§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps have been taken to ensure that general practitioners are aware of the possible side effects of the use of Myodil and its links with the disease arachnoiditis;
(2) what plans she has to withdraw the product licence for Myodil.
§ Dr. MawhinneyMyodil was withdrawn from the market by the manufacturers in 1987 for commercial reasons and the product licence is no longer in force. Myodil would only have been administered by specialists. The product information for Myodil warned of the occurrence of post-myelography arachnoiditis. In view of this, and the fact that arachnoiditis is rare, it has not been considered necessary to issue additional warnings to general practioners about the side effects of Myodil and the possible association with arachnoiditis.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what support is being given to research efforts to determine the percentage of cases of arachnoiditis which arise from the use of the dye Myodil in myelography treatment.
§ Dr. MawhinneyWe are not currently funding research in this particular area.