Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2004
Identification of factors that influence conscious sedation in gastrointestinal endoscopy.
Although several studies examined factors that influence conscious sedation, investigation was limited into the gender and age. The aim of this prospective study is to identify the clinical variables of successful conscious sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy. A total of 300 subjects who underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy were enrolled in a prospective fashion. ⋯ This anxiety level was also related to increased pain (p=0.0026) and alertness (p=0.0003) during the procedure. Lower dose of midazolam is needed for sedation in older subjects. Subjects with a high level of preprocedural anxiety such as women, younger subjects, slender subjects, and those without previous experience of conscious sedation should be sedated with great caution because generally, they complain of much more severe pain and alertness during the procedure.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2004
Interaction between intrathecal gabapentin and adenosine in the formalin test of rats.
Spinal gabapentin and adenosine have been known to display an antinociceptive effect. We evaluated the nature of the interaction between gabapentin and adenosine in formalin-induced nociception at the spinal level. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared for intrathecal catheterization. ⋯ Gabapentin or adenosine decreased the sum of the number of flinches during phase 2, but not during phase 1 in the formalin test. Isobolographic analysis, in phase 2, revealed an additive interaction between gabapentin and adenosine. Taken together, intrathecal gabapentin and adenosine attenuated the facilitated state and interacted additively with each other.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2004
Effect of DA-8159, a selective phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, on electroretinogram and retinal histology in rabbits.
DA-8159, a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type 5, was developed as a new drug for erectile dysfunction. The effect of DA-8159 on the electroretinogram (ERG) and the retinal histopathology were evaluated in rabbits. The ERG was performed prior to, and 1 and 5 hr after DA-8159 (5 to 30 mg/kg) administration. ⋯ At either 15 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg, there was a dose-dependent increase in the blood concentration after 1 hr of drug administration, which decreased with time. In light and electron microscopic examinations of the retina, there was no remarkable change at any dose. These results suggest DA-8159 has a low risk potential to the retina, but further evaluation on the visual functions in human is needed.
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During the past decade, major breakthroughs have been achieved in treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Currently, three therapeutic agents are approved for chronic hepatitis B: interferon-alpha, lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil. In patients with HBeAgpositive chronic hepatitis B, all of these drugs achieve HBeAg loss (24-33%) and anti-HBe seroconversion (12-30%) rates that are superior to those observed in untreated controls. ⋯ The main advantage of adefovir dipivoxil is the rare emergence of resistance, which has been identified in less than 2% of patients at 2 yr of treatment. Adefovir is also effective against lamivudine-resistant strains. This review will focus on the natural history and recently gained knowledge on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2004
Clinical TrialCapecitabine and vinorelbine in patients with metastatic breast cancer previously treated with anthracycline and taxane.
We have evaluated the efficacy and safety of the combination of capecitabine and vinorelbine in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients previously treated with anthracycline-and taxane-containing regimens. Between April 2000 and September 2002, 44 female MBC patients received oral capecitabine (1,250 mg/m2 twice daily on days 114), and intravenous vinorelbine (25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8) during each 3 week-chemotherapy cycle (median, 5 cycles/patient; total, 235 cycles). One patient achieved a complete response and 21 patients had partial responses, giving an overall response rate of 50% in the intention-to-treat analysis (95% CI, 35.0-65.0%). ⋯ Toxicities included grades III and IV neutropenia in 63 (26.8%) and 4 (1.7%) cycles, respectively, and grades II and III hand-foot syndrome in 12 (5.1%) and 4 (1.7%) cycles, respectively. Other nonhematologic toxicities were minimal and manageable. In conclusion, the combination of capecitabine and vinorelbine was effective and well tolerated in MBC patients even after treatment with anthracyclines and taxanes.