G McCann - The antihistamine drug Terfenadine and its side effects.

[Alfred R Jones]

Unless I'm mistaken the general consensus on here seems to be that this terfenadine issue is a bit of a red herring...?

[Carew]

Thanks for bumping this excellent post which I would have otherwise missed.

Oops, Alfred R Jones.........What a gaffe.

You actually missed all that effort from Gilet the first time around?

That won`t do !

[slartibartfast]

Unless I'm mistaken the general consensus on here seems to be that this terfenadine issue is a bit of a red herring...?

Possibly mistaken. There appears to be proof that there was a sedative in the apartment

[ferryman]

Possibly mistaken. There appears to be proof that there was a sedative in the apartment

Evidence, rather than proof...

[Alfred R Jones]

Oops, Alfred R Jones.........What a gaffe.

You actually missed all that effort from Gilet the first time around?

That won`t do !

Not a gaffe really,more a lack of time available to me today to read every post made on the forum in the last 20 hours since I last looked.

[Carana]

Possibly mistaken. There appears to be proof that there was a sedative in the apartment

There may also have been toilet disinfectant in the bathroom.

Did the forensics show anything significant?

[Alfred R Jones]

Possibly mistaken. There appears to be proof that there was a sedative in the apartment

And?

[gilet]

Gilet:

4. I don't think there is any doubt that in Gerry's statement that he said that he had Terfenadine with him. It is in paragraph 25 in both the PT and English versions.

Would it be out of the question for Levy to have corrupted the Portuguese original?

No. I have always wondered what his real motive for releasing the files was.

It is an odd coincidence that the translator of this document sought to enbolden two sections for unknown motives,. two sections which just happen to support Amaral's thesis.

[gilet]

Possibly mistaken. There appears to be proof that there was a sedative in the apartment

Which sedative would that be?

[Mr Gray]

Possibly Calpol ? It does 'assuage' pain according to the Oxford English Dictionary definition of the word 'sedative' !!!

and a dog has four legs but that does not make it a horse...when I see posts like yours trying to describe calpol as a sedative it explains why you have got so much wrong

[slartibartfast]

Which sedative would that be?

Terfenerdine.

[gilet]

Terfenerdine.

Terfenadine is not a sedative.

Anyone with a basic understanding of terfenadine will understand that it is not a sedative. Indeed it was one of a series of drugs introduced to replace previous anti-histamines which did have the potential side effect of causing drowsiness and sedation. Terfenadine was one of the earlier of the second generation of anti-histamines which are specifically known as non-sedative. 

A couple of references which make the above very clear.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6147905

Comparative trial of two non-sedative H1 antihistamines, terfenadine and astemizole, for hay fever.

...

Neither of these H1 antihistamine drugs was associated with sedative adverse effects.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PaOhT_4zBL8C&pg=PA431&lpg=PA431&dq=is+terfenadine+a+sedative&source=bl&ots=94s2sG91ii&sig=rQFebN32VH7uh-nairctc8NODis&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GXNNU6aGH4iA7Qbzu4D4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=is%20terfenadine%20a%20sedative&f=false

http://www.gpnotebook.com/simplepage.cfm?ID=-1603600346

Terfenadine is a non-sedative antihistamine.

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=622985

This article evaluates and summarizes the results of studies investigating the central nervous system effects of second-generation antihistamines, with particular emphasis on psychomotor and cognitive effects...

Objective and subjective measures of sedation show that loratadine and terfenadine produce sedation at a rate comparable with placebo...

The absence of sedation and psychomotor or cognitive impairment in patients receiving loratadine or terfenadine justifies the cost of these agents, particularly for patients who drive, pilot aircraft, or operate machinery.

Of course, if someone was to take a serious overdose of terfenadine (or for that matter of Calpol, alcohol, Coca Cola, chocolate or a vast number of other substances) then a sedative effect might well be noticed. But this article is specifically about terfenadine and when used properly this drug is not as you claim a sedative.

[John]

Terfenadine wasn't banned for fun, it had serious side effects including heart attacks.  The drug also had the potential to cause drowsiness in some patients.

[Alfred R Jones]

Terfenadine wasn't banned for fun, it had serious side effects including heart attacks.  The drug also had the potential to cause drowsiness in some patients.

It's not however the drug of choice for someone who wishes to sedate their children on a regular basis I would venture.

[jassi]

Has anybody said the children were sedated on a regular basis?