The independent medical journal has published a list of 68 drugs that are "more dangerous than helpful" and therefore put patients at risk.
The independent medical journal Prescribe on Thursday awarded a vaccine against meningitis and published a list of 68 drugs to avoid because of the risks they pose to patients who take them.
"The year 2013 is one more year without significant progress brought by new drugs", indicated the managing editor, Bruno Toussaint, specifying that the magazine had given up awarding its traditional "Golden Pill" in 2013, for the sixth consecutive year.
The review, which is financed exclusively by its subscriptions and refuses all publicity for the sake of independence, did not place any drugs on its 2013 "Honor Roll" either (a category that highlights "clear progress for some patients"). But she decided to cite in her "Palmarès" (which hails a "modest improvement") Nimerix (GSK), a vaccine against meningococcal meningitis types A, C, W135 and Y intended for children aged 1 to 2 years. having to travel to an epidemic zone. This vaccine, said Mr. Toussaint "helped improve prevention in some infants".
The journal Prescribe also indicates that it has updated its list of drugs "more dangerous than useful" which should be excluded "in the interest of patients". Based on studies carried out between 2010 and 2013, the review lists 68 drugs "whose benefit-risk balance is unfavorable in all the clinical situations for which they are authorized".
Among these drugs, some present risks "disproportionate to the benefits they bring" such as strontium ranelate (Protelos), used in the treatment of osteoporosis at high risk of fractures, but which can cause neurological disorders and serious cardiovascular events that can lead to death. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also just recommended the suspension of the Protelos market from Servier laboratories.
'Minimal efficacy' of Alzheimer's drugs
The review also cites quinine (Hexaquine, Okimus, Quinine vitamin C Grand), used to treat cramps but which also exposes you to serious or even fatal adverse effects such as anaphylactic reactions (serious allergic reactions) or hematological disorders while their effectiveness is considered low.
The review also advises against the prescription of domperidone (Motilium) for gastroesophageal reflux disease, pointing out that other far less dangerous drugs exist. Similarly, Izilox (moxifloxacin), an antibiotic of the quinolone family, is "no more effective than others" but exposes to Lyell syndromes (a sudden and serious damage to the skin, potentially fatal) and severe hepatitis.
Prescrire also attacks available Alzheimer's disease drugs that have "minimal and transient efficacy" but which can lead to serious adverse effects when prescribed in combination with other drugs.
(to see the 2014 review of drugs to be ruled out: http://bit.ly/1ezU5Wp)
source: Lexpress.fr
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