Does innovation in obesity drugs affect stock markets? An event study analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Rodríguez, Jorge V; González López-Valcárcel, Beatriz

2012-01-01

This study empirically analyzes the effects of public information about the pharmaceutical R&D process on the market valuation of the sponsoring firm. We examined the market's response to scientific news and regulatory decisions about an antiobesity drug, rimonabant, and the effects on the sponsoring company (Sanofi-Aventis) and its incumbent competitors (Abbott and Roche). Event study methodology was used to test the null hypothesis of no market response. We covered the full life cycle of rimonabant (1994-2008), using a data set of daily closing price and volume. The results suggest that scientific news in the initial stages of the drug R&D process (i.e., drug discovery, preclinical and clinical trials) had no significant effects. However, news related to regulatory decisions, such as recall or safety warning, had significant negative effects on the company's market value. No spillover/contagion effects on competitor firms were detected. Market reactions occur at the time when the regulator takes decisions about drugs. Scientific news, even those of high-impact, may pass unnoticed. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

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Full Text Available ... women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding. HIV destroys a certain kind ... at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/public-education-projects/learn-link-drugs-hiv . 120x90 460x80 486x60 ...

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

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Full Text Available ... HIV to their babies during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding. HIV destroys a certain kind of white blood ... at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/public-education-projects/learn-link-drugs-hiv . 120x90 460x80 486x60 ...

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

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Full Text Available ... and what to do to counter these trends. Online Resources NIDA for Teens Web site : This Web ... at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/public-education-projects/learn-link-drugs-hiv . 120x90 460x80 486x60 ...

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

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Full Text Available ... site. Please link these banners back to this site at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/public-education-projects/learn-link-drugs-hiv . 120x90 460x80 486x60 Social Media Send the message to young people and to ...

Drug repurposing based on drug-drug interaction.

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Zhou, Bin; Wang, Rong; Wu, Ping; Kong, De-Xin

2015-02-01

Given the high risk and lengthy procedure of traditional drug development, drug repurposing is gaining more and more attention. Although many types of drug information have been used to repurpose drugs, drug-drug interaction data, which imply possible physiological effects or targets of drugs, remain unexploited. In this work, similarity of drug interaction was employed to infer similarity of the physiological effects or targets for the drugs. We collected 10,835 drug-drug interactions concerning 1074 drugs, and for 700 of them, drug similarity scores based on drug interaction profiles were computed and rendered using a drug association network with 589 nodes (drugs) and 2375 edges (drug similarity scores). The 589 drugs were clustered into 98 groups with Markov Clustering Algorithm, most of which were significantly correlated with certain drug functions. This indicates that the network can be used to infer the physiological effects of drugs. Furthermore, we evaluated the ability of this drug association network to predict drug targets. The results show that the method is effective for 317 of 561 drugs that have known targets. Comparison of this method with the structure-based approach shows that they are complementary. In summary, this study demonstrates the feasibility of drug repurposing based on drug-drug interaction data. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Legal Drugs Are Good Drugs And Illegal Drugs Are Bad Drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dina Indrati

2011-07-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT : Labelling drugs are important issue nowadays in a modern society. Although it is generally believed that legal drugs are good drugs and illegal drugs are bad drugs, it is evident that some people do not aware about the side effects of drugs used. Therefore, a key contention of this philosophical essay is that explores harms minimisation policy, discuss whether legal drugs are good drugs and illegal drugs are bad drugs and explores relation of drugs misuse in a psychiatric nursing setting and dual diagnosis.Key words: Legal, good drugs, illegal, bad drugs.

Legal Drugs Are Good Drugs and Illegal Drugs Are Bad Drugs

OpenAIRE

Indrati, Dina; Prasetyo, Herry

2011-01-01

ABSTRACT : Labelling drugs are important issue nowadays in a modern society. Although it is generally believed that legal drugs are good drugs and illegal drugs are bad drugs, it is evident that some people do not aware about the side effects of drugs used. Therefore, a key contention of this philosophical essay is that explores harms minimisation policy, discuss whether legal drugs are good drugs and illegal drugs are bad drugs and explores relation of drugs misuse in a psychiatric nursing s...

Illicit drugs and the media: models of media effects for use in drug policy research.

Science.gov (United States)

Lancaster, Kari; Hughes, Caitlin E; Spicer, Bridget; Matthew-Simmons, Francis; Dillon, Paul

2011-07-01

Illicit drugs are never far from the media gaze and although identified almost a decade ago as 'a new battleground' for the alcohol and other drug (AOD) field there has been limited research examining the role of the news media and its effects on audiences and policy. This paper draws together media theories from communication literature to examine media functions. We illustrate how each function is relevant for media and drugs research by drawing upon the existing literature examining Australian media coverage during the late 1990s of escalating heroin-related problems and proposed solutions. Media can influence audiences in four key ways: by setting the agenda and defining public interest; framing issues through selection and salience; indirectly shaping individual and community attitudes towards risk; and feeding into political debate and decision making. Each has relevance for the AOD field. For example, media coverage of the escalating heroin-related problems in Australia played a strong role in generating interest in heroin overdoses, framing public discourse in terms of a health and/or criminal issue and affecting political decisions. Implications AND CONCLUSION: Media coverage in relation to illicit drugs can have multifarious effects. Incorporating media communication theories into future research and actions is critical to facilitate understanding of the short- and long-term impacts of media coverage on illicit drugs and the avenues by which the AOD field can mitigate or inform future media debates on illicit drugs. © 2010 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Risk of violence in drug rehabilitation centers: perceptions of people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey-Vera, Alicia Yolanda; González-Zúñiga, Patricia; Vargas-Ojeda, Adriana Carolina; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena; Magis-Rodríguez, Carlos Leonardo; Wagner, Karla; Strathdee, Steffanie Anne; Werb, Daniel

2016-01-26

In 2009, Mexico reformed its health law to partially decriminalize drug possession considered for personal use and to increase mandatory referrals to certified drug rehabilitation centers in lieu of incarceration. Concurrently, news media reported violent attacks perpetrated by drug cartels against Mexican drug rehabilitation centers and instances of human rights violations by staff against people who inject drugs (PWID) in treatment. In many cases, these violent situations took place at "Peer Support" (Ayuda Mutua) drug rehabilitation centers that house a large number of drug-dependent PWID. In an effort to understand barriers to treatment uptake, we examined prevalence and correlates of perceived risk of violence at drug rehabilitation centers among PWID in Tijuana, Mexico. Secondary analysis of baseline data collected between March 2011 and May 2013 of PWID recruited into a prospective cohort study in Tijuana. Interviewer-administered surveys measured perceived risk of violence at drug rehabilitation centers by asking participants to indicate their level of agreement with the statement "going to rehabilitation puts me at risk of violence". Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with perceived risk of violence. Of 733 PWID, 34.5 % perceived risk of violence at drug rehabilitation centers. In multivariate analysis, reporting ever having used crystal methamphetamine and cocaine (separately), having a great or urgent need to get help for drug use, and ever receiving professional help for drug/alcohol use were negatively associated with perceived risk of violence at drug rehabilitation centers, while having been told by law enforcement that drug rehabilitation attendance is mandatory was positively associated with perceived risk of violence. All associations were significant at a 0.05 alpha level. The perception of violence at drug rehabilitation centers among PWID does not represent the lived experience of those PWID who attended

Making connections: New Orleans Evacuees' experiences in obtaining drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlap, Eloise; Johnson, Bruce D; Kotarba, Joseph A; Fackler, Jennifer

2009-09-01

Between August 29 and September 7, 2005, almost all New Orleans residents were evacuated from the area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. News reports indicate that almost 130,000 New Orleans Evacuees (NOEs) were evacuated to Houston, Texas, the largest recipient of the civilian population from New Orleans. Some of these NOEs were active participants in the illicit drug market in New Orleans prior to the hurricane. The period between the flooding and the nearly complete evacuation of New Orleans as well as their subsequent displacement to Houston and other locations provided unique opportunities to study what occurs when illicit drug markets are disrupted, since populations of illicit drug users and purchasers could no longer routinely obtain their drugs in predictable ways. Utilizing qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus groups, this article describes the ways NOEs (1) managed their drug acquisition and use following evacuation; (2) located new sources of drugs in Houston and elsewhere by tapping into shared drug culture; and (3) gained access to and learned the argot for drugs in the local drug market in new settings. This report contributes to the nascent literature on disrupted drug markets.

How do Australian news media depict illicit drug issues? An analysis of print media reporting across and between illicit drugs, 2003-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Caitlin Elizabeth; Lancaster, Kari; Spicer, Bridget

2011-07-01

Media reporting on illicit issues has been frequently criticised for being sensationalised, biased and narrow. Yet, there have been few broad and systematic analyses of the nature of reporting. Using a large sample and methods commonly adopted in media communications analysis this paper sought to identify the dominant media portrayals used to denote illicit drugs in Australian newspapers and to compare and contrast portrayals across drug types. A retrospective content analysis of Australian print media was carried out over the period 2003-2008 from a sample comprised of 11 newspapers. Articles that contained one or more mention of five different drugs (or derivatives) were identified: cannabis, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. A sub-sample of 4397 articles was selected for media content analysis (with 2045 selected for full content analysis) and a large number of text elements coded for each. Key elements included topic, explicit or implicit messages about the consequences of drugs/use and three value dimensions: overall tone, whether drugs were portrayed as a crisis issue and moral evaluations of drugs/use. The dominant media portrayals depicted law enforcement or criminal justice action (55%), but most articles were reported in a neutral manner, in the absence of crisis framings. Portrayals differed between drugs, with some containing more narrow frames and more explicit moral evaluations than others. For example, heroin was disproportionately framed as a drug that will lead to legal problems. In contrast, ecstasy and cocaine were much more likely to emphasise health and social problems. Media reporting on illicit drugs is heavily distorted towards crime and deviance framings, but may be less overtly sensationalised, biased and narrowly framed than previously suggested. This is not to suggest there is no sensationalism or imbalance, but this appears more associated with particular drug types and episodes of heightened public concern. Copyright © 2011

Content analysis of false and misleading claims in television advertising for prescription and nonprescription drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Faerber, Adrienne E; Kreling, David H

2014-01-01

False and misleading advertising for drugs can harm consumers and the healthcare system, and previous research has demonstrated that physician-targeted drug advertisements may be misleading. However, there is a dearth of research comparing consumer-targeted drug advertising to evidence to evaluate whether misleading or false information is being presented in these ads. To compare claims in consumer-targeted television drug advertising to evidence, in order to evaluate the frequency of false or misleading television drug advertising targeted to consumers. A content analysis of a cross-section of television advertisements for prescription and nonprescription drugs aired from 2008 through 2010. We analyzed commercial segments containing prescription and nonprescription drug advertisements randomly selected from the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, a census of national news broadcasts. For each advertisement, the most-emphasized claim in each ad was identified based on claim iteration, mode of communication, duration and placement. This claim was then compared to evidence by trained coders, and categorized as being objectively true, potentially misleading, or false. Potentially misleading claims omitted important information, exaggerated information, made lifestyle associations, or expressed opinions. False claims were factually false or unsubstantiated. Of the most emphasized claims in prescription (n = 84) and nonprescription (n = 84) drug advertisements, 33 % were objectively true, 57 % were potentially misleading and 10 % were false. In prescription drug ads, there were more objectively true claims (43 %) and fewer false claims (2 %) than in nonprescription drug ads (23 % objectively true, 7 % false). There were similar numbers of potentially misleading claims in prescription (55 %) and nonprescription (61 %) drug ads. Potentially misleading claims are prevalent throughout consumer-targeted prescription and nonprescription drug advertising on

Drugs@FDA: FDA Approved Drug Products

Science.gov (United States)

... Cosmetics Tobacco Products Home Drug Databases Drugs@FDA Drugs@FDA: FDA Approved Drug Products Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing ... Download Drugs@FDA Express for free Search by Drug Name, Active Ingredient, or Application Number Enter at ...

Drug shortage management in Alabama hospital pharmacies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliver W. Holmes, III

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify effective strategies used by Alabama hospitals to manage drug shortages. Moreover, this study aims to determine if there are any relationships among hospital size, utilization of a standard policy for drug shortage management and perceived usefulness of standard procedures for drug shortages. Methods: A paper survey was mailed to 129 hospital pharmacies in Alabama (per the Alabama Hospital Association directory. The survey consisted of 5 demographic questions, questions involving perception of current medication shortages, sources of information about shorted drugs, and frequency of discussion at P&T committee meetings. Most importantly, the survey contained questions about the use of a standard policy for handling drug shortages, the effectiveness of the policy if one is used, and an open-ended question asking the recipient to describe the policy being used. Results: A response rate of 55% was achieved as 71 surveys were completed and returned. Approximately 70% of the survey respondents described the current drug shortage issue as a top priority in their pharmacy department. The pharmacy distributor served as the primary source of information regarding drug shortages for 45% of the facilities. There is a direct relationship between size of hospital and likelihood of utilization of a standard policy or procedure for drug shortage management among the sample. The smaller facilities of the sample perceived their management strategies as effective more frequently than the larger hospitals. Conclusion: Common components of effective management strategies included extensive communication of shortage details and the ability to locate alternative products. The use of portable technology (e.g., Smart phones and tablets along with mobile applications may emerge as popular means for communicating drug product shortage news and updates within a facility or healthcare system.   Type: Original Research

Drug shortage management in Alabama hospital pharmacies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliver W. Holmes III, Pharm.D. Candidate 2013

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify effective strategies used by Alabama hospitals to manage drug shortages. Moreover, this study aims to determine if there are any relationships among hospital size, utilization of a standard policy for drug shortage management and perceived usefulness of standard procedures for drug shortages.Methods: A paper survey was mailed to 129 hospital pharmacies in Alabama (per the Alabama Hospital Association directory. The survey consisted of 5 demographic questions, questions involving perception of current medication shortages, sources of information about shorted drugs, and frequency of discussion at P&T committee meetings. Most importantly, the survey contained questions about the use of a standard policy for handling drug shortages, the effectiveness of the policy if one is used, and an open-ended question asking the recipient to describe the policy being used.Results: A response rate of 55% was achieved as 71 surveys were completed and returned. Approximately 70% of the survey respondents described the current drug shortage issue as a top priority in their pharmacy department. The pharmacy distributor served as the primary source of information regarding drug shortages for 45% of the facilities. There is a direct relationship between size of hospital and likelihood of utilization of a standard policy or procedure for drug shortage management among the sample. The smaller facilities of the sample perceived their management strategies as effective more frequently than the larger hospitals.Conclusion: Common components of effective management strategies included extensive communication of shortage details and the ability to locate alternative products. The use of portable technology (e.g., Smart phones and tablets along with mobile applications may emerge as popular means for communicating drug product shortage news and updates within a facility or healthcare system.

