Pharmacotherapies for obesity: past, current, and future therapies.

Past therapies for the treatment of obesity have typically involved pharmacological agents usually in combination with a calorie-controlled diet. This paper reviews the efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapies for obesity focusing on drugs approved for long-term therapy (orlistat), drugs approved for short-term use (amfepramone [diethylpropion], phentermine), recently withdrawn therapies (rimonabant, sibutamine) and drugs evaluated in Phase III studies (taranabant, pramlintide, lorcaserin and tesofensine and combination therapies of topiramate plus phentermine, bupropion plus naltrexone, and bupropion plus zonisamide). No current pharmacotherapy possesses the efficacy needed to produce substantial weight loss in morbidly obese patients.

Smoking cessation-recent advances.

Background: Smoking continues to be a major contributor to the burden of disease across the world although there has been a decrease in some developed countries such as USA and Australia. In countries of South-East Asia with a high prevalence of smoking, the incidence of tobacco-related diseases will continue to increase.

Methods: We reviewed the literature in relation to the pharmacology of nicotine, the measures used to determine the efficacy of anti-smoking therapies, and the randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews of pharmacotherapies published between 2004 and 2010.

Cost of myocardial infarction to the Australian community: a prospective, multicentre survey.

Background: in order to evaluate the cost effectiveness of preventive strategies for myocardial infarction (MI), direct cost estimates are required. However, Australian-specific cost estimates for MI are not available.

Objective: the CosMIC (Cost of Myocardial Infarction to the Community) in Australia study was designed to determine the resource use and estimate the direct costs associated with MI in the Australian Health Care System.

Safety of drug therapies used for weight loss and treatment of obesity.

Some of the medications used for weight loss in the management of obesity have been associated with unacceptable morbidity and mortality. Safety concerns have led to the withdrawal of aminorex, followed by the fenfluramines in 1997, and phenylpropanolamine (norephedrine) in 2000. Aminorex was associated with an increased prevalence of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), fenfluramines with an increased prevalence of PPH and valvulopathy, and phenylpropanolamine with an increased risk of haemorrhagic stroke.

Pharmacotherapy for obesity.

Pharmacotherapy for the management of obesity is primarily aimed at weight loss, weight loss maintenance and risk reduction, and has included thyroid hormone, amphetamines, phentermine, amfepramone (diethylpropion), phenylpropanolamine, mazindol, fenfluramines and, more recently, sibutramine and orlistat. These agents decrease appetite, reduce absorption of fat or increase energy expenditure. Primary endpoints used to evaluate anti-obesity drugs most frequently include mean weight loss, percentage weight loss and proportion of patients losing >or=5% and >or=10% of initial bodyweight.

Use of complementary and alternative medicines by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: To investigate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to explore their beliefs about CAM.

Design And Participants: Cross-sectional study of 173 patients with moderate to severe COPD, and in depth interviews with a purposive sample of 28 patients.

Setting: Ambulatory care.

Fenitrothion: toxicokinetics and toxicologic evaluation in human volunteers.

An unblinded crossover study of fenitrothion 0.18 mg/kg/day [36 times the acceptable daily intake (ADI)] and 0.36 mg/kg/day (72 X ADI) administered as two daily divided doses for 4 days in 12 human volunteers was designed and undertaken after results from a pilot study.

Reference-based pricing schemes: effect on pharmaceutical expenditure, resource utilisation and health outcomes.

Pharmaceutical expenditure is rising more rapidly than the general inflation rate in most advanced countries. One strategy that has been introduced to control pharmaceutical costs is reference-based pricing (RBP). Its potential is restricted to those specific segments of the drug market where several drugs (and/or their generic forms) exist without substantial evidence that any particular agent is superior.

Ceftriaxone and cefotaxime use in Victorian hospitals.

Objective: To determine patterns of use of ceftriaxone and cefotaxime (CEFX) in Victorian hospitals and to identify areas for improvement.

Design, Patients And Setting: A concurrent, observational evaluation of CEFX use in patients commencing a course of these drugs between 8 and 14 September, 1999, in 51 Victorian hospitals.

Main Outcome Measures: Proportion of patients treated with CEFX; indications; duration of use; concordance with recommendations of national antibiotic guidelines (Therapeutic guidelines: antibiotic, 10th edition [AG10]).