Clinical therapeutics
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Clinical therapeutics · Jan 2012
ReviewRoflumilast: a phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor for the treatment of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Roflumilast is a newly approved phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor for the treatment of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with chronic bronchitis and a history of exacerbations. ⋯ Roflumilast significantly improved FEV(1) in clinical trials but had inconsistent reductions in the rates of exacerbations. Comparative studies with recommended therapies for COPD, particularly inhaled corticosteroids, are needed to better assess the role of roflumilast in the management of COPD.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jan 2012
Adherence to statin treatment and health outcomes in an Italian cohort of newly treated patients: results from an administrative database analysis.
Adherence to statin treatment is expected to be associated with health outcomes. Much of the available evidence is derived from studies conducted on selected populations (eg, Medicaid population), on specific cohorts of patients (eg, patients with diabetes mellitus or those who have experienced acute myocardial infarction [AMI]), or with respect to a single outcome (eg, only death or only AMI). ⋯ In this Italian cohort of newly treated patients, suboptimal adherence to statins occurred in a substantial proportion of patients and was associated with increased risk of adverse health outcomes.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialPharmacokinetics of vandetanib: three phase I studies in healthy subjects.
Vandetanib is an orally available inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 and epidermal growth factor receptor and is rearranged during transfection tyrosine kinase activity. Development has included studies in non-small cell lung cancer and other tumor types. Accurate elimination kinetics were not determined in patient studies, and so the current human volunteer studies were performed to derive detailed kinetic data. ⋯ The pharmacokinetics of vandetanib after single oral doses to healthy subjects were defined and the metabolic pathway was proposed. Vandetanib was absorbed and eliminated slowly with a t(½) of ∼10 days after single oral doses. The extent of absorption was not significantly affected by the presence of food. Approximately two thirds of the dose was recovered in feces (44%) and urine (25%) over 21 days. Unchanged vandetanib and N-desmethyl and N-oxide metabolites were detected in plasma, urine, and feces. Vandetanib appeared to be was well tolerated in the populations studied.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe effect of a 12-week course of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on lipid parameters in hypertriglyceridemic adult HIV-infected patients undergoing HAART: a randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial.
Hypertriglyceridemia is common in patients with HIV treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). ⋯ PUFA therapy with DHA/EPA reduced triglyceride levels significantly compared with placebo in HIV-infected patients with HAART-associated hypertriglyceridemia.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyAssessment of the efficacy and safety profiles of aspirin and acetaminophen with codeine: results from 2 randomized, controlled trials in individuals with tension-type headache and postoperative dental pain.
Aspirin is a widely used NSAID that has been extensively studied in numerous conditions. Nonprescription analgesics, such as aspirin, are frequently used for a wide variety of common ailments, including conditions such as dental pain and tension-type headache. ⋯ These 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies demonstrate that treatment with aspirin (1000 mg) provides statistically significant analgesic efficacy compared with placebo use and comparable efficacy with acetaminophen (300 mg) with codeine (30 mg) therapy after impacted third molar extraction and in tension- type headache.