A primer of drug safety surveillance: an industry perspective. Part I: Information flow, new drug development, and federal regulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Allan, M C

1992-01-01

To place the fundamentals of clinical drug safety surveillance in a conceptual framework that will facilitate understanding and application of adverse drug event data to protect the health of the public and support a market for pharmaceutical manufacturers' products. Part I of this series provides a background for the discussion of drug safety by defining the basic terms and showing the flow of safety information through a pharmaceutical company. The customers for adverse drug event data are identified to provide a basis for providing quality service. The development of a drug product is briefly reviewed to show the evolution of safety data. Drug development and safety are defined by federal regulations. These regulations are developed by the FDA with information from pharmaceutical manufacturers. The intent of the regulations and the accompanying guidelines is described. An illustration from the news media is cited to show an alternative, positive approach to handling an adverse event report. This review uses primary sources from the federal laws (regulations), commentaries, and summaries. Very complex topics are briefly summarized in the text and additional readings are presented in an appendix. Secondary sources, ranging from newspaper articles to judicial summaries, illustrate the interpretation of adverse drug events and opportunities for drug safety surveillance intervention. The reference materials used were articles theoretically or practically applicable in the day-to-day practice of drug safety surveillance. The role of clinical drug safety surveillance in product monitoring and drug development is described. The process of drug safety surveillance is defined by the Food and Drug Administration regulations, product labeling, product knowledge, and database management. Database management is subdivided into the functions of receipt, retention, retrieval, and review of adverse event reports. Emphasis is placed on the dynamic interaction ;of the components

Personality, Drug Preference, Drug Use, and Drug Availability

Science.gov (United States)

Feldman, Marc; Boyer, Bret; Kumar, V. K.; Prout, Maurice

2011-01-01

This study examined the relationship between drug preference, drug use, drug availability, and personality among individuals (n = 100) in treatment for substance abuse in an effort to replicate the results of an earlier study (Feldman, Kumar, Angelini, Pekala, & Porter, 2007) designed to test prediction derived from Eysenck's (1957, 1967)…

Deep learning of mutation-gene-drug relations from the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kyubum; Kim, Byounggun; Choi, Yonghwa; Kim, Sunkyu; Shin, Wonho; Lee, Sunwon; Park, Sungjoon; Kim, Seongsoon; Tan, Aik Choon; Kang, Jaewoo

2018-01-25

Molecular biomarkers that can predict drug efficacy in cancer patients are crucial components for the advancement of precision medicine. However, identifying these molecular biomarkers remains a laborious and challenging task. Next-generation sequencing of patients and preclinical models have increasingly led to the identification of novel gene-mutation-drug relations, and these results have been reported and published in the scientific literature. Here, we present two new computational methods that utilize all the PubMed articles as domain specific background knowledge to assist in the extraction and curation of gene-mutation-drug relations from the literature. The first method uses the Biomedical Entity Search Tool (BEST) scoring results as some of the features to train the machine learning classifiers. The second method uses not only the BEST scoring results, but also word vectors in a deep convolutional neural network model that are constructed from and trained on numerous documents such as PubMed abstracts and Google News articles. Using the features obtained from both the BEST search engine scores and word vectors, we extract mutation-gene and mutation-drug relations from the literature using machine learning classifiers such as random forest and deep convolutional neural networks. Our methods achieved better results compared with the state-of-the-art methods. We used our proposed features in a simple machine learning model, and obtained F1-scores of 0.96 and 0.82 for mutation-gene and mutation-drug relation classification, respectively. We also developed a deep learning classification model using convolutional neural networks, BEST scores, and the word embeddings that are pre-trained on PubMed or Google News data. Using deep learning, the classification accuracy improved, and F1-scores of 0.96 and 0.86 were obtained for the mutation-gene and mutation-drug relations, respectively. We believe that our computational methods described in this research could be

[Drug-Drug Interactions with Consideration of Pharmacogenetics].

Science.gov (United States)

Ozawa, Shogo

2018-01-01

　Elderly patients often suffer from a variety of diseases and therefore may be prescribed several kinds of drugs. Interactions between these drugs may cause problems in some patients. Guidelines for drug interactions were released on July 8, 2014 "Drug Interaction Guideline for Drug Development and Labeling Recommendations (Final Draft)". These guidelines include the theoretical basis for evaluating the mechanisms of drug interaction, the possible extent of drug interactions, and take into consideration special populations (e.g., infants, children, elderly patients, patients with hepatic or renal dysfunction, and subjects with minor deficient alleles for drug metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters). In this symposium article, I discuss this last special population: altered drug metabolism and drug interactions in subjects with minor alleles of genes encoding deficient drug metabolizing enzymes. I further discuss a drug label for eliglustat (Cerdelga) with instructions for patients with ultra-rapid, extensive, intermediate, and poor metabolizer phenotypes that arise from different CYP2D6 gene alleles.

Role of drug transporters and drug accumulation in the temporal acquisition of drug resistance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hembruff, Stacey L; Laberge, Monique L; Villeneuve, David J; Guo, Baoqing; Veitch, Zachary; Cecchetto, Melanie; Parissenti, Amadeo M

2008-01-01

Anthracyclines and taxanes are commonly used in the treatment of breast cancer. However, tumor resistance to these drugs often develops, possibly due to overexpression of drug transporters. It remains unclear whether drug resistance in vitro occurs at clinically relevant doses of chemotherapy drugs and whether both the onset and magnitude of drug resistance can be temporally and causally correlated with the enhanced expression and activity of specific drug transporters. To address these issues, MCF-7 cells were selected for survival in increasing concentrations of doxorubicin (MCF-7 DOX-2 ), epirubicin (MCF-7 EPI ), paclitaxel (MCF-7 TAX-2 ), or docetaxel (MCF-7 TXT ). During selection cells were assessed for drug sensitivity, drug uptake, and the expression of various drug transporters. In all cases, resistance was only achieved when selection reached a specific threshold dose, which was well within the clinical range. A reduction in drug uptake was temporally correlated with the acquisition of drug resistance for all cell lines, but further increases in drug resistance at doses above threshold were unrelated to changes in cellular drug uptake. Elevated expression of one or more drug transporters was seen at or above the threshold dose, but the identity, number, and temporal pattern of drug transporter induction varied with the drug used as selection agent. The pan drug transporter inhibitor cyclosporin A was able to partially or completely restore drug accumulation in the drug-resistant cell lines, but had only partial to no effect on drug sensitivity. The inability of cyclosporin A to restore drug sensitivity suggests the presence of additional mechanisms of drug resistance. This study indicates that drug resistance is achieved in breast tumour cells only upon exposure to concentrations of drug at or above a specific selection dose. While changes in drug accumulation and the expression of drug transporters does occur at the threshold dose, the magnitude of

Drug-Drug and Herb-Drug Interaction-A Comment | Esimone ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Clinically relevant drug-drug interactions may be pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic. And herbal medicinal products are becoming increasingly popular. Drug interactions can be in vivo or in vitro. Pharmacodynamic outcomes take such forms as Additive, Synergistic, Antagonistic or Indifferent. The paper reviews and ...

Is cannabis an illicit drug or a medicine? A quantitative framing analysis of Israeli newspaper coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Sznitman, Sharon R; Lewis, Nehama

2015-05-01

Various countries and states, including Israel, have recently legalized cannabis for therapeutic purposes (CTP). These changes have received mass media coverage and prompted national and international dialogue about the status of cannabis and whether or not it can be defined as a (legitimate) medicine, illicit and harmful drug, or both. News media framing may influence, and be influenced by, public opinion regarding CTP and support for CTP license provisions for patients. This study examines the framing of CTP in Israeli media coverage and the association between media coverage and trends in the provision of CTP licenses in Israel over time. All published news articles relevant to CTP and the framing of cannabis (N=214) from the three highest circulation newspapers in Israel were content analyzed. Articles were published between January 2007 and June 2013, a period in which CTP licenses granted by the Ministry of Health increased substantially. In the majority of CTP news articles (69%), cannabis was framed as a medicine, although in almost one third of articles (31%) cannabis was framed as an illicit drug. The relative proportion of news items in which cannabis was framed as an illicit drug fluctuated during the study period, but was unrelated to linear or curvilinear trends in CTP licensing. The relatively large proportion of news items framing cannabis as a medicine is consistent with growing support for the expansion of the Israel's CTP program. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clinical Drug-Drug Pharmacokinetic Interaction Potential of Sucralfate with Other Drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sulochana, Suresh P; Syed, Muzeeb; Chandrasekar, Devaraj V

2016-01-01

of drugs. This review covers several category of drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, fluoroquinolones, histamine H2-receptor blockers, macrolides, anti-fungals, anti-diabetics, salicylic acid derivatives, steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and provides pharmacokinetic data summary along...

Data-driven prediction of adverse drug reactions induced by drug-drug interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ruifeng; AbdulHameed, Mohamed Diwan M; Kumar, Kamal; Yu, Xueping; Wallqvist, Anders; Reifman, Jaques

2017-06-08

The expanded use of multiple drugs has increased the occurrence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) induced by drug-drug interactions (DDIs). However, such reactions are typically not observed in clinical drug-development studies because most of them focus on single-drug therapies. ADR reporting systems collect information on adverse health effects caused by both single drugs and DDIs. A major challenge is to unambiguously identify the effects caused by DDIs and to attribute them to specific drug interactions. A computational method that provides prospective predictions of potential DDI-induced ADRs will help to identify and mitigate these adverse health effects. We hypothesize that drug-protein interactions can be used as independent variables in predicting ADRs. We constructed drug pair-protein interaction profiles for ~800 drugs using drug-protein interaction information in the public domain. We then constructed statistical models to score drug pairs for their potential to induce ADRs based on drug pair-protein interaction profiles. We used extensive clinical database information to construct categorical prediction models for drug pairs that are likely to induce ADRs via synergistic DDIs and showed that model performance deteriorated only slightly, with a moderate amount of false positives and false negatives in the training samples, as evaluated by our cross-validation analysis. The cross validation calculations showed an average prediction accuracy of 89% across 1,096 ADR models that captured the deleterious effects of synergistic DDIs. Because the models rely on drug-protein interactions, we made predictions for pairwise combinations of 764 drugs that are currently on the market and for which drug-protein interaction information is available. These predictions are publicly accessible at http://avoid-db.bhsai.org . We used the predictive models to analyze broader aspects of DDI-induced ADRs, showing that ~10% of all combinations have the potential to induce ADRs

Potential drug-drug and drug-disease interactions in well-functioning community-dwelling older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanlon, J T; Perera, S; Newman, A B; Thorpe, J M; Donohue, J M; Simonsick, E M; Shorr, R I; Bauer, D C; Marcum, Z A

2017-04-01

There are few studies examining both drug-drug and drug-disease interactions in older adults. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of potential drug-drug and drug-disease interactions and associated factors in community-dwelling older adults. This cross-sectional study included 3055 adults aged 70-79 without mobility limitations at their baseline visit in the Health Aging and Body Composition Study conducted in the communities of Pittsburgh PA and Memphis TN, USA. The outcome factors were potential drug-drug and drug-disease interactions as per the application of explicit criteria drawn from a number of sources to self-reported prescription and non-prescription medication use. Over one-third of participants had at least one type of interaction. Approximately one quarter (25·1%) had evidence of had one or more drug-drug interactions. Nearly 10·7% of the participants had a drug-drug interaction that involved a non-prescription medication. % The most common drug-drug interaction was non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) affecting antihypertensives. Additionally, 16·0% had a potential drug-disease interaction with 3·7% participants having one involving non-prescription medications. The most common drug-disease interaction was aspirin/NSAID use in those with history of peptic ulcer disease without gastroprotection. Over one-third (34·0%) had at least one type of drug interaction. Each prescription medication increased the odds of having at least one type of drug interaction by 35-40% [drug-drug interaction adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1·35, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1·27-1·42; drug-disease interaction AOR = 1·30; CI = 1·21-1·40; and both AOR = 1·45; CI = 1·34-1·57]. A prior hospitalization increased the odds of having at least one type of drug interaction by 49-84% compared with those not hospitalized (drug-drug interaction AOR = 1·49, 95% CI = 1·11-2·01; drug-disease interaction AOR = 1·69, CI = 1·15-2�

Computational prediction of drug-drug interactions based on drugs functional similarities.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferdousi, Reza; Safdari, Reza; Omidi, Yadollah

2017-06-01

Therapeutic activities of drugs are often influenced by co-administration of drugs that may cause inevitable drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and inadvertent side effects. Prediction and identification of DDIs are extremely vital for the patient safety and success of treatment modalities. A number of computational methods have been employed for the prediction of DDIs based on drugs structures and/or functions. Here, we report on a computational method for DDIs prediction based on functional similarity of drugs. The model was set based on key biological elements including carriers, transporters, enzymes and targets (CTET). The model was applied for 2189 approved drugs. For each drug, all the associated CTETs were collected, and the corresponding binary vectors were constructed to determine the DDIs. Various similarity measures were conducted to detect DDIs. Of the examined similarity methods, the inner product-based similarity measures (IPSMs) were found to provide improved prediction values. Altogether, 2,394,766 potential drug pairs interactions were studied. The model was able to predict over 250,000 unknown potential DDIs. Upon our findings, we propose the current method as a robust, yet simple and fast, universal in silico approach for identification of DDIs. We envision that this proposed method can be used as a practical technique for the detection of possible DDIs based on the functional similarities of drugs. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Drug disposition and drug-drug interaction data in 2013 FDA new drug applications: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jingjing; Ritchie, Tasha K; Mulgaonkar, Aditi; Ragueneau-Majlessi, Isabelle

2014-12-01

The aim of the present work was to perform a systematic review of drug metabolism, transport, pharmacokinetics, and DDI data available in the NDAs approved by the FDA in 2013, using the University of Washington Drug Interaction Database, and to highlight significant findings. Among 27 NMEs approved, 22 (81%) were well characterized with regard to drug metabolism, transport, or organ impairment, in accordance with the FDA drug interaction guidance (2012) and were fully analyzed in this review. In vitro, a majority of the NMEs were found to be substrates or inhibitors/inducers of at least one drug metabolizing enzyme or transporter. However, in vivo, only half (n = 11) showed clinically relevant drug interactions, with most related to the NMEs as victim drugs and CYP3A being the most affected enzyme. As perpetrators, the overall effects for NMEs were much less pronounced, compared with when they served as victims. In addition, the pharmacokinetic evaluation in patients with hepatic or renal impairment provided useful information for further understanding of the drugs' disposition. Copyright © 2014 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Exploring drug-target interaction networks of illicit drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Atreya, Ravi V; Sun, Jingchun; Zhao, Zhongming

2013-01-01

Drug addiction is a complex and chronic mental disease, which places a large burden on the American healthcare system due to its negative effects on patients and their families. Recently, network pharmacology is emerging as a promising approach to drug discovery by integrating network biology and polypharmacology, allowing for a deeper understanding of molecular mechanisms of drug actions at the systems level. This study seeks to apply this approach for investigation of illicit drugs and their targets in order to elucidate their interaction patterns and potential secondary drugs that can aid future research and clinical care. In this study, we extracted 188 illicit substances and their related information from the DrugBank database. The data process revealed 86 illicit drugs targeting a total of 73 unique human genes, which forms an illicit drug-target network. Compared to the full drug-target network from DrugBank, illicit drugs and their target genes tend to cluster together and form four subnetworks, corresponding to four major medication categories: depressants, stimulants, analgesics, and steroids. External analysis of Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) second sublevel classifications confirmed that the illicit drugs have neurological functions or act via mechanisms of stimulants, opioids, and steroids. To further explore other drugs potentially having associations with illicit drugs, we constructed an illicit-extended drug-target network by adding the drugs that have the same target(s) as illicit drugs to the illicit drug-target network. After analyzing the degree and betweenness of the network, we identified hubs and bridge nodes, which might play important roles in the development and treatment of drug addiction. Among them, 49 non-illicit drugs might have potential to be used to treat addiction or have addictive effects, including some results that are supported by previous studies. This study presents the first systematic review of the network

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Full Text Available ... Why Is It So Hard to Quit Drugs? Effects of Drugs Drug Use and Other People Drug ... Unborn Children Drug Use and Your Health Other Effects on the Body Drug Use Hurts Brains Drug ...

