What Is Myopathy

Fireworks booth open in memory of child

One local family's fireworks booth is in memory of their baby who died in 2009 from a rare disease called Myotubular Myopathy.

Chrissie Coon-Sanders is the Public Information Officer for the North Las Vegas Police Department. She and her husband Sergeant John Sanders are running the booth at 215 & North Decatur.

Officer Coon said she had a normal pregnancy, but when Joey was born something wasn't right. It took doctors about a year to diagnose him with Myotubular Myopathy.

It's a rare disease that the family didn't know much about.

They said at one point they thought Joey would make it, and he was doing things his doctors never said he would. But in 2009 he passed away.

We took him to the hospital on a Friday, and he passed away Saturday night," Coon remembers. "For a couple days we didn't know what happened or how it happened, but we found out he had a massive liver hemorrhage."

Coon said because the disease is so rare, they didn't have many to turn to. Now they are very much involved with the Myotubular Myopathy Resource Group, and have met hundreds of families around the world who are also affected.

Officer Coon & Sgt. Sanders hope to raise $5,000 from their fireworks booth. It will go to their non-profit cause. They say the fireworks booth is helping turn their negative energy, about the tragic loss of their young son, into something positive, that can help others.

If you'd like to learn more about their cause, click here.

Zocor- High Doses may Lead to Myopathy | Blawg | Thomas J. Henry ...

Zocor- High Doses may Lead to Myopathy

Posted on: June 17, 2011 • Author:

Zocor is manufactured by Merck and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1991. Zocor is a “statin” (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor) used to treat high cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with heart disease or diabetes. Simvastatin is the active ingredient in Zocor, and is also available in generic form in combination with ezetimibe as Vytorin, and in combination with niacin as Simcor.

According to the FDA, last year an estimated 2.1 million people were prescribed a medication containing 80 mg of simvastatin. While the medication has documented health benefits, the FDA has found that taking the 80 mg dose can lead to an increased risk of the muscle defect, Myopathy.

Myopathy is a skeletal muscle defect characterized by unexplained muscle weakness or pain, according to the FDA. Patients with myopathy generally have muscle pain, tenderness or weakness, and an elevation of a muscle enzyme in the blood (creatine kinase, or CK).

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) , a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , other symptoms of myopathy can include muscle cramps, stiffness, and spasm. Myopathies can be inherited (such as the muscular dystrophies) or acquired (such as common muscle cramps).

Rhabdomyolysis is a rare form of myopathy, which can lead to kidney failure and death. Rhabdomyolysis is rare, according to the FDA. Hospitalized rhabdomyolysis occurs in 4.9 people out of every 100,000 people exposed to simvastatin for one full year.

The FDA says the 80 mg dose should only be used by patients who have been taking it for 12 months or longer without ill effect. Contact your health care professional if you have:

Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys are leaders in the area of drug and product liability litigation. Our Defective Drug and Products Division have extensive knowledge and resources in order to represent our clients efficiently and aggressively. The Defective Drug and Products Division represent a multitude of people who are battling against manufacturers of medical devices and/ or defective pharmaceuticals.

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