ASAPS Study shows Lipodissolve may actually work – as claimed

Lipodissolve May Play a Role in Treating Small Pockets of Fat, Researchers Say

By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By Laura J. Martin, MD

April 27, 2010 (Washington, D.C.) — Just a few weeks after the FDA chastised a handful of U.S. spas and one Brazilian company for making misleading claims about fat-melting injections known as lipodissolve, results of a small study suggest that it may play a role in treating small pockets of fat. The new study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Perhaps no one was more surprised by the results than study leader V. Leroy Young, MD, a plastic surgeon in St. Louis. “When we started this there were a number of companies that were treating large numbers of patients, and our initial goal was to make sure it was safe and worked. But before we could finish the study, one of the big companies doing it went bankrupt,” he says. “We figured if it worked, they would not have gone bankrupt, but felt we owed it to patients to see whether it was safe and worked. So although skeptical, we finished the study.”

And lipodissolve — also known as lipotherapy or injection lipolysis — did melt away fat.

The treatment involves a series of injections of medications that are purported to melt localized fat deposits. The drugs most regularly used are phosphatidylcholine and deoxycholate (commonly called PC and DC, respectively). Lipodissolve is not approved by the FDA.

In the new study, seven participants were injected with a standardized PC/DC cocktail in one half of their abdomen during up to four sessions that were eight weeks apart. As part of the study design, participants were allowed to request treatment in the other side of their abdomen once the initial results were tallied.

Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to objectively measure any changes in fat thickness.

“We did obliterate about a centimeter of fat,” Young tells WebMD. “It took time though, and you could have done the same thing in one liposuction treatment and removed more fat,” he says.

Six of seven study participants saw a visible difference and opted to undergo lipodissolve on the untreated side of their abdomen.

Side effects included swelling, redness, bruising, and some pain, but there were no serious side effects such as infection.

“It does reduce fat volume and thickness and side effects were predictable,” Young says. “Treatment of small areas of fat is a realistic expectation and a tool for people who want less invasive procedures and fear anesthesia.”

But it’s important to know what you are being injected with, he says. “You need to know who produces the cocktail and what was done to it after it was received,” he says.

As far as where the melted fat goes, it is not leaving the body, Young tells WebMD. “It has truly the same fate as fat you would eat,” Young says. It will migrate to other areas of the body with fat cells, including the arteries.

“You are not going to have a heart attack from this though because the amounts of fat are so small,” he says.

Jeffrey M. Kenkel, MD, a professor and vice chairman of plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and director of the Clinical Center for Cosmetic Laser Treatment in Dallas, says that lipodissolve is “another option for treating small areas of fat such as under the chin, and revisions of small lumps and bumps after liposuction.”

Renato Saltz, MD, the immediate past president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and a plastic surgeon in Salt Lake City, was also surprised by the study results.

“The study results are positive, but it is still a very small sample, so we have to be cautious regarding our final recommendation,” he tells WebMD. “Most of us felt that there was no application for mesotherapy (a procedure similar to lipodissolve) and had seen or heard of disasters abroad, so when it started coming here, we were very concerned,” he says.

Questions do remain, he says. “The new study was on a small group of people by a ‘superb’ surgeon, but are the results reproducible?” he says. The next step is to expand the study.

The bottom line? “Stay tuned,” Saltz says.

SOURCES: Renato Saltz, MD, immediate past president, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS).

American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery annual meeting, Washington, D.C., April 23-27, 2010.

Jeffrey M. Kenkel, MD, professor and vice chairman, plastic surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; director, Clinical Center for Cosmetic Laser Treatment, Dallas.

V. Leroy Young MD, plastic surgeon.

©2010 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Botox backlash: Evidence reveals the so called ‘miracle jab’ may actually GIVE you wrinkles

By Alice Hart-davis
Created 6:39 PM on 9th May 2010

Miracle cure? Botox injections could create new lines

Over the past 15 years, Botox has been embraced by thousands of women – and men.

The market in the forehead freezing drug is worth almost £18 million in the UK alone.

But one of its least-known, and most deliciously ironic, side-effects is that if you use it a lot, or have it injected by an inexperienced practitioner, Botox can actually give you wrinkles.

Cosmetic experts have noted that knocking out some of the facial muscles can bring others into play.

