Inmedicine, aside effect is an effect of the use of a medicinaldrug or other treatment, usuallyadverse but sometimes beneficial, that is unintended. Herbal andtraditional medicines also have side effects.
A drug or procedure usually used for a specific effect may be used specifically because of a beneficial side-effect; this is termed "off-label use" until such use is approved.[1] For instance,X-rays have long been used asan imaging technique; the discovery of their oncolytic capability led to their use inradiotherapy for ablation ofmalignanttumours.
TheWorld Health Organization and other health organisations characterise the probability of experiencing side effects as:[4][5]
Very common, ≥1⁄10
Common (frequent),1⁄10 to1⁄100
Uncommon (infrequent),1⁄100 to1⁄1000
Rare,1⁄1000 to1⁄10000
Very rare, <1⁄10000
TheEuropean Commission recommends that the list should contain only effects where there is "at least a reasonable possibility" that they are caused by the drug and the frequency "should represent crude incidence rates (and not differences or relative risks calculated against placebo or other comparator)".[6] The frequency describes how often symptoms appearafter taking the drug, without assuming that they were necessarilycaused by the drug. Both healthcare providers[7] and lay people[8] misinterpret the frequency of side effects as describing the increase in frequency caused by the drug.
Most drugs and procedures have a multitude of reported adverse side effects; the information leaflets provided with virtually all drugs list possible side effects. Beneficial side effects are less common; some examples, in many cases of side-effects that ultimately gained regulatory approval as intended effects, are:
Buprenorphine has been shown experimentally (1982–1995) to be effective against severe, refractory depression.[10][11]
Bupropion (Wellbutrin), ananti-depressant, also helps smoking cessation; this indication was later approved, and the name of the drug as sold for smoking cessation is Zyban. Bupropion branded as Zyban may be sold at a higher price than as Wellbutrin, so some physicians prescribe Wellbutrin for smoking cessation.[citation needed]
^Gracer R (February 2007)."The Buprenorphine Effect on Depression"(PDF).naabt.org. National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment. Retrieved19 September 2015.
^Bodkin JA, Zornberg GL, Lukas SE, Cole JO (February 1995). "Buprenorphine treatment of refractory depression".Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology.15 (1):49–57.doi:10.1097/00004714-199502000-00008.PMID7714228.
^abWing DA, Powers B, Hickok D (April 2010). "U.S. Food and Drug Administration drug approval: slow advances in obstetric care in the United States".Obstetrics and Gynecology.115 (4):825–833.doi:10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181d53843.PMID20308845.