Aptamers as Both Drugs and Drug-Carriers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Ashrafuzzaman

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Aptamers are short nucleic acid oligos. They may serve as both drugs and drug-carriers. Their use as diagnostic tools is also evident. They can be generated using various experimental, theoretical, and computational techniques. The systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment which uses iterative screening of nucleic acid libraries is a popular experimental technique. Theory inspired methodology entropy-based seed-and-grow strategy that designs aptamer templates to bind specifically to targets is another one. Aptamers are predicted to be highly useful in producing general drugs and theranostic drugs occasionally for certain diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and so on. They bind to various targets like lipids, nucleic acids, proteins, small organic compounds, and even entire organisms. Aptamers may also serve as drug-carriers or nanoparticles helping drugs to get released in specific target regions. Due to better target specific physical binding properties aptamers cause less off-target toxicity effects. Therefore, search for aptamer based drugs, drug-carriers, and even diagnostic tools is expanding fast. The biophysical properties in relation to the target specific binding phenomena of aptamers, energetics behind the aptamer transport of drugs, and the consequent biological implications will be discussed. This review will open up avenues leading to novel drug discovery and drug delivery.

The year's new drugs & biologics, 2017, part II - News that shaped the industry in 2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Graul, A I; Dulsat, C; Pina, P; Tracy, M; D'Souza, P

2018-02-01

This eagle's-eye overview of the drug industry in 2017 provides insight into some of last year's top stories, including the growing opioid crisis affecting the U.S. and other developed countries and the 2017-2018 influenza epidemic, with a spotlight on the need for a universal flu vaccine. As in previous years, we also review orphan drug development, new agency-supported programs such as PRIME and RMAT, pipeline attrition and drug pricing, as well as pharma/biotech mergers and acquisitions of note. Finally, we take a glimpse into the crystal ball to anticipate the new drugs that will be approved in 2018. Copyright 2018 Clarivate Analytics.

Drug Products in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Active drugs that have been reported by participating drug manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. All drugs are identified by National Drug Code...

Drug-Target Kinetics in Drug Discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonge, Peter J

2018-01-17

The development of therapies for the treatment of neurological cancer faces a number of major challenges including the synthesis of small molecule agents that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Given the likelihood that in many cases drug exposure will be lower in the CNS than in systemic circulation, it follows that strategies should be employed that can sustain target engagement at low drug concentration. Time dependent target occupancy is a function of both the drug and target concentration as well as the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters that describe the binding reaction coordinate, and sustained target occupancy can be achieved through structural modifications that increase target (re)binding and/or that decrease the rate of drug dissociation. The discovery and deployment of compounds with optimized kinetic effects requires information on the structure-kinetic relationships that modulate the kinetics of binding, and the molecular factors that control the translation of drug-target kinetics to time-dependent drug activity in the disease state. This Review first introduces the potential benefits of drug-target kinetics, such as the ability to delineate both thermodynamic and kinetic selectivity, and then describes factors, such as target vulnerability, that impact the utility of kinetic selectivity. The Review concludes with a description of a mechanistic PK/PD model that integrates drug-target kinetics into predictions of drug activity.

Pharmacodynamics and common drug-drug interactions of the third-generation antiepileptic drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefanović, Srđan; Janković, Slobodan M; Novaković, Milan; Milosavljević, Marko; Folić, Marko

2018-02-01

Anticonvulsants that belong to the third generation are considered as 'newer' antiepileptic drugs, including: eslicarbazepine acetate, lacosamide, perampanel, brivaracetam, rufinamide and stiripentol. Areas covered: This article reviews pharmacodynamics (i.e. mechanisms of action) and clinically relevant drug-drug interactions of the third-generation antiepileptic drugs. Expert opinion: Newer antiepileptic drugs have mechanisms of action which are not shared with the first and the second generation anticonvulsants, like inhibition of neurotransmitters release, blocking receptors for excitatory amino acids and new ways of sodium channel inactivation. New mechanisms of action increase chances of controlling forms of epilepsy resistant to older anticonvulsants. Important advantage of the third-generation anticonvulsants could be their little propensity for interactions with both antiepileptic and other drugs observed until now, making prescribing much easier and safer. However, this may change with new studies specifically designed to discover drug-drug interactions. Although the third-generation antiepileptic drugs enlarged therapeutic palette against epilepsy, 20-30% of patients with epilepsy is still treatment-resistant and need new pharmacological approach. There is great need to explore all molecular targets that may directly or indirectly be involved in generation of seizures, so a number of candidate compounds for even newer anticonvulsants could be generated.

Target-mediated drug disposition with drug-drug interaction, Part I: single drug case in alternative formulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Gilbert; Jusko, William J; Schropp, Johannes

2017-02-01

Target-mediated drug disposition (TMDD) describes drug binding with high affinity to a target such as a receptor. In application TMDD models are often over-parameterized and quasi-equilibrium (QE) or quasi-steady state (QSS) approximations are essential to reduce the number of parameters. However, implementation of such approximations becomes difficult for TMDD models with drug-drug interaction (DDI) mechanisms. Hence, alternative but equivalent formulations are necessary for QE or QSS approximations. To introduce and develop such formulations, the single drug case is reanalyzed. This work opens the route for straightforward implementation of QE or QSS approximations of DDI TMDD models. The manuscript is the first part to introduce DDI TMDD models with QE or QSS approximations.

Drug abuse: newly-emerging drugs and trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Gregory G

2012-09-01

Drug abusers have access to new, more potent compounds that evade existing laws by virtue of their novel chemical structures. These drugs are available for purchase at stores and over the internet. The drugs are not illegal because they are so new that laws have not yet been passed to ban them. These drugs are leading to emergency department visits for cardiovascular, neurologic, and psychiatric complications. Standard drug screens are not designed to detect these new substances. The internet provides access to drugs for substance abusers but also provides physicians speed of access to the habits of substance abusers.

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Full Text Available ... Get Addicted to Drugs? Does Addiction Run in Families? Why Is It So Hard to Quit Drugs? ... Drug Use and Other People Drug Use and Families Drug Use and Kids Drug Use and Unborn ...

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... Facts Search form Search Menu Home Drugs That People Abuse Alcohol Facts Bath Salts Facts Cocaine (Coke, ... Drugs? Effects of Drugs Drug Use and Other People Drug Use and Families Drug Use and Kids ...

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... People Drug Use and Families Drug Use and Kids Drug Use and Unborn Children Drug Use and ... Children and Teens Stay Drug-Free Talking to Kids About Drugs: What to Say if You Used ...

Indolealkylamines: biotransformations and potential drug-drug interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Ai-Ming

2008-06-01

Indolealkylamine (IAA) drugs are 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT or serotonin) analogs that mainly act on the serotonin system. Some IAAs are clinically utilized for antimigraine therapy, whereas other substances are notable as drugs of abuse. In the clinical evaluation of antimigraine triptan drugs, studies on their biotransformations and pharmacokinetics would facilitate the understanding and prevention of unwanted drug-drug interactions (DDIs). A stable, principal metabolite of an IAA drug of abuse could serve as a useful biomarker in assessing intoxication of the IAA substance. Studies on the metabolism of IAA drugs of abuse including lysergic acid amides, tryptamine derivatives and beta-carbolines are therefore emerging. An important role for polymorphic cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) in the metabolism of IAA drugs of abuse has been revealed by recent studies, suggesting that variations in IAA metabolism, pharmaco- or toxicokinetics and dynamics can arise from distinct CYP2D6 status, and CYP2D6 polymorphism may represent an additional risk factor in the use of these IAA drugs. Furthermore, DDIs with IAA agents could occur additively at the pharmaco/toxicokinetic and dynamic levels, leading to severe or even fatal serotonin toxicity. In this review, the metabolism and potential DDIs of these therapeutic and abused IAA drugs are described.

WAr on DrugS

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2009-04-12

Apr 12, 2009 ... ABStrAct. Since drugs became both a public and social issue in Nigeria, fear about both the real and .... drugs as being morally reprehensible, and ..... tice system (see for instance, Shaw, 1995; ..... A cut throat business:.

6-mercaptopurine and daunorubicin double drug liposomes-preparation, drug-drug interaction and characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Vineet; Paul, Manash K; Mukhopadhyay, Anup K

2005-01-01

This article addresses and investigates the dual incorporation of daunorubicin (DR) and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) in liposomes for better chemotherapy. These drugs are potential candidates for interaction due to the quinone (H acceptor) and hydroxyl (H donor) groups on DR and 6-MP, respectively. Interactions between the two drugs in solution were monitored by UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Interaction between the two drugs inside the liposomes was evaluated by HPLC (for 6-MP) and by fluorescence spectroscopy (for daunorubicin) after phospholipase-mediated liposome lysis. Our results provide evidence for the lack of interaction between the two drugs in solution and in liposomes. The entrapment efficiencies of 6-MP in the neutral Phosphatidyl choline (PC):Cholesterol (Chol):: 2:1 and anionic PC:Chol:Cardiolipin (CL) :: 4:5:1 single and double drug liposomes were found to be 0.4% and 1.5% (on average), respectively. The entrapment efficiencies of DR in the neutral and anionic double drug liposomes were found to be 55% and 31%, respectively. The corresponding entrapment of daunorubicin in the single drug liposomes was found to be 62% on average. Our thin layer chromatography (TLC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results suggest stability of lipid and liposomes, thus pointing plausible existence of double drug liposomes. Cytotoxicity experiments were performed by using both single drug and double drug liposomes. By comparing the results of phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy, it was observed that the double drug liposomes were internalized in the jurkat and Hut78 (highly resistant cell line) leukemia cells as viewed by the fluorescence of daunorubicin. The cytotoxicity was dose dependent and had shown a synergistic effect when double drug liposome was used.

Drug Allergy

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... Loss of consciousness Other conditions resulting from drug allergy Less common drug allergy reactions occur days or ... you take the drug. Drugs commonly linked to allergies Although any drug can cause an allergic reaction, ...

Drug-drug interactions between anti-retroviral therapies and drugs of abuse in HIV systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Santosh; Rao, P S S; Earla, Ravindra; Kumar, Anil

2015-03-01

Substance abuse is a common problem among HIV-infected individuals. Importantly, addictions as well as moderate use of alcohol, smoking, or other illicit drugs have been identified as major reasons for non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIV patients. The literature also suggests a decrease in the response to ART among HIV patients who use these substances, leading to failure to achieve optimal virological response and increased disease progression. This review discusses the challenges with adherence to ART as well as observed drug interactions and known toxicities with major drugs of abuse, such as alcohol, smoking, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and opioids. The lack of adherence and drug interactions potentially lead to decreased efficacy of ART drugs and increased ART, and drugs of abuse-mediated toxicity. As CYP is the common pathway in metabolizing both ART and drugs of abuse, we discuss the possible involvement of CYP pathways in such drug interactions. We acknowledge that further studies focusing on common metabolic pathways involving CYP and advance research in this area would help to potentially develop novel/alternate interventions and drug dose/regimen adjustments to improve medication outcomes in HIV patients who consume drugs of abuse.

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Full Text Available ... Treatment and Recovery Resources? Prevention Help Children and Teens Stay Drug-Free Talking to Kids About Drugs: What to Say if You Used Drugs in the Past Drug Use ... Videos Information About Drugs Alcohol ...

A drug's life: the pathway to drug approval.

Science.gov (United States)

Keng, Michael K; Wenzell, Candice M; Sekeres, Mikkael A

2013-10-01

In the United States, drugs and medical devices are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A drug must undergo rigorous testing prior to marketing to and medical use by the general public. The FDA grants marketing approval for drug products based on a comprehensive review of safety and efficacy data. This review article explains the history behind the establishment of the FDA and examines the historical legislation and approval processes for drugs, specifically in the fields of medical oncology and hematology. The agents imatinib (Gleevec, Novartis) and decitabine (Dacogen, Eisai) are used to illustrate both the current FDA regulatory process-specifically the orphan drug designation and accelerated approval process-and why decitabine failed to gain an indication for acute myeloid leukemia. The purpose and construct of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee are also discussed, along with examples of 2 renal cell cancer drugs-axitinib (Inlyta, Pfizer) and tivozanib-that used progression-free survival as an endpoint. Regulatory approval of oncology drugs is the cornerstone of the development of new treatment agents and modalities, which lead to improvements in the standard of cancer care. The future landscape of drug development and regulatory approval will be influenced by the new breakthrough therapy designation, and choice of drug will be guided by genomic insights.

Detecting drug-drug interactions using a database for spontaneous adverse drug reactions : an example with diuretics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Puijenbroek, E P; Egberts, A C; Heerdink, E R; Leufkens, H G

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Drug-drug interactions are relatively rarely reported to spontaneous reporting systems (SRSs) for adverse drug reactions. For this reason, the traditional approach for analysing SRS has major limitations for the detection of drug-drug interactions. We developed a method that may enable

Detecting drug-drug interactions using a database for spontaneous adverse drug reactions: an example with diuretics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

van Puijenbroek, E P; Egberts, A C; Heerdink, E R; Leufkens, H G

2000-12-01

Drug-drug interactions are relatively rarely reported to spontaneous reporting systems (SRSs) for adverse drug reactions. For this reason, the traditional approach for analysing SRS has major limitations for the detection of drug-drug interactions. We developed a method that may enable signalling of these possible interactions, which are often not explicitly reported, utilising reports of adverse drug reactions in data sets of SRS. As an example, the influence of concomitant use of diuretics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on symptoms indicating a decreased efficacy of diuretics was examined using reports received by the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Foundation Lareb. Reports received between 1 January 1990 and 1 January 1999 of patients older than 50 years were included in the study. Cases were defined as reports with symptoms indicating a decreased efficacy of diuretics, non-cases as all other reports. Exposure categories were the use of NSAIDs or diuretics versus the use of neither of these drugs. The influence of the combined use of both drugs was examined using logistic regression analysis. The odds ratio of the statistical interaction term of the combined use of both drugs was increased [adjusted odds ratio 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-3.7], which may indicate an enhanced effect of concomitant drug use. The findings illustrate that spontaneous reporting systems have a potential for signal detection and the analysis of possible drug-drug interactions. The method described may enable a more active approach in the detection of drug-drug interactions after marketing.

Comparative analysis of three drug-drug interaction screening systems against probable clinically relevant drug-drug interactions: a prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Muhič, Neža; Mrhar, Ales; Brvar, Miran

2017-07-01

Drug-drug interaction (DDI) screening systems report potential DDIs. This study aimed to find the prevalence of probable DDI-related adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and compare the clinical usefulness of different DDI screening systems to prevent or warn against these ADRs. A prospective cohort study was conducted in patients urgently admitted to medical departments. Potential DDIs were checked using Complete Drug Interaction®, Lexicomp® Online™, and Drug Interaction Checker®. The study team identified the patients with probable clinically relevant DDI-related ADRs on admission, the causality of which was assessed using the Drug Interaction Probability Scale (DIPS). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of screening systems to prevent or warn against probable DDI-related ADRs were evaluated. Overall, 50 probable clinically relevant DDI-related ADRs were found in 37 out of 795 included patients taking at least two drugs, most common of them were bleeding, hyperkalemia, digitalis toxicity, and hypotension. Complete Drug Interaction showed the best sensitivity (0.76) for actual DDI-related ADRs, followed by Lexicomp Online (0.50), and Drug Interaction Checker (0.40). Complete Drug Interaction and Drug Interaction Checker had positive predictive values of 0.07; Lexicomp Online had 0.04. We found no difference in specificity and negative predictive values among these systems. DDI screening systems differ significantly in their ability to detect probable clinically relevant DDI-related ADRs in terms of sensitivity and positive predictive value.

e-Drug3D: 3D structure collections dedicated to drug repurposing and fragment-based drug design.

Science.gov (United States)

Pihan, Emilie; Colliandre, Lionel; Guichou, Jean-François; Douguet, Dominique

2012-06-01

In the drug discovery field, new uses for old drugs, selective optimization of side activities and fragment-based drug design (FBDD) have proved to be successful alternatives to high-throughput screening. e-Drug3D is a database of 3D chemical structures of drugs that provides several collections of ready-to-screen SD files of drugs and commercial drug fragments. They are natural inputs in studies dedicated to drug repurposing and FBDD. e-Drug3D collections are freely available at http://chemoinfo.ipmc.cnrs.fr/e-drug3d.html either for download or for direct in silico web-based screenings.