In a piece for the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2002, Dr David Becker, an assistant professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, observed that ‘wrinkles caused by untreated muscles of facial expression paradoxically can become more prominent’.

‘Paralysis of a set of muscles,’ he suggests, ‘might lead to recruitment of other muscle groups in an attempt to reproduce the conditioned activity being blocked – resulting in more prominent muscle activity in adjacent regions.’

In other words, your face will still find a way to make expressions by using different areas than where you’ve had Botox, leading to more lines.

The main place where these wrinkles appear is across the bridge of the nose. These ‘bunny lines’, as they have been christened (twitch your nose like a rabbit, and you’ll get them, too), have been seized on with glee as one more clue to guess which celebrity has been Botoxed.

You may have seen them on the faces of Dannii Minogue and Amanda Holden. These beauties have lovely smooth foreheads . . . and peculiar little wrinkles across the nose which pop up when they smile.

Bunny lines: Amanda Holden, left, and Kylie Minogue show the signs of Botox through wrinkles across the bridge of their noses

Some people have them naturally, but increasingly, bunny lines are being seen as a dead giveaway that the person in question has submitted to the needle.

Leading cosmetic dermatologist Dr Nick Lowe, of the Cranley Clinic in London, says: ‘If you inject the forehead with Botox, the muscles at the sides of the nose and on the lower bridge of the nose often act a bit more strongly, just because the adjacent muscles have been reduced in strength by the injections. That’s why you get bunny lines.

‘You could always pre-empt the problem by getting your nose Botoxed, too.

‘I routinely inject the nose,’ says Dr Lowe, ‘particularly if I’m injecting around the eyes to soften crows’ feet. If you inject crows’ feet and leave the bunny lines, the muscles that cause the bunny lines can also increase the under-eye lines.’

Generally, botulinum toxin type-A wrinkle- relaxers are considered very safe. Originally used to treat debilitating neurological diseases such as post-stroke spasticity, blepharospasm and foot spasticity assocciated with cerebral palsy, Botox is classed as a prescription drug.

When used for cosmetic purposes, it’s in far smaller quantities. Side-effects such as lowering brows and drooping eyelids are rare, but in smaller ways Botox can distort a face, making it look not quite right; a bit ‘off’, somehow.

Botox was first used in the Eighties to treat uncontrollable blinking and misaligned eyes

This distortion becomes clearer when we see faces that remain immobile as their owner’s voice goes through a whole range of emotions, but even when Botoxed faces are at rest they can look faintly peculiar.

Five years ago, this look might have puzzled most of us. But now we know what it is, Botox has become something of a joke and has become less acceptable.

‘As we age, we should still want to look like ourselves,’ says make-up guru Bobbi Brown.

Her campaign, Pretty Powerful, is all about showing how much we can improve our faces with a dab of concealer and a dash of lip gloss, and makes a point of featuring real, un-Botoxed women.

‘Botox is a poison,’ she says: when we are so careful about what we put into our bodies, why do we want someone to shoot poison into our faces?

‘I tried Botox once, a couple of years ago, between my eyebrows. I didn’t like it. I looked unnatural. Going down this route is a bit like weeding your garden. When do you stop? A face without lines lacks warmth and personality.’

So are we likely to start seeing a rash of new wrinkles in publicity photographs and on TV? Who knows?

In an ideal world, such minor signs of ageing might just become fashionable – the mark of a genuine, as opposed to Botoxed-and-airbrushed, type of beauty. We can but hope.

Botox can actually make you look older

The fact that Nicole Kidman’s face no longer moves is testament to how much Botox has taken over the cosmetic surgery industry. Nothing against Nicole Kidman, I love her, but if every A-list Hollywood star doesn’t stop injecting their faces soon, we as viewers, might be forced to face reality sooner than we thought. You see, Primpers, a recent study has revealed that Botox might actually make you look OLDER. Yes, older.

Let’s face it, after seeing what Botox (and a plethora of other procedures) has done to Carla Bruni, it’s no surprise, is it?

This debate is not a new one. Botox enthusiast Dr. Fredric Brandt has been arguing with research dermatologist Dr. Nicholas V. Perricone for ages over this topic. In an interview with Marie Claire, they had clear cut differences on the topic, with Dr. Brandt, the world leader in Botox injecting (probably due to the amounts he uses on himself) defending the procedure but saying botch jobs are due to poor technique. “It matters how and where, precisely, you inject it. Depending on the administering doctor’s skill, you’ll see the occasional “Dr. Spock” eyebrows — and in the worst cases, crooked mouths or droopy brows with heavy eyelids,” he said.

