Vioxx Ruling May Ease Pain for Arthritis Sufferers

Marianne Snyder had to miss work cleaning houses on Friday because her knees were so sore from rheumatoid arthritis, she couldn't bear getting on them to scrub floors.

The 64-year-old West Valley City woman has felt immense pain since September, when Merck & Co. Inc. pulled Vioxx from the market after a study showed the drug increased patients' risk for heart attack and stroke.

But after a committee with the Food and Drug Administration said Friday that Vioxx and other drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors should remain on the market, she might not have to suffer so much.

"Vioxx was a life saver," she said. "Other drugs gave me ulcers, and Celebrex didn't do anything to touch the pain. I probably will go back on Vioxx."

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