[Some questions about statins].

More than ten years after the statins became available in therapeutics, some questions remain unanswered. What would be the populational impact if the results of clinical trials were applied to a country such as France? Is the extrapolation licit? Does the benefit of the statins actually exceed the risk? What is the relevant target population? Are statins more effective than agents acting on other cardiovascular risk factors? How efficient are the statins really? Are the statins effective in non-hypercholesterolaemic patients? What is the overall cost of the statins? Despite the fact that the statins are the drug of choice in many situations, it is still important for these questions to be answered before we accept the widespread use of statins in the general population, such as the large numbers of patients that the drug may be prescribed for in France.

[The origins of clinical pharmacology in France].

This text is a history of the early development of clinical pharmacology in France in the 60s and 70s. It relates the obstacles that needed to be surmounted to impose clinical trials, pharmacovigilance, therapeutic drug monitoring. It follows the evolution of regulations, and the constitution of a new hospital and academic discipline.

[Drug evaluation in France: comparison of two approaches].

Two independent expert groups assess new medicines in France: that of the journal Prescrire (P), and the official Transparency Commission (CT). Each uses its own 5-level scale to assess its contribution to therapeutics (P: (1) bravoi, (2) interesting, (3) adds something, (4) possibly useful, (5) nothing new; CT: (1) major, (2) important, (3) moderate, (4) modest, (5) none). We have compared the gradings for new drugs in P from 1993 to 1998 (except vaccines, generics and items for exclusive hospital use) to those of CT.

Benzodiazepines and hip fractures in elderly people: case-control study.

Objective: To determine whether benzodiazepines are associated with an increased risk of hip fracture.

Design: Case-control study.

Participants: All incident cases of hip fracture not related to traffic accidents or cancer in patients over 65 years of age.