However, Dr. Perricone begs to differ, claiming “Someone who’s been on Botox for a while is going to look like a wrinkle-free older person.” And by older he means they’re expressionless and their facial features are flattened. NOT GOOD, Primpers.

There is now new evidence, thanks to an article in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology by Dr David Becker, an assistant professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, that suggests Botox could potentially give you more wrinkles, too.

Here’s why. Your face is a funny thing. It likes to move. Back in the day, they never thought humans would inject themselves so that their face wouldn’t move, so you know, we’re not really meant to be frozen in time. As a result, our face finds other ways to move and in turn, you get wrinkles in new places, like around your nose. You may be stopping wrinkles in one place, but you’re getting them in another. You can’t fight it, Primpers. Unless of course, you inject your nose, too. Erm, me thinks not.

Dr David Becker’s findings revealed (courtesy of The Daily Mail) that ‘wrinkles caused by untreated muscles of facial expression paradoxically can become more prominent. Paralysis of a set of muscles might lead to recruitment of other muscle groups in an attempt to reproduce the conditioned activity being blocked – resulting in more prominent muscle activity in adjacent regions.’

What this may cause, Primpers, is an increase in wrinkles in other areas of your face. Especially around you nose. Like this…

Here’s the look I’m talking about…

It’s a tough situation to be caught in. We’re an anti-ageing society with increasing pressure to look perfect no matter what age we are and while some of us are happy to turn our backs on Botox, there’s a large proportion who are lining up for the stuff. I guess it’s time to consider the options, you know, really think about it and frown if you want to. That’s if your face will allow you to, of course.

Tell me Primpers…

What do you think of Botox?
Are you worried it’s going to make you look older?

Botox causes more wrinkles?

Photos: Above, “bunny lines” on the noses of actresses Renee Zellweger, left, and Nicole Kidman, right. (Getty Images photos) Below right, actress Kim Cattrall and her “bunny lines.” (Photo courtesy of Daily Mail.)

NEW WRINKLES FOR OLD

Botox injections in one part of the face can cause new facial wrinkles to appear elsewhere.

Local cosmetic doctors have seen it happen in their patients. It’s also visible on faces of celebrity Botox enthusiasts such as Renee Zellweger, Nicole Kidman (pictured above) and Kim Cattrall (pictured at right).

Here’s how it happens: After a Botox session, a patient tries to make a facial expression, but Botox-injected muscles can’t move. Nearby muscles contract instead, causing new wrinkles. The process is called “recruitment” of the nearby muscles.

“We have all seen muscles adjacent to site that we have treated being ‘recruited’ and causing an adjacent wrinkle,” said dermatologic surgeon Dr. David Sire of Fullerton. “Usually a small injection of Botox [into the newly contracting muscle] corrects this problem.”

Plastic surgeon Dr. Joseph Cruise of Newport Beach explained:

The human body is made to adapt. … When one muscle is injured, other muscles will quickly take over and assume the functions of that lost muscle. The same holds true for muscles that are paralyzed by Botox. Surrounding muscles will act more intensely to “pick up the slack”. This may cause new wrinkles to form in areas adjacent to the original wrinkle.

Dermatologist Dr. David Becker, an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, described the phenomenon for the latest edition of Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.  It’s a topic he has been discussing since at least 2003.

In the dermatology journal, Becker noted that Botox shots to eliminate wrinkles around the eyes can lead to “bunny line” wrinkles at the bridge of the nose. That’s a common look for Botoxed celebrities, such as those pictured above.

When that news broke, bloggers and tabloids had fun with headlines such as “Wait a minute—Botox actually GIVES you wrinkles?” and the inaccurate “Botox can actually make you look older.”

The same process can cause elevated “Joker” eyebrows, said plastic surgeon Dr. Val Lambros of Newport Beach:

The classic place where you see recruitment is in the forehead. When you inject … in the center of the forehead, the outer brow will try to compensate and elevate and you wind up with the Cruella de Vil eyebrow. [Pictured above at right.] It’s a classic post-injection look and is easily treated.

Those arched eyebrows have been prominent feature of Nicole Kidman (pictured below right), at least in the past. Her cosmetic doctor seems to have adopted improved injection techniques that avoid the arched look in recent years.

