I also had other things in my life, which were a concern for me, I suffered with a stuttering speech impediment from the age of four, I had a bald patch on my head from birth and I was also quite short for a male at only five foot four. All of these had a massive negative affect on my overall self-esteem. To make myself happy, I would binge and comfort eat, which would only add to the problem. I would feel guilty for hours, after eating for only twenty minutes.

Aged 21; I decided to fight back – I needed to become much fitter, healthier and thinner. I was now working for a front doors company and also part time for a firm which offered cheap calls, it was now time to attempt to lose some weight. I then went about formulating my own form of diet. I realised I had to cut out these wrong type of foods I was eating and to also drink far less alcohol. To say this was difficult was an understatement, however I knew that I had to be strong and to fight off my urges and cravings.

OK so the majority of weight loss experts would advise me to stop eating such fatty and foods and to cut down on my alcohol intake – this was not something that I was particularly interested in doing and so I formulated the following plan:

Breakfast

For breakfast I would eat properly for example, a bowl of cereal or a couple of slices of toast.

Lunch

At around one o’clock I would eat my lunch which would consist of something light such as a salad or a plain jacket potato.

In between meal snacks

It was quite simple; the snacks had to stop; I needed to stay disciplined to not eat between each meal.

Evening meal

Lets have some fun, this was the meal where I allowed myself some pleasure as I decided that I could basically eat what I wanted to, including pizza, my favourite.

For exercise I decided to ditch the car, wherever possible, and walk to more places. Something else that I started to do, and have continued to do, was to take my kids to the local playing fields on a much more regular basis. At the park we would play games such as football, cricket and baseball. It is amazing how much weight you can lose by having fun.

Talking About Safety

Chiropractic care is generally safe even when given to pregnant patients, provided that the practitioner is a qualified and experienced chiropractor. The professional should be well-trained in the physical changes that happen inside a pregnant woman’s body. Chiropractors trained to deal with pregnant patients need to have a special table that adjusts accordingly to the shape and size of a pregnant women, at different stages of the process. Techniques will be incorporated to avoid unnecessary pressure on the abdomen.

It will be necessary to consult a chiropractor who is expert in the treatment of pregnant women. The professional should be highly competent in meeting the needs of pregnant women, providing stretches and exercises that are generally safe during pregnancy and support any type of adjustment given to the spine.

Is It Useful?

As a women enters pregnancy, variouis physical changes and alterations in the endocrine system takes place which prepare the environment for the developing fetus. The changes can also lead to joint and spine problems as evidenced by pelvic changes, protruding abdomen and more back curve, posture changes, uterus enlargement and uterus expansion forward.

When you create a balance and pelvis alignment, you get to have chiropractic care during pregnancy. Pelvic misalignment often lowers the available room for the baby. The baby may have a hard time getting into the right position just in time for delivery. The spine also needs to be aligned, so that the nervous system can properly send messages to different systems and organs, thereby making the body work better.

Knowing the Benefits

Pregnant women can benefit greatly from chiropractic care, such as a controlling signs and symptoms such as nausea and headache, keeping a healthy pregnancy, relieving joint, neck and back pain, minimizing the time of delivery and labor and avoiding the possibility of a caesarean section.

Unnecessary stress is lost or reduced from the uterus and supporting ligaments as balance is achieved in the pelvis of pregnant women. The balanced state then makes it easier for babies to turn naturally. The risk for having a breech position is lessened significantly. Babies may be presented in the breech position until the 3rd trimester, which is very normal. It is only during the 37th week that experts start worrying about breech position.

Treating Symptoms

Chiropractic care during pregnancycan eliminate several problems such as sciatica, low back pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome and midback and rib pain. Pregnancy associated with low back pain is usually linked to several joint problems in the body.

As women’s bodies become heavier throughout pregnancy, more and more stress and physical conditions can develop. These should be treated immediately with chiropractics. Subluxation is described as misalignment of joints, thereby triggering irritation to tissues and nerves in the surrounding areas. Hormones also boost quickly during pregnancy with some causing joints, muscles and ligaments to relax.

The pelvis, in turn opens, to let the baby to go through the birth canal. Treatment via chiropractics is highly useful in assisting mothers have easier deliveries.

