english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > Archives : 2006

Spotlight: Archives

Every month, the subjects in Prescrire’s Spotlight.

2006 : 1 | 30 | 60

2006

Type 2 diabetes in children:
prevention is a priority

Type 2 diabetes is currently on the increase in children and adolescents in rich countries, in parallel with the rise in obesity. The treatment of this serious disease is poorly evaluated in children. Prevention is a priority.

1 December 2006

Arterial hypertension:
how do you define normal levels?

Defining normal levels to assess risk or to decide on drug treatment is of no value unless the effectiveness of prescribing treatment above these levels is proven.

1 December 2006

Alzheimer's drugs: can cause trembling and aggravate parkinsonian symptoms

In patients with Alzheimer's-type dementia taking cholinesterase inhibitors, treatment should be halted if falls, difficulties in walking or Parkinsonian symptoms occur, given the limited and short-lived benefits of these drugs.

1 December 2006

Relevant health information for empowered citizens

Citizens need health information that enables them to make informed choices. They do not need ads from pharmaceutical companies disguised as "information".

1 December 2006

Disaster relief: donations of medicines
do more harm than good

Many of the drugs donated following the disasters in Pakistan and Indonesia were unusable and had to be incinerated. It is better to help countries to buy the drugs they need.

1 December 2006

Serious post-traumatic stress: improvement often occurs without drug treatment

In cases of stress as a reaction to a serious trauma, listening, moral support and, for some patients, psychotherapy, are the main measures to take.

1 November 2006

Drugs for rare diseases:
contrasting results in Europe

The EU Regulation on "orphan drugs" signals progress, but with strong limitations.

1 November 2006

Pharmaceutical companies' compliance support programmes: no thank you!

Pharmaceutical companies are really not the best people to remind patients to take their medicine. A French proposal for companies to be allowed to run compliance support programmes must be defeated.

1 November 2006

Direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs: abuse and confusion

By definition, and as long experience has proved, pharmaceutical companies cannot provide impartial information on their products. They advertise them.

1 November 2006

Drugs: not enough comparative data

Pharmaceutical companies and public authorities sometimes connive to cover up an unfortunate truth: the lack of comparative data on new drugs.

1 November 2006

The medicalisation of life: drugs and more drugs!

With their "disease information campaigns", pharmaceutical companies have just one aim, and that is to increase their drug sales. Even if it means exaggerating the seriousness of illnesses or going so far as to "invent" new ones.

1 November 2006

Conflicts of interest within the French drug regulatory agency: much remains to be done

It is imperative that French drug regulatory agency experts remain impartial in fulfilling their public service role.

1 November 2006

Omega-3: no reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer or dementia

Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to help prevent numerous diseases, but their effectiveness in preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia has not been clinically proven.

1 October 2006

Cholesterol: pravastatin and simvastatin
are the first-line drugs

In cardiovascular prevention, pravastatin and simvastatin are the cholesterol-lowering statins that have the longest track record and whose effectiveness is the most convincing.

1 October 2006

Type-2 diabetes: diet and physical activity can prevent or delay onset

In people at high risk of type-2 diabetes, the most effective means of prevention are losing weight and increasing physical activity.

1 October 2006

Pharmacovigilance: valuable data from the French regional centres

The annual French pharmacovigilance conference gives a glimpse of the reports made by health professionals to the regional pharmacovigilance centres, and a peek into the French pharmacovigilance database.

1 October 2006

Cholesterol: a new drug combination brings no proven clinical benefit but an additional risk

In cardiovascular prevention, simvastatin is a first-line cholesterol-lowering drug. The combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin has no proven additional clinical benefit, but carries an increased risk of muscular damage.

1 October 2006

Giving up smoking: motivation and moral support first, and then, if necessary, nicotine

The role of drugs in helping smokers quit remains secondary. If medicinal aid is deemed necessary, it is best to keep to nicotine.

1 October 2006

Nutritional supplements: caution!

There is an urgent need to evaluate nutritional supplements before they are put on the market.

1 October 2006

Herbal capsules: warning

Capsules containing powdered crushed plants are different from powders for herbal teas and tea bags.

1 October 2006

Application of the World Trade Organisation
drugs agreement: still nothing

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) stated that it had introduced the necessary flexibility to patent laws to give poor countries access to recent drugs. Three years later, nobody has yet made use of this "flexibility".

1 September 2006

Neuroleptics: the cause of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism

The risk of deep vein thrombosis should be taken into account before deciding to prescribe treatment with neuroleptics, and patients should be monitored.

1 September 2006

Hyperactivity in children: risk of hallucinations with methylphenidate

1 September 2006

Nicotinic acid for lowering cholesterol:
too many drawbacks

Short- or long-acting nicotinic acid causes too many adverse effects to be used as a treatment for high cholesterol.

1 September 2006

Inhaled insulin: no proven benefits and too many unknowns concerning risks

Subcutaneous injection remains the standard way of administering insulin to diabetics.

1 September 2006

Increase in congenital malformations with some antidepressants, in particular paroxetine

Antidepressants are implicated in the risk of congenital malformation. Given the extent of the risk, especially with paroxetine, the treatment of pregnant women should be carefully weighed.

1 July 2006

"Metabolic syndrome": an artificial construct
that does not improve treatment

The diagnosis of "metabolic syndrome", whose definition varies from one source to another, is of no use when it comes to improving patients' treatment. It is better to tackle each component of the "syndrome": obesity, diabetes, arterial hypertension and lipid disorders.

1 July 2006

Rimonabant for the treatment of obesity:
a few kilos less but too many unknowns

Rimonabant, widely trumpeted in recent months as the miracle cure for obesity, "metabolic syndrome" and tobacco dependency, has turned out to be much ado about nothing.

1 July 2006

Oral medicine syringes graduated by weight:
not such a good idea after all

Syringes graduated according to the child's weight seem convenient, but they are a source of error. It is time to promote more reliable systems.

1 July 2006

A drug's brand name gives little indication
of the substance(s) it contains

By looking for the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) on the packaging or in the patient leaflet, it is possible to identify whether a drug contains several substances or not, irrespective of the commercial name.

1 July 2006