“Now that it is known that Depo-Provera is associated with meningiomas and causes a 5.6x risk of this brain tumor, it is important to understand the baseline risks and epidemiology of meningiomas,” states Greg Vigna, MD, JD, national pharmaceutical injury attorney, PM&R MD.
Dr. Greg Vigna, national pharmaceutical injury attorney, and retired Physical Medicine Rehabilitation physician has worked with the Ben Martin Law Group in discovery against medical device manufacturers since 2015, including Cook Medical and their ultra-dangerous Celect IVC filter and ultra-stiff Coloplast Altis sling. The purpose is to expose what the manufacturers knew, when they knew it, and what manufacturers have told the FDA, doctors, and the public.
Dr. Vigna states, “Analysis of a bad drug, such as Depo-Provera that is associated with a disease, such as meningiomas, begins with an understanding of the epidemiology of that disease. Epidemiology refers to the study of how often a disease occurs in different groups and why it occurs.”
What did the “Meningioma: A Review of Epidemiology, Pathology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Future Directions” describe in Biomedicines 2021, 9, 319?
“Despite having a reputation of a benign disease, these dural-based tumors can lead to morbidity, presenting with a variety of non-specific, location-dependent symptoms.
The incidence rate in patients aged 40+ years is 18.69/100,000 and in ages 0–19 years, it is 0.16/100,000
Benign and malignant meningiomas were also more common in Black people versus White people with incidence ratios of 1.18 and 1.52, respectively.
At autopsy, incidental meningiomas were usually found in 2-3% of patients.
A dose of only 1-2 Gy (ionizing radiation) to the head administered during childhood can lead to a 9.5-fold increase in the incidence of meningiomas, whereas doses of >2.6 Gy are associated with a relative risk of 18.82 for low-grade meningiomas.
The summary relative risk of meningiomas with respect to BMI (body mass index) was 1.48 for obesity and 1.18 for those overweight.
Women with occupational herbicide use had a significantly increased risk of developing meningiomas.
While a majority of meningiomas occur sporadically, there are many rare familial syndromes that increase the risk of developing these tumors.
Somatic mutations … Deletion of NF2 (gene) can be identified in 50-60% of meningiomas. NF2 alterations are seen in 75% of atypical meningiomas … Around 40% of sporadic meningiomas lack NF2 mutations and are driven by other genetic aberrations.”
Read the article: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/9/3/319
Dr. Greg Vigna explains, “In sum, meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumor, are rare in children, and increase significantly with age. It is more common in women, African Americans, and people who are obese. Ionizing radiation is also a significant risk factor. People with a history of eczema and increased serum IgE have significantly lower risk. There are somatic gene mutations associated with the occurrence of meningiomas and have implications as to the Grade of the meningioma, and there are familial disorders that lead to multiple meningiomas, Neurofibromatosis Type 2.”
Vigna Law Group is a national litigation firm that focuses on neurological injuries caused by medical malpractice, mid-urethral slings, and bad drugs such as Depo-Provera. He represents women with the Ben Martin Law Group, a national pharmaceutical injury law firm in Dallas, Texas. The attorneys are product liability and medical malpractice attorneys, and they represent neurological injuries across the country.
Read Dr. Vigna’s free book, Mother’s Guide to Birth Injury.
Click here for a free book on Vaginal Mesh Pain by Dr. Vigna.
