Treatments for depression, diabetes, baldness: the black list of drugs to avoid

To establish this ranking, the ninth since its launch, the magazine Prescgere is targeting products whose “risk-benefit ratio is unfavorable in all clinical situations”. Published Thursday 26 November on its website, the list covers a total of 112 drugs, of which 93 are marketed in France.

Some of the drugs on the Prescribe list were already in the previous rankings, others, like those mentioned in this article, appear there this year. You can find the complete list of medications pinned following this link.

Avoid “disproportionate damage”

“This report identifies documented cases of drugs that are more dangerous than useful, with the aim of helping to choose quality care, not harm patients and avoid disproportionate harm,” insists the review in the introduction.

In the summary of the list established by the review, we learn that two drugs are marked in particular by their “disproportionate” side effects, compared to the low efficacy they present. These are Propecia and Piracetam.

The propecia

We therefore find Propecia, a drug designed to limit hair loss in men, whose side effects, including erection and libido disorders, had already been reported.

“It particularly exposes itself to sexual disorders (erection and ejaculation disorders, decreased libido), depression, suicidal thoughts and breast cancer,” the magazine points out. In fact, a scandal related to this drug broke out with the death of Romain in 2016, a young man who committed suicide, after seeing his health severely deteriorated, even after stopping this treatment.

Piracetam

It is a “vasodilator” authorized in various clinical situations including dizziness and cognitive deficits, in particular “dyslexia in children”, specifies the magazine Prescteggio. “In these situations, piracetam does not have a proven clinical efficacy, but it exposes itself to bleeding, nervousness, agitation, weight gain”, insists in the report, which also specifies not knowing the drug “with a favorable risk-benefit ratio “.

Three other treatments are also particularly discouraged by the review, which despite some effectiveness, have significant side effects and for which there is a less dangerous alternative.

Esketamine

This drug, in the form of a nasal spray otherwise called Spravato, is used in the treatment of so-called resistant depression, for which it has “very uncertain effectiveness,” the review notes. “Its negative neuropsychic effects are frequent, including dissociation syndromes. Addiction and abuse can be expected.”

The other two drugs in this category are not marketed in France. It concerns pimecrolimus (Elidel not marketed in France) against atopic eczema, but with an increased risk of skin cancer and lymphoma. is romosozumab (Evenity, not marketed in France) for severe osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

Treatments for Diabetes

Also on the list are several medications from the glyflozine family, against diabetes, which are best discarded according to the review. These treatments, (canagliflozine, dapagliflozine, empagliflozine and ertugliflozine) “have a heavy adverse effect profile, including: urogenital infections, severe perineum skin infections, ketoacidosis, and possibly increased risk of toe amputation,” the review says.