n°76

April 2005

Issue Contents
Editorial

Free  Needs oriented research at a standstill

p.42
Sustained lack of drugs providing major therapeutic advantage should prompt lateral thinking: changing research aims, improving use of available methods, developing prevention, etc.

Marketing Authorisations

Anastrozole (new indication)

p.43-44
Adjuvant treatment of non metastatic breast cancer: useful for some patients

Nasal sumatriptan (new dosage)

p.45-47
For adolescents with migraine: too little benefit

Bosentan (new preparation)

p.47-50
Pulmonary hypertension: an option before epoprostenol infusion

Levodopa + carbidopa + entacapone (new preparation)

p.51-54
Parkinson

Entacapone - a second look

p.51-54
Parkinson

Emtricitabine (new preparation)

p.54-56
An antiretroviral very similar to lamivudine

Stiripentol (new preparation)

p.57-59
Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy: promising

Infliximab

p.60
Long-term use in Crohn

Enfuvirtide

p.60
Useful after failure of antiretroviral multitherapy

Botulinum toxin type A

p.60
In upper limb spasticity after stroke: authorisation is premature

Adverse Effects

Torsades de pointes with methadone

p.61-62
QT prolongation is dose-dependent. Factors predisposing to torsades de pointes must be analysed in each case.

Reversible Parkinsonism linked to trimetazidine

p.63
Trimetazidine has no proven efficacy, and nothing justifies exposing patients to the slightest risk.

Parecoxib: renal failure

p.63
Coxibs share the known adverse effects of NSAIDs

Valdecoxib: cutaneous and vascular risks

p.63
Use classical nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs instead

Reviews

Free  Prescrire Awards

p.64-67
1981-2004 : 24 years of Prescrire Drug Awards
Each year the Prescrire editorial team take stock of 12 months

Free  The 2004 New Drugs Awards

p.65
Preparations analysed during the past year in the New Products column of la revue Prescrire (issues 246 to 256 in 2004) are eligible for the annual New Drug Awards

2004 Packaging Awards

p.66

2004 Information Awards

p.67

Outlook

Free  A review of new drugs in 2004

p.68-73
Floundering innovation and increased risk-taking
Fewer new drugs provided therapeutic advantage; advertising was uncontrolled; improvements much needed in order to prevent adverse effects, but the wind may be turning.

Free  Media hype of medical news

p.74
Every day the lay media blow medical advances and health scares out of all proportion. In the UK and Australia, there are two organisations that help the public and health professionals interpret news about claimed benefits and dangers.

Free  Comparative advantages of new drugs: French authorities are not sufficiently demanding

p.75-79
The French pharmacoeconomic Committee gives opinions that are based on company data and aimed at government. La revue Prescrire is more demanding and takes convenience of use into account

The complete contents of 
this issue of Prescrire International
are available for download by
Prescrire International subscribers.
Certain texts are also available to
non-subscribers for free download,
as indicated. 

 

Subscribe