Primary health care providers play a critical role in maintaining public health, and the appropriate use of pharmaceutical products is one of the major parts of their practice. This series of articles, entitled 'Clinical Pharmacology Review for Primary Health Care Providers,' is intended to help primary health care providers select more appropriate prescriptions for frequently used drugs based on up-to-date information. We expect that this effort will contribute to improvements in public health and diminish unnecessary drug use.
Histamine Antagonists* ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Pharmacology ; Pharmacology, Clinical* ; Prescriptions ; Primary Health Care* ; Public Health

In the published version of this article, the contents of Table 1 (‘Demographic characteristics of subjects’) are incorrect.

Vaccination is regarded as one of the biggest triumphs in the history of medicine. We are living in the most successful period of vaccine development. The accumulation of multidisciplinary knowledge and the investment of massive funding have enabled the development of vaccines against many infectious diseases as well as other diseases including malignant tumors. The paradigm of clinical vaccine evaluation and licensure has also been modernized based on scientific improvements and historical experience. However, there remain a number of hurdles to overcome. Continuous efforts are focused on increasing the efficacy and reducing the risks related to vaccine use. Cutting-edge knowledge about immunology and microbiology is being rapidly translated to vaccine development. Thus, physicians and others involved in the clinical development of vaccines should have sufficient understanding of the recent developmental trends in vaccination and the diseases of interest.
Allergy and Immunology ; Communicable Diseases ; Financial Management ; History of Medicine ; Investments ; Licensure ; Vaccination ; Vaccines

More than 60 antiviral agents for various infectious diseases such as herpes, hepatitis, influenza, and AIDS are currently prescribed worldwide. Among the viral infections, hepatitis B and influenza are those frequently seen in primary care situations in Korea. This review discusses the anti-hepatitis B (HBV) drugs entecavir and adefovir, and the anti-influenza drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir. In addition, the pharmacology and therapeutic guidance suggested by the Korean Association for the Study of the Liver were reviewed for entecavir and adepovir, the most frequently prescribed anti-HBV drugs. For influenza, oseltamivir is commonly used despite debates on neuropsychiatric safety issues and zanamivir may be used when an inhalation form is necessary. Although currently used drugs show considerable clinical efficacy, efforts to optimize their use and further research to find new molecules that may overcome their limitations are necessary.
Adenine ; Antiviral Agents ; Communicable Diseases ; Guanine ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis B ; Influenza, Human ; Inhalation ; Korea ; Liver ; Organophosphonates ; Oseltamivir ; Primary Health Care ; Zanamivir

The number of clinical trials sponsored by global pharmaceutical companies performed in countries other than the U.S. and Western Europe has been steadily increasing over the past decade. Among those emerging countries, Korea deserves attention for its rapid growth in the number of trials and sites. As of 2009, Korea was ranked the tenth country in the number of clinical trials registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov. This is remarkable growth given that it was not included in the top 30 countries in 2005. High population density, qualified medical professionals, regulatory changes including Investigational New Drug-New Drug Application (IND/NDA) separation, acceptance of International Conferences on Harmonization-Good Clinical Practices (ICH-GCP) by Korea Food&Drug Administration (KFDA), and governmental policies to boost clinical trials were the most influential factors that caused such an outstanding achievement. The Korean National Enterprise for Clinical Trials (KoNECT), an organization founded to lead initiatives to improve the milieu for clinical trials, has been playing a pivotal role in the steering of 15 regional clinical centers designated by the government. Based upon improvements in infrastructure so far, diversity in therapeutic areas and the proportion of early phase trials are expected to grow. Korea has grown to be one of the major countries in the clinical trial market, which was made possible by the cooperation of industry, academia and government. Further investment and efforts to solve current challenges will allow such growth to continue into the next decade.
Achievement ; Congresses as Topic ; Europe ; Investments ; Korea ; Population Density

No abstract available.

This review examines the pivotal clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy and safety of semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) receptor agonist, in the management of obesity. The reported findings underscore significant and sustained weight lossachieved with semaglutide in diverse patient groups, although gastrointestinal disorders occurred frequently, leading to therapy discontinuation. Overall, the studies demonstrated the potential of semaglutide as a therapeutic option not only for type 2 diabe-tes but also for obesity. The treatment landscape in obesity is evolving, as reflected in changing regulatory approvals and clinicalguidelines, suggesting a paradigm shift toward personalized approaches in this chronic disease states to achieve optimal treatment outcomes for patients.

This review examines the pivotal clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy and safety of semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) receptor agonist, in the management of obesity. The reported findings underscore significant and sustained weight lossachieved with semaglutide in diverse patient groups, although gastrointestinal disorders occurred frequently, leading to therapy discontinuation. Overall, the studies demonstrated the potential of semaglutide as a therapeutic option not only for type 2 diabe-tes but also for obesity. The treatment landscape in obesity is evolving, as reflected in changing regulatory approvals and clinicalguidelines, suggesting a paradigm shift toward personalized approaches in this chronic disease states to achieve optimal treatment outcomes for patients.

This review examines the pivotal clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy and safety of semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) receptor agonist, in the management of obesity. The reported findings underscore significant and sustained weight lossachieved with semaglutide in diverse patient groups, although gastrointestinal disorders occurred frequently, leading to therapy discontinuation. Overall, the studies demonstrated the potential of semaglutide as a therapeutic option not only for type 2 diabe-tes but also for obesity. The treatment landscape in obesity is evolving, as reflected in changing regulatory approvals and clinicalguidelines, suggesting a paradigm shift toward personalized approaches in this chronic disease states to achieve optimal treatment outcomes for patients.

This review examines the pivotal clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy and safety of semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) receptor agonist, in the management of obesity. The reported findings underscore significant and sustained weight lossachieved with semaglutide in diverse patient groups, although gastrointestinal disorders occurred frequently, leading to therapy discontinuation. Overall, the studies demonstrated the potential of semaglutide as a therapeutic option not only for type 2 diabe-tes but also for obesity. The treatment landscape in obesity is evolving, as reflected in changing regulatory approvals and clinicalguidelines, suggesting a paradigm shift toward personalized approaches in this chronic disease states to achieve optimal treatment outcomes for patients.