Sometimes what look like new wrinkles are merely old wrinkles that a patient didn’t notice until Botox smoothed away more prominent ones, said dermatologist Dr. Vince Afsahi of Tustin and Newport Beach.

In general, patients like what Botox does for them, said Dr. Christopher Zachary, chairman of the UCI Department of Dermatology.  But he added, “The use of botulinum toxin is an art, and not an exact science. Some patients do vary in their response.”

Join the conversation: Follow “In Your Face” on Twitter and Facebook for the latest information, discussions and gossip about cosmetic medicine, celebrities and regular people.

Mice fed at the ‘wrong’ time gained twice as much weight even though they ate the same amount

By Larry Hobbs
Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Mice fed at the “wrong” time gained more than twice as much weight as those fed at the “right” time even though their calorie intake and level of activity was the same.

This according to a study from researchers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

The strain of mice they used are “nocturnal, being more active and consuming most of their calories (80%) during the dark phase”.

Right Time Feeding

Mice fed at the wrong time gained 20%

When they were fed during the 12 hours that they normally eat, that is, the “right” time, the mice gained roughly 20% of their body weight during the 6-week study, going from roughly 22.5 grams to 27 grams (data guessed at from Figure 1 in the paper).

Wrong Time Feeding

Mice fed at the right time gained 45%

However, when mice were fed during the 12 hours that they do not normally eat, that is, the “wrong” time, the mice gained roughly 45% of their body weight, going from roughly 22 grams to 32 grams (data guessed at from Figure 1 in the paper).

Mice and Diet

Mice were 9-weeks-old and fed a 60% high-fat diet

The mice were 9-weeks-old when the study began and were fed a 60% high-fat diet.

Sleep

No difference in sleep between mice

“Sleep restriction or poor sleep quality could also be leading to weight gain, although our preliminary data indicate no overall sleep differences between light- and dark-fed mice,” the authors noted.

Other Research

Non-breakfast eaters and those with night-eating syndrome tend to be heavier

Other research shows that “non-breakfast eaters or patients with night-eating syndrome” tend to be heavier the paper also notes.

Studies have also found that people who circadian rhythms are interrupted have higher blood sugar and insulin levels.

Conclusion

Eating at the ‘wrong’ time can lead to weight gain

“These findings, taken together with the present results indicate that the synchrony between circadian and metabolic processes plays an important role in the regulation of energy balance and body weight control,” the authors concluded.

“Importantly, this study is the first to show causal evidence that feeding at the ‘wrong’ time can lead to weight gain.”

REFERENCE

Arble D, Bass J, Laposky A, Vitaterna M, Turek F. Circadian timing of food intake contributes to weight gain. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009 Sep 3, published early on-line.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Fred W. Turek, PhD
Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois, USA
(847) 491.2865 phone
(847) 491.5211 fax
http://www.northwestern.edu/neurobiology/faculty/turek.html
fturek@northwestern.edu

Charles & Emma Morrison Professor
Director of the Center for Circadian Biology & Medicine
Faculty, Dept. of Psychiatry & Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine

Richard Moore, MD, PhD on How Drug Companies Have Changed

By Larry Hobbs
Friday, September 11, 2009

This is an excerpt from a letter by Richard Moore, MD, PhD dated August 31, 2009 on how drug companies have changed.

Excerpt from Dr. Moore’s Letter

Excerpt from Dr. Moore’s Letter: Dr. Moore on how drug companies have changed

“During the summer of 1956, between my junior and senior year in medical school, I was fortunate to work in the research laboratories of Eli Lilly.”

“It was a wonderful experience.”

“All of the scientists there were first rate and dedicated to finding the truth and to helping people.”

“And the intellectual atmosphere was first class especially since six of the scientists had been awarded positions in which for the rest of their lives, they could do research on any problem that interested them even if it was not conceivably related to a potential drug.”

“All decisions about whether a given compound should be considered a beneficial drug and go to market were made exclusively by the scientists.”

“The businessmen had no say in this.”

“In those days, Eli Lilly was an exemplary company dedicated more to helping people than to profits.”

Drug Companies Now Run by MBA, Not Scientists

Drug Companies Went From Being Run by Scientists to Being Run by MBA

“Fast forward to 2006.”

“I was on an airliner flying to Indiana to visit my alma mater, Purdue University.”

