The drug approval process must determine efficacy validly, detect risks prudently, and do both in a timely and efficient way. Several high-profile medication withdrawals in recent years have refocused attention on the difficulty of the US healthcare system in meeting these goals. Rofecoxib (Vioxx, Merck) was taken off the market in September 2004 after 5 years of use by 20 million people, when ...

BACKGROUND notalgia paresthetica is a subdiagnosed sensory neuropathy presenting as a condition of intense itching and hyperchromic macule on the back that interferes with daily habits. OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacy of treatment of notalgia paresthetica using oral gabapentin, assessing the degree of improvement in itching and influence on quality of life. Moreover, to evaluate the sign...

Dear Editor, A 56-year-old Indian woman with obesity underwent bariatric surgery (laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy). She had gained 10 kg over the 3 years preceding the surgery after changing to a sedentary job. For 2 years, she had been having localised itch over the paraspinal region of her left upper back. Examination revealed a localised hyperpigmented patch over her left upper back (Fig. 1)...

68 Abstract Neuropathic itch (itching or pruritus) arises from a pathology located at any point along the afferent pathway of the nervous system. It may be related to damage to the peripheral nervous system, such as in postherpetic neuropathy, brachioradial pruritus or notalgia paresthetica. It has many clinical features similar to neuropathic pain. Patients complain of itching, which is associ...

OBJECTIVE Meralgia paresthetica (MP) is a syndrome of pain and/or dysesthesia in the anterolateral thigh that is caused by an entrapment of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) at its pelvic exit. Despite early accounts of MP, there is still no consensus concerning the effectiveness of neurolysis or transaction treatments in the long-term relief for medically refractory patients with MP. ...