Many females have the tendency to slow down at the time of their menopausal years and merely depend on menopause remedies like natural progesterone, however it is significantly important to be fit and active as much as possible. There are numerous arguments why regular exercise is especially important during a woman’s menopause and below are some of the top reasons:

Heart disease. Menopause has been reported to exacerbate the probability of being afflicted with coronary heart disease; however if the cardiovascular system is strengthened with regular physical activity, then the risk is significantly decreased. Physical training also promotes the health of our blood vessels so that good circulation is sustained and symptoms during menopause, such as chronic exhaustion and enervation will cease.

Porous Bones or Osteoporosis.  Even though working out cannot fully block the advent of osteoporosis, it can diminish the rate in which bone density is lost, hence the condition advances at a much slower rate. It can also produce more hardy and tough ligaments, bones and tendons so that strains and breakages do not ensue quite so often. Natural hormone replacement therapy is also believed to protect against osteoporosis and is worthy of hashing out with your physician.

Depressive Disorder. This is a common sign of the onset of menopause. And exercise has been proven to clear depression in many women. This is because exercise galvanizes the brain to release endorphins, which are referred to as the ‘natural high’ producing hormones for they produce a feeling of liveliness. Minor depressive disorders generated by the uncertainties of this natural condition can often be assuaged by performing some kind of exercise.

Overall Feeling of Satisfaction.  Working out is great for making you feel fitter and healthier, even if you only exercise a few times each week. Plus if you are feeling more contented about yourself, then you will not be so caught up with symptoms of perimenopause.

What type of exercise regimen you should do is a personal choice. However, you should aim to include a variety of aerobic routines and muscle building workouts.

Cardio Training Program.
This category includes any form of physical exercise that makes the speed of your heartbeat and your breathing rate to rise. Some examples of these exercises are brisk walking or aero-walking, jogging, running, swimming, biking or vigorous dancing. It also includes activities such as doing chores in the house, gardening activities, chasing after your puppy or the children and even vigorous lovemaking. In fact, whatever activity you do which causes your heart to pump faster can be described as an aerobic activity and thus it is beneficial for you.

It is essential not to over-exercise however, because the potential benefits of exercise can be negated by overexertion and this will get you feeling weak and tired when you should be bright and feeling good.

Muscle building Exercises
This includes anything that makes your muscles work. These can be, climbing the stairs, lifting objects, stretching and muscle toning exercises and even carrying bags or heavy objects can be classified as body building even if these activities don’t technically cause your muscles to grow. Weight_lifting workouts are vital for keeping the tendons, bones, connective tissues and muscles stronger, and this in turn lessens the chance of getting bone fractures and sprains.

Based on this health arguments you can see that any workout exercise undertaken during the menopause years is more desirable than not having a fitness plan. You should try to find a few fitness activities you like and alternate between these physical activities so that there is minimal chance of you getting disinterested to performing them regulary. Lastly, a moderate amount of fitness routine during the pre-menopause years can make life a lot more comfortable menopause and ‘post-menopause’; and ultimately, is it not what we ladies want?

Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective: Menopause is determined a deficient characteristic of the liver and qi (life force). When the energy and blood quality is deficient and obstructed then all body organs that depend on that blood are not able to function at their best. This condition causes the liver to overheat which rises through the body, wreaking havoc in its path. The heart, lungs, digestion, glands, throat, mouth & teeth, nose, eyes, ears, brain, skin and hair become heated and dried resulting in the body heat ailments. Additionally, When the liver isn’t filtering the blood then it progresses into a clotted and sluggish.

Because the body is deficient of life-giving body energy, quality filtered blood and diet, therefore the glands do not perform normally. Their glandular secretions can develop irregularly or immobilized altogether. Whereas the blood is filtered and nourished then the body’s organs thrive. Progressively, the energy comes back and they are able to function normally. The hormonal functions, secrete normally, transforming the body towards wellness.

The physical body isn’t missing chemical hormones. The blood is clogged like sludge. Glands are not receiving/transmitting life-giving messages, timely and/or minimally!

So therefore why do we add or provide more hormones. Doesn’t that risk an overload of hormones? Remember when you were a teen and your hormones were super revved. You won’t want to chance of experiencing that again. You have enough hormones. If you nourish your blood, keep fit, sleep, deal with stress, etc. Our hormones revive back and reenforces increased balance.

