Psychiatric Bloggers Bash Decision Resources Inc. and Its 'Gold Standards'

I recently mentioned that Decision Resources Inc. had said Sanofi's Acomplia will replace GSK's Xenical as the 'gold standard' of weight loss drugs. Today I notice that two psychology/psychiatry blogs, ClinPsyc and Furious Seasons, are casting doubt on DRI's use of the term 'gold standard.'

Said Philip Dawdy at FS: "I had no idea (GSK's) Lamictal was a 'gold standard' in treating bipolar depression. And, as rotten a drug as I believe (AZ's) Seroquel to be in anything other than short-term use, of course it outperforms Lamictal in short-term treatment situations: Lamictal takes about 8 weeks of up-tapering to achieve a therapeutic dose, whereas Seroquel can get there inside of a week."

Said ClinPsyc: "Decision Resources has recently claimed that (Lilly's) Zyprexa will remain the “gold standard” for schizophrenia treatment.  Philip Dawdy found such a finding rather odd, as neither he nor many others (including myself) had ever found Zyprexa to be the most supported schizophrenia treatment. Most research indicates that Zyprexa works roughly as well as other medications, with its slight efficacy advantages in some studies (which may be based on biased research) likely offset by its tendency to induce weight gain and diabetes."

As it turns out, DRI does indeed award its gold  standard rather a lot (see here). Could gold standard inflation be setting in? Does anyone remember what happened the last time we all relied on the gold standard?

Comments

[Dr. BK]

This is a very good post. I think that the literature has been showing that the older drugs don't work any worse than the new ones if the side effect meds are in place. I think its insane to think of any new atypical antipsychotic medications are the gold standard. Zyprexa is not a great drug. It should not be first line anything. Haladol?? Is that the gold standard? In terms of cost and efficacy... this unfortunately is documentable.

[Aaron]

Acomplia is used complementary to diet and exercise to treat obese or overweight patients who suffer from Type 2 diabetes and abnormal levels of fat in the blood. Sanofi argues that Acomplia can also prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease. http://www.caldrugs.com/pill/Acomplia.html

Hoodia gordonii has been used for centuries by the San bushmen of South Africa . These people may have, at times, consumed Hoodia on a regular basis. The “San” are known to have chewed on the plant during times of food scarcity, in order to alleviate hunger and thirst. http://www.caldrugs.com/pill/Hoodia.html