By Paul R. Burghardt, PhD

A recent issue of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (volume 7, 2008) painted an interesting portrait of the current state of drug approval by the FDA. The editorial, responding to an article by Bethan Hughes in the same issue, reported that in 2007 a total of 19 requests (17 new drugs and 2 license applications for existing drugs) were approved by the FDA; making it the LOWEST year for novel drug approvals since 1983.

There are several potential arguments to why this has happened, which the editorial and article touch upon. These include lack of novel science, insufficient funding, overregulation, understaffing, and bureaucracy. But aside from the intricacies of why there were only 19 approvals issued by the FDA in 2007, the fact remains that there were only 19 approvals issued by the FDA in 2007.

So with the veritable trickle of drug approval over the past couple years (hence the “drip”) a couple questions immediately come to mind. Should you wait for the new drug to treat your ailment? If so, what drug is it that you are waiting for?

Here’s what I think. Whatever the cause of declining numbers of approved drugs, it graphically illustrates the delicacy of a system. A very important system set in place to protect the public by both producing novel therapies while ensuring that those therapies are not harmful. This process that takes time. First, to find a treatment that is effective. Second, to ensure that said treatment doesn’t screw up the rest of our biology. Not a trivial task! But ultimately, this is a system that profoundly affects individuals’ health (for better or worse) as well as the well-being of their loved ones.

Can you afford to wait?

Making smart lifestyle choices that promote overall health is something that is completely within your control. Not only on what you choose to do, but when you choose to start.

The take home message is that there has never been a good reason to wait around for a drug to improve our health. For one, a drug that effectively treats your problem may not be developed for some time, if ever. If there is a drug that looks promising for you, it still takes time to get through the approval process (for good reason . . . safety). There are many choices we can make on a daily basis to improve our health. And although it is never too late to start, the sooner you start the better your odds of avoiding a problem in the long run.

This is particularly important to keep in mind when thinking about brain health. The complexity of our brains has been said to rival, and probably surpass, the complexity of the Universe. Remember that we’re talking about an organ that can think about, how it (the brain) is thinking about how complex the Universe is. So it’s a bit of a stretch to assume that any drug will be able to solve all the problems related to mental or cognitive disorder. A drug may help alleviate a specific problem/symptom, but it won’t fix the underlying cause.

The question you should have been asking yourself about any drug is “do the benefits outweigh the side-effects?” Now, that question comes along with the caveats “when will it be developed,” and “what if it’s never developed?”

If you want control of your health, take it.