So if Chinese medicine knows the problem, then what is their solution to this weakened conditioneath

What Restores Usual Hormone Function? Chinese Medicine Has Had An Answer for More Than a Thousand Years! Traditional Chinese Medicine has 20+ formulas for menopause. But which one is the best? To figure this out, its necessary to consult an adept Master Herbalist. While nearly all women fall into 6 main constitution types: 1) cold 2) damp 3) deficient 4) hot 5) dry and 6) excess 

On the whole menopausal women benefit 95% of the time from Chinese herbs contained in Menopause Comfort. The exception is during the summertime. Particular women, who are more hot than the usual population, require a colder menopause herbs, Paramalin, to offset the surplus inner heat produced in the liver.

You can look at the top 10 menopause Chinese herbs, the most effective  menopause formula, listed in more depth, at Longevity Mountain.

That medication may be the problem for people who need medication to manage disorders such as bipolar disorder, clinical depression and anxiety. The medicines correct the chemical imbalance in the brain as probably causing one in the hormonal body system. In order for the patient to have relief from their menopause symptoms it is necessary to apply a hormonal supplement to give them freedom from some of the other following symptoms.

Lower libido

When a person is combating depression related cases, sex is usually the last thing on their minds. This is due in part to the nature of illness however it is also a result to their medication. Basic biology tells us that libido and sexual drive come from a healthy and regulated hormone level. Without it, the patient may feel very undesirable and their relationships may suffer. To let a person with depression that part of their life back it is necessary to treat the hormonal imbalance.

Decreased energy levels

There are times when medication for the above symptoms can lead a person to experience a serious lack of energy. Regulating the hormones again is sure to improve this area in their lives as they are being cured for depression related issues. With their energy stores replenished naturally, life becomes better for the patient and their recovery comes much easier. No one would suggest allowing a chemical imbalance to be untreated however it is important to cure hormonal imbalances as well.

Reduced self esteem

The very stigma attached to these kinds of disorders is enough to send many people who are analyzed into a tailspin of self-loathing. The menopause treatments help with the disorder itself but the hormonal imbalance makes it hard to control their emotions about themselves. For a full recovery, the patient must have the chance to appreciate themselves and build up their self-esteem again.

Zoloft, Paxil and Effexor night sweats can be prevented by balancing the hormonal system. Fortunately there are many menopause treatments such as mention in our website is an excellent way to do this. You can safely and effectively sleep through the night without experience drenching night sweats.

Grace K Lam, who has studies various medical studies and manage to beat menopause naturally, willing to share her experience through website where you can get Free Report and Useful Information about Menopause and Menopause Treatment.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Grace_K_Lam

If a judge in Pinellas County determines that it is, hundreds of thousands of documents now under seal in lawsuits against the drug’s manufacturer nationwide could be released for the public to inspect.

The key to the confidential company records has ended up in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Anthony Rondolino’s hands because of a clerical misstep and a unique Florida statute.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Monday, though attorneys were negotiating a possible resolution late Thursday.

More than 9,000 women have sued Pfizer’s Wyeth unit, the maker of Prempro and Premarin, claiming its bestselling hormone drugs caused breast cancer and stroke. The vast majority of those lawsuits have been consolidated in federal courts in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Nevada.

But the case of Loretta Esposito, a 63-year-old Clearwater resident who died of breast cancer in 2006, slipped through the cracks, making it the only Wyeth case in a Florida court. That could subject it to the state’s Sunshine in Litigation Law, which prohibits the court from keeping papers secret if they concern a public hazard.

Citing this statute, Esposito’s attorneys have refused to agree to the confidentiality order Wyeth has required other plaintiffs’ attorneys to sign before giving them access to an estimated 16 million discovery documents.

During a hearing in the spring, James Clark, the Tampa lawyer who represents the deceased woman’s husband, Peter Esposito, said the agreement would "be asking us and enticing us and luring our client through us — and the court — to violate Florida law … because it’s our position that the product isn’t okay."

‘Misleading’ risk

Prempro, which combines estrogen and progestin, and estrogen-only Premarin were approved by the Food and Drug Administration to relieve hot flashes and night sweats  associated with menopause. More than 6 million women have taken the drugs.

Sales of the drugs, widely prescribed off-label as remedies for everything from wrinkles to weak bones, took a hit in July 2002 when a large government study showed that women on Prempro had greatly increased risk of breast cancer, heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. Two years later, similar results were seen with Premarin. Last year sales of the two drugs totaled $1.1 billion, down from a peak of about $2 billion in 2002.

