April 21st, 2008
Valaciclovir (Valtrex™ ), the l-valyl ester of aciclovir, is licensed for the treatment of herpes zoster (shingles), a disease occurring commonly in the elderly. After oral administration, valaciclovir is rapidly converted to aciclovir with a bioavailability 3–5 times greater than from oral aciclovir. Aciclovir is renally eliminated with tubular secretion forming a significant component. Probenecid, [...]
Filed under: Clinical Pharmacology | No Comments »
April 20th, 2008
Cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency is especially common among elderly people. Studies indicate that as many as 15% are cobalamin deficient. The treatment of choice is the administration of cobalamin by intramuscular injections [3, 4]. Usually, the patient is put on a lifetime regimen of monthly maintenance injections. Intramuscular injections, however, have disadvantages: they are inconvenient, [...]
Filed under: Clinical Pharmacology | No Comments »
April 19th, 2008
Reports to the spontaneous reporting system in Germany have raised concerns that exposure to quinolone antibiotics may increase the risk for suicidal behaviour, i.e., suicide, suicide attempt, and suicidal ideation. Some of the case reports described suicidal behaviour in quinolone users as long as 6 months after drug exposure. The current study was designed to [...]
Filed under: Clinical Pharmacology | No Comments »
April 18th, 2008
It has been demonstrated that administration of the precursor of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, l-arginine, can lower blood pressure and produce systemic and renal vasodilation in healthy human subjects and abrogates abnormal endothelium-dependent responses of pharmacological nitric oxide synthase inhibition in isolated vessels. In the renal vascular bed, which is particularly sensitive to endogenous NO [...]
Filed under: Clinical Pharmacology | No Comments »
April 17th, 2008
There has been an increasing interest in pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling to describe the time course of drug effects in relation to the concentration vs time profile in the body. Preferably, these models should consider the mechanisms involved in the pharmacological action of the drug, because it may increase the understanding of how drug effects are affected [...]
Filed under: Clinical Pharmacology | No Comments »
April 16th, 2008
Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a relatively common, troublesome, and potentially hazardous complication of surgery. Its incidence in the general surgical population has been estimated to be between 8–92% although most estimates are around 20–30%. Despite the wide variety of available antiemetic medications, current treatment of PONV is considered to be poor. It is [...]
Filed under: Clinical Pharmacology | No Comments »
April 15th, 2008
α1-Adrenoceptor antagonists have long been used in the treatment of arterial hypertension. Recently, they have also been introduced for the symptomatic treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Receptor cloning and pharmacological analysis have identified the existence of at least three α1-adrenoceptor subtypes which are designated α1A (formerly α1c ), α1B and α1D (formerly α1a/d ). Since [...]
Filed under: Clinical Pharmacology | No Comments »
April 14th, 2008
The clearance of indocyanine green (ICG) following systemic administration is influenced by many factors including cardiac output, hepatic blood flow, intrinsic hepatic clearance and protein binding. Drugs for which the intrinsic hepatic clearance exceeds hepatic blood flow are useful as markers of hepatic blood flow. Hepatic blood flow has been estimated using different approaches. The [...]
Filed under: Clinical Pharmacology | No Comments »