BMC pharmacology & toxicology
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · May 2016
Temporal trends in the utilization of vasopressors in intensive care units: an epidemiologic study.
The choice of vasopressor use in the intensive care unit (ICU) depends primarily on provider preference. This study aims to describe the rate of vasopressor utilization and the trends of each vasoactive agent usage in the ICU over the span of 7 years in a tertiary referral center. ⋯ Vasopressors were used in about one fourth of ICU admissions and about one-fifth of ICU days. Although vasopressin is the most commonly used vasopressor, the use of norepinephrine found to have an increasing trajectory.
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · Apr 2016
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyDesign of a randomized controlled trial of extended-release naltrexone versus daily buprenorphine-naloxone for opioid dependence in Norway (NTX-SBX).
Current guidelines for opioid dependence recommend daily maintenance of physical dependence with methadone or buprenorphine, and discourage abstinence due to the high risk of relapse and overdose. Extended-release formulations of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (XR-NTX) block heroin and other opioid agonists competitively for around 4 weeks per administration. XR-NTX thus enables opioid users to experience abstinence from opioid agonists with greatly reduced risk of overdose compared to medication-free abstinence. While XR-NTX has shown promise compared to placebo and daily naltrexone tablets, there is limited information on long-term safety and its performance compared to daily maintenance treatment. ⋯ Despite minor implementation problems, the protocol appears sufficiently robust to generate results of high interest to patients, clinicians and policy makers.
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · Feb 2016
Comparative Study Clinical TrialPharmacokinetics of oral and intravenous melatonin in healthy volunteers.
The aim was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of oral and iv melatonin in healthy volunteers. ⋯ This cohort crossover study estimated pharmacokinetics of oral and iv melatonin, respectively in healthy volunteers. Bioavailability of oral melatonin was only 3 %.
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · Dec 2015
A C. elegans model of electronic cigarette use: Physiological effects of e-liquids in nematodes.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) have recently become very popular particularly among the younger generation. These nicotine delivery devices are viewed as a preferable alternative to more conventional forms of tobacco use and are thought to reduce the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the third leading cause of death worldwide. However, there is very little data available on the consequences of e-cig use, though recently nicotine-independent inflammatory responses have been reported. The genetic model organism Caenorhabditis elegans is a soil nematode whose cell biology is remarkably well conserved with mammals. Here, we used C. elegans to test the physiologic effects of e-liquids used to refill e-cigs. ⋯ PG exposure is sufficient to induce an oxidative stress response in nematodes, while nicotine is not. Both PG and nicotine independently influence physiologic measures of health and viability. The e-liquid flavorings did not significantly impact outcomes and there was no evidence for vaporization altering toxicity. These data suggest that the major physiologically significant component of e-liquids besides nicotine is likely the common solvent PG. We conclude that C. elegans are an appropriate model to rapidly assess parameters that may contribute to the basic cell biological effects of e-cigs.
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · Sep 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialLinking altered central pain processing and genetic polymorphism to drug efficacy in chronic low back pain.
Inability to predict the therapeutic effect of a drug in individual pain patients prolongs the process of drug and dose finding until satisfactory pharmacotherapy can be achieved. Many chronic pain conditions are associated with hypersensitivity of the nervous system or impaired endogenous pain modulation. Pharmacotherapy often aims at influencing these disturbed nociceptive processes. Its effect might therefore depend on the extent to which they are altered. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) can evaluate various aspects of pain processing and might therefore be able to predict the analgesic efficacy of a given drug. In the present study three drugs commonly used in the pharmacological management of chronic low back pain are investigated. The primary objective is to examine the ability of QST to predict pain reduction. As a secondary objective, the analgesic effects of these drugs and their effect on QST are evaluated. ⋯ Pharmacotherapy is a mainstay in chronic pain treatment. Antidepressants, anticonvulsants and opioids are frequently prescribed in a "trial and error" fashion, without knowledge however, which drug suits best which patient. The present study addresses the important need to translate recent advances in pain research to clinical practice. Assessing the predictive value of central hypersensitivity and endogenous pain modulation could allow for the implementation of a mechanism-based treatment strategy in individual patients.