Wyeth’s attorneys have argued that the drugs are safe and effective and said the lawsuits are without merit. In a motion opposing Monday’s hearing, they wrote, "Even assuming that Prempro is a ‘public hazard,’ there is no information in the underlying documents that would provide a woman taking Prempro today information about the risks of Prempro that is not already known."

After listening to a similar argument from a Wyeth attorney at a hearing last month, Judge Rondolino asked: "How can you be saying this is secret if you’re saying the public knows about it?"

Among the experts expected to be called at Monday’s hearing is a Georgetown University doctor who has reviewed the confidential Wyeth documents as a plaintiff’s witness. In an affidavit, Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman said none of the sealed papers relate to trade secrets. Instead, she said the records contain information about marketing, sales and publication plans, including paying consultants to ghost-write articles published under a researcher’s name to downplay the risks of breast cancer.

"Women will continue to receive misleading information about the risks and benefits of hormone therapy unless Wyeth’s methods are exposed," she wrote.

Maker: Label enough

Wyeth, which was acquired by Pfizer in mid October, has said its products’ labels adequately address their risks. Plaintiffs have prevailed in four of eight cases that went to a jury; all are being appealed. Most recently, a Philadelphia jury awarded a cancer victim $3.7 million in compensatory damages and an undisclosed punitive judgment.

Esposito, a mother of three, began taking Prempro for hot flashes in 1998 and had been on the drug for more than three years when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.

Court documents show that her physician, Dr. Margaret Coyle, who worked for Morton Plant Primary Care, was visited more than twice a month by Wyeth sales representatives during the time she was treating Esposito with Prempro. Even so, the doctor said that after the government study was halted — just months after Esposito’s cancer was diagnosed — she would have had different advice for her patient.

"I would have suggested that the risks were greater than the benefits," speculated Coyle, who has moved her practice to North Carolina.

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Kris Hundley can be reached at khundley@sptimes.com or (727)892-2996.

In the past year, BodyLogicMD has opened 13 new bioidentical hormone specialty practices around the country, currently spanning coverage in 36 cities and 18 states.

“2009 has been a year of unprecedented growth for BodyLogicMD,” said Patrick Savage, founder and president of BodyLogicMD, Inc. “We’re adding an average of 1,000 new patients each month and are opening new offices and adding doctors to existing locations as quickly as possible to meet the tremendous demand. It’s very exciting to be a part of the explosive growth in this area of preventive medicine.”

Savage attributes the intense demand for BodyLogicMD’s doctors to Americans’ increasing willingness to seek out physicians who focus on addressing the root causes of their medical conditions to help them regain optimal health through a customized regimen of diet, nutritional supplements, and hormone therapy. BodyLogicMD physicians take detailed medical histories of each patient during the initial hour-long consultation, and review the results of comprehensive lab tests and learn as much about the patient’s medical and lifestyle profile to determine the best course of treatment.

BodyLogicMD opened its first office in 2004 and followed with four more locations in 2005. Expansion continued at a steady pace from 2006 to 2008. In January 2009, Oprah Winfrey’s broadcast of three shows on the subject of bioidentical hormones struck a chord with millions of women suffering from symptoms related to peri-menopause, menopause, and other conditions related to hormone imbalances. Oprah.com featured BodyLogicMD.com as the only expert resource for physicians practicing bioidentical hormone replacement therapy – and within one month the company received over 10,000 inquiries from prospective patients seeking treatment.

Men are increasingly seeking treatment for symptoms related to andropause, or male menopause, and now constitute approximately 30% of BodyLogicMD’s patients nationwide. Other factors motivating patients to seek treatment include night sweats  in men, extreme stress, libido issues, depression, memory loss, weight gain, lack of energy, and hair loss.

About BodyLogicMD

Founded in 2003, BodyLogicMD physician-owned practices make up the nation’s largest and fastest growing network of the most highly trained physicians specializing in natural bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Integrated with fitness and nutrition programs, BodyLogicMD’s medically supervised programs are for men and women suffering from hormonal imbalance, menopause, and andropause. BodyLogicMD is currently featured as an expert resource on Oprah.com; Suzanne Somers’ latest books “Knockout” and “Breakthrough” lists BodyLogicMD as an expert source, and her book, “Ageless, The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones” dedicates an entire chapter to BodyLogicMD, and Business Week March, 2006 cover story features the BodyLogicMD business story.

