Health Highlights: Nov. 12, 2008

Nov. 13 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

No Clear Link Between Bone Drugs, Abnormal Heart Rhythm: FDA

There is no scientific proof of a link between drugs to fight the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis and the heart-rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

A study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine found increased risk of atrial fibrillation in women who took the Novartis drug Reclast or the Merck drug Fosamax, the Dow Jones news service reported.

Weighing in at that time, the FDA noted that studies of Reclast found that the once-yearly injection might be associated with atrial fibrillation.

But on Wednesday, the agency cited "no clear association" between the bone-strengthening drugs, which belong to a class called bisphosphonates, and an abnormal heartbeat.

"After our review based on the data available at this time, health-care professionals should not alter their prescribing patterns for bisphosphonates, and patients should not stop taking their bisphosphonate medication," Dow Jones reported, citing a statement posted on the agency's Web site.

The FDA reviewed studies involving a combined 38,000 patients who took bisphosphonates or a placebo, noting that most of the individual studies had two or fewer cases of atrial fibrillation, Dow Jones reported.

The agency said it would conduct additional studies of a possible link between the drugs and abnormal heartbeat, and would continue to monitor people who take the drugs for any signs of the condition.

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Gas-Relief Drops for Babies Recalled

Some 12,000 bottles of Mylicon Gas Relief Dye-Free Eye Drops, designed to relieve gas in infants, are being recalled, because the contents may be contaminated with metal pieces, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The 1-ounce plastic bottles, sold over-the-counter by Johnson & Johnson-Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals, were distributed to stores and pharmacies after Oct. 5.