Pharmacy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Pharmacy, including details on drug stores, prescriptions, health care.

Pharmacologic Advances in the Treatment and Prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Empey KM, Peebles Jr RS, Kolls JK

Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, and 2Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergy, and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; 3Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee; and 4Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Currently, only 2 drugs have been approved for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Palivizumab is a monoclonal antibody for the prevention of RSV in high-risk children. Ribavirin is approved for treatment of severe RSV disease; however, its effectiveness in improving outcomes is questionable. During the past 40 years, many obstacles have delayed the development of safe and effective vaccines and treatment regimens. This article reviews these obstacles and presents the novel development strategies used to overcome many of them. Also discussed are promising new antiviral treatment candidates and their associated mechanism of action, the significant advances made in vaccine development, and exciting, new studies directed at improving outcomes through pharmacologic manipulation of the host response to RSV disease.

Published 18 March 2010 in Clin Infect Dis.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Pharmacy published 18 March 2010:

Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy and Safety of Naproxen Sodium in the Acute Treatment of Migraine.   Headache.

Objective.- To assess the efficacy and safety of naproxen sodium in the treatment of acute migraine attacks. Background.- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including naproxen sodium have been used in treating migraine attack. A number of clinical trials of naproxen sodium in migraine have been reported. However, it remains to be established whether naproxen sodium unequivocally offers clinical benefits taken into account the desired outcomes in acute migraine therapy as recommended by the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Generic substitution: a potential risk factor for medication errors in hospitals.   Adv Ther.

INTRODUCTION: Efforts to restrain pharmaceutical costs in the Norwegian hospital sector have focused on putting pharmaceuticals out to tender with resultant frequent changes in medicine inventories. Due to the extent of physicians failing to prescribe from the hospital drug list, the nurses have to perform generic substitution on the wards. The objective of the present study is to investigate the hospital nurses' experiences with generic substitution and to explore their views on this strategy ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Biliary excretion in dogs: Evidence for a molecular weight threshold.   Eur J Pharm Sci.

Molecular weight (MW) is known as an important factor of biliary excretion in rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and humans. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the biliary excretion and MW of drugs in dogs. Data on the percentage of dose excreted into bile as parent drug (PD(b)) in dogs were collected from the literature for 134 compounds. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was utilized to determine whether a MW threshold exists for PD(b). A MW ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Pharmacy published 17 March 2010:

Heterogeneous particle deaggregation and its implication for therapeutic aerosol performance.   J Pharm Sci.

Aerosolization performance of dry powder blends of drugs for the treatment of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases have been reported in three previous articles. In vitro aerosolization was performed at defined shear stresses (0.624-13.143 N/m(2)). Formulations were characterized aerodynamically and powder aerosol deaggregation equations (PADE) and corresponding linear regression analyses for pharmaceutical aerosolization were applied. Particle deaggregation is the result of ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Pharmacokinetic interactions between ritonavir and quinine in healthy volunteers following concurrent administration.   Br J Clin Pharmacol, 69(3): 262-70.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT * Malaria is widespread across some areas of the world, most of which also bear the brunt of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic, resulting in a high incidence of co-infection of both diseases. * Ritonavir, a HIV protease inhibitor, and quinine, an antimalarial agent effective against multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, are likely to be administered concurrently for treatment of patients with HIV and malaria. * Both drugs are ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Hormone Replacement Therapy advertising: sense and nonsense on the web pages of the best-selling pharmaceuticals in Spain.   BMC Public Health, 10(1): 134.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The benefits of long term use of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) have been questioned since 1939. HRT requires medical prescription, its advertising is only permitted where it is aimed at health professionals, and online sales are illegal in Europe. The objective of this study is to analyse internet advertising of HRT in Spain. METHODS: A search was carried out on the Internet (January 2009) for the eight best-selling HRT drugs in Spain. The brand name of each drug was ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Rufinamide: A New Antiepileptic Medication for the Treatment of Seizures Associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (April) (CE).   Ann Pharmacother.

OBJECTIVE: To review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of rufinamide in the treatment of epileptic seizures and describe its potential place in therapy. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE (1966-January 2010) and PubMed (1966-January 2010) literature searches were conducted to identify primary literature investigating rufinamide. References from selected publications discussing rufinamide, as well as the package insert, were reviewed. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Published ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Impact of Tobacco Smoking Cessation on Stable Clozapine or Olanzapine Treatment (April).   Ann Pharmacother.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the pharmacokinetic implications and potential clinical effects of tobacco smoking cessation in patients on stable clozapine or olanzapine treatment. DATA SOURCES: A literature search of MEDLINE (1950-November 2009) and EMBASE (1980-November 2009) was conducted using the search terms smoking, tobacco, cigarette, cannabis, smoking cessation, cytochrome P450, antipsychotic, clozapine, and olanzapine. In addition, reference lists from publications identified were searched ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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