The drug varenicline (champix) is a nicotinic receptor partial agonist used as a pharmacological agent in smoking cessation. It has become the object of considerable media attention in North America due to reported links with increased suicidality and depression. Moore and Furberg analysed reports from the UK’s yellow card system and urged that doctors should monitor patients taking varenicli...

The aim of this study was to describe the effects of varenicline, a smoking cessation aid that acts as a nicotinic agonist, on cognitive function in patients with early clinical Huntington's disease (HD) who were current smokers. Three gene-positive patients transitioning to symptomatic HD were evaluated using the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale part I and III (motor and behavioral su...

BACKGROUND Smoking is a major preventable cause of morbidity and premature death worldwide. Both varenicline and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) help achieve smoking cessation. However, limited evidence exists regarding whether combination of varenicline and NRT is more effective than either alone. The aim of this research was to investigate the efficacy and safety of varenicline combined wi...

Varenicline is sometimes used in the treatment of smoking addiction. Side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and headaches have been well documented. In addition, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts relating to varenicline usage have been previously reported. We report a case of mania in a patient with refractory depression whose first manic episode developed under the use of varenicline in com...

The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor shows broad pharmacology, complicating the development of subtype-specific nicotinic receptor agonists. Here we use unnatural amino acid mutagenesis to characterize binding to α7 by the smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix; Pfizer, Groton, CT), an α4β2-targeted agonist that shows full efficacy and modest potency at the α7 receptor. We find that unl...

OBJECTIVE To review the pharmacology, clinical efficacy and safety of partial agonists of alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. DATA SOURCES Primary literature and review articles were obtained via a PUBMED search (1988-August 2006) using the key terms smoking cessation, partial agonist alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, varenicline, cytisine and SSR591813. Additional studi...

OBJECTIVE To analyse the effectiveness and safety of two smoking cessation medications (varenicline and nicotine patches) in patients with controlled psychiatric disorders in daily practice in a Smoking Cessation Service. METHODS This is a retrospective cohort study. It was carried on at a smoking cessation clinic in Madrid and used a convenience sampling strategy. We reviewed medical records...

To the best of our knowledge this is the first case report describing exposure to varenicline, an α 4 β 2 nicotinic acetylcholine partial receptor agonist used for smoking cessation therapy in pregnancy. A 29-year-old multiparous woman with an unplanned pregnancy has used varenicline 2 mg/day unintentionally yet regularly 4 weeks from her last menstrual period. Fetal ultrasound performed at eac...

BACKGROUND Within the context of the support program for smoking cessation, initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Health in 2011, those who present at 'smoking cessation' centres and are found to be suitable for pharmacological treatment are given varenicline and bupropion free of charge. As the smoking cessation programme is centralized, the selection of the medication is made randomly to provi...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether varenicline is associated with an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events compared with another drug used for smoking cessation, bupropion. DESIGN Nationwide historical cohort study. SETTING Denmark, 2007-10. PARTICIPANTS New users of varenicline (n = 17,926) and bupropion (n = 17,926). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Individual level data on dispensed dru...