"The company believes that neither the awards of punitive damages nor the liability verdicts were supported by the evidence or the law," spokesman Chris Loder said. The company plans to challenge both decisions.

"The company stands by its belief that its subsidiaries acted responsibly," Loder said.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the verdicts are further proof that their cases are strong.

The verdicts show that "when jurors hear how Wyeth put huge profits over the safety of patients, they will react with a strong message of outrage," Esther Berezofsky, one of Barton’s lawyers, said in a statement.

Tom Kline, cocounsel for plaintiffs in about 40 other Prempro cases, said the punitive awards "showed that juries clearly believed that Wyeth hid the risks of breast cancer from doctors and patients, making the defense of these claims harder down the road."

There have been larger verdicts in pharmaceutical cases involving individual plaintiffs – a Texas jury awarded one plaintiff $253 million, later reduced to $26 million by an appeals court, in litigation against Merck & Co. Inc. over the arthritis drug Vioxx. But yesterday’s jury award in Philadelphia nonetheless was significant, another Center City plaintiffs’ lawyer said.

Pfizer Inc. has been hit with more than $100 million in two punitive-damage awards – one decided and the other unsealed yesterday – from Philadelphia juries.

Both cases involve Prempro, a hormone-replacement drug made by Wyeth, which recently was acquired by Pfizer. Plaintiffs said the drug was linked to their breast cancer.

The total includes $28 million awarded yesterday to Donna Kendall of Decatur, Ill.

In the second case, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Sandra Moss yesterday unsealed a verdict reached earlier this year that awarded $75 million in punitive damages to another Illinois resident, Connie Barton, over her Prempro-linked breast cancer.

"Those are large punitive verdicts, make no mistake about it," said Howard M. Erichson, a Fordham University law professor who has studied pharmaceutical litigation.

About 1,500 of 10,000 similar cases are pending in Philadelphia, a common jurisdiction for large liability cases, attorneys say.

The juries are sending a message that they are angry about the corporate conduct in the cases, Erichson said. The $75 million likely will be reduced because it far exceeds the $3.5 million Barton received in compensatory damages, he added.

"This is a pretty good-sized punitive-damage award," said Sol Weiss, whose firm, Anapol Schwartz, tries pharmaceutical lawsuits in jurisdictions around the country. "The jury believed that the [drugmakers] were not straight with what they knew about the cancer risks."

New York-based Pfizer and lawyers for the plaintiffs even disagreed over how to count wins and losses in hormone-replacement therapy cases to date.

While plaintiffs’ lawyers point to recent verdicts in their favor, Pfizer argues that judges have set aside some decisions and plaintiffs have dropped some cases, turning the legal tide in the company’s favor.

More than six million women have taken hormone-replacement medicines to treat menopause symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. Until 1995, many patients combined Premarin, Wyeth’s estrogen-based drug, with progestin-laden Provera, made by Pharmacia & Upjohn, a company also acquired by Pfizer.

Wyeth, which had not reserved funds to cover losses in the litigation, combined the two hormones in Prempro. The drugs are still on the market. Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, completed the $68 billion purchase of Wyeth on Oct. 15. Pfizer reported net income of $8.1 billion last year on sales of $48.3 billion.

Pfizer shares closed yesterday up 17 cents, or a bit less than 1 percent, at $18.53.

Annual sales of Wyeth’s hormone-replacement drugs topped $2 billion before the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, suggested that women using the medicines had a higher breast-cancer risk.

Wyeth faced its first punitive award over Prempro in January 2007, when a Philadelphia jury granted damages to Mary Daniel, an Arkansas woman who said the drug had caused her breast cancer. A judge threw out the award seven months later. The case is on appeal, and the amount of punitive damages remains under seal.

In October 2007, jurors in state court in Reno, Nev., awarded a total of $99 million in punitive damages to three women who blamed the drug for their breast cancers. That figure later was reduced to $35 million and is being appealed.

A federal jury in Arkansas awarded Donna Scroggin $27 million in bad-conduct damages against Wyeth and Upjohn over her Prempro claims. An appeals court threw out the award this year and ordered a new trial on the punitive-damage issue.

Not to worry, it will only take a few hours for them to make this money back.

Pfizer Inc. must pay about $75 million in punitive damages to an Illinois woman who developed cancer after taking one of the drugmaker’s menopause treatments, people familiar with a sealed verdict in the case said.

