Researchers adapt drug dosage to increasing obesity levels

Washington, Mar 11: With increasing levels of obesity, researchers are continuously facing a challenge to determine the drug dosage adjusted with different body sizes and compositions.

Queensland University researchers are currently working out in optimising the drug dosing to a society facing the problem of bulging waistlines.

"In a pharmacological sense, obesity presents a challenging role for clinicians, as the effects of altered body composition on the time course of drug response are poorly understood," said Dr Bruce Green of UQ School of Pharmacy.

"[This] lack of dosing information... [is of additional concern when you] consider that many of these individuals require therapeutic intervention for a variety of disease states," he added.

"The purpose of this study is linked to our overall strategy of ensuring that patients who are overweight do not get overdosed by dosing on total body weight, or under dosed by giving fixed doses to all patients.

"We propose that drugs should be dosed on our formula for lean body weight to match drug exposure across individuals of differing body compositions.

"The results should minimise adverse events and improve efficacy of drugs, which we have already shown in an individualised dosing trial for enoxaparin (a blood thinning drug)," he added.

ANI