Drug-Drug/Drug-Excipient Compatibility Studies on Curcumin using Non-Thermal Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moorthi Chidambaram

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Curcumin is a hydrophobic polyphenol isolated from dried rhizome of turmeric. Clinical usefulness of curcumin in the treatment of cancer is limited due to poor aqueous solubility, hydrolytic degradation, metabolism, and poor oral bioavailability. To overcome these limitations, we proposed to fabricate curcumin-piperine, curcumin-quercetin and curcumin-silibinin loaded polymeric nanoformulation. However, unfavourable combinations of drug-drug and drug-excipient may result in interaction and rises the safety concern. Hence, the present study was aimed to assess the interaction of curcumin with excipients used in nanoformulations. Methods: Isothermal stress testing method was used to assess the compatibility of drug-drug/drug-excipient. Results: The combination of curcumin-piperine, curcumin-quercetin, curcumin-silibinin and the combination of other excipients with curcumin, piperine, quercetin and silibinin have not shown any significant physical and chemical instability. Conclusion: The study concludes that the curcumin, piperine, quercetin and silibinin is compatible with each other and with other excipients.

Drug use trajectory patterns among older drug users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tyndall B

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Miriam Boeri, Thor Whalen, Benjamin Tyndall, Ellen BallardKennesaw State University, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Kennesaw GA, USAAbstract: To better understand patterns of drug use trajectories over time, it is essential to have standard measures of change. Our goal here is to introduce measures we developed to quantify change in drug use behaviors. A secondary goal is to provide effective visualizations of these trajectories for applied use. We analyzed data from a sample of 92 older drug users (ages 45 to 65 to identify transition patterns in drug use trajectories across the life course. Data were collected for every year since birth using a mixed methods design. The community-drawn sample of active and former users were 40% female, 50% African American, and 60% reporting some college or greater. Their life histories provided retrospective longitudinal data on the diversity of paths taken throughout the life course and changes in drug use patterns that occurred over time. Bayesian analysis was used to model drug trajectories displayed by innovative computer graphics. The mathematical techniques and visualizations presented here provide the foundation for future models using Bayesian analysis. In this paper we introduce the concepts of transition counts, transition rates and relapse/remission rates, and we describe how these measures can help us better understand drug use trajectories. Depicted through these visual tools, measurements of discontinuous patterns provide a succinct view of individual drug use trajectories. The measures we use on drug use data will be further developed to incorporate contextual influences on the drug trajectory and build predictive models that inform rehabilitation efforts for drug users. Although the measures developed here were conceived to better examine drug use trajectories, the applications of these measures can be used with other longitudinal datasets.Keywords: drug use, trajectory patterns

Drug interactions between common illicit drugs and prescription therapies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindsey, Wesley T; Stewart, David; Childress, Darrell

2012-07-01

The aim was to summarize the clinical literature on interactions between common illicit drugs and prescription therapies. Medline, Iowa Drug Information Service, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, EBSCO Academic Search Premier, and Google Scholar were searched from date of origin of database to March 2011. Search terms were cocaine, marijuana, cannabis, methamphetamine, amphetamine, ecstasy, N-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, heroin, gamma-hydroxybutyrate, sodium oxybate, and combined with interactions, drug interactions, and drug-drug interactions. This review focuses on established clinical evidence. All applicable full-text English language articles and abstracts found were evaluated and included in the review as appropriate. The interactions of illicit drugs with prescription therapies have the ability to potentiate or attenuate the effects of both the illicit agent and/or the prescription therapeutic agent, which can lead to toxic effects or a reduction in the prescription agent's therapeutic activity. Most texts and databases focus on theoretical or probable interactions due to the kinetic properties of the drugs and do not fully explore the pharmacodynamic and clinical implications of these interactions. Clinical trials with coadministration of illicit drugs and prescription drugs are discussed along with case reports that demonstrate a potential interaction between agents. The illicit drugs discussed are cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, heroin, and sodium oxybate. Although the use of illicit drugs is widespread, there are little experimental or clinical data regarding the effects of these agents on common prescription therapies. Potential drug interactions between illicit drugs and prescription drugs are described and evaluated on the Drug Interaction Probability Scale by Horn and Hansten.

Design, Characterization, and Optimization of Controlled Drug Delivery System Containing Antibiotic Drug/s

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Apurv Patel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was design, characterization, and optimization of controlled drug delivery system containing antibiotic drug/s. Osmotic drug delivery system was chosen as controlled drug delivery system. The porous osmotic pump tablets were designed using Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken factorial design to find out the best formulation. For screening of three categories of polymers, six independent variables were chosen for Plackett-Burman design. Osmotic agent sodium chloride and microcrystalline cellulose, pore forming agent sodium lauryl sulphate and sucrose, and coating agent ethyl cellulose and cellulose acetate were chosen as independent variables. Optimization of osmotic tablets was done by Box-Behnken design by selecting three independent variables. Osmotic agent sodium chloride, pore forming agent sodium lauryl sulphate, and coating agent cellulose acetate were chosen as independent variables. The result of Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken design and ANOVA studies revealed that osmotic agent and pore former had significant effect on the drug release up to 12 hr. The observed independent variables were found to be very close to predicted values of most satisfactory formulation which demonstrates the feasibility of the optimization procedure in successful development of porous osmotic pump tablets containing antibiotic drug/s by using sodium chloride, sodium lauryl sulphate, and cellulose acetate as key excipients.

21 CFR 201.115 - New drugs or new animal drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false New drugs or new animal drugs. 201.115 Section 201.115 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL LABELING Exemptions From Adequate Directions for Use § 201.115 New drugs or new animal...

Influence of drug colour on perceived drug effects and efficacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Da; Wang, Tieyan; Wang, Tieshan; Qu, Xingda

2018-02-01

A drug's physical characteristics, such as colour, could be factors influencing its therapeutic effects. It is not well understood whether people's expectations on drug effects and efficacy are affected by colour, especially among Chinese population. This study was conducted to examine people's expectations on drug effects and efficacy on the basis of drug colour, and to reveal possible gender differences in colour-related drug expectations. Participants (n = 224) were asked to classify seven single-coloured and six two-coloured capsules into one of four categories of drug effects, and to indicate the strength of drug efficacy. It is found that all the coloured capsules yielded non-chance distributions in classifications of drug effects, with six single-coloured and four two-coloured capsules associated with specific drug effects. Colour also conveyed differential strengths of drug efficacy in general and in relation to specific drug effects. There were gender differences in drug expectations for some colours and colour combinations. Practitioner Summary: Drug colour was found to have impacts on perceived drug effects and efficacy. The findings from the present study can be used by ergonomics practitioners to design appropriate drug colours in support of drug differentiation, therapeutic effects and medication adherence.

Drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes: mechanisms and potential clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Randall; Funk, Ryan S; Axcell, Erick; Krise, Jeffrey P

2012-08-01

Many commercially available, weakly basic drugs have been shown to be lysosomotropic, meaning they are subject to extensive sequestration in lysosomes through an ion trapping-type mechanism. The extent of lysosomal trapping of a drug is an important therapeutic consideration because it can influence both activity and pharmacokinetic disposition. The administration of certain drugs can alter lysosomes such that their accumulation capacity for co-administered and/or secondarily administered drugs is altered. In this review the authors explore what is known regarding the mechanistic basis for drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes. Specifically, the authors address the influence of drugs on lysosomal pH, volume and lipid processing. Many drugs are known to extensively accumulate in lysosomes and significantly alter their structure and function; however, the therapeutic and toxicological implications of this remain controversial. The authors propose that drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes represent an important potential source of variability in drug activity and pharmacokinetics. Most evaluations of drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes have been performed in cultured cells and isolated tissues. More comprehensive in vivo evaluations are needed to fully explore the impact of this drug-drug interaction pathway on therapeutic outcomes.

Drug Abuse

Science.gov (United States)

... Cocaine Heroin Inhalants Marijuana Prescription drugs, including opioids Drug abuse also plays a role in many major social problems, such as drugged driving, violence, stress, and child abuse. Drug abuse can lead to ...

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... Use and Unborn Children Drug Use and Your Health Other Effects on the Body Drug Use Hurts Brains Drug Use and Mental Health Problems Often Happen Together The Link Between Drug ...

Drug Safety

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... over-the-counter drug. The FDA evaluates the safety of a drug by looking at Side effects ... clinical trials The FDA also monitors a drug's safety after approval. For you, drug safety means buying ...

AIDSinfo Drug Database

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... AIDS Drugs Clinical Trials Apps skip to content Drugs Home Drugs Find information on FDA-approved HIV/ ... infection drugs and investigational HIV/AIDS drugs. Search Drugs Search drug Search Icon What's this? Close Popup ...

Drug Release Mechanism of Slightly Soluble Drug from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

theophylline (THP) as drug in drug to clay ratios of 1:2, 3:4 and 1:1. The formulations were characterized for drug release and loading. Dependent and independent kinetic models were employed to analyze the drug release data. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used for the structural characterization of ...

Predicting drug?drug interactions through drug structural similarities and interaction networks incorporating pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics knowledge

OpenAIRE

Takeda, Takako; Hao, Ming; Cheng, Tiejun; Bryant, Stephen H.; Wang, Yanli

2017-01-01

Drug?drug interactions (DDIs) may lead to adverse effects and potentially result in drug withdrawal from the market. Predicting DDIs during drug development would help reduce development costs and time by rigorous evaluation of drug candidates. The primary mechanisms of DDIs are based on pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD). This study examines the effects of 2D structural similarities of drugs on DDI prediction through interaction networks including both PD and PK knowledge. Our a...

Club Drugs

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... uses. Other uses of these drugs are abuse. Club drugs are also sometimes used as "date rape" drugs, to make someone unable to say no to or fight back against sexual assault. Abusing these drugs can ...

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Full Text Available ... Drug Use and Kids Drug Use and Unborn Children Drug Use and Your Health Other Effects on ... Someone Find Treatment and Recovery Resources? Prevention Help Children and Teens Stay Drug-Free Talking to Kids ...

Orphan drugs: trends and issues in drug development.

Science.gov (United States)

Rana, Proteesh; Chawla, Shalini

2018-04-12

Research in rare diseases has contributed substantially toward the current understanding in the pathophysiology of the common diseases. However, medical needs of patients with rare diseases have always been neglected by the society and pharmaceutical industries based on their small numbers and unprofitability. The Orphan Drug Act (1983) was the first serious attempt to address the unmet medical needs for patients with rare diseases and to provide impetus for the pharmaceutical industry to promote orphan drug development. The process of drug development for rare diseases is no different from common diseases but involves significant cost and infrastructure. Further, certain aspect of drug research may not be feasible for the rare diseases. The drug-approving authority must exercise their scientific judgment and ensure due flexibility while evaluating data at various stages of orphan drug development. The emergence of patent cliff combined with the government incentives led the pharmaceutical industry to realize the good commercial prospects in developing an orphan drug despite the small market size. Indeed, many drugs that were given orphan designation ended up being blockbusters. The orphan drug market is projected to reach $178 billion by 2020, and the prospects of research and development in rare diseases appears to be quite promising and rewarding.

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... 4357) at any time to find drug treatment centers near you. I want my daughter to avoid drugs. "Debbie" has been drug-free for years. She wants her daughter to stay away from drugs. But she's afraid ...

Multi-target drugs: the trend of drug research and development.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jin-Jian; Pan, Wei; Hu, Yuan-Jia; Wang, Yi-Tao

2012-01-01

Summarizing the status of drugs in the market and examining the trend of drug research and development is important in drug discovery. In this study, we compared the drug targets and the market sales of the new molecular entities approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from January 2000 to December 2009. Two networks, namely, the target-target and drug-drug networks, have been set up using the network analysis tools. The multi-target drugs have much more potential, as shown by the network visualization and the market trends. We discussed the possible reasons and proposed the rational strategies for drug research and development in the future.

Clinical Drug-Drug Pharmacokinetic Interaction Potential of Sucralfate with Other Drugs: Review and Perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Sulochana, Suresh P; Syed, Muzeeb; Chandrasekar, Devaraj V; Mullangi, Ramesh; Srinivas, Nuggehally R

2016-10-01

Sucralfate, a complex of aluminium hydroxide with sulfated sucrose, forms a strong gastrointestinal tract (GIT) mucosal barrier with excellent anti-ulcer property. Because sucralfate does not undergo any significant oral absorption, sucralfate resides in the GIT for a considerable length of time. The unabsorbed sucralfate may alter the pharmacokinetics of the oral drugs by impeding its absorption and reducing the oral bioavailability. Because of the increased use of sucralfate, it was important to provide a reappraisal of the published clinical drug-drug interaction studies of sucralfate with scores of drugs. This review covers several category of drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, fluoroquinolones, histamine H2-receptor blockers, macrolides, anti-fungals, anti-diabetics, salicylic acid derivatives, steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and provides pharmacokinetic data summary along with study design, objectives and key remarks. While the loss of oral bioavailability was significant for the fluoroquinolone class, it generally varied for other classes of drugs, suggesting that impact of the co-administration of sucralfate is manageable in clinical situations. Given the technology advancement in formulation development, it may be in order feasible to develop appropriate formulation strategies to either avoid or minimize the absorption-related issues when co-administered with sucralfate. It is recommended that consideration of both in vitro and preclinical studies may be in order to gauge the level of interaction of a drug with sucralfate. Such data may aid in the development of appropriate strategies to navigate the co-administration of sucralfate with other drugs in this age of polypharmacy.

Glutamatergic transmission in drug reward: implications for drug addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Souza, Manoranjan S

2015-01-01

Individuals addicted to drugs of abuse such as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and heroin are a significant burden on healthcare systems all over the world. The positive reinforcing (rewarding) effects of the above mentioned drugs play a major role in the initiation and maintenance of the drug-taking habit. Thus, understanding the neurochemical mechanisms underlying the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse is critical to reducing the burden of drug addiction in society. Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing focus on the role of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate in drug addiction. In this review, pharmacological and genetic evidence supporting the role of glutamate in mediating the rewarding effects of the above described drugs of abuse will be discussed. Further, the review will discuss the role of glutamate transmission in two complex heterogeneous brain regions, namely the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which mediate the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse. In addition, several medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration that act by blocking glutamate transmission will be discussed in the context of drug reward. Finally, this review will discuss future studies needed to address currently unanswered gaps in knowledge, which will further elucidate the role of glutamate in the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse.

21 CFR 201.2 - Drugs and devices; National Drug Code numbers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Drugs and devices; National Drug Code numbers. 201.2 Section 201.2 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL LABELING General Labeling Provisions § 201.2 Drugs and devices; National Drug Code...

Drug Facts

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Drug Use Hurts Brains Drug Use and Mental Health Problems Often Happen Together The Link Between Drug Use and HIV/AIDS Treatment & Recovery Why Does a Person Need Treatment? Does Drug Treatment Work? What Are the Treatment Options? What Is Recovery? ...

Photostability and Photostabilization of Drugs and Drug Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iqbal Ahmad

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Photostability studies of drugs and drug products are an integral part of the product development process in the pharmaceutical industry. These studies are carried out to ensure quality, efficacy, and safety of the formulated products during manufacture, storage, and use. This review deals with the concept of photostability and related aspects and the literature available in the field. It highlights the role of the photochemistry in the photostability studies, describes the functional groups important for the photoreactivity of drugs, explains photophysical processes, and deals with the kinetics of photochemical reactions. The various modes of photodegradation of drugs with examples of selected compounds are presented. The biological consequences of the effect of light on the drug degradation are described. The photostability testing of drugs and drug products and the requirements under ICH guideline are discussed. Some information on the packaging requirements for the formulated products is provided. The various methods used for the photostabilization of solid and liquid dosage forms are also discussed.

