Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology
-
Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol · Apr 2015
ReviewCangrelor for the treatment of arterial thrombosis: pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics and clinical data.
Dual antiplatelet therapy is the standard of care for patients with acute coronary syndromes or with recent coronary stents implantation. P2Y12 receptor antagonists have shown to reduce the risk of recurrent ischemic events among these patients, at the expense of an increased risk of bleeding. Cangrelor is a novel, intravenous, short-acting, reversible platelet P2Y12 inhibitor, which has been evaluated for the treatment of arterial thrombosis. ⋯ Cangrelor has been tested in patients with coronary artery diseases undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention and as bridging therapy for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft. The rapid peak of action allows a fast and complete inhibition of platelet aggregation; the rapid offset is advantageous in case of bleeding complications; and finally, the intravenous administration also makes this drug suitable for patients unable to consume oral medications. Unfortunately, the large clinical trials evaluating cangrelor in percutaneous coronary intervention did not show superiority to the standard antiplatelet therapy, and its future use in this setting still needs to be better assessed. Conversely, when used as bridging therapy to coronary artery bypass graft, cangrelor showed promising results.
-
Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol · Apr 2015
Review Comparative StudyPharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic evaluation of eslicarbazepine for the treatment of epilepsy.
Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a novel antiepileptic drug registered as the adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults. As a third-generation medication, ESL is believed to have favorable efficacy/safety profile and pharmacokinetic properties in comparison with related drugs (carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine). ⋯ Results of clinical trials indicate that ESL possessed a favorable profile of anticonvulsant efficacy and tolerability as an add-on therapy in adult patients at daily doses of 800 and 1200 mg. Pediatric trials are in progress and their results will allow to characterize a role of ESL in the treatment of epilepsy in children.