Methods and findings in experimental and clinical pharmacology
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Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol · Dec 2010
Inhibitory effect of hydrocortisone on cerebral salt wasting after subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats.
Cerebral salt wasting (CSW) frequently occurs concomitantly with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). CSW induces excessive natriuresis and osmotic diuresis, reduces total blood volume, aggravates cerebral vasospasm and causes cerebral ischemia after SAH. ⋯ Hydrocortisone had an inhibitory effect on CSW because hydrocortisone functioned in a dose-dependent manner to inhibit the increase in sodium excretion and sodium/potassium ratio after SAH onset. We conclude that hydrocortisone is a useful drug for the treatment of CSW after SAH.
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Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol · Dec 2010
[Umbilical cord blood cell transplantation from an unrelated donor: dual transplantation].
Our team conducted an original procedure of hematopoietic transplantation of umbilical cord blood (UCB) from an unrelated donor. The procedure consists of co-infusing hematopoietic stem cells selected from the blood of a third-party donor; it is conceived as a tool to shorten the engraftment period without preventing the engraftment of the UCB, even when using units with relatively low cell content and a low HLA compatibility. Between 1999 and 2008 we performed 64 transplantations in 60 adult patients (35 men and 25 women) with a median age of 34 years (range: 76-60) and a median weight of 70 kg (range: 43-95), all of whom were diagnosed with a high risk hematologic neoplasm (leukemia in most cases). ⋯ The incidence of severe GVHD and the percentage of relapses have been low. Opportunistic infections have occurred over a long period of time. This procedures makes allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation accessible to almost all patients.
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Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol · Oct 2010
Comparative StudyValidation of the digital pressure application measurement (PAM) device for detection of primary mechanical hyperalgesia in rat and mouse antigen-induced knee joint arthritis.
Several tests have been developed to obtain mechanical nociceptive withdrawal thresholds for arthritis-associated pain research in preclinical animal models, which are routinely used for testing the efficacy of antinociceptive pharmaceutical candidates. Here, we aimed to validate a recently introduced and commercially available digital pressure application measurement (PAM) device for the detection of primary mechanical hyperalgesia in a model of antigen-induced knee joint arthritis (AIA) in rats and mice. Two particular advantages of the PAM device are visual feedback control of the force increase rate and the detection of the complete threshold range. ⋯ Inter-observer agreement was generally higher when using PAM instead of an analog dynamometer. In conclusion, the digital PAM device is a suitable apparatus to detect primary mechanical hyperalgesia in experimental knee joint arthritis in rats and mice. The use of this device allows visual feedback control of the stimulus rate, thus minimizing the chances of confounding factors arising from differences in ramp speed.
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Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol · Sep 2010
Characterization of cerebral salt wasting after subarachnoid hemorrhage model induced by endovascular puncture.
Cerebral salt wasting (CSW) frequently occurs concomitantly with an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). CSW induces excessive natriuresis and osmotic diuresis, and reduces the total volume of blood. We previously reported that a rat model with SAH induced by endovascular puncture (EP) exhibited CSW. ⋯ In the EP model (SAH grade > 2) as the SAH grade increased, the volume of urine and Na excretion also significantly increased. Although the BI model rats exhibited SAH of grade 4, the volume of urine and Na excretion did not change. Therefore, our conclusion is that the spread of bleeding in the subarachnoid space may not cause CSW.
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Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol · Jul 2010
A prospective study on the pattern of medication use for schizophrenia in the outpatient pharmacy department, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Selangor, Malaysia.
Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder and pharmacotherapy plays a major role in its management. The 1950s and early 1960s saw milestones in the introduction of psychotropic drugs in clinical practice. A review of drug prescriptions in different settings provides an insight into the pattern of drug use, identifies drug-related problems and may be used to compare recommended guidelines with actual practice. ⋯ Monotherapy was given to 73.0% of the schizophrenia patients. The majority of patients also received antidepressants. To conclude, this study gave evidence that physicians had a strong preference for monotherapy with conventional antipsychotic drugs while the use of atypical drugs was less prevalent.