“I got into a conversation with the person sitting next to me and discovered that she was the head of research at Lilly.”

“I told her that 50 years earlier I had worked in the Lilly research labs and loved it.”

“I asked her how she liked working there.”

“She replied that at first, she had loved it also but now she had 435 days before she could take early retirement.”

“I asked what went so wrong that she was counting the days before she could get out.”

“She said that some years ago, the leaders who were scientists had been replaced by M.D.’s.”

“That wasn’t so bad; they didn’t understand the science, but they knew some of the terms and the M.D.’s could usually be talked into doing the right thing.”

“Then the M.D.’s were replaced by finance people – people with MBA’s.”

“And MBA’s have NO concept of science or of natural laws as I can testify from being a former college professor.”

“The straw that broke the camel’s back was when her research group discovered a previously unknown enzyme that is present in high amounts in three vital organs: heart, liver, and kidney.”

“So far, they didn’t know what this enzyme does.”

“However, her boss, who was an MBA, had told her that her research group had one year to find an inhibitor of that enzyme so Lilly could market it as a drug.”

“And, as she pointed out, since no one yet knew what that enzyme does, inhibiting it might be the last thing one would ever want to do.”

“Perhaps you’ve noticed that, especially a couple years ago, one drug after another was being taken off the market.”

“That ought to tell you something!”

“Because my first publication (when working at Lilly) was about a compound that decreases absorption of cholesterol, I maintained a casual interest in drugs used to lower blood cholesterol levels.”

“Several years ago, a cholesterol-lowering drug was quietly removed from the market because they finally realized the mechanism whereby this drug lowered blood cholesterol was to drive cholesterol into the arteries!”

Contact Information

Dr. Moore’s Contact Information

Here is contact information for Dr. Moore.

Richard D. Moore, MD, PhD
4 Calle Sabina
Placitus, NM 87043
thehbpsolution.com
richardbigsky@comcast.net
(505) 771-8615 phone
(505) 615-8020 cell

About Dr. Moore

Dr. Moore has been teaching a researching biophysics for more than 40 years

Dr. Moore’s received his M.D. from Indiana University, and his Ph.D. in biophysics from Purdue University.

Starting in 1963, Dr. Moore spent 40 years as a college professor and research scientist teaching and researching cellular biophysics.

Dr. Moore’s Discoveries

Dr. Moore research group discovered key findings about insulin

Dr. Moore’s research group research group discovered that insulin regulates the activity of the mechanism that exchanges potassium for sodium in live cells.

Dr. Moore’s group also also discovered that, connected with this, insulin elevates the pH inside cells.

Dr. Moore’s and the ratio of potassium to sodium

Dr. Moore recognized how the imbalance of potassium to sodium causes hypertension and other diseases

This research and that of others then led to insights in how our dietary imbalance between potassium and sodium cause hypertension and other diseases.

Trying to Educate the Public Since 1983

Dr. Moore has been trying to educate the public about the importance of the dietary ratio of potassium-to-sodium for since 1983

“Since recognizing the critical importance of the dietary ratio of potassium-to-sodium (in 1983), I have been trying to educate the public about this issue primarily by writing books.”

Author of Several Books

Dr. Moore is the author of several books

Dr. Moore is the author of several books including “The High Blood Pressure Solution”.

Dr. Moore is the also co-author of “The Salt Solution”.

This book discusses how an imbalance of potassium and sodium not only affects:
– stroke
– hypertension
but also how it affects:
– osteoporosis
– stomach cancer
– asthma
– kidney disease

Comments from Larry Hobbs

Comments from Larry Hobbs Dr. Moore is the author of several books

Dr. Moore’s point about the drug that lowered cholesterol, which people assume must be good, but it turned out it was bad because it was doing this by driving cholesterol into the arteriesis the same point I’ve made in several videos.

That is, the amount that a drug lowers your cholesterol or blood pressure or blood sugaris irrelevant!

The only thing that matters is whether or not a drug lowers your total risk of death.

Do not be fooled into thinking that just because a drug lowers your blood pressure or blood sugar or cholesterol, that it must be good for you.

This may or may not be true.

The only way to know if it the drug is doing any good is to look at the TOTAL risk of death.

For example…

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins dramatically lower LDL levels, but increase the risk of death.

