Zocor, also known as Simvastatin, is a popular drug that is used to control cholesterol for approximately 2.1 million Americans. The drug is designed to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, also known as "bad cholesterol," while increasing the amount of high-density lipoprotein, or good cholesterol, in the bloodstream.

Many patients take the highest dose of Zocor, which is 80 milligrams, to control their cholesterol. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found that Zocor has the potential to be a dangerous drug at that level of dosage.

FDA research has found that an 80-milligram dose of Zocor causes an increased risked for muscle damage for patients. In addition, research indicates that Zocor can have other serious side effects, including fever and severe kidney damage, which can cause renal failure and acute renal failure.

This summer, the FDA issued a new warning that limits the 80-milligram dose of Zocor. The FDA recommends that no new patients take the 80-milligram dose of Zocor. In addition, the FDA recommends that the only patients who should take the 80-milligram dose are patients who have already been on the 80-milligram dose for 12 months or more without developing muscle damage.

Although prescription drugs are subjected to rigorous testing and research, some potentially dangerous drugs still make their way into pharmacies and medicine cabinets in Cincinnati and across the country. Unfortunately, unsafe drugs continue to harm patients on a daily basis. When a patient is harmed by an unsafe drug, he or she has the right to seek compensation from the company that manufactured and distributed the drug.

Sources: WRAL.com, "FDA releases warning about cholesterol-lowering drug dose," July 29, 2011

PubMed Health, "Simvastatin," June 15, 2011