A Cochrane systematic review explored the potential role of rimonabant for overweight and obesity [1]. On the basis of surrogate outcomes reported in the included RCTs, rimonabant has been a candidate (by its producer) to act as a pleiotropic agent for the entire cardiovascular risk spectrum. Is this compelling evidence to consider rimonabant the new panacea for the ‘‘metabolic syndrome’’ or ar...

BACKGROUND Inexpensive antihypertensive drugs are at least as effective and safe as more expensive drugs. Overuse of newer, more expensive antihypertensive drugs is a poor use of resources. The potential savings are substantial, but vary across countries, in large part due to differences in prescribing patterns. We wanted to describe prescribing patterns of antihypertensive drugs in ten countri...

BACKGROUND The 1990 Contract encouraged general practitioners to participate in continuing medical education by providing a financial incentive. AIM The study was designed: to determine the motivation of general practitioners attending education events; and to compare motivation and reasons for attendance pre- and post-Contract at commercial and non-commercial meetings, and at the different e...

OBJECTIVE To generate recommendations for framing messages to promote HPV vaccination, specifically for African American adolescents and their parents who have not yet made a decision about the vaccine (the "Undecided" market segment). METHODS Focus groups and interviews were conducted with African American girls ages 11-18 (N=34) and their mothers (N=31), broken into market segments based on...

in 2008, Harald Zur Hausen received the nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for showing that two human papilloma viruses, HPV16 and HPV18, were associated with the bulk of cervical cancers, and that some of the genes contained within the viruses were incorporated into the infected host tissue, resulting in carcinogenesis. These carcinogenic strains of HPV cause 70% of cervical cancer and kil...

In October 2002 the federal government issued a draft "Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers." The draft Guidance questioned the legality of many arrangements heretofore left to the discretion of physicians and drug companies, including industry-funded educational and research grants, consultantcies, and gifts. Medical organizations and drug manufacturers proposed major r...

BACKGROUND Registration trials leading to the approval of drugs are paramount in drug development. After approval, continuous efforts are necessary to ensure proper use of the approved drugs. In Japan, post-marketing surveillance (PMS) by drug companies is conducted in accordance with good post-marketing study practice (GPSP). Although the global standard for pharmacovigilance is incorporated i...

Suxamethonium is a drug that promotes very strong views both for and against its use in the context of pediatric anesthesia. As such, the continuing debate is an excellent topic for a 'Pro-Con' debate. Despite ongoing efforts by drug companies, the popular view still remains that there is no single neuromuscular blocking drug that can match suxamethonium in terms of speed of onset of neuromuscu...

BACKGROUND A training physician has his first interaction with a pharmaceutical representative during medical school. Medical students are often provided with small gifts such as pens, calendars and books, as well as free lunches as part of drug promotion offers. Ethical impact of these transactions as perceived by young medical students has not been investigated in Pakistan before. This study ...

105 doctor if the answer is “yes” would do wonders to continuity of care. To assume that “we cannot believe a word of what drug companies tell you”1 is making the whole industry and its representatives collectively responsible for the vices of some—this is simply not only not true but also, I believe, not the right thing to say. Summarizing, I regret the author was not asked to change the langu...