Julian Whitaker, MD, has noted that while oral diabetes drugs lower blood sugar levels, they cause more problems than they solve.

Dr. Whitaker has stated that this has been known since at least 1973, when a paper came out showing this while he was doing his residency at Emory University.

Dr. Whitaker has also said that when this paper came out in 1973, the doctor he was training under stopped using all oral diabetes drugs.

Dr. Whitaker has said that he does not use any oral diabetes drugs to this day.

Dr. Whitaker is the author of several books including “Reversing Diabetes”.

A blood pressure study by Sylvia Smoeller (2004) shows that, in older women with hypertension without a history of cardiovascular disease, 7 out of 8 blood pressure drugs or drug combinations, although they lowered blood pressure, they increased the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those taking no drugs.

So, do not be fooled by a number on a piece of paper.

The only way to know if a drug is doing any good is to look at the total risk of death.

Low-dose Qnexa: 3.75 mg Phentermine plus 23 mg Topamax causes weight loss of 5.1% vs 1.6% w/placebo

By Larry Hobbs
Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Morbidly obese patients given the lowest dose of Qnexa, containing 3.75 mg of phentermine plus 23 mg of Topamax (topiramate), lost an average weight loss of 18 pounds versus 6 pounds with placebo after one year, or 5.1 percent of body weight versus 1.6 percent with placebo according to a press release from press release from Vivus, Inc, the company developing the drug.

Weight Loss for Those Who Completed the Study

Weight Loss for Those Who Completed the Study : 7% vs 2.5%

Forty-seven percent (47 percent) of those given the low-dose Qnexa completed the entire one-year study.

The average weight loss for these patients was 7 percent of body weight versus 2.5 percent of those given the placebo who completed the study.

Subjects

Subjects: 1267 morbidly obese patients

The study, which was called the EQUIP (OB-302) study, involved “1,267 morbidly obese patients (1,050 females and 217 males) across 93 centers in the United States” the press release notes.

The number on each dose of the drug was as follows:

• 498 on placebo
• 234 on Low Dose Qnexa (3.75 mg phentermine / 23 mg controlled release topiramate (Topamax))

BMI

Starting BMI: 42

The average starting body mass index (BMI) was 42.1.

Dose

Dose slowly increased over one month

The dose was slowly increased (titrated) over four weeks.

Diet

Diet: Patients suggested to reduce calorie intake by 500 calories per day

Patients were asked to follow a diet that was reduced by 500 calories per day.

Conclusion

Conclusion: Weight loss with drug combination exceeds other agents

“The weight loss observed with Qnexa in these two one-year, double-blind, randomized trials far exceeds the weight loss observed for other agents reported in literature,” said Kishore Gadde, MD, director of obesity clinical trials at Duke University and a lead investigator.

REFERENCE

Vivus. Vivus announces positive results from two phase 3 studies; obese patients on qnexa achieve average weight loss up to 14.7% and significant improvements in co-morbidities.

Press Release from Vivus Inc. 2009 Sept 09, http://ir.vivus.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=407933.

High-dose Qnexa: 15 mg Phentermine plus 92 mg Topamax causes weight loss of 10.4% vs 1.8% w/placebo

By Larry Hobbs
Fatnews, Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Overweight and obese patients given the highest dose of Qnexa, containing 15 mg of phentermine plus 92 mg of Topamax (topiramate), lost an average weight loss of roughly 24 pounds versus 5 pounds with placebo after one year, or 10.4 percent of body weight versus 1.8 percent with placebo according to a press release from press release from Vivus, Inc, the company developing the drug.

Weight Loss for Those Who Completed the Study : 13.2% vs 2.4%

Sixty-four percent (64 percent) of those given the high-dose Qnexa completed the entire one-year study.

The average weight loss for the “completers” was 30 pounds or 13.2 percent of body weight versus 6 pounds or 2.4 percent of those given the placebo.

Subjects

Subjects: 2487 overweight and obese patients

“The CONQUER study included 2,487 overweight and obese patients (1,737 females and 750 males) with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes across 93 centers in the United States” the press release notes.

The number on each dose of the drug was as follows:

• 979 on placebo
• 981 on Low Dose Qnexa (15 mg phentermine / 92 mg controlled release topiramate (Topamax))

Body Weight

Starting body weight: 227 lbs

The average starting body weight was 227 pounds.

BMI

Starting BMI: 36.6

The average starting body mass index (BMI) was 36.6.

