SCEPTICISM ABOUT CELECTOL BENEFITS

Claims by Rhone Poulenc Rorer that its new cardioselective beta blocker Celectol (celiprolol) "improves the overall cardiovascular risk profile" in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension and gives them "a better quality of life than can be expected from conventional beta-blocker treatment" have been examined by the UK Consumers Associa-tion's Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin.

In its latest edition the Bulletin reports that it found no evidence that the product will give patients this "better quality of life" than other beta blockers. While the drug has a favorable effect on plasma lipids, real benefit can only be substantiated by long-term studies of clinical outcome. It notes, however, that other advantages of Celectol have not been convincingly demonstrated.

The claim that celiprolol gives a better quality of life than conventional beta blockers is based on the infrequency of reported adverse effects in pooled data from double-blind studies and post-marketing surveillance. The Bulletin notes that in such studies patients are asked if treatment upset them, but they are not questioned about specific symptoms.