Trusted Pharmacy Blog|New Drugs, Drug News, Health, Medications, Diseases

Second-line antibiotics may be more effective than first-line antibiotics for patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, say researchers from Athens, Greece.

Analyzing data from 12 randomized, controlled trials involving 2,261 patients, the team found that first-line antibiotics (e.g., amoxicillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole [Bactrim, Women First], ampicillin drags, and generic doxycycline [Vibramycin, Pfizer]) were associated with lower rates of successful treatment compared with second-line drugs (e.g., amoxicillin/ clavulanic acid [Augmentin, GlaxoSmithKline]), macrolides, second-generation and third-generation cephalosporins, and quinolones). There were no differences among the regimens in terms of adverse effects such as diarrhea.

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For patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation, amiodarone tablets (Pacerone, Upsher-Smith; Cordarone drags, Wyeth) may increase the risk of bradyarrhythmia, thus necessitating the insertion of a pacemaker—and the risk is higher in women.

Researchers from McGill University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, University of Iowa Hospitals, and Rhode Island Hospital studied 973 patients with atrial fibrillation who were enrolled in the .Fibrillation Registry Assessing Costs, Therapies, Adverse events, and Lifestyle (FRACTAL). Of those patients, 85 received a pacemaker during the two-year follow-up period.

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Although some animal studies have suggested that selenium supplements may help prevent vascular complications in patients with diabetes, findings from the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer trial in 1,202 patients from dermatology clinics suggest otherwise. Not only did selenium not help, it might have even heightened the risk of diabetes.

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Valproate sodium (Depacon, Abbott) and meropenem (Merrem, AstraZeneca) are often used in intensive care units to treat seizures and serious infections. In an 18-month study at University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium, 39 patients simultaneously receiving both drugs demonstrated an alarming interaction—an average drop of 66% in valproate plasma concentrations within 24 hours in 19 patients who had undergone daily plasma monitoring.

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Hypertension, diabetes, and other conditions mean that patients must manage anywhere from two to a multitude of medications. It’s no wonder that some find it difficult to stick with their treatments. Polypharmacy and complexity of regimens are two determinants of poor compliance.

Fixed-dose regimens may improve compliance by reducing pill burden and some of the complexity. Researchers have found that fixed-dose combination regimens reduced the risk of noncompliance by as much as 26%, compared with “free-drug” combinations (giving individual components concomitantly).

(Source: Am J Med 2007)

Amid growing evidence that the same abnormal clumping of proteins in Alzheimer’s disease also contributes to type-2 diabetes, scientists are reporting the discovery of a potent new compound that reduces formation of these amyloid plaques. The report cites evidence correlating increases in amyloid formation in the pancreas with increases in severity and in the rate of progression of type-2 diabetes.

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Lanreotide acetate (Somatuline Depot Injection, Tercica) has been approved for the treatment of acromegaly, a rare and potentially life-threatening disease in adults. Abnormal secretion of growth hormone (GH) is commonly caused by a benign tumor in the pituitary gland.

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