Current Drug Therapy - Volume 5, Issue 2, 2010

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a highly prevalent and progressive metabolic disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. While glycemic control remains the cornerstone of disease treatment, successful T2DM management requires consideration of several comorbid risk factors including overweight/obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Early and aggressive treatment of patients with T2DM should be i Read More

Despite the availability of a range of treatments, a majority of patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) report lack of functional recovery, and newer agents are needed for this unmet therapeutic need. This is a systematic review of newer agents in development for GAD, grouped by primary pharmacological activity, including clinical and late preclinical agents. The analysis also includes dose-response analysis for esta Read More

The vagina, in addition to being a genital organ with functions related to conception, serves as a potential route for drug administration. Mainly used for local action in the cervico-vaginal region, it has the potential of delivering drugs for systemic effects and uterine targeting. Within recent years the level of interest in both local and systemic vaginal drug delivery systems has increased considerably. The vagina offers numer Read More

Drug delivery to brain or brain targeting is one of the most challenging research areas in pharmaceutical sciences. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) represents an insurmountable obstacle for a large number of drugs, including antibiotics, antineoplastic agents, and a variety of central nervous system (CNS)-active drugs, especially neuropeptides and drugs which do not pass the blood brain barrier. Therefore, various strategies Read More

The antidiabetic effect of the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor saxagliptin depends on the prolongation of action of the 2 incretin hormones: glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) by preventing their rapid degradation by the enzyme DPP-4. The use of saxagliptin (5 mg/d) is associated with mean reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels ranging from 0.5% to 0.9% compared Read More

HepatoCellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third most common cause of cancer- related deaths. In unresectable disease, chemotherapy has modest response rates without a clear improvement in overall survival. Sorafenib is a multikinase inhibitor that recently demonstrated improved overall survival in two randomized clinical trials. This review paper outlines the basic treatment options for HCC Read More

Not all sarcoidosis patients need treatment. In about 40% of cases, disease will subside spontaneously. For the rest who need to be treated, older drugs like corticosteroids, methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine, as well as the more recent anti-TNF agents, will be effective in suppressing granulomatous inflammation in every organ involved in about 30% of cases. In 20% of the patients, disease will relapse upon discontinu Read More

It has been over 50 years since the discovery of interferon. While initially touted as “the wonder drug” for cancer therapy, the reality of interferon use as a treatment for cancer has been far different. Today, interferon is used predominantly as adjuvant therapy in renal cell carcinoma and melanoma and is being evaluated for potential new applications in other malignancies, including leukemias, lymphomas, ovarian and pr Read More

Background: The various patient-, parent-, and physician-related factors that influence the choice of a particular medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been insufficiently investigated. The physician-reported reason for choice of medication was one factor assessed in this observational study on compliance with ADHD medication. Methods: This is a baseline data analysis of a multicenter, pro Read More