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EMEA: Physicians should not prescribe Acomplia (rimonabant)
The European Medicines Agency recommends suspension of the marketing authorisation of Acomplia The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended the suspension of the marketing authorisation for Acomplia (rimonabant) from Sanofi-Aventis. The EMEA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has concluded that the benefits of Acomplia no longer outweigh its risks and the marketing authorisation
Antipsychotics for acute and chronic pain: a systematic review
Summary Analgesic effects of antipsychotics in acute and chronic painful states Antipsychotics are used in different chronic pain states (e.g. chronic headache, fibromyalgia and diabetic neuropathia). With atypical antipsychotics a new class of antipsychotics is available, with lesser extrapyramidal side effects and additional benefits. The review authors assessed the analgesic efficacy and adverse effects of
Pharmacokinetics. What is steady state concentration (Css)?
Pharmacokinetics. Definition of the term steady state in clinical pharmacology.
Anticholinergics mechanism of action in bronchodilation
Some additional information from Goodman & Gilman’s Anticholinergic Agents With the advent of inhaled beta adrenergic agonists, use of anticholinergic agents declined. Renewed interest in anticholinergic agents paralleled the realization that parasympathetic pathways are important in bronchospasm in some asthmatics and the availability of ipratropium bromide (ATROVENT), a quaternary muscarinic receptor antagonist that has better
Beta lactams antibiotics (penicillins and cephalosporins) mechanism of action: videos and animations
Mechanism of action of the beta lactam antibiotics (penicillins and cephalosporins) The beta-lactam antibiotics can kill susceptible bacteria. Although knowledge of the mechanism of this action is incomplete, numerous researchers have supplied information that allows understanding of the basic phenomenon (seeGhuysen, 1991; Bayles, 2000). The cell walls of bacteria are essential for their normal growth
Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance: video animations produced by FDA
The following video explains the mechanisms that bacteria use to develop antibiotic resistance: Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Resistance Mutation Destruction or Inactivation Efflux ( 1:00) Genetic Transfer Conjugation Transformation Transduction
Cisplatin mechanism of action: 3-D video animation
Mechanism of Action. Cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin enter cells by diffusion, and by an active Cu2+ transporter (Kruh, 2003). Inside the cell, the chloride atoms of cisplatin may be displaced and the compound may be inactivated directly by reaction with nucleophiles such as thiols. Chloride is replaced by water, yielding a positively charged molecule. In
What is MRSA? Antibiotic resistance information by the ECDC
Some interesting information about MRSA and antibiotic resistance to share with your patients: What is MRSA? Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterium, present on skin and mucosa in 20% to 30% of healthy people. It may sometimes causes infections if it is introduced into the body. It typically causes skin and wound infections but can
Toviaz (fesoterodine fumarate): new drug to treat overactive bladder
FDA press release about the approval of Toviaz (fesoterodine fumarate): The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug to help patients suffering from overactive bladder (OAB). Toviaz (fesoterodine fumarate) works by relaxing the smooth muscle tissue of the bladder, thus reducing the urinary frequency, urge to urinate, and sudden urinary incontinence (leakage
Phenytoin and fosphenytoin linked to Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis
From the FDA website: FDA is investigating new preliminary data regarding a potential increased risk of serious skin reactions including Stevens Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) from phenytoin therapy in Asian patients positive for a particular human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele, HLA-B*1502. This allele occurs almost exclusively in patients with ancestry across
Risk of death in patients with dementia that use typical antipsychotics: EMEA’s press release
Questions and answers on the review of the use of conventional antipsychotic medicines in elderly patients with dementia The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has completed a review of the evidence available on the safety of conventional antipsychotic medicines in elderly patients with dementia. The Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has concluded that there
Pharmacokinetics. What are Cmax and Cmin?
A definition of Cmax and Cmin in clinical pharmacokinetics.
Drug development and evaluation. What is a blind experiment?
Blind Experiment: A form of experiment in which the participants are, to some degree, kept ignorant of the nature and doses of materials administered as specific parts of the experiment. The purpose of the device is, obviously to prevent a
Pharmacokinetics. What is biotranslocation?
The following pharmacological definition has been taken from the Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Department Glossary at Boston University School of Medicine . Biotranslocation: The movement of chemicals (drugs) into, through, and out of biological organisms or their parts. In studying biotranslocation one is concerned with the identification and description of such movement, elucidation of the
Pharmacokinetics. What is biotransformation?
The following pharmacological definition has been taken from the Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Department Glossary at Boston University School of Medicine . Biotransformation: Chemical alteration of an agent (drug) that occurs by virtue of the sojourn of the agent in a biological system. Spontaneous decay of radium would not be considered a biotransformation even if