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Band-Aids and medications in the fight against smoking
you can achieve more than just medications

Remedium based on MedPageToday materials: Patch Plus Pill Better to Help Smokers QuitSomewhat unexpected results were obtained during a study conducted by Konrad Kogelenberg from the University of Stellenbosch and colleagues.

Four hundred and forty–six smokers were randomized equally into two groups: some patients tried to quit smoking with the drug varenicline, others with the combined use of varenicline and nicotine patch.

The number of study participants who achieved four-week abstinence after combined treatment was 55.4%. For comparison, in the group that did not use a nicotine patch, this proportion was equal to 40.9%. Six-month abstinence from a bad habit showed that the difference increases somewhat over time: 49% vs. 32.65%.

The action of both products is directed at the same class of nicotine receptors, so it is not very clear what caused the cumulative effect found. Perhaps it's the speed of action, the fast-acting varenicline is supplemented by a slow release of nicotine from the patch, and a more uniform and complete agonism to the receptors is obtained. At the same time, the instructions for varenicline recommend not to use this drug simultaneously with nicotine replacement therapy.

To make changes to the instructions, most likely, additional research will be needed. In them, it will be possible to further study the long-term characteristics of the effectiveness and safety of combined use.

An important circumstance should be highlighted by the fact that two pregnancies occurred in the group of patients who took only varenicline. In one case, anembryonia was detected, and this was recognized as unrelated to treatment. But in the second case, the fetus was found to have Down syndrome without a previous history of chromosomal abnormalities in the family, and this case was recognized as possibly related to taking the drug. This is not entirely consistent with the available data on the safety of the drug, but only confirms the need for further study.

Article by Koegelenberg et al. The Efficacy of Varenicline Combined With Nicotine Replacement Therapy vs Varenicline Alone for Smoking Cessation is published in the July issue of JAMA.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru14.07.2014