Matching articles for "hCG"

Diet, Drugs and Surgery for Weight Loss

   
The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics • April 1, 2011;  (Issue 104)
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Adults with a body mass index (BMI=kg/m2) of 25-<30 are considered overweight; those with a BMI of ≥30 are considered obese.
Treat Guidel Med Lett. 2011 Apr;9(104):17-22 | Show Full IntroductionHide Full Introduction

In Brief: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) for Weight Loss

   
The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics • February 21, 2011;  (Issue 1358)
A Medical Letter reader asked if human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG; Novarel, Pregnyl and others) has any value as an adjunct to diet, adding that it is widely used for this indication in his area. Normally...
A Medical Letter reader asked if human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG; Novarel, Pregnyl and others) has any value as an adjunct to diet, adding that it is widely used for this indication in his area. Normally secreted by the placenta during pregnancy, the main therapeutic use of this gonad-stimulating polypeptide, which is not absorbed from the GI tract, has been in the parenteral treatment of infertility.1 It has also been injected by male athletes as an undetectable stimulus to production of testosterone.2

Use of hCG as an adjunct to diet goes back to the 1950’s, when a British physician named Simeons recommended daily injections of the hormone combined with a 500 kcal diet, and such use came to be known as the Simeons method. One double-blind study after another throughout the second half of the 20th century found hCG to be worthless for weight loss or maintenance.3

1. Drugs for assisted reproduction. Treat Guidel Med Lett 2003; 1:89.

2. Performance-enhancing drugs. Med Lett Drugs Ther 2004; 46:57.

3. GK Sabine Lijesen et al. The effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the treatment of obesity by means of the Simeons therapy: a criteria-based meta-analysis. Br J Clin Pharmacol 1995; 40:237.

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Med Lett Drugs Ther. 2011 Feb 21;53(1358):16 | Show Full IntroductionHide Full Introduction

Performance-Enhancing Drugs

   
The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics • July 19, 2004;  (Issue 1187)
With the 2004 Olympics only weeks away, performance-enhancing drugs will once again be receiving a great deal of attention. The US Anti-Doping Agency has published a list of drugs banned in Olympic sports...
With the 2004 Olympics only weeks away, performance-enhancing drugs will once again be receiving a great deal of attention. The US Anti-Doping Agency has published a list of drugs banned in Olympic sports (www.usantidoping.org) that includes, at least for some sports, all but 2 of the drugs reviewed here.
Med Lett Drugs Ther. 2004 Jul 19;46(1187):57-9 | Show Full IntroductionHide Full Introduction

Drugs for Assisted Reproduction

   
The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics • October 1, 2003;  (Issue 14)
Infertility occurs in about 15% of couples. About one third of infertility is due to problems with ovulation or an anatomic abnormality of the fallopian tube or peritoneum, such as scarring, adhesions or...
Infertility occurs in about 15% of couples. About one third of infertility is due to problems with ovulation or an anatomic abnormality of the fallopian tube or peritoneum, such as scarring, adhesions or endometriosis. Another third is due to a male infertility factor, most commonly insufficient sperm production or abnormal motility or morphology. The remaining third is unexplained. In older women unexplained infertility is probably caused by diminished quality and quantity of oocytes, decreased implantation and spontaneous pregnancy wastage.
Treat Guidel Med Lett. 2003 Oct;1(14):89-92 | Show Full IntroductionHide Full Introduction