Dose

Dose slowly increased over one month

The dose was slowly increased (titrated) over four weeks.

Diet

Diet: Patients suggested to reduce calorie intake by 500 calories per day

Patients were asked to follow a diet that was reduced by 500 calories per day.

Conclusion

Conclusion: Weight loss with drug combination exceeds other agents

“The weight loss observed with Qnexa in these two one-year, double-blind, randomized trials far exceeds the weight loss observed for other agents reported in literature,” said Kishore Gadde, MD, director of obesity clinical trials at Duke University and a lead investigator.

REFERENCE

Vivus. Vivus announces positive results from two phase 3 studies; obese patients on qnexa achieve average weight loss up to 14.7% and significant improvements in co-morbidities. Press Release from Vivus Inc. 2009 Sept 09, http://ir.vivus.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=407933.

Drug company salesman had Xanax withdrawal symptoms for 6 months

by Larry Hobbs
Monday, August 03, 2009

Gwen Olsen, author of “Confessions of an RX Drug Pusher”, who worked as a sales representative for the drug companies for 15 years calling on doctors, tells how she was addicted to the anti-anxiety drug Xanax (alprazolam) for 10 years.

She also says that after stopping Xanax, she experienced withdrawal symptoms for 6 months.

She says that all psychiatric drugs can be addictive.

She notes that withdrawal symptoms with any psychiatric drug can be 10 times worse than the initial symptoms.

She notes that psychiatric drugs—antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, etc—should NEVER be stopped quickly, but must be withdrawn very, very slowly.

More information about Gwen Olsen can be found on her website:

http://gwenolsen.com/

Book: Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher

Pictured: Electric lollipop that allows blind people to ‘see’ using their tongue

By Daily Mail Reporter
02nd September 2009

An electric lollipop that allows the blind to ‘see’ using their tongue has been developed by scientists. The extraordinary device converts images captured by a tiny camera into a series of electrical tingles, which can be felt on the tongue. Nerves then send these messages to the brain, which turn the tingles back into pictures.

Tests show that nerves in the tongue can send messages to the brain which can form pictures

After only a day’s practice, those using the machine were able to make out shapes, movement and read signs. Some were even able to interpret objects after just 15 minutes of training. One blind man, who was testing the device, is reported to have cried when he read his first letter. The BrainPort device, which is expected to go on sale later this year, is unlikely to replace guide dogs or walking sticks, but could dramatically improve the lives of those with sight problems. Dr William Seiple, of vision healthcare and research organisation Lighthouse International, which has been testing the device, said four blind volunteers had quickly learned how to find doorways and the buttons on a lift, pick out knives and forks, and read letters and numbers.

Helping the blind see: The component parts of the Brainport Vision Device

They were also able to pick out cups and forks at the dinner table without having to fumble. Dr Seiple said: ‘At first, I was amazed at what the device could do. One guy started to cry when he saw his first letter.’ Robert Beckman, of Wicab, which is developing the BrainPort, said: ‘It enables blind people to gain perception-of their surroundings, displayedon their tongue. ‘It enables them to identify objects, like a ball or distinguish letters of the alphabet. They cannot necessarily read a book but they can read a sign.’

The BrainPort is made up of an inch-long video camera hidden in a pair of sunglasses, which the user wears. Signals from the camera are sent along a cable to a handheld control unit, about the size of a mobile phone, and then to a lollipop shaped stick, which is placed on the tongue. The control unit converts the image into a low resolution black, white and grey picture, which is then recreated as a square grid of 400 electrodes  –  around the size of a postage stamp  –  on the lollipop. Each of the electrodes pulses according to how much light is in that area of the picture. White areas have a strong pulse, grey areas have a weak pulse while black areas give no signal.

The control unit allows the user to zoom in and out, and adjust the contrast of the picture and intensity of the tingle. Although users initially ‘feel’ the image on their tongue, with practice the signals activate the ‘visual’ parts of the brain for some people. Aimee Arnoldussen, a neuroscientist with Wicab, said: ‘It becomes a task of learning, no different than learning to ride a bike. It’s similar to how a baby learns to see.’ Wicab, based in Middleton, Wisconsin, is submitting the BrainPort to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval this month.

It could be approved for sale in America by the end of the year and will cost about £6,000. If the tests are a success, it could be on sale in Britain next year.