Current medical research and opinion
-
Prevalence of obesity in the United Kingdom has tripled in the last 20 years and this is driving an epidemic of type 2 diabetes. Indeed, today the vast majority of patients with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Effective weight management leading to modest weight loss to the order of 5-10% of body weight can lead to significant clinically meaningful benefits provided it can be maintained. ⋯ An integrated approach to weight management in the diabetic patient is recommended which helps to promote lifestyle modification for all patients. Drug therapy may be appropriate for many obese patients who do not reach target weight loss with lifestyle modification alone. Surgery should be reserved for those wfth BMI >40 only after failed medical therapy.
-
Existing oral insulin secretagogues, sulphonylureas, are associated with hyperinsulinaemia, risk of hypoglycaemia and weight gain. Furthermore, they are not able to offer durable glycaemic control in patents with type 2 diabetes and are associated with progressive decline of beta-cell function. New insulin secretagogues offer an exciting opportunity. ⋯ Early data, both in monotherapy and in combination with metformin, show that it is an effective agent in terms of lowering HbA1c, has a low risk of hypoglycaemia and potentially less risk of significant weight gain. These characteristics mean that it may be the ideal agent to be used very early in the disease process, or even in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance, in whom early-phase insulin response is already lost. However these concepts, at the present time, are unproven.
-
Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms of migraine, which can be controlled with a variety of anti-emetics including phenothiazines and antihistamines. Metoclopramide and domperidone have an additional prokinetic effect which may be important in migraine to overcome gastric stasis and enhance absorption of oral medication.
-
In Chapter 14, blind alleys in acute anti-migraine drug development were discussed. In this chapter, future therapies are covered. ⋯ Some of the targets discussed in this chapter have been in early efficacy trials and others are in first human dose stages. Large-scale efficacy and safety trials are eagerly awaited.
-
Analgesics such as acetaminophen (paracetamol), acetylsalicyclic acid and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are effective in the treatment of migraine attacks. Comparative studies indicate that their efficacy is similar or slightly inferior to sumattriptan, a specific antimigraine drug. Few data on the efficacy of opioid drugs in the treatment of migraine are available. They seem to be effective but carry the risk of dependency and may cause drug-induced headache.