Expert opinion on investigational drugs
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Mar 2007
ReviewPTI-821: sustained-release oxycodone using gel-cap technology.
PTI-821 is a long-acting formulation of oxycodone that is intended to deter abuse through its gel-cap technology. Produced by Pain Therapeutics in alliance with King Pharmaceuticals, PTI-821 is designed to provide strong pain relief with the intent of offering greater safety than is presently available from conventional controlled-release oxycodone products. ⋯ PTI-821 has demonstrated a statistically significant difference from placebo (p < 0.05) in the efficacy study's primary end point: percentage decrease in pain scores. A further large, clinical study is in progress.
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Opioid analgesics are the mainstay in the treatment of moderate-to-severe pain, yet their use is frequently associated with adverse effects, the most common and debilitating being constipation. Opioid-induced motor stasis results from blockade of gastrointestinal peristalsis and fluid secretion, and reflects the action of the endogenous opioid system in the gut. ⋯ Clinical studies have proved the concept that these drugs prevent opioid-induced bowel dysfunction without interfering with analgesia. As reviewed in this article, opioid receptor antagonists with a peripherally restricted site of action also hold therapeutic promise in postoperative ileus and chronic constipation due to the fact that they have been found to stimulate intestinal transit.
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Cypher (sirolimus-eluting stent) and Taxus (paclitaxel-eluting stent) have been approved for use in percutaneous coronary intervention. Both of the stents have shown superiority over bare metal stents in reducing major adverse cardiac events, restenosis rates and target vessel revascularisation. Results of clinical trials with head-to-head comparison of Taxus and Cypher stents in patients with obstructive coronary artery diseases have recently been reported. This review compares the performance of Cypher and Taxus stents as noted in observational studies and clinical trials in various types of coronary artery lesions.
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Dec 2006
ReviewProgress towards the treatment of Ebola haemorrhagic fever.
Being highly pathogenic for human and nonhuman primates and the subject of former weapon programmes makes Ebola virus one of the most feared pathogens worldwide today. Due to a lack of licensed pre- and postexposure intervention, the current response depends on rapid diagnostics, proper isolation procedures and supportive care of case patients. ⋯ The authors discuss the most promising therapeutic approaches for Ebola haemorrhagic fever as judged by their efficacy in animal models. The current development in this field encourages discussions on how to move some of the experimental approaches towards clinical application.
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Dec 2006
ReviewPrevention of breast cancer: current state of the science and future opportunities.
Despite significant progress in breast cancer treatment, mammary tumours still represent the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death in women in the US, with > 211,000 new cases in 2005; however, an expanding range of options for early diagnosis and more reliable risk assessment offers new alternatives for disease control by cancer prevention. Completed large studies with the classical selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) tamoxifen have demonstrated that preventing breast cancer pharmacologically is now possible. ⋯ In the future, hormonal and estrogen receptor-independent agents may be combined to prevent the development of all mammary tumours. This article reviews the current and novel strategies for breast cancer prevention.