Drug-Drug/Drug-Excipient Compatibility Studies on Curcumin using Non-Thermal Methods

OpenAIRE

Moorthi Chidambaram; Kathiresan Krishnasamy

2014-01-01

Purpose: Curcumin is a hydrophobic polyphenol isolated from dried rhizome of turmeric. Clinical usefulness of curcumin in the treatment of cancer is limited due to poor aqueous solubility, hydrolytic degradation, metabolism, and poor oral bioavailability. To overcome these limitations, we proposed to fabricate curcumin-piperine, curcumin-quercetin and curcumin-silibinin loaded polymeric nanoformulation. However, unfavourable combinations of drug-drug and drug-excipient may result in interacti...

Hybrid nanostructured drug carrier with tunable and controlled drug release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Depan, D.; Misra, R.D.K.

2012-01-01

We describe here a transformative approach to synthesize a hybrid nanostructured drug carrier that exhibits the characteristics of controlled drug release. The synthesis of the nanohybrid architecture involved two steps. The first step involved direct crystallization of biocompatible copolymer along the long axis of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs), followed by the second step of attachment of drug molecule to the polymer via hydrogen bonding. The extraordinary inorganic–organic hybrid architecture exhibited high drug loading ability and is physically stable even under extreme conditions of acidic media and ultrasonic irradiation. The temperature and pH sensitive characteristics of the hybrid drug carrier and high drug loading ability merit its consideration as a promising carrier and utilization of the fundamental aspects used for synthesis of other promising drug carriers. The higher drug release response during the application of ultrasonic frequency is ascribed to a cavitation-type process in which the acoustic bubbles nucleate and collapse releasing the drug. Furthermore, the study underscores the potential of uniquely combining CNTs and biopolymers for drug delivery. - Graphical abstract: Block-copolymer crystallized on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Nanohybrid drug carrier synthesized by attaching doxorubicin (DOX) to polymer crystallized CNTs. Crystallized polymer on CNTs provide mechanical stability. Triggered release of DOX. Highlights: ► The novel synthesis of a hybrid nanostructured drug carrier is described. ► The drug carrier exhibits high drug loading ability and is physically stable. ► The high drug release is ascribed to a cavitation-type process.

Glutamatergic transmission in drug reward: Implications for drug addiction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manoranjan S Dsouza

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Individuals addicted to drugs of abuse such as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and heroin are a significant burden on healthcare systems all over the world. The positive reinforcing (rewarding effects of the above mentioned drugs play a major role in the initiation and maintenance of the drug-taking habit. Thus, understanding the neurochemical mechanisms underlying the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse is critical to reducing the burden of drug addiction in society. Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing focus on the role of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate in drug addiction. In this review, pharmacological and genetic evidence supporting the role of glutamate in mediating the rewarding effects of the above described drugs of abuse will be discussed. Further, the review will discuss the role of glutamate transmission in two complex heterogeneous brain regions, namely the nucleus accumbens (NAcc and the ventral tegmental area (VTA, which mediate the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse. In addition, several medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration that act by blocking glutamate transmission will be discussed in the context of drug reward. Finally, this review will discuss future studies needed to address currently unanswered gaps in knowledge, which will further elucidate the role of glutamate in the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse.

Drug plan design incentives among Medicare prescription drug plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Huskamp, Haiden A; Keating, Nancy L; Dalton, Jesse B; Chernew, Michael E; Newhouse, Joseph P

2014-07-01

Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PDs) and standalone prescription drug plans (PDPs) face different incentives for plan design resulting from the scope of covered benefits (only outpatient drugs for PDPs versus all drug and nondrug services for Medicare Advantage [MA]/MA-PDs). The objective is to begin to explore how MA-PDs and PDPs may be responding to their different incentives related to benefit design. We compared 2012 PDP and MA-PD average formulary coverage, prior authorization (PA) or step therapy use, and copayment requirements for drugs in 6 classes used commonly among Medicare beneficiaries. We primarily used 2012 Prescription Drug Plan Formulary and Pharmacy Network Files and MA enrollment data. 2011 Truven Health MarketScan claims were used to estimate drug prices and to compute drug market share. Average coverage and PA/step rates, and average copayment requirements, were weighted by plan enrollment and drug market share. MA-PDs are generally more likely to cover and less likely to require PA/step for brand name drugs with generic alternatives than PDPs, and MA-PDs often have lower copayment requirements for these drugs. For brands without generics, we generally found no differences in average rates of coverage or PA/step, but MA-PDs were more likely to cover all brands without generics in a class. We found modest, confirmatory evidence suggesting that PDPs and MA-PDs respond to different incentives for plan design. Future research is needed to understand the factors that influence Medicare drug plan design decisions.

Brand-name drug, generic drug, orphan drug. Pharmacological therapy with biosimilar drugs - provision of due diligence in the treatment process.

Science.gov (United States)

Zajdel, Justyna; Zajdel, Radosław

2013-01-01

Due diligence in the process of provision of healthcare services refers, among other elements, to the application of pharmacological therapy at a time which offers the greatest chance for a successful outcome of treatment, i.e. for achieving the optimum expected effect understood as an improvement in the patient's health, reduction of health risks or elimination of the disease. However, due diligence may also refer to actions aimed at ensuring that neither the patient nor the healthcare payer is required to incur unreasonable costs in the process of treatment. The validity of that statement stems not only from normative acts but also from ethical standards laid down in the Medical Code of Ethics (Article 57 section 2). It often happens that the provision of optimal treatment calls for deviations from the formal provisions included in Summary Product Characteristics (SPCs), and the application of drugs that are bioequivalent to reference drugs, which translates into a significant reduction of costs. The present study addresses the problem of acceptability of a specific form of drug substitution consisting in the replacement of a reference drug with a generic drug. Also explored are legal aspects associated with the possibility of therapy based on "off-label use". The study reviews normative acts existing in the Polish and EU legislation. It also provides a clear definition of orphan drug, which has made it possible to make a distinction and investigate mutual relations between the concepts of brand-name (reference) drug, orphan drug and generic drug.

Understanding drugs in breast cancer through drug sensitivity screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Uhr, Katharina; Prager-van der Smissen, Wendy J C; Heine, Anouk A J; Ozturk, Bahar; Smid, Marcel; Göhlmann, Hinrich W H; Jager, Agnes; Foekens, John A; Martens, John W M

2015-01-01

With substantial numbers of breast tumors showing or acquiring treatment resistance, it is of utmost importance to develop new agents for the treatment of the disease, to know their effectiveness against breast cancer and to understand their relationships with other drugs to best assign the right drug to the right patient. To achieve this goal drug screenings on breast cancer cell lines are a promising approach. In this study a large-scale drug screening of 37 compounds was performed on a panel of 42 breast cancer cell lines representing the main breast cancer subtypes. Clustering, correlation and pathway analyses were used for data analysis. We found that compounds with a related mechanism of action had correlated IC50 values and thus grouped together when the cell lines were hierarchically clustered based on IC50 values. In total we found six clusters of drugs of which five consisted of drugs with related mode of action and one cluster with two drugs not previously connected. In total, 25 correlated and four anti-correlated drug sensitivities were revealed of which only one drug, Sirolimus, showed significantly lower IC50 values in the luminal/ERBB2 breast cancer subtype. We found expected interactions but also discovered new relationships between drugs which might have implications for cancer treatment regimens.

Media Representation of Drug Addicts and Drug Addiction in the Croatian Daily Press

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ljiljana Kordić

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article articulates and examines the problem of how to represent addicts and addiction in media content. The authors conduct a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of selected daily press in Croatia (Jutarnji list, Večernji list and 24 sata from 2015 and a sub-analysis of the target period (Anti-addiction Month serving to compare two different news cycles. The media coverage of the examined themes, the connotation of such media content and the approach to this issue are analysed. This article provides insight into how addiction, as well as drug addicts, is represented in the selected media, and the implications and consequences such representations carry with them, while exploring the questions such as why these types of representations are present, and whose interests are represented in such representations.

Food-Drug Interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arshad Yar Khan

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The effect of drug on a person may be different than expected because that drug interacts with another drug the person is taking (drug-drug interaction, food, beverages, dietary supplements the person is consuming (drug-nutrient/food interaction or another disease the person has (drug-disease interaction. A drug interaction is a situation in which a substance affects the activity of a drug, i.e. the effects are increased or decreased, or they produce a new effect that neither produces on its own. These interactions may occur out of accidental misuse or due to lack of knowledge about the active ingredients involved in the relevant substances. Regarding food-drug interactions physicians and pharmacists recognize that some foods and drugs, when taken simultaneously, can alter the body's ability to utilize a particular food or drug, or cause serious side effects. Clinically significant drug interactions, which pose potential harm to the patient, may result from changes in pharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic, or pharmacodynamic properties. Some may be taken advantage of, to the benefit of patients, but more commonly drug interactions result in adverse drug events. Therefore it is advisable for patients to follow the physician and doctors instructions to obtain maximum benefits with least fooddrug interactions. The literature survey was conducted by extracting data from different review and original articles on general or specific drug interactions with food. This review gives information about various interactions between different foods and drugs and will help physicians and pharmacists prescribe drugs cautiously with only suitable food supplement to get maximum benefit for the patient.

Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery Part 2: Nanostructures for Drug ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Some challenges associated with the technology as it relates to drug effectiveness, toxicity, stability, pharmacokinetics and drug regulatory control are discussed in this review. Clearly, nanotechnology is a welcome development that is set to transform drug delivery and drug supply chain management, if optimally developed ...

COPD - control drugs

Science.gov (United States)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - control drugs; Bronchodilators - COPD - control drugs; Beta agonist inhaler - COPD - control drugs; Anticholinergic inhaler - COPD - control drugs; Long-acting inhaler - COPD - control drugs; ...

Prescription Drug Abuse

Science.gov (United States)

... drug abuse. And it's illegal, just like taking street drugs. Why Do People Abuse Prescription Drugs? Some people abuse prescription drugs ... common risk of prescription drug abuse is addiction . People who abuse ... as if they were taking street drugs. That's one reason most doctors won't ...

[Orphan drugs].

Science.gov (United States)

Golocorbin Kon, Svetlana; Vojinović, Aleksandra; Lalić-Popović, Mladena; Pavlović, Nebojsa; Mikov, Momir

2013-01-01

Drugs used for treatment of rare diseases are known worldwide under the term of orphan drugs because pharmaceutical companies have not been interested in "adopting" them, that is in investing in research, developing and producing these drugs. This kind of policy has been justified by the fact that these drugs are targeted for small markets, that only a small number of patients is available for clinical trials, and that large investments are required for the development of drugs meant to treat diseases whose pathogenesis has not yet been clarified in majority of cases. The aim of this paper is to present previous and present status of orphan drugs in Serbia and other countries. THE BEGINNING OF ORPHAN DRUGS DEVELOPMENT: This problem was first recognized by Congress of the United States of America in January 1983, and when the "Orphan Drug Act" was passed, it was a turning point in the development of orphan drugs. This law provides pharmaceutical companies with a series of reliefs, both financial ones that allow them to regain funds invested into the research and development and regulatory ones. Seven years of marketing exclusivity, as a type of patent monopoly, is the most important relief that enables companies to make large profits. There are no sufficient funds and institutions to give financial support to the patients. It is therefore necessary to make health professionals much more aware of rare diseases in order to avoid time loss in making the right diagnosis and thus to gain more time to treat rare diseases. The importance of discovery, development and production of orphan drugs lies in the number of patients whose life quality can be improved significantly by administration of these drugs as well as in the number of potential survivals resulting from the treatment with these drugs.

Glutamatergic transmission in drug reward: implications for drug addiction

OpenAIRE

D'Souza, Manoranjan S.

2015-01-01

Individuals addicted to drugs of abuse such as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and heroin are a significant burden on healthcare systems all over the world. The positive reinforcing (rewarding) effects of the above mentioned drugs play a major role in the initiation and maintenance of the drug-taking habit. Thus, understanding the neurochemical mechanisms underlying the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse is critical to reducing the burden of drug addiction in society. Over the last two decades...

The analysis of drug consumption, drug trafficking and the fight against drug trafficking at the present day

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borisenko M.V.

2017-04-01

Full Text Available the article discusses the current drug situation in Russia, Siberian Federal District and Novosibirsk Region relating to drug consumption and drug trafficking and the main reasons of deaths of drug-dependent people.

Drug safety and the impact of drug warnings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hostenkamp, G.; Fischer, K. E.; Borch-Johnsen, K.

2016-01-01

Objective To analyse the impact of drug safety warnings from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on drug utilisation and their interaction with information released through national reimbursement bodies. Methods Insurance claims data on anti-diabetic drug prescriptions in primary care in Germany...

Investigating drug repositioning opportunities in FDA drug labels through topic modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisgin, Halil; Liu, Zhichao; Kelly, Reagan; Fang, Hong; Xu, Xiaowei; Tong, Weida

2012-01-01

Drug repositioning offers an opportunity to revitalize the slowing drug discovery pipeline by finding new uses for currently existing drugs. Our hypothesis is that drugs sharing similar side effect profiles are likely to be effective for the same disease, and thus repositioning opportunities can be identified by finding drug pairs with similar side effects documented in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug labels. The safety information in the drug labels is usually obtained in the clinical trial and augmented with the observations in the post-market use of the drug. Therefore, our drug repositioning approach can take the advantage of more comprehensive safety information comparing with conventional de novo approach. A probabilistic topic model was constructed based on the terms in the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) that appeared in the Boxed Warning, Warnings and Precautions, and Adverse Reactions sections of the labels of 870 drugs. Fifty-two unique topics, each containing a set of terms, were identified by using topic modeling. The resulting probabilistic topic associations were used to measure the distance (similarity) between drugs. The success of the proposed model was evaluated by comparing a drug and its nearest neighbor (i.e., a drug pair) for common indications found in the Indications and Usage Section of the drug labels. Given a drug with more than three indications, the model yielded a 75% recall, meaning 75% of drug pairs shared one or more common indications. This is significantly higher than the 22% recall rate achieved by random selection. Additionally, the recall rate grows rapidly as the number of drug indications increases and reaches 84% for drugs with 11 indications. The analysis also demonstrated that 65 drugs with a Boxed Warning, which indicates significant risk of serious and possibly life-threatening adverse effects, might be replaced with safer alternatives that do not have a Boxed Warning. In

Drug allergies

Science.gov (United States)

Allergic reaction - drug (medication); Drug hypersensitivity; Medication hypersensitivity ... A drug allergy involves an immune response in the body that produces an allergic reaction to a medicine. The first time ...

Comparing local TV news with national TV news in cancer coverage: an exploratory content analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chul-Joo; Long, Marilee; Slater, Michael D; Song, Wen

2014-12-01

The authors compared local TV news with national TV news in terms of cancer coverage using a nationally representative sample of local nightly TV and national network TV (i.e., ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN) cancer news stories that aired during 2002 and 2003. Compared with national TV news, local TV cancer stories were (a) much shorter in length, (b) less likely to report on cancer prevention (i.e., preventive behaviors and screening tests), and (c) less likely to reference national organizations (i.e., National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration) that have made clear recommendations about ways to prevent cancer. The implications of these findings for health communication research and cancer education were discussed.

