Issues in emerging health technologies
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Pregabalin is an anticonvulsant drug that is under review for use in Canada. It was recently approved in the US and Europe for the treatment of adults with peripheral neuropathic pain (NeP). In most short-term randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of pregabalin in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and or post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), there were early and significant decreases in mean pain scores. ⋯ The most common adverse effects were dizziness and sleepiness. Withdrawal due to adverse events was also more frequent with pregabalin than with placebo. While pregabalin appears to be an effective treatment for NeP, there is no evidence that it offers advantages over treatments being used in Canada.
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Issues Emerg Health Technol · Mar 2005
Memantine for treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.
Health Canada has issued a Notice of Compliance with conditions (NOC/c) for memantine in the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). The evidence of relative benefit and harm from memantine in this population derives from two randomized controlled trials (RCT) of 24 to 28 weeks duration, in a total of 656 patients; and a post hoc subgroup analysis of 79 patients with severe AD from a third trial of 12 weeks. Memantine alone or in combination with donepezil demonstrates improvements in primary outcome scores of activities of daily living and cognition, but not of global performance. Memantine's rate of diffusion may be rapid, as it is the only drug available for severe AD and it has a potential for use in unapproved indications.