Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
-
Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Mar 2008
ReviewThe effect of globalization of drug manufacturing, production, and sourcing and challenges for American drug safety.
Americans benefit from one of the safest drug supplies and one of the highest standards of consumer protection in the world. Over the past decade, though, a general trend toward globalization of the supply chains for finished pharmaceutical products and active pharmaceutical ingredients has created new challenges for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in ensuring the safety and quality of the drug supply. ⋯ FDA regulatory oversight resources (e.g., those allocated to inspection and testing of imports) are being challenged to keep up with the explosive growth of imported drugs. (In 2006, the FDA performed inspections at 212 foreign drug firms. This number has remained relatively consistent over the past 6 years, starting at 249 in 2001 and ranging from 190 to 260 on an annual basis.)
-
Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Mar 2008
Comparative StudyDisease severity is a major determinant for the pharmacodynamics of propofol in critically ill patients.
As oversedation is still common and significant variability between and within critically ill patients makes empiric dosing difficult, the population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of propofol upon long-term use are characterized, particularly focused on the varying disease state as determinant of the effect. Twenty-six critically ill patients were evaluated during 0.7-9.5 days (median 1.9 days) using the Ramsay scale and the bispectral index as pharmacodynamic end points. NONMEM V was applied for population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling. ⋯ Deeper levels of sedation were found with an increasing SOFA score. With severe illness, critically ill patients will need downward titration of propofol. In patients with cardiac failure, the propofol dosages should be reduced by 38%.
-
Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Mar 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyIntravenous parecoxib rapidly leads to COX-2 inhibitory concentration of valdecoxib in the central nervous system.
Evidence in animal studies supports widespread induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the central nervous system (CNS) following tissue injury, probably mediated by cytokines, transducing the signal across the blood-brain barrier. CNS COX-2 blockade is a possible therapeutic target for drugs that are able to reach adequate CNS levels and abolish the prostaglandin E2-induced central sensitization. This human pharmacokinetic study investigated valdecoxib cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma concentrations over time in 37 patients following 40 mg of single-dose intravenous parecoxib. ⋯ Valdecoxib was first detectable in the CSF at 15 min postdosing, increased rapidly until 50 min, and thereafter remained between 6 and 14 ng/ml. This is the first human study demonstrating CNS COX-2 inhibitor penetration as early as 15 min. CSF valdecoxib concentration rapidly reached in vitro IC50 (inhibitory concentration 50) (1.57 ng/ml) by 17 min and remained consistently higher thereafter.