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Common Asthma Inhalers Cause up to 80 Percent of Asthma-Related Deaths,
Cornell and Stanford Researchers Asserts 
Chronicle Online | June 9, 2006
Three common asthma inhalers containing the drugs salmeterol
or formoterol may be causing four out of five U.S. asthma-related deaths per year and
should be taken off the market, researchers from Cornell and Stanford universities have
concluded after a search of medical literature.
They base these conclusions on a statistical
analysis of 19 published trials involving 33,826 patients. This so-called meta-analysis
found that patients who inhaled the long-acting beta-agonists salmeterol (trade names
Serevent and Advair, both made by GlaxoSmithKline) or formoterol (trade name Foradil,
made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals) were 3.5 times more likely to die from asthma and 2.5
times more likely to be hospitalized (whether or not death resulted), compared with those
taking a placebo.
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