Not just sinemet....

----- Original Message -----
From: Kathrynne Holden, MS,RD <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 1999 4:40 PM
Subject: PD drugs and hot weather


> Dear Listfriends,
> I got this message from another listserv, and thought it would be of
> interest to anyone using benztropine (Cogentin) or risperidone.
> Best,
> Kathrynne
> ************************************************
> >Advisory labels sought on drugs
> >
> >Woman makes plea after brother dies from heat, medication mix
> >
> >By Vanessa Thomas
> >Toronto Star Staff Reporter
> >
> >A Burlington woman is making a desperate plea to have advisory labels put
on
> >some drugs after her brother died from a lethal combination of summer
heat
> >and prescription medication.
> >
> >Pat Overholt's 23-year-old brother, Tom, who had schizophrenia, was
> >unloading hay from a wagon on his uncle's 60-hectare farm in Ingersoll on
a
> >hot day when he collapsed last July 15.
> >
> >The resident of St. Marys, Ont., was pronounced dead on arrival at the
> >hospital.
> >
> >An autopsy report said Tom Overholt died of heat stroke.
> >
> >But a coroner's investigation later ruled that two drugs he had been
> >prescribed - the antipsychotic drug risperidone and the anti-Parkinsonian
> >agent benztropine - interfered with his body's ability to regulate its
> >temperature, especially during extremely hot weather.
> >
> >``Anything I do won't bring him back, but I can't face another summer
> >without knowing that I've done something to prevent other deaths,'' Pat
> >Overholt said in an interview.
> >
> >Her brother had been doing well on the medication, which he took twice a
day
> >for more than a year, she said.
> >
> >He was not warned about the negative effects of hot weather while taking
his
> >medication, she said.
> >
> >The province's chief coroner's office has now advised physicians and
medical
> >associations about the possible side effects.
> >The chief coroner's office issued a list of 47 drugs that have possible
> >heat-related side effects - all involving bladder control, Parkinson's
> >disease and psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.
> >
> >``It is rare, but in this type of weather it can occur more frequently,''
> >said Dr. Bonnie Potter, deputy chief coroner.
> >
> >``We are advising the public to know what medication you're on, and if
> >you're not sure, discuss it with your doctor or pharmacist.''
> >Overholt was one of two Ontario residents who died last summer from
> >prescription drugs mixed with extremely hot weather.
> >
> >A 66-year-old woman, taking two similar prescriptions, died in a nursing
> >home with faulty air conditioning.
>
> --
> Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD
> Medical nutrition therapy
> Author: "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease"
> "Parkinson's disease: assessing and managing unique nutrition needs"
> http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/