A Philadelphia jury ordered Pfizer’s Wyeth unit on Oct. 26 to pay the bad-conduct award, which is about 20 times larger than the $3.7 million in actual damages the panel awarded to Connie Barton over her use of Wyeth’s Prempro menopause drug, according to people with direct knowledge of the verdict.

A judge ordered Barton’s punitive-damage award sealed at Wyeth’s request until the trial of another Prempro lawsuit in the same courthouse is completed. Lawyers in that case say jurors won’t start deliberating on that suit’s claims for another three weeks.

“The company believes there is no basis in fact or in law for the jury verdict in the Barton case,” Pfizer spokesman Christopher Loder said. “We plan to ask the judge to reject both the compensatory and punitive awards. We anticipate that if the judge doesn’t grant the company a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, we will appeal.”

Loder said he couldn’t comment on the amount of the punitive damages verdict because of a court order banning disclosure of it while a related trial is in progress.

More than 6 million women have taken hormone-replacement medicines to treat menopause symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings. Until 1995, many patients combined Premarin, Wyeth’s estrogen-based drug, with progestin-laden Provera, made by Upjohn, another Pfizer unit.

No Reserves

Wyeth, which hasn’t reserved funds to cover losses in the litigation, later combined the two hormones in Prempro. The drugs are still on the market. New York-based Pfizer completed its $68 billion purchase of Wyeth Oct. 15.

Annual sales of Wyeth’s hormone-replacement drugs topped $2 billion before the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study, sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, suggested women using the medicines had a higher breast-cancer risk.

Pfizer rose 20 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $16.93 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday.

The jury found Wyeth’s conduct in marketing and selling the drug was “willful and wanton,” opening the company up to punitive damages under Pennsylvania law.

Barton’s lawyers presented evidence during the trial about Wyeth officials’ efforts to “deflect” criticism of the company’s handling of the drug and its use of ghostwritten articles in medical journals to market the medicine. They also alleged executives hid Prempro’s cancer risks to pump up the drug’s sales.

Third Award

Barton’s punitive award of about $75 million is the third surviving verdict in Prempro cases since juries began deciding them in 2006. The largest award was handed down to three women who blamed the drugs for their breast cancers in 2007.

Jurors in state court in Reno, Nevada awarded the trio a total of $99 million in punitive damages. That figure was later reduced to $35 million and is being appealed.

A federal appeals court earlier this week ordered a new trial on punitive damages for an Arkansas woman’s claims that Wyeth’s mishandling of Prempro caused her breast cancer.

Barton, a retired records clerk from Peoria, Illinois, took Prempro for five years before developing breast cancer in 2002. Jurors in Philadelphia concluded Prempro helped cause the illness and the manufacturer failed to warn Barton and her doctors adequately about the drug’s risks.

Target for Appeal

The panel’s decision to punish Wyeth with a punitive verdict 20 times greater than the compensatory damages it awarded Barton, 64, makes the verdict a target for an appeal, said Michael Allen, a Stetson University law professor who has written articles on punitive damages.

“This is an award that is clearly marked for trouble,” Allen said in an interview. “The U.S. Supreme Court has said a punitive award that exceeds the single digits in comparison to the actual damages could be excessive.”

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Sandra Moss, who oversees all the court’s product-liability cases, said last week that she agreed to seal Barton’s punitive award to protect the rights of other litigants involved in an ongoing trial in the same courthouse over the drug.

Moss said in a court hearing that when the next Prempro trial is completed, she’ll unseal the Barton verdict and another punitive award handed down in a 2007 Prempro case.

In Barton’s case, Judge Norman Ackerman instructed jurors not to reveal their verdict until being advised by the court that the award had been unsealed. Barton, her lawyers and Wyeth’s lawyers were able to review the award.

Trial Scorecard

Pfizer’s Wyeth unit has now lost five of eight trials, including the last three in a row, over the drugs since cases began reaching juries in 2006. Thirty-three Prempro cases have been set for trial so far, and 19 have been thrown out by judges or withdrawn by plaintiffs, according to Pfizer officials.

The company has won three defense verdicts and two losses were thrown out at the post-trial stage. The remaining verdicts are being appealed. Wyeth also has settled at least five cases over the drugs.

The case is Barton v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc., 040406301, Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jef Feeley in Wilmington, Delaware at jfeeley@bloomberg.net.