QSAR Modeling and Prediction of Drug-Drug Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Zakharov, Alexey V; Varlamova, Ekaterina V; Lagunin, Alexey A; Dmitriev, Alexander V; Muratov, Eugene N; Fourches, Denis; Kuz'min, Victor E; Poroikov, Vladimir V; Tropsha, Alexander; Nicklaus, Marc C

2016-02-01

Severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are the fourth leading cause of fatality in the U.S. with more than 100,000 deaths per year. As up to 30% of all ADRs are believed to be caused by drug-drug interactions (DDIs), typically mediated by cytochrome P450s, possibilities to predict DDIs from existing knowledge are important. We collected data from public sources on 1485, 2628, 4371, and 27,966 possible DDIs mediated by four cytochrome P450 isoforms 1A2, 2C9, 2D6, and 3A4 for 55, 73, 94, and 237 drugs, respectively. For each of these data sets, we developed and validated QSAR models for the prediction of DDIs. As a unique feature of our approach, the interacting drug pairs were represented as binary chemical mixtures in a 1:1 ratio. We used two types of chemical descriptors: quantitative neighborhoods of atoms (QNA) and simplex descriptors. Radial basis functions with self-consistent regression (RBF-SCR) and random forest (RF) were utilized to build QSAR models predicting the likelihood of DDIs for any pair of drug molecules. Our models showed balanced accuracy of 72-79% for the external test sets with a coverage of 81.36-100% when a conservative threshold for the model's applicability domain was applied. We generated virtually all possible binary combinations of marketed drugs and employed our models to identify drug pairs predicted to be instances of DDI. More than 4500 of these predicted DDIs that were not found in our training sets were confirmed by data from the DrugBank database.

Drug decriminalization and the price of illicit drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Félix, Sónia; Portugal, Pedro

2017-01-01

This study is an empirical assessment of the impact of the drug decriminalization policy followed by Portugal in July 2001, on the price of illicit drugs. The analysis is performed using a difference-in-differences approach and the Synthetic Control Method in order to construct a synthetic control unit from a convex combination of countries. The results suggest that the prices of opiates and cocaine in the post-treatment period did not decrease in the sequence of the policy change. We conclude that the drug decriminalization policy seems to have caused no harm through lower illicit drugs prices, which would lead to higher drug usage and dependence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perceived neighborhood illicit drug selling, peer illicit drug disapproval and illicit drug use among U.S. high school seniors

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background This study examined associations between perceived neighborhood illicit drug selling, peer illicit drug disapproval and illicit drug use among a large nationally representative sample of U.S. high school seniors. Methods Data come from Monitoring the Future (2007–2011), an annual cross-sectional survey of U.S. high school seniors. Students reported neighborhood illicit drug selling, friend drug disapproval towards marijuana and cocaine use, and past 12-month and past 30-day illicit drug use (N = 10,050). Multinomial logistic regression models were fit to explain use of 1) just marijuana, 2) one illicit drug other than marijuana, and 3) more than one illicit drug other than marijuana, compared to “no use”. Results Report of neighborhood illicit drug selling was associated with lower friend disapproval of marijuana and cocaine; e.g., those who reported seeing neighborhood sales “almost every day” were less likely to report their friends strongly disapproved of marijuana (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.29, 0.49) compared to those who reported never seeing neighborhood drug selling and reported no disapproval. Perception of neighborhood illicit drug selling was also associated with past-year drug use and past-month drug use; e.g., those who reported seeing neighborhood sales “almost every day” were more likely to report 30-day use of more than one illicit drug (AOR = 11.11, 95% CI: 7.47, 16.52) compared to those who reported never seeing neighborhood drug selling and reported no 30-day use of illicit drugs. Conclusions Perceived neighborhood drug selling was associated with lower peer disapproval and more illicit drug use among a population-based nationally representative sample of U.S. high school seniors. Policy interventions to reduce “open” (visible) neighborhood drug selling (e.g., problem-oriented policing and modifications to the physical environment such as installing and monitoring surveillance cameras) may

75 FR 18219 - Drug and Medical Device Forum on Food and Drug Administration Drug and Device Requirements and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-09

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0142] Drug and Medical Device Forum on Food and Drug Administration Drug and Device Requirements and Supplier Controls; Public Educational Forum AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice of public...

Brand-name drug, generic drug, orphan drug. Pharmacological therapy with biosimilar drugs – provision of due diligence in the treatment process

Science.gov (United States)

Zajdel, Justyna

2013-01-01

Due diligence in the process of provision of healthcare services refers, among other elements, to the application of pharmacological therapy at a time which offers the greatest chance for a successful outcome of treatment, i.e. for achieving the optimum expected effect understood as an improvement in the patient's health, reduction of health risks or elimination of the disease. However, due diligence may also refer to actions aimed at ensuring that neither the patient nor the healthcare payer is required to incur unreasonable costs in the process of treatment. The validity of that statement stems not only from normative acts but also from ethical standards laid down in the Medical Code of Ethics (Article 57 section 2). It often happens that the provision of optimal treatment calls for deviations from the formal provisions included in Summary Product Characteristics (SPCs), and the application of drugs that are bioequivalent to reference drugs, which translates into a significant reduction of costs. The present study addresses the problem of acceptability of a specific form of drug substitution consisting in the replacement of a reference drug with a generic drug. Also explored are legal aspects associated with the possibility of therapy based on “off-label use”. The study reviews normative acts existing in the Polish and EU legislation. It also provides a clear definition of orphan drug, which has made it possible to make a distinction and investigate mutual relations between the concepts of brand-name (reference) drug, orphan drug and generic drug. PMID:24592133

Drug Reactions

Science.gov (United States)

... problem is interactions, which may occur between Two drugs, such as aspirin and blood thinners Drugs and food, such as statins and grapefruit Drugs and supplements, such as ginkgo and blood thinners ...

Antineoplastic Drugs

Science.gov (United States)

Sadée, Wolfgang; El Sayed, Yousry Mahmoud

The limited scope of therapeutic drug-level monitoring in cancer chemotherapy results from the often complex biochemical mechanisms that contribute to antineoplastic activity and obscure the relationships among drug serum levels and therapeutic benefits. Moreover, new agents for cancer chemotherapy are being introduced at a more rapid rate than for the treatment of other diseases, although the successful application of therapeutic drug-level monitoring may require several years of intensive study of the significance of serum drug levels. However, drug level monitoring can be of considerable value during phase I clinical trials of new antineoplastic agents in order to assess drug metabolism, bioavailability, and intersubject variability; these are important parameters in the interpretation of clinical studies, but have no immediate benefit to the patient. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) probably represents the most versatile and easily adaptable analytical technique for drug metabolite screening (1). HPLC may therefore now be the method of choice during phase I clinical trials of antineoplastic drugs. For example, within a single week we developed an HPLC assay—using a C18 reverse-phase column, UV detection, and direct serum injection after protein precipitation—for the new radiosensitizer, misonidazole (2).

Polypharmacy and the risk of drug-drug interactions among Danish elderly

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosholm, J U; Bjerrum, L; Hallas, J

1998-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the use of all subsidized prescription drugs with special attention to the elderly (> or = 70 years of age), including their use of drug combination generally accepted as carrying a risk of severe interactions. DESIGN: Descriptive prevalence study. SETTING: Odense...... accepted as carrying a risk of severe interactions. RESULTS: Among persons less than 70 years, 67.9% used none, 16.5% used one drug and 15.6% used two or more prescription drugs. The corresponding prevalences for the elderly were 35.7%, 15.9% and 48.4%. The 26,337 elderly patients with at least two drugs...... used 21,293 different combinations. Of the elderly patients who had purchased > or = two drugs, 4.4% had combinations of drugs carrying a risk of severe interactions. CONCLUSIONS: Most elderly use drugs and usually several drugs concomitantly. The elderly form a heterogeneous group of drug users. Drug...

10 CFR 26.163 - Cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites. 26.163... the Department of Health and Human Services § 26.163 Cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites. (a... testing of specimens to determine whether they are negative for the indicated drugs and drug metabolites...

10 CFR 26.133 - Cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites. 26.133... § 26.133 Cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites. Subject to the provisions of § 26.31(d)(3)(iii), licensees and other entities may specify more stringent cutoff levels for drugs and drug metabolites than...

The current status of community drug testing via the analysis of drugs and drug metabolites in sewage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malcolm J. Reid

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Over the past few years the analysis of drug residues in sewage has been promoted as a means of estimating the level of drug use in communities. Measured drug residue concentrations in the sewage are used to determine the load (total mass of the drug being used by the entire community. Knowledge of the size or population of the community then allows for the calculation of drug-use relative to population (typically drug-mass/day/1000 inhabitants which facilitates comparisons between differing communities or populations. Studies have been performed in many European countries, including Norway, as well as in the US and Australia. The approach has successfully estimated the use of cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, cannabis, nicotine and alcohol. The analysis of biomarkers of drug use in sewage has great potential to support and complement existing techniques for estimating levels of drug use, and as such has been identified as a promising development by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA; www.emcdda.europa.eu/wastewater-analysis. The approach is not without its challenges, and ongoing collaboration across Europe aims at agreeing upon best-practice and harmonising the methods being used. In Norway development is being performed through the NFR RUSMIDDEL funded DrugMon (www.niva.no/drugmon project that has led to the development of many new techniques, significantly improved our understanding of the uncertainties associated with the approach and allowed the coordination of Europe wide collaboration which has included all important intercalibration exercises. Application of the technique can provide evidence-based and real-time estimates of collective drug use with the resulting data used to improve the much needed estimates of drug use and dependency.

Permissive Attitude Towards Drug Use, Life Satisfaction, and Continuous Drug Use Among Psychoactive Drug Users in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, N Wt; Cheung, Y W; Chen, X

2016-06-01

To examine the effects of a permissive attitude towards regular and occasional drug use, life satisfaction, self-esteem, depression, and other psychosocial variables in the drug use of psychoactive drug users. Psychosocial factors that might affect a permissive attitude towards regular / occasional drug use and life satisfaction were further explored. We analysed data of a sample of psychoactive drug users from a longitudinal survey of psychoactive drug abusers in Hong Kong who were interviewed at 6 time points at 6-month intervals between January 2009 and December 2011. Data of the second to the sixth time points were stacked into an individual time point structure. Random-effects probit regression analysis was performed to estimate the relative contribution of the independent variables to the binary dependent variable of drug use in the last 30 days. A permissive attitude towards drug use, life satisfaction, and depression at the concurrent time point, and self-esteem at the previous time point had direct effects on drug use in the last 30 days. Interestingly, permissiveness to occasional drug use was a stronger predictor of drug use than permissiveness to regular drug use. These 2 permissive attitude variables were affected by the belief that doing extreme things shows the vitality of young people (at concurrent time point), life satisfaction (at concurrent time point), and self-esteem (at concurrent and previous time points). Life satisfaction was affected by sense of uncertainty about the future (at concurrent time point), self-esteem (at concurrent time point), depression (at both concurrent and previous time points), and being stricken by stressful events (at previous time point). A number of psychosocial factors could affect the continuation or discontinuation of drug use, as well as the permissive attitude towards regular and occasional drug use, and life satisfaction. Implications of the findings for prevention and intervention work targeted at

Drug Repurposing Is a New Opportunity for Developing Drugs against Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyeong-Min Lee

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Better the drugs you know than the drugs you do not know. Drug repurposing is a promising, fast, and cost effective method that can overcome traditional de novo drug discovery and development challenges of targeting neuropsychiatric and other disorders. Drug discovery and development targeting neuropsychiatric disorders are complicated because of the limitations in understanding pathophysiological phenomena. In addition, traditional de novo drug discovery and development are risky, expensive, and time-consuming processes. One alternative approach, drug repurposing, has emerged taking advantage of off-target effects of the existing drugs. In order to identify new opportunities for the existing drugs, it is essential for us to understand the mechanisms of action of drugs, both biologically and pharmacologically. By doing this, drug repurposing would be a more effective method to develop drugs against neuropsychiatric and other disorders. Here, we review the difficulties in drug discovery and development in neuropsychiatric disorders and the extent and perspectives of drug repurposing.

Drug Facts

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Other Effects on the Body Drug Use Hurts Brains Drug Use and Mental Health Problems Often Happen ... to prescription drugs. The addiction slowly took over his life. I need different people around me. To ...

DRUG POLICY AND DRUG ADDICTION IN TURKEY

OpenAIRE

İLHAN, Mustafa Necmi

2018-01-01

The NationalStrategy Document on Drugs and Emergency Action Plan started with thecontributions of all the relevant institutions within the year of 2014 wasprepared and after that in accordance with the Prime Ministry Notice entitledFight Against Drugs published within this scope, the committees for FightAgainst Drugs were established (under the presidency of Deputy Prime Ministerand with the help of Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Laborand Social Security, Ministry of Fam...

Drug Facts

Science.gov (United States)

... Makes Someone More Likely to Get Addicted to Drugs? Does Addiction Run in Families? Why Is It So Hard ... the text to you. This website talks about drug abuse, addiction, and treatment. Watch Videos Information About Drugs Alcohol ...

[Club drugs].

Science.gov (United States)

Guerreiro, Diogo Frasquilho; Carmo, Ana Lisa; da Silva, Joaquim Alves; Navarro, Rita; Góis, Carlos

2011-01-01

Club drugs are the following substances: Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA); Methamphetamine; Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD); Ketamine; Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and Flunitrazepam. These substances are mainly used by adolescents and young adults, mostly in recreational settings like dance clubs and rave parties. These drugs have diverse psychotropic effects, are associated with several degrees of toxicity, dependence and long term adverse effects. Some have been used for several decades, while others are relatively recent substances of abuse. They have distinct pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, are not easy to detect and, many times, the use of club drugs is under diagnosed. Although the use of these drugs is increasingly common, few health professionals feel comfortable with the diagnosis and treatment. The authors performed a systematic literature review, with the goal of synthesising the existing knowledge about club drugs, namely epidemiology, mechanism of action, detection, adverse reactions and treatment. The purpose of this article is creating in Portuguese language a knowledge data base on club drugs, that health professionals of various specialties can use as a reference when dealing with individual with this kind of drug abuse.

Human Drug Discrimination: Elucidating the Neuropharmacology of Commonly Abused Illicit Drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolin, B Levi; Alcorn, Joseph L; Reynolds, Anna R; Lile, Joshua A; Stoops, William W; Rush, Craig R

2016-06-07

Drug-discrimination procedures empirically evaluate the control that internal drug states have over behavior. They provide a highly selective method to investigate the neuropharmacological underpinnings of the interoceptive effects of drugs in vivo. As a result, drug discrimination has been one of the most widely used assays in the field of behavioral pharmacology. Drug-discrimination procedures have been adapted for use with humans and are conceptually similar to preclinical drug-discrimination techniques in that a behavior is differentially reinforced contingent on the presence or absence of a specific interoceptive drug stimulus. This chapter provides a basic overview of human drug-discrimination procedures and reviews the extant literature concerning the use of these procedures to elucidate the underlying neuropharmacological mechanisms of commonly abused illicit drugs (i.e., stimulants, opioids, and cannabis) in humans. This chapter is not intended to review every available study that used drug-discrimination procedures in humans. Instead, when possible, exemplary studies that used a stimulant, opioid, or Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (the primary psychoactive constituent of cannabis) to assess the discriminative-stimulus effects of drugs in humans are reviewed for illustrative purposes. We conclude by commenting on the current state and future of human drug-discrimination research.

Allosteric cross-talk in chromatin can mediate drug-drug synergy

Science.gov (United States)

Adhireksan, Zenita; Palermo, Giulia; Riedel, Tina; Ma, Zhujun; Muhammad, Reyhan; Rothlisberger, Ursula; Dyson, Paul J.; Davey, Curt A.

