogger system.

The recall includes 97,000 2013-16 ATS sedans in the U.S and 24,000 in Canada, Mexico and outside North America. GM said it is aware of four fires but no injuries, fatalities or crashes. The Detroit automaker says less than 1 percent of the recalled vehicles are expected to have the condition.

GM says the issue could pose a risk of a fire inside the rear pillar on the driver’s side of the vehicle.

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The 9/11 death and injury toll is still rising as this week’s 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks approaches.

Nearly 21,000 people have filed eligibility claims with the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund as of Sept. 6, up more than 4,000 from this time last year, according to updated data that fund officials released Wednesday.

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The headline of last week’s batch of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning letters was about powdered caffeine.

Five of the 10 letters made public on Tuesday, Sept. 1, were sent to distributors of pure, powdered caffeine, stating that their products are adulterated “because they are dietary supplements that present a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury under the conditions of use recommended or suggested in the labeling.”

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A California distributor has begun recalling cucumbers imported from Mexico after they were linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed one woman and sickened at least 285 others, health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the cucumbers were most likely the cause of an outbreak of salmonella poona that began July 3 and has reached 27 states. The bacteria killed a 99-year-old San Diego woman and sent 53 people to the hospital, the federal agency said, and more than half of those infected have been younger than 18.

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NEW YORK — Several of the most popular Internet-connected baby monitors lack basic security features, making them vulnerable to even the most basic hacking attempts, according to a new report from a cybersecurity firm.

The possibility of an unknown person watching a baby's every move is a frightening thought for many parents who have come to rely on the devices to keep an eye on their little ones. In addition, a hacked camera could provide access to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices in a person's home, such as a personal computer or security system.

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has ordered the second recall in two months in order to install software that protects against computer hackers.

The recall ordered Friday will update software in about 7,810 of its new 2015 Jeep Renegade that have 6.5-inch touchscreens. Since the Renegade is a new model, about half the affected vehicles are still in the hands of dealers. The system involved in the latest recall is different that than the infotainment system that was the subject of a recall of 1.4 million vehicles in July, the automaker says.

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;Amazon and the University of Pennsylvania are being sued by the family of a student who killed herself two years ago with cyanide she allegedly purchased without a problem from the online retailer.

The suit says the school ignored Arya Singh’s claims of a sexual assault — leading to a two-year downward spiral culminating in her cyanide suicide.

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There was a time when getting your daily dose of caffeine meant a simple cup of coffee or tea.

Poured into a ceramic mug, the steaming liquid tended to be enough to give most people that extra burst of energy to get out the door. Back then, you'd have to drink a heck of a lot -- 81 cups of brewed coffee, or 317 cups of black tea, for the average 195-pound U.S. male -- to reach a lethal dose.

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Serious questions are being raised about a medical device implanted in thousands of Americans at risk for blood clots — including whether the manufacturer told all it knew about potentially fatal flaws.

At least 27 deaths have been associated with the Recovery filter — a spider-shaped apparatus that is inserted into the largest vein in the body — over the course of a decade, an NBC News investigation has found.

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On Sunday night, while the rest of the entertainment world was focused on the MTV Video Music Awards, Kim Kardashian West took to social media for another reason: to belatedly acknowledge the side effects of a controversial morning-sickness drug she endorses.

The posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter carried the hashtag #CorrectiveAd. They followed an Aug. 7 warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to drugmaker Duchesnay saying that Kardashian's original paid endorsement omitted important safety information.

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