Fungus - arthritis drugs connection

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4 Arthritis Drugs Get Fungus Warning
FDA Wants Warnings On Embrel, Remicade, Humira, Cimzia

POSTED: 8:55 am EDT September 5, 2008


WASHINGTON -- The government wants stronger warnings on some Arthritis drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ordered the stronger warnings on four medications that are widely used to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis and other serious illnesses.

The FDA said the medications can raise the risk of a possibly fatal fungal infections called histoplasmosis.

The drugs -- Enbrel, Remicade, Humira and Cimzia -- work by suppressing the immune system to keep it from attacking the body.

They provides relief from swollen and painful joints in people with Rheumatoid Arthritis .

But the FDA's Dr. Jeffrey Siegel said taking the pills is a "double-edged sword," in that they drugs also lower the body's defenses to various kinds of infections. Tweet