Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy
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Expert Opin Pharmacother · Apr 2006
ReviewSativex: clinical efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of symptoms of multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain.
Sativex is one of the first cannabis-based medicines to undergo conventional clinical development and to be approved as a prescription medicine. It is an oromucosal spray that allows flexible, individualised dosing. Patients self titrate their overall dose and pattern of dosing according to their response to and tolerance of the medicine. ⋯ Positive results in placebo-controlled trials of the use of Sativex as an add-on therapy in these indications demonstrate that Sativex is efficacious and well tolerated in the treatment of these symptoms. Sativex has been approved for use in neuropathic pain due to multiple sclerosis in Canada. If ongoing studies replicate the results already observed, further approvals for the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis and for neuropathic pain are likely.
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Expert Opin Pharmacother · Mar 2006
ReviewJuvenile idiopathic arthritis: current and future treatment options.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most common rheumatic disease in children. The management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis has improved in recent decades, and morbidity due to the disease is significantly decreased. ⋯ In particular, anti-TNF agents seem effective: etanercept is the only one licensed for juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and Phase III trials on two other anti-TNF agents, infliximab and adalimumab, are ongoing. This review discusses the current practice in the medical management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and potential new agents are discussed.
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Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common disorder that is estimated to affect 10% of Americans. However, it remains largely undiagnosed and untreated by clinicians. The primary symptoms of this condition are leg discomfort or an urge to move that is temporarily relieved by movement and is worse at rest and at bedtime. ⋯ RLS may be treated by dopaminergic agents, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants and opiates; dopamine agonists are currently considered first-line therapy for this condition. Pramipexole has been studied in the treatment of RLS since 1998. This article reviews the role of this medication in the management of this serious neurological disorder.
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Duloxetine is a balanced serotonin noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor that has recently become the first agent to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy in the US. This compound has no other significant receptor or channel activities other than the serotonin and noradrenaline re-uptake inhibition mechanisms and works to diminish or control the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. ⋯ Its effectiveness in diabetic neuropathy confirms the proposed role of serotonin and noradrenaline as key mediators of the descending pain inhibition pathways of the brain stem and spinal cord. Clinical studies have demonstrated the high degree of safety and efficacy for the compound with no adverse effects on glycaemic control due to the action of duloxetine being identified.