The American journal of geriatric pharmacotherapy
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Am J Geriatr Pharmacother · Jun 2005
Review Comparative StudyMonotherapy versus combination drug therapy for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a medical condition occurring in older men (ie, those aged >60 years) resulting from enlargement of the prostate gland. Consequently, affected men may experience bother-some urinary tract symptoms and diminished quality of life. The risk of lower urinary tract symptoms and complications such as acute urinary retention (AUR) may increase if BPH is untreated. Currently, 2 classes of drugs-alpha-adrenergic blockers (alpha-blockers) and 5alpha-reductase inhibitors-are indicated for the treatment of BPH. Although the 2 classes are commonly used in combination, the evidence has frequently not been supportive of this practice. Results from the Medical Therapy of Prostatic Symptoms (MTOPS) trial, the largest and longest clinical trial on this topic to date, revisited the role of combination therapy in the treatment of BPH. ⋯ Based on the literature, combination therapy has been proven to relieve symptoms and delay progression of BPH in men with moderate to severe symptoms and moderately enlarged prostate glands.
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Am J Geriatr Pharmacother · Jun 2005
Impact of donepezil use in routine clinical practice on health care costs in patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias enrolled in a large medicare managed care plan: a case-control study.
Clinical studies have shown efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors (eg, donepezil) in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there are limited studies examining the impact on health care costs of cholinesterase inhibitors prescribed in routine clinical practice. ⋯ In this case-control study in patients with predominantly mild to moderate AD and related dementias, donepezil therapy prescribed in routine clinical practice was associated with reduced health care costs to the Medicare managed care plan studied. The findings support previous pharmacoeconomic studies with larger sample sizes obtained over a longer period of time, and with improved case-matching criteria.