Are brand name heart drugs superior?
According to a new review of randomized controlled trials, editorials and commentaries published in today’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), patients who spend extra cash on brand name heart meds do no better than patients who go the generic route. Interestingly, the reviewers found significant discrepancies between the randomized controlled trials and the editorials and commentaries published in the literature. Aaron S. Kesselheim, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues looked at studies published between 1984 and August of 2008 and identified 47 data-driven articles and 43 editorials and commentaries. The researchers looked at angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, anti-platelet medications, alpha- and beta-blockers, calcium-channel blockers, diuretics, statins, narrow therapeutic index (NTI) anti-arrhythmic meds and warfarin, and found no evidence that expensive brand name heart
