Drugs: Triparanol Side Effects

Even after the most exhaustive tests, unexpected and harmful side effects of a new drug are sometimes discovered only after the drug has been put on the market. What bothered the Food and Drug Administration about the synthetic hormone substitute, triparanol, was that some of its harmful effects had been clearly indicated in advance.

Sold by Cincinnati's William S. Merrell Co. under the trade name MER/29, triparanol was supposed to lower the level of cholesterol in the blood and, presumably, reduce the risk of heart attacks. But too many people who took...

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