2017-03-01

Exploitation of drug-drug synergism and allostery could yield superior therapies by capitalizing on the immensely diverse, but highly specific, potential associated with the biological macromolecular landscape. Here we describe a drug-drug synergy mediated by allosteric cross-talk in chromatin, whereby the binding of one drug alters the activity of the second. We found two unrelated drugs, RAPTA-T and auranofin, that yield a synergistic activity in killing cancer cells, which coincides with a substantially greater number of chromatin adducts formed by one of the compounds when adducts from the other agent are also present. We show that this occurs through an allosteric mechanism within the nucleosome, whereby defined histone adducts of one drug promote reaction of the other drug at a distant, specific histone site. This opens up possibilities for epigenetic targeting and suggests that allosteric modulation in nucleosomes may have biological relevance and potential for therapeutic interventions.

Food-drug interactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Lars E; Dalhoff, Kim

2002-01-01

Interactions between food and drugs may inadvertently reduce or increase the drug effect. The majority of clinically relevant food-drug interactions are caused by food-induced changes in the bioavailability of the drug. Since the bioavailability and clinical effect of most drugs are correlated......, the bioavailability is an important pharmacokinetic effect parameter. However, in order to evaluate the clinical relevance of a food-drug interaction, the impact of food intake on the clinical effect of the drug has to be quantified as well. As a result of quality review in healthcare systems, healthcare providers...... are increasingly required to develop methods for identifying and preventing adverse food-drug interactions. In this review of original literature, we have tried to provide both pharmacokinetic and clinical effect parameters of clinically relevant food-drug interactions. The most important interactions are those...

Drug Facts

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... symptoms of someone with a drug use problem? How Does Drug Use Become an Addiction? What Makes Someone More Likely to Get Addicted to Drugs? Does Addiction Run in Families? Why Is It So Hard to ...

Study Drugs

Science.gov (United States)

... to quit, they may have withdrawal symptoms like depression, thoughts of suicide, intense drug cravings, sleep problems, and fatigue. The health risks aren't the only downside to study drugs. Students caught with illegal prescription drugs may get suspended ...

Drug Facts

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... to main content Easy-to-Read Drug Facts Search form Search Menu Home Drugs That People Abuse Alcohol Facts ... Past Drug Use Prevention Phone Numbers and Websites Search Share Listen English Español Information about this page ...

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... Makes Someone More Likely to Get Addicted to Drugs? Does Addiction Run in Families? Why Is It So Hard ... the text to you. This website talks about drug abuse, addiction, and treatment. Watch Videos Information About Drugs Alcohol ...

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... Drug Use and Mental Health Problems Often Happen Together The Link Between Drug Use and HIV/AIDS Treatment & Recovery Why Does a Person Need Treatment? Does Drug Treatment Work? What Are the Treatment Options? What Is Recovery? ...

DRUG MANAGEMENT REVIEWS IN DISTRICT DRUG MANAGEMENT UNIT AND GENERAL HOSPITAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Max Joseph Herman

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Drug is one of the essential elements in healthcare that should be effectively and efficiently managed. Following thedecentralization in 2001 in Indonesia, drug management has changed in district drug management units and also in District General Hospitals. Certainly this condition influences the sustainability of drug access in primary health care such as in Community Health Center and District General Hospital, especially in drug financing policy. A cross sectional descriptive study to obtain information on drug management in public healthcare in district had been carried out between July and December 2006 in 10 District Public Drug Management Units from 10 district health offices and 9 district general hospitals as samples. Data were collected by interviewing heads of Drug Section in District Health Offices and heads of Hospital Pharmacies using structured questionnaires and observing drug storage in District Drug Management Units, Community Health Centers, and Hospital Pharmacies. Results of the study show that drug planning in District Health Offices and General Hospitals did not meet the basic real need in some districts nor District Hospitals. The minimum health service standards had no been achieved yet. Furthermore, drug procurement, storage and recording as well as reporting was not good enough either, such as shown by the existence of expired drugs. Lead time for drug delivery to community health centers in some districts was longer than the average of lead time in the past 3 years.

Drugs as instruments: a new framework for non-addictive psychoactive drug use.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Christian P; Schumann, Gunter

2011-12-01

Most people who are regular consumers of psychoactive drugs are not drug addicts, nor will they ever become addicts. In neurobiological theories, non-addictive drug consumption is acknowledged only as a "necessary" prerequisite for addiction, but not as a stable and widespread behavior in its own right. This target article proposes a new neurobiological framework theory for non-addictive psychoactive drug consumption, introducing the concept of "drug instrumentalization." Psychoactive drugs are consumed for their effects on mental states. Humans are able to learn that mental states can be changed on purpose by drugs, in order to facilitate other, non-drug-related behaviors. We discuss specific "instrumentalization goals" and outline neurobiological mechanisms of how major classes of psychoactive drugs change mental states and serve non-drug-related behaviors. We argue that drug instrumentalization behavior may provide a functional adaptation to modern environments based on a historical selection for learning mechanisms that allow the dynamic modification of consummatory behavior. It is assumed that in order to effectively instrumentalize psychoactive drugs, the establishment of and retrieval from a drug memory is required. Here, we propose a new classification of different drug memory subtypes and discuss how they interact during drug instrumentalization learning and retrieval. Understanding the everyday utility and the learning mechanisms of non-addictive psychotropic drug use may help to prevent abuse and the transition to drug addiction in the future.

Drug interactions with oral sulphonylurea hypoglycaemic drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, J M; Christensen, L K

1977-01-01

The effect of the oral sulphonylurea hypoglycaemic drugs may be influenced by a large number of other drugs. Some of these combinations (e.g. phenylbutazone, sulphaphenazole) may result in cases of severe hypoglycaemic collapse. Tolbutamide and chlorpropamide should never be given to a patient without a prior careful check of which medicaments are already being given. Similarly, no drug should be given to a diabetic treated with tolbutamide and chlorpropamide without consideration of the possibility of interaction phenomena.

Optimization of Drug Delivery by Drug-Eluting Stents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franz Bozsak

Full Text Available Drug-eluting stents (DES, which release anti-proliferative drugs into the arterial wall in a controlled manner, have drastically reduced the rate of in-stent restenosis and revolutionized the treatment of atherosclerosis. However, late stent thrombosis remains a safety concern in DES, mainly due to delayed healing of the endothelial wound inflicted during DES implantation. We present a framework to optimize DES design such that restenosis is inhibited without affecting the endothelial healing process. To this end, we have developed a computational model of fluid flow and drug transport in stented arteries and have used this model to establish a metric for quantifying DES performance. The model takes into account the multi-layered structure of the arterial wall and incorporates a reversible binding model to describe drug interaction with the cells of the arterial wall. The model is coupled to a novel optimization algorithm that allows identification of optimal DES designs. We show that optimizing the period of drug release from DES and the initial drug concentration within the coating has a drastic effect on DES performance. Paclitaxel-eluting stents perform optimally by releasing their drug either very rapidly (within a few hours or very slowly (over periods of several months up to one year at concentrations considerably lower than current DES. In contrast, sirolimus-eluting stents perform optimally only when drug release is slow. The results offer explanations for recent trends in the development of DES and demonstrate the potential for large improvements in DES design relative to the current state of commercial devices.

Hydrophobic Drug-Loaded PEGylated Magnetic Liposomes for Drug-Controlled Release

Science.gov (United States)

Hardiansyah, Andri; Yang, Ming-Chien; Liu, Ting-Yu; Kuo, Chih-Yu; Huang, Li-Ying; Chan, Tzu-Yi

2017-05-01

Less targeted and limited solubility of hydrophobic-based drug are one of the serious obstacles in drug delivery system. Thus, new strategies to enhance the solubility of hydrophobic drug and controlled release behaviors would be developed. Herein, curcumin, a model of hydrophobic drug, has been loaded into PEGylated magnetic liposomes as a drug carrier platform for drug controlled release system. Inductive magnetic heating (hyperthermia)-stimulated drug release, in vitro cellular cytotoxicity assay of curcumin-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes and cellular internalization-induced by magnetic guidance would be investigated. The resultant of drug carriers could disperse homogeneously in aqueous solution, showing a superparamagnetic characteristic and could inductive magnetic heating with external high-frequency magnetic field (HFMF). In vitro curcumin release studies confirmed that the drug carriers exhibited no significant release at 37 °C, whereas exhibited rapid releasing at 45 °C. However, it would display enormous (three times higher) curcumin releasing under the HFMF exposure, compared with that without HFMF exposure at 45 °C. In vitro cytotoxicity test shows that curcumin-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes could efficiently kill MCF-7 cells in parallel with increasing curcumin concentration. Fluorescence microscopy observed that these drug carriers could internalize efficiently into the cellular compartment of MCF-7 cells. Thus, it would be anticipated that the novel hydrophobic drug-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes in combination with inductive magnetic heating are promising to apply in the combination of chemotherapy and thermotherapy for cancer therapy.

Drug Facts

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... the text to you. This website talks about drug abuse, addiction, and treatment. Watch Videos Information About Drugs ... adicción. English Español About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) | About This Website Tools and Resources | Contact ...

Drug Facts

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... can call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) at any time to find drug treatment centers near you. I want my daughter to avoid drugs. "Debbie" has been drug-free for years. She wants her daughter to stay away from ...

Orphan drugs

OpenAIRE

Goločorbin-Kon, Svetlana; Vojinović, Aleksandra; Lalić-Popović, Mladena; Pavlović, Nebojša; Mikov, Momir

2013-01-01

Introduction. Drugs used for treatment of rare diseases are known worldwide under the term of orphan drugs because pharmaceutical companies have not been interested in ”adopting” them, that is in investing in research, developing and producing these drugs. This kind of policy has been justified by the fact that these drugs are targeted for small markets, that only a small number of patients is available for clinical trials, and that large investments are required for the development of ...

Drug Trafficking and Drug Use among Urban African American Early Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoming; And Others

1994-01-01

Examined relationships between drug trafficking (selling and delivering), cigarette and alcohol use, and illicit drug use among African-American adolescents. Found that drug trafficking is equally likely to occur with or without cigarette and alcohol use or illicit drug involvement, suggesting that intervention should extend to drug trafficking in…

Breaking the news or fueling the epidemic? Temporal association between news media report volume and opioid-related mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Dasgupta, Nabarun; Mandl, Kenneth D; Brownstein, John S

2009-11-18

Historical studies of news media have suggested an association between reporting and increased drug abuse. Period effects for substance use have been documented for different classes of legal and illicit substances, with the suspicion that media publicity may have played major roles in their emergence. Previous analyses have drawn primarily from qualitative evidence; the temporal relationship between media reporting volume and adverse health consequences has not been quantified nationally. We set out to explore whether we could find a quantitative relationship between media reports about prescription opioid abuse and overdose mortality associated with these drugs. We assessed whether increases in news media reports occurred before or after increases in overdose deaths. Our ecological study compared a monthly time series of unintentional poisoning deaths involving short-acting prescription opioid substances, from 1999 to 2005 using multiple cause-of-death data published by the National Center for Health Statistics, to monthly counts of English-language news articles mentioning generic and branded names of prescription opioids obtained from Google News Archives from 1999 to 2005. We estimated the association between media volume and mortality rates by time-lagged regression analyses. There were 24,272 articles and 30,916 deaths involving prescription opioids during the seven-year study period. Nationally, the number of articles mentioning prescription opioids increased dramatically starting in early 2001, following prominent coverage about the nonmedical use of OxyContin. We found a significant association between news reports and deaths, with media reporting preceding fatal opioid poisonings by two to six months and explaining 88% (pnews reporting may enhance the popularity of psychoactive substances. Albeit ecological in nature, our finding suggests the need for further evaluation of the influence of news media on health. Reporting on prescription opioids conforms

Hidden wholesale: The drug diffusing capacity of online drug cryptomarkets.

Science.gov (United States)

Aldridge, Judith; Décary-Hétu, David

2016-09-01

In spite of globalizing processes 'offline' retail drug markets remain localized and - in recent decades - typically 'closed', in which dealers sell primarily to known customers. We characterize drug cryptomarkets as 'anonymous open' marketplaces that allow the diffusion of drugs across locales. Where cryptomarket customers make stock-sourcing purchases for offline distribution, the cryptomarket may indirectly serve drug users who are not themselves cryptomarket customers, thereby increasing the drug diffusing capacity of these marketplaces. Our research aimed to identify wholesale activity on the first major cryptomarket, Silk Road 1. Data were collected 13-15 September 2013. A bespoke web crawler downloaded content from the first major drug cryptomarket, Silk Road 1. This generated data on 1031 vendors and 10,927 drug listings. We estimated monthly revenues to ascertain the relative importance of wholesale priced listings. Wholesale-level revenue generation (sales for listings priced over USD $1000.00) accounted for about a quarter of the revenue generation on SR1 overall. Ecstasy-type drugs dominated wholesale activity on this marketplace, but we also identified substantial wholesale transactions for benzodiazepines and prescription stimulants. Less important, but still generating wholesale revenue, were cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. Although vendors on the marketplace were located in 41 countries, wholesale activity was confined to only a quarter of these, with China, the Netherlands, Canada and Belgium prominent. The cryptomarket may function in part as a virtual broker, linking wholesalers with offline retail-level distributors. For drugs like ecstasy, these marketplaces may link vendors in producer countries directly with retail level suppliers. Wholesale activity on cryptomarkets may serve to increase the diffusion of new drugs - and wider range of drugs - in offline drug markets, thereby indirectly serving drug users who are not cryptomarket

Drug allergy passport and other documentation for patients with drug hypersensitivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brockow, Knut; Aberer, Werner; Atanaskovic-Markovic, M

2016-01-01

The strongest and best-documented risk factor for drug hypersensitivity (DH) is the history of a previous reaction. Accidental exposures to drugs may lead to severe or even fatal reactions in sensitized patients. Preventable prescription errors are common. They are often due to inadequate medical...... history or poor risk assessment of recurrence of drug reaction. Proper documentation is essential information for the doctor to make sound therapeutic decision. The European Network on Drug Allergy and Drug Allergy Interest Group of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology have formed...... a task force and developed a drug allergy passport as well as general guidelines of drug allergy documentation. A drug allergy passport, a drug allergy alert card, a certificate, and a discharge letter after medical evaluation are adequate means to document DH in a patient. They are to be handed...

DrugSig: A resource for computational drug repositioning utilizing gene expression signatures.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongyu Wu

Full Text Available Computational drug repositioning has been proved as an effective approach to develop new drug uses. However, currently existing strategies strongly rely on drug response gene signatures which scattered in separated or individual experimental data, and resulted in low efficient outputs. So, a fully drug response gene signatures database will be very helpful to these methods. We collected drug response microarray data and annotated related drug and targets information from public databases and scientific literature. By selecting top 500 up-regulated and down-regulated genes as drug signatures, we manually established the DrugSig database. Currently DrugSig contains more than 1300 drugs, 7000 microarray and 800 targets. Moreover, we developed the signature based and target based functions to aid drug repositioning. The constructed database can serve as a resource to quicken computational drug repositioning. Database URL: http://biotechlab.fudan.edu.cn/database/drugsig/.

Urine drug screen

Science.gov (United States)

Drug screen - urine ... detect the presence of illegal and some prescription drugs in your urine. Their presence may indicate that you recently used these drugs. Some drugs may remain in your system for ...

Drug Testing

Science.gov (United States)

... testing, substance abuse testing, toxicology screen, tox screen, sports doping tests What is it used for? Drug screening is used to find out whether or not a person has taken a certain drug or drugs. It ... Sports organizations. Professional and collegiate athletes usually need to ...

Drug Facts

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... the computer will read the text to you. This website talks about drug abuse, addiction, and treatment. Watch Videos ... I want my daughter to avoid drugs. "Debbie" has been drug-free for years. She wants her daughter to stay away from ...

