atenolol "aint so good".

[EMRhelp.org]

Interpretation:

Our results cast doubts on atenolol as a suitable drug for hypertensive patients.

thelancet.com has the orginal article.
but they make you go through a nagging signup.

I archived it here for docsboard user's convenience.

Full Text PDF
http://home.cogeco.ca/~epiphany/atenolol.pdf

[EMRhelp.org]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...300296,00.html is a more "newsy" read.

[BigDoc]

Interesting, and wasn't it Atenolol most b-blocker studies are based on

[pprescot]

Doubts about efficacy of atenolol in hypertension

http://www.theheart.org/viewArticle....maryKey=355985

[DaffyDuck]

What happen to the studies done in the past that showed BB as well as Thiazide Diuretics were the only BP meds that actually reduced mortality, and therefore should be considered first line.

[EMRhelp.org]

BB are still good, atenolol itself is the only one in question.

Thiazides are still the best. If a thiazide isnt your first choice, it probably should be your second.

[JADIP]

What happen to the studies done in the past that showed BB as well as Thiazide Diuretics were the only BP meds that actually reduced mortality, and therefore should be considered first line.

Around and around we go..............
Thiazides decrease mortality but cause >glucose, >uric acid, and bad lipids-
a theoriticians Super Bowl!

BTW it must be morbidity reduction that keeps the other anti-hypertensives on the market?

[EMRhelp.org]

Exercise reduces mortality.
Lack of Obesity, albeit rare, reduces mortality.

I am really pessimistic about all drugs now.

I think it is quite scary that we know so little about drugs.
Thiazides seem to be good BP pills but they -DO- impair glucose metabolism and that scares me.

Dammed if you do, dammed if you dont.

[Shadows]

speaking of obesity, did anyone watch the (I think it was Dateline) topic about some "natural" form of appetite suppressant that is basically a certain type of cactus you eat (it grows in Africa) a portion of and it suppressed appetite for the entire day? Apparently it only is found growing in Africa and the natives have been eating this cactus for many years? Is it being researched at all?

[Phillip]

If it's primarily in Sudan and Ethiopia, it really isn't an essential part of preventing obesity!

[ladamiana]

I've heard of this thing...was in some alternative medicine/neutriceutical handout at the health food store. Don't remember the name, but the Masai supposedly used it to keep going and going and going. Sounded too good to be true, or could just be another 'natural' source of amphetamines.

[Kursk]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...nt/2947810.stm
"Phytopharm's Dr Richard Dixey explained how P.57 actually works:

"There is a part of your brain, the hypothalamus. Within that mid-brain there are nerve cells that sense glucose sugar.

"When you eat, blood sugar goes up because of the food, these cells start firing and now you are full.

"What the Hoodia seems to contain is a molecule that is about 10,000 times as active as glucose.

"It goes to the mid-brain and actually makes those nerve cells fire as if you were full. But you have not eaten. Nor do you want to."

Clinical trials

Dixey organised the first animal trials for Hoodia. Rats, a species that will eat literally anything, stopped eating completely.

When the first human clinical trial was conducted, a morbidly obese group of people were placed in a "phase 1 unit", a place as close to prison as it gets.

All the volunteers could do all day was read papers, watch television, and eat.

Half were given Hoodia, half placebo. Fifteen days later, the Hoodia group had reduced their calorie intake by 1000 a day.

It was a stunning success."

[EMRhelp.org]

Of course, it is obvious to say, this will not be effective. Pfizer has it's PR engine in full effect, that is all.

Sorry Pfizer, no one believes in magic pills but you.