Clinical therapeutics
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Clinical therapeutics · May 2012
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Controlled Clinical TrialTacrolimus versus intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide therapy in Chinese adults with steroid-resistant idiopathic minimal change nephropathy: a multicenter, open-label, nonrandomized cohort trial.
The treatment of steroid-resistant minimal change nephropathy (SR-MCN) in adults remains a challenge to nephrologists. Although immunosuppressants such as cyclophosphamide (CTX), chlorambucil, and cyclosporin A have been used in these patients, their use has been limited by low remission rates and severe adverse effects. Alternative immunosuppressive treatments for SR-MCN are therefore needed. ⋯ These findings suggest that TAC therapy was effective compared with IV pulse CTX therapy in treating this select group of Chinese adults with SR-MCN. Both agents were well tolerated although TAC seemed to induce remission more rapidly than IV pulse CTX therapy. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: study number ACTR 00362050.
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Belimumab, a monoclonal antibody that inhibits B-lymphocyte stimulating protein, was the first biologic agent approved for, and the first drug approved in 55 years for, the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ⋯ Based on the findings from the present review, belimumab appears to be efficacious and generally well-tolerated and in the treatment of SLE other than lupus nephritis or neuropsychiatric lupus. Additional clinical and economics studies are needed to determine the most appropriate place for belimumab in the treatment of SLE.
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Clinical therapeutics · May 2012
Multicenter Study Meta AnalysisSafety profile and tolerability of up to 1 year of pregabalin treatment in 3 open-label extension studies in patients with fibromyalgia.
Pain relief and an acceptable safety profile have been reported in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of pregabalin in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) for up to 14 weeks. ⋯ The data from these extension studies suggest that the adverse event safety profile and tolerability of patients with FM treated with open-label pregabalin (75-300 mg BID) for up to 1 year were stable and were consistent with those of previous studies. ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT00151528 (A0081057 [study 1]), NCT00282997 (A0081078 [study 2]), and NCT00346034 (A0081101 [study 3]).
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Clinical therapeutics · May 2012
Comparative Study Controlled Clinical TrialEffects of ketoconazole and rifampicin on the pharmacokinetics of gemigliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitor: a crossover drug-drug interaction study in healthy male Korean volunteers.
Gemigliptin (LC15-0444) is a newly developed selective and competitive inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 and has potential for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Gemigliptin is metabolized by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 isozyme to yield the active major metabolite LC15-0636. ⋯ In this select group of healthy male Korean volunteers, concurrent administration of gemigliptin with ketoconazole or rifampicin was associated with significantly increased or decreased systemic exposure to gemigliptin, respectively. These findings suggest that gemigliptin may require a dose adjustment when concurrently administered with drugs that alter CYP3A4 activity. Concurrent administration of gemigliptin with ketoconazole or rifampicin was well tolerated. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01426906.
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Clinical therapeutics · May 2012
Impact of a text messaging pilot program on patient medication adherence.
Medication nonadherence is a well-recognized challenge associated with poor health outcomes and increased utilization of health care resources. Although many different behavioral and educational strategies are available to improve patient medication adherence, technological advances, including cell phone text messaging, represent new and innovative modalities to improve adherence and overall health outcomes. ⋯ Findings suggest that members opting into a text message reminder program have significantly higher chronic oral medication adherence compared with members not opting to receive medication-specific text message reminders, and that the use of a text message reminder program assists in preserving higher rates of adherence over time.