1,720,974 research outputs found
Pharmacokinetics of indomethacin in chronic migraine patients after withdrawal of the overused combination of indomethacin, prochlorperazine, and caffeine
No full textThe combination of indomethacin, prochlorperazine and caffeine (IPC) is often overused by migraine patients who develop medication-overuse headache (MOH), a secondary chronic headache that resolves after withdrawal of the overused medication. In a previous study (1) we showed that indomethacin clearance was lower in chronic migraine patients overusing IPC combination than in migraine patients only occasionally taking this combination. Objective: To verify if the reduced clearance of indomethacin reverts to normal after withdrawal of the overused IPC. Methods: We repeated the study of indomethacin pharmacokinetics in 9 female headache patients after 6 months from inpatient withdrawal of the IPC combination. In each patients indomethacin pharmacokinetics had been already studied before withdrawal treatment. The IPC combination (indomethacin 50 mg, prochlorperazine 8 mg, caffeine150 mg) habitually taken was administered by rectal route to each patient. Blood samples were drawn before dosing and at the following post-dose times: 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 h. Indomethacin concentrations were measured by HPLC method. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by means of the P K Solutions 2.0 program. Results: The pharmacokinetic parameters of indomethacin in 4 patients (group A) who relapsed in IPC overuse were similar to those observed before withdrawal treatment; instead (Table 1) in 5 patients (group B) who steadily discontinued IPC combination, indomethacin disposition was significantly different from that observed before withdrawal treatment. Table 1. Pharmacokinetic parameters of indomethacin in group B. Parameter Before withdrawal After withdrawalHalf life (h) 2.74+0.98 1.45+0.34 *AUC0-t (mg/h/ml) 13.02+6.62 5.36+2.36 *Cl (ml/h/Kg) 64.05+30.16 123.98+39.91 *
*P <0.05 (paired Student’ t-test)Conclusions: In headache patients who discontinued IPC overuse, indomethacin clearance increased and reverted to values previously obtained in occasional IPC users (1).1. Ferrari A., Savino G., Gallesi D., Pinetti D., Bertolini A., Sances G., et al. (2006) Pharmacol Res. 542: 142-149
Limits of medication-overuse headache classification (code 8.2 according to ICHD-II)”
No full textThe major chamges that we propose are: 1. classifying the drugs inducing MOH into 2 groups: drugs with psychotropic effects that produce tolerance, dependence, repetition of intake and, sometimes, abstinence symptoms after withdarawal; drugs related to non-dependence-producing substances; 2 including in the first group also the combinations of analgesics and drugs with psychotropic effects, since we consider the latter as the most important component to maintain overuse
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Prevalence of positivity for alcohol and drugs affecting the CNS function among drivers responsible of traffic crashes
No full textA high percentage of drivers involved in traffic crashes is under the effect of alcohol and/or drugs of abuse or, anyway, of drugs that affect the CNS funcion. Among the 115 enrolled drivers 46 (40%) were positive for at least one drug and/or alcohol. Of these 46 dirvers, 66% were positive for a single drug; 25% for two drugs; 9% for three or more drugs. Marijuana was the most frequently detected (48%), followed by alcohol 26% and benzodiazepines (24%); amphetamine were detected in the urine of 17% of drivers and cocaine in 15%
Experience with the drug information service of the university hospital of Modena
No full textThe study analizes the activity of the Drug Information Service provided by our Clinical Pharmacology section to the medical staff of the University Hospital of Modena during the last 3 years (2002-2004). The informations most often required concerned interactions (19%), followed by management of drugs during pregnancy (15%), addiction (13%), pharmacokinetics/metabolism/analytical problems (13%). The internal medicine department required the most informations (21%), followed by the infective diseases department (13%)
Inhibition of Quorum Sensing-dependent biofilm formation and virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by the boronic acid SM23
No full textIntroduction: Quorum sensing (QS) regulates the expression of virulence factors in P. aeruginosa. Inhibiting QS-controlled virulence factors without affecting the growth of P. aeruginosa may represent a promising strategy for overcoming its widespread and constantly increasing drug-resistance. In this study, we investigated the effects of SM23, a boronic acid, which was specifically designed as beta-lactamase inhibitor, on biofilm formation and virulence factor production by P. aeruginosa
Material and Methods: the bioluminescent P. aeruginosa strain P1242 was employed. The effect of the boronic acid SM23 on P. aeruginosa were assessed by evaluating a) the biofilm formation and its morphology by crystal violet staining/bioluminescence and confocal microscopy and b) the production in cell supernatant of the virulence factors, pyoverdines and elastase. The pyoverdine release was assessed by measuring the fluorescence emission with a multi-well fluorescence plate reader and mass spectrometry, while the elastase activity was determined by the Ohman’s method, using the Elastin-Congo red as substrate. Finally a qRT-PCR was employed to study the SM23-induced changes in the expression of the QS genes lasI and lasR.
Results: the SM23 significantly inhibited the development of biofilm and the production of virulence factors, as pyoverdines and elastase, without affecting bacterial growth. Preincubation of bacteria with P. aeruginosa-conditioned (24 h) medium completely prevented the binding of SM23 to the cells. By investigating the transcriptional changes related to QS, we found that Pseudomonas exposure to SM23 caused a notable decrease in the levels of lasI and lasR gene expression. Finally, the SM23 significantly reduced P. aeruginosa biofilm and pyoverdine production on endotracheal tubes, an in vitro condition closely mimicking clinical settings.
Discussion and Conclusions: taken together, our results indicate that boronic acid SM23, besides inhibiting beta-lactamase, can also act as potent inhibitor of QS in P. aeruginosa, suggesting that it may have a potential application in the prevention and treatment of biofilm-associated P. aeruginosa infections
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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