Frontiers in pharmacology
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Frontiers in pharmacology · Jan 2013
Determinants of patient adherence: a review of systematic reviews.
A number of potential determinants of medication non-adherence have been described so far. However, the heterogenic quality of existing publications poses the need for the use of a rigorous methodology in building a list of such determinants. The purpose of this study was a systematic review of current research on determinants of patient adherence on the basis of a recently agreed European consensus taxonomy and terminology. ⋯ This study provides clear evidence that medication non-adherence is affected by multiple determinants. Therefore, the prediction of non-adherence of individual patients is difficult, and suitable measurement and multifaceted interventions may be the most effective answer toward unsatisfactory adherence. The limited number of publications assessing determinants of persistence with medication, and lack of those providing determinants of adherence to short-term treatment identify areas for future research.
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Frontiers in pharmacology · Jan 2013
A thermosensitive mutation alters the effects of lacosamide on slow inactivation in neuronal voltage-gated sodium channels, NaV1.2.
Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by seizures and convulsions. The basis of epilepsy is an increase in neuronal excitability that, in some cases, may be caused by functional defects in neuronal voltage gated sodium channels (NaVs). The C121W mutation of the β1 subunit, in particular, gives rise to the thermosensitive generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) phenotype. ⋯ Lacosamide was more effective in NaV1.2 associated with the WT-β1 than with C121W-β1 at either temperature. There is also a more potent effect by lacosamide on slow inactivation at elevated temperatures. Our data suggest a modulatory role is imparted by the β1 subunit in the interaction between the drug and the channel.
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Frontiers in pharmacology · Jan 2012
Apolipoprotein mimetic peptides: a new approach for the treatment of asthma.
New treatments are needed for severe asthmatics to improve disease control and avoid severe toxicities associated with oral corticosteroids. We have used a murine model of house dust mite (HDM)-induced asthma to identify steroid-unresponsive genes that might represent targets for new therapeutic approaches for severe asthma. This strategy identified apolipoprotein E as a steroid-unresponsive gene with increased mRNA expression in the lungs of HDM-challenged mice. ⋯ Similarly, apolipoprotein A-I may have therapeutic potential in asthma based upon its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-fibrotic properties. Furthermore, administration of apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptides has attenuated airway inflammation, airway remodeling, and airway hyperreactivity in murine models of experimental asthma. Thus, site-directed delivery of inhaled apolipoprotein E or apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptides may represent novel treatment approaches that can be developed for asthma, including severe disease.
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The molecular mechanisms of modern inhaled anesthetics are still poorly understood although they are widely used in clinical settings. Considerable evidence supports effects on membrane proteins including ligand- and voltage-gated ion channels of excitable cells. Na(+) channels are crucial to action potential initiation and propagation, and represent potential targets for volatile anesthetic effects on central nervous system depression. ⋯ This reduction in transmitter release is more potent for glutamatergic compared to GABAergic terminals. Involvement of Na(+) channel inhibition in mediating the immobility caused by volatile anesthetics has been demonstrated in animal studies, in which intrathecal infusion of the Na(+) channel blocker tetrodotoxin increases volatile anesthetic potency, whereas infusion of the Na(+) channels agonist veratridine reduces anesthetic potency. These studies indicate that inhibition of presynaptic Na(+) channels by volatile anesthetics is involved in mediating some of their effects.