Health Highlights: June 19, 2008

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors ofHealthDay:

FDA Sued Over Alleged Painkiller Risks

The painkiller propoxyphene, sold under the brand names Darvoset and Darvon, has too many health risks to be left on the market, a consumer advocacy group alleges in its lawsuit filed Thursday against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The drug, which also is sold generically, has been involved in the accidental deaths of more than 2,000 people who took it since 1981, Public Citizen said in its petition two years ago to ban the medication.

In its lawsuit, Public Citizen said the FDA broke the law when it failed to act on the petition within the required six months, theAssociated Pressreported.

The advocacy group has said that there are safer, more effective painkillers than propoxyphene, which the lawsuit says is addictive and can cause cardiac problems including a slowed heartbeat, theAPreported. It can also cause sedation and confusion among the elderly, according to Dr. Sydney Wolfe, Director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.

None of the drug's manufacturer's immediately responded to the wire service's request for comment.

Some 22 million prescriptions for the drug are filled annually in the United States, theAPsaid.

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PETCO Warehouse Cited for Unsanitary Conditions

On the order of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, federal marshals on Thursday raided a PETCO warehouse in Joliet, Ill., that serves 16 states.

The agency cited unsanitary conditions at the facility, which provides pet food products and supplies to PETCO retail stores in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.