Tacrolimus provides the clinician with an effective option for patients requiring immunosuppression and, with a different tolerability and efficacy profile to cyclosporin, it will better allow the tailoring of therapy to meet the needs of individual patients.
The antidepressant efficacy and favourable tolerability and pharmacokinetic profiles of tianeptine in patients with depression, including those with associated anxiety, have been proven and the data indicate that it may have additional potential in specific subgroups of depressed patients such as the elderly and those with chronic alcoholism.
Rivastigmine is a useful option for the treatment of patients with mild to moderately severe Alzheimer's disease and, given the lack of established treatment options, it should be considered for first-line use in this population.
The results of phase III trials have confirmed the safety and efficacy of amifostine as a cytoprotectant to ameliorate cisplatin-induced cumulative renal toxicity, for which it is the only agent proven to be effective, and neutropenia in patients with advanced ovarian cancer, and to reduce xerostomia in Patients with head and neck cancer receiving irradiation therapy.
Various sections of the manuscript reviewed by: w. T. Carpenter Tr, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Y. Lecrubier, Psychopathologie et…
In long term, well designed trials miglitol reduces fasting and postprandial plasma glucose levels, thus improving glycaemic control, which is reflected in a reduced HbA1c level in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The available data show that latanoprost is a potent IOP-lowering agent with a number of positive features including a single daily dosage regimen, a novel mechanism of action that enhances the IOP -lowering effect of contemporary agents, and a lack of systemic adverse effects.
Limited data suggest that lansoprazole may have superior activity against H. pylori in comparison with omeprazole, and may be considered as alternative to existing antisecretory agents available for the treatment of acid-related disorders, particularly because it may provide more rapid healing and relief of symptoms.
Tests of 2 to 6 months' duration have shown aceclofenac to be an effective agent in the management of pain and rheumatic disease and costs incurred as a result of adverse event management are lower with acecl ofenac than with a range of comparator NSAIDs.
Quetiapine should provide a valuable alternative to classical antipsychotic agents in the short term treatment of patients with schizophrenia and its long term effectiveness, position relative to other atypical antipsychotics agents and efficacy in refractory schizophrenia remain to be fully determined.