Nolotil warning: ‘Lethal’ painkiller prescribed in Spain may be twice as more dangerous for women, study finds

A STUDY has found the main ingredient in ‘lethal’ painkiller Nolotil could be twice as dangerous for women than men. 

Just weeks after the European Medicines Agency revealed they would not be banning Nolotil, a study has surfaced claiming the drug’s ‘deadly’ side effects may affect women twice as much as men. 

READ MORE: Exclusive: British relatives of Nolotil ‘victims’ blast the EU’s health agency for ruling in favour of the painkiller

The research, titled ‘Agranulocytosis from metamizol, is it time to restrict prescriptions?’  found that women are almost twice as likely to suffer agranulocytosis after taking drugs containing metamizol, Nolotil’s main active ingredient.

Agranulocytosis is the depletion of white blood cells leading to sepsis, loss of limbs and even death.

According to The Sunday Times, of 115 adverse reactions to Nolotil between 2001-2018, 79 were agranulocytosis and almost two thirds of these cases (46) affected women. 

READ MORE: ‘If he hadn’t gone to Spain he would still be alive’: British family of ‘first known Nolotil victim’ speak out 

Published by medical journal Pharmaceutical Care España, the study also suggested there could be a genetic cause of agranulocytosis, making British, Irish and Scandanvians more vulnerable. 

It said: “Other potential risk factors include genetics, such as the presence of HLA and HLA-DQwl alleles.

“These characteristics appear to create a greater susceptibility in individuals from Great Britain, Ireland and Scandavia, since there are historic reasons to suspect these three populations could share some genetic variants of HLA.” 

READ MORE: Anti-Nolotil campaigner blasts EU health chiefs after they ruled in favour of the controversial painkiller – despite its links to British deaths 

The HLA gene is responsible for the regulation of the immune system and mutations have previously been linked with auto-immune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and celiac disease.

Similarly, agranulocytosis weakens the immune system by depleting white blood cells, frequently used to fight infection. 

Other risk factors were advanced age and having suffered from viral infections such as COVID-19 and hepatitis. 

Data from EudraVigilance shows that between 1985 and 2017, there have been 1148 reported cases of suspected agranulocytosis associated with metamizol in Europe. 

The majority of the cases have occurred in Germany, Nolotil’s country of origin, Spain and Switzerland. 

Anti-Nolotil campaigner Cristina Garcia del Campo has recorded hundreds of agranulocytosis cases as a result of Nolotil, including over 40 deaths of British and Irish people in Spain. 

READ MORE: ‘Benefits’ of painkiller ‘outweigh the risks’, say European health chiefs – despite scores of British deaths linked to the drug

However, the recent report stated the ‘evidence supports that adverse reactions to metamizol are very rare.’ 

According to the European Medicines Agency, the prevalence of agranulocytosis is around 1 in 10 cases per million users in Spain. 

The Olive Press has reported dozens of illnesses and deaths linked to the drug, which is supposed to be prescribed for treatments less than seven days, with the lowest possible dosage and the possibility of follow up appointments. 

But the new research suggests this guidance is not followed 25% of the time.

READ MORE: ‘Our mum died after taking Nolotil in Benidorm for a slipped disk’