High-Throughput Cytochrome P450 Cocktail Inhibition Assay for Assessing Drug-Drug and Drug-Botanical Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guannan; Huang, Ke; Nikolic, Dejan; van Breemen, Richard B

2015-11-01

Detection of drug-drug interactions is essential during the early stages of drug discovery and development, and the understanding of drug-botanical interactions is important for the safe use of botanical dietary supplements. Among the different forms of drug interactions that are known, inhibition of cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes is the most common cause of drug-drug or drug-botanical interactions. Therefore, a rapid and comprehensive mass spectrometry-based in vitro high-throughput P450 cocktail inhibition assay was developed that uses 10 substrates simultaneously against nine CYP isoforms. Including probe substrates for CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, and two probes targeting different binding sites of CYP3A4/5, this cocktail simultaneously assesses at least as many P450 enzymes as previous assays while remaining among the fastest due to short incubation times and rapid analysis using ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method was validated using known inhibitors of each P450 enzyme and then shown to be useful not only for single-compound testing but also for the evaluation of potential drug-botanical interactions using the botanical dietary supplement licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) as an example. Copyright © 2015 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Derrida and drugs

OpenAIRE

Gough, Tim

2008-01-01

Derrida, in the interview Rhetoric of Drugs (1993), following on from the explication of the notion of pharmakon (both poison and beneficial drug, at the same time), outlines a possible �theory� of drugs and addiction. It has several key features:\\ud � there are no drugs in nature: the definition of �drug� is an institutionalised one\\ud � the concept of drugs is non-scientific, non-positive\\ud � drugs are a parasitism �at once accidental and essential�; and are thus a topic ...

Substance use - prescription drugs

Science.gov (United States)

Substance use disorder - prescription drugs; Substance abuse - prescription drugs; Drug abuse - prescription drugs; Drug use - prescription drugs; Narcotics - substance use; Opioid - substance use; Sedative - substance ...

Altered drug metabolism during pregnancy: hormonal regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Hyunyoung

2010-06-01

Medication use during pregnancy is prevalent, but pharmacokinetic information of most drugs used during pregnancy is lacking in spite of known effects of pregnancy on drug disposition. Accurate pharmacokinetic information is essential for optimal drug therapy in mother and fetus. Thus, understanding how pregnancy influences drug disposition is important for better prediction of pharmacokinetic changes of drugs in pregnant women. Pregnancy is known to affect hepatic drug metabolism, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Physiological changes accompanying pregnancy are probably responsible for the reported alteration in drug metabolism during pregnancy. These include elevated concentrations of various hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, placental growth hormones and prolactin. This review covers how these hormones influence expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs), thus potentially responsible for altered drug metabolism during pregnancy. The reader will gain a greater understanding of the altered drug metabolism in pregnant women and the regulatory effects of pregnancy hormones on expression of DMEs. In-depth studies in hormonal regulatory mechanisms as well as confirmatory studies in pregnant women are warranted for systematic understanding and prediction of the changes in hepatic drug metabolism during pregnancy.

Illicit Drug Use, Illicit Drug Use Disorders, and Drug Overdose Deaths in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas - United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Mack, Karin A; Jones, Christopher M; Ballesteros, Michael F

2017-10-20

Drug overdoses are a leading cause of injury death in the United States, resulting in approximately 52,000 deaths in 2015. Understanding differences in illicit drug use, illicit drug use disorders, and overall drug overdose deaths in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas is important for informing public health programs, interventions, and policies. Illicit drug use and drug use disorders during 2003-2014, and drug overdose deaths during 1999-2015. The National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) collects information through face-to-face household interviews about the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco among the U.S. noninstitutionalized civilian population aged ≥12 years. Respondents include residents of households and noninstitutional group quarters (e.g., shelters, rooming houses, dormitories, migratory workers' camps, and halfway houses) and civilians living on military bases. NSDUH variables include sex, age, race/ethnicity, residence (metropolitan/nonmetropolitan), annual household income, self-reported drug use, and drug use disorders. National Vital Statistics System Mortality (NVSS-M) data for U.S. residents include information from death certificates filed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Cases were selected with an underlying cause of death based on the ICD-10 codes for drug overdoses (X40-X44, X60-X64, X85, and Y10-Y14). NVSS-M variables include decedent characteristics (sex, age, and race/ethnicity) and information on intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide, or undetermined), location of death (medical facility, in a home, or other [including nursing homes, hospices, unknown, and other locations]) and county of residence (metropolitan/nonmetropolitan). Metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status is assigned independently in each data system. NSDUH uses a three-category system: Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) of ≥1 million persons; CBSA of illicit drugs, the prevalence was highest for the large metropolitan areas compared with

Drugs and lactation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelssering, G.; Aguiar, L.F.; Ribeiro, R.M.; Souza, A.Z. de

1988-01-01

Different kinds of drugs who can be transferred through the mother's milk to the lactant and its effects are showed in this work. A list of them as below: cardiotonics, diuretics, anti-hypertensives, beta-blockings, anti-arrythmics, drugs with gastrintestinal tract action, hormones, antibiotics and chemotherapeutics, citostatic drugs, central nervous system action drugs and anticoagulants drugs. (L.M.J.) [pt

Drug resistance in leishmaniasis: current drug-delivery systems and future perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasinzai, Masoom; Khan, Momin; Nadhman, Akhtar; Shahnaz, Gul

2013-10-01

Leishmaniasis is a complex of diseases with numerous clinical manifestations for instance harshness from skin lesions to severe disfigurement and chronic systemic infection in the liver and spleen. So far, the most classical leishmaniasis therapy, despite its documented toxicities, remains pentavalent antimonial compounds. The arvailable therapeutic modalities for leishmaniasis are overwhelmed with resistance to leishmaniasis therapy. Mechanisms of classical drug resistance are often related with the lower drug uptake, increased efflux, the faster drug metabolism, drug target modifications and over-expression of drug transporters. The high prevalence of leishmaniasis and the appearance of resistance to classical drugs reveal the demand to develop and explore novel, less toxic, low cost and more promising therapeutic modalities. The review describes the mechanisms of classical drug resistance and potential drug targets in Leishmania infection. Moreover, current drug-delivery systems and future perspectives towards Leishmaniasis treatment are also covered.

Drug Use, the Drug Environment, and Child Physical Abuse and Neglect.

Science.gov (United States)

Freisthler, Bridget; Wolf, Jennifer Price; Wiegmann, Wendy; Kepple, Nancy J

2017-08-01

Although drug use is considered a risk factor for child maltreatment, very little work has examined how the drug environment may affect physical abuse and neglect by parents. Utilizing information from a telephone survey with 2,597 respondents from 43 cities with valid police data on narcotics incidents, we analyzed the relationship between drug use, drug availability, and child maltreatment using multilevel models. City-level rates of drug abuse and dependence were related to more frequent physical abuse. Parents who use drugs in areas with greater availability of drugs reported more physical abuse and physical neglect. Emotional support was protective of all types of maltreatment. While most child welfare interventions focus on reducing parental drug use in order to reduce child abuse, these findings suggest environmental prevention or neighborhood strengthening approaches designed to reduce the supply of illicit drugs may also reduce child abuse through multiple mechanisms.

Drug affordability-potential tool for comparing illicit drug markets.

Science.gov (United States)

Groshkova, Teodora; Cunningham, Andrew; Royuela, Luis; Singleton, Nicola; Saggers, Tony; Sedefov, Roumen

2018-06-01

The importance of illicit drug price data and making appropriate adjustments for purity has been repeatedly highlighted for understanding illicit drug markets. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has been collecting retail price data for a number of drug types alongside drug-specific purity information for over 15 years. While these data are useful for a number of monitoring and analytical purposes, they are not without their limitations and there are circumstances where additional adjustment needs to be considered. This paper reviews some conceptual issues and measurement challenges relevant to the interpretation of price data. It also highlights the issues with between-country comparisons of drug prices and introduces the concept of affordability of drugs, going beyond purity-adjustment to account for varying national economies. Based on a 2015 European data set of price and purity data across the heroin and cocaine retail markets, the paper demonstrates a new model for drug market comparative analysis; calculation of drug affordability is achieved by applying to purity-adjusted prices 2015 Price Level Indices (PLI, Eurostat). Available data allowed retail heroin and cocaine market comparison for 27 European countries. The lowest and highest unadjusted prices per gram were observed for heroin: in Estonia, Belgium, Greece and Bulgaria (lowest) and Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Latvia (highest); for cocaine: the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom (lowest) and Turkey, Finland, Estonia and Romania (highest). The affordability per gram of heroin and cocaine when taking into account adjustment for both purity and economy demonstrates different patterns. It is argued that purity-adjusted price alone provides an incomplete comparison of retail price across countries. The proposed new method takes account of the differing economic conditions within European countries, thus providing a more sophisticated tool for cross

Characterization of Schizophrenia Adverse Drug Interactions through a Network Approach and Drug Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingchun Sun

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Antipsychotic drugs are medications commonly for schizophrenia (SCZ treatment, which include two groups: typical and atypical. SCZ patients have multiple comorbidities, and the coadministration of drugs is quite common. This may result in adverse drug-drug interactions, which are events that occur when the effect of a drug is altered by the coadministration of another drug. Therefore, it is important to provide a comprehensive view of these interactions for further coadministration improvement. Here, we extracted SCZ drugs and their adverse drug interactions from the DrugBank and compiled a SCZ-specific adverse drug interaction network. This network included 28 SCZ drugs, 241 non-SCZs, and 991 interactions. By integrating the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC classification with the network analysis, we characterized those interactions. Our results indicated that SCZ drugs tended to have more adverse drug interactions than other drugs. Furthermore, SCZ typical drugs had significant interactions with drugs of the “alimentary tract and metabolism” category while SCZ atypical drugs had significant interactions with drugs of the categories “nervous system” and “antiinfectives for systemic uses.” This study is the first to characterize the adverse drug interactions in the course of SCZ treatment and might provide useful information for the future SCZ treatment.

Confusing the drug facts on one nonprescription drug label with those on another: The Drug Facts Label as a text schema

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael P Ryan

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The Drug Facts Label is designed to guide consumers in comparing nonprescription drugs. Undergraduates studied and recalled drug facts for three analgesic or non-analgesic labels using Drug Facts Label headings as retrieval cues. They then studied and recalled drug facts from an aspirin label. Aspirin recall was greater when the prior labels were analgesics, but prior-label intrusion errors were also greater. These two effects were associated with the number of prior drug labels on which facilitating and interfering drug facts appeared. Using the Drug Facts Label schema to read drug labels can both enhance and degrade the recall of nonprescription drug facts.

Pharmacogenetics of drug-drug interaction and drug-drug-gene interaction: a systematic review on CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahar, Muh Akbar; Setiawan, Didik; Hak, Eelko; Wilffert, Bob

2017-05-01

Currently, most guidelines on drug-drug interaction (DDI) neither consider the potential effect of genetic polymorphism in the strength of the interaction nor do they account for the complex interaction caused by the combination of DDI and drug-gene interaction (DGI) where there are multiple biotransformation pathways, which is referred to as drug-drug-gene interaction (DDGI). In this systematic review, we report the impact of pharmacogenetics on DDI and DDGI in which three major drug-metabolizing enzymes - CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 - are central. We observed that several DDI and DDGI are highly gene-dependent, leading to a different magnitude of interaction. Precision drug therapy should take pharmacogenetics into account when drug interactions in clinical practice are expected.

Smarter Drugs: How Protein Crystallography Revolutionizes Drug Design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Clyde

2005-01-01

According to Smith, protein crystallography allows scientists to design drugs in a much more efficient way than the standard methods traditionally used by large drug companies, which can cost close to a billion dollars and take 10 to 15 years. 'A lot of the work can be compressed down,' Smith said. Protein crystallography enables researchers to learn the structure of molecules involved in disease and health. Seeing the loops, folds and placement of atoms in anything from a virus to a healthy cell membrane gives important information about how these things work - and how to encourage, sidestep or stop their functions. Drug design can be much faster when the relationship between structure and function tells you what area of a molecule to target. Smith will use a timeline to illustrate the traditional methods of drug development and the new ways it can be done now. 'It is very exciting work. There have been some failures, but many successes too.' A new drug to combat the flu was developed in a year or so. Smith will tell us how. He will also highlight drugs developed to combat HIV, Tuberculosis, hypertension and Anthrax.

HPMA Copolymer-Drug Conjugates with Controlled Tumor-Specific Drug Release.

Science.gov (United States)

Chytil, Petr; Koziolová, Eva; Etrych, Tomáš; Ulbrich, Karel

2018-01-01

Over the past few decades, numerous polymer drug carrier systems are designed and synthesized, and their properties are evaluated. Many of these systems are based on water-soluble polymer carriers of low-molecular-weight drugs and compounds, e.g., cytostatic agents, anti-inflammatory drugs, or multidrug resistance inhibitors, all covalently bound to a carrier by a biodegradable spacer that enables controlled release of the active molecule to achieve the desired pharmacological effect. Among others, the synthetic polymer carriers based on N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymers are some of the most promising carriers for this purpose. This review focuses on advances in the development of HPMA copolymer carriers and their conjugates with anticancer drugs, with triggered drug activation in tumor tissue and especially in tumor cells. Specifically, this review highlights the improvements in polymer drug carrier design with respect to the structure of a spacer to influence controlled drug release and activation, and its impact on the drug pharmacokinetics, enhanced tumor uptake, cellular trafficking, and in vivo antitumor activity. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Drug Retention Times

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2007-05-01

The purpose of this monograph is to provide information on drug retention times in the human body. The information provided is based on plausible illegal drug use activities that might be engaged in by a recreational drug user. Based on anecdotal evidence, most people “party” during extended time away from the work environment. Therefore, the following scenarios were envisioned: (1) a person uses an illicit drug at a party on Saturday night (infrequent user); (2) a person uses a drug one time on Friday night and once again on Saturday night (infrequent user); and (3) a person uses a drug on Friday night, uses a drug twice on Saturday night, and once again on Sunday (frequent user).

[Drugs in pregnancy].

Science.gov (United States)

Danchev, N; Astrug, A; Tsankova, V; Nikolova, I

2006-01-01

The use of drugs in pregnancy is being discussed. The influence of different factors, both physiological and drug related (physicochemical characteristics, dose, duration of pharmacotherapy) on the processes of absorption, distribution, protein binding, metabolism and excretion are reviewed. The up-to-date classification of the drugs in relation to their effects on the fetus is presented. Special emphasize is given to drugs (antibiotics, cardio-vascular, psychotropic etc.) used for the treatment of acute and chronic conditions in the course of pregnancy. Drugs used for symptoms like pain, high temperature and constipation are also reviewed. Recommendations for the use of safer drugs in pregnancy are given. Drugs with proven teratogenic effects are presented.

Risk of Clinically Relevant Pharmacokinetic-based Drug-drug Interactions with Drugs Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Between 2013 and 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jingjing; Zhou, Zhu; Tay-Sontheimer, Jessica; Levy, Rene H; Ragueneau-Majlessi, Isabelle

2018-03-23

A total of 103 drugs (including 14 combination drugs) were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 2013 to 2016. Pharmacokinetic-based drug interaction profiles were analyzed using the University of Washington Drug Interaction Database and the clinical relevance of these observations was characterized based on information from New Drug Application reviews. CYP3A was identified as a major contributor to clinical drug-drug interactions (DDIs), involved in approximately 2/3 of all interactions. Transporters (alone or with enzymes) were found to participate in about half of all interactions, although most of these were weak-to-moderate interactions. When considered as victims, eight new molecular entities (NMEs; cobimetinib, ibrutnib, isavuconazole, ivabradine, naloxegol, paritaprevir, simeprevir, and venetoclax) were identified as sensitive substrates of CYP3A, two NMEs (pirfenidone and tasimelteon) were sensitive substrates of CYP1A2, one NME (dasabuvir) was a sensitive substrate of CYP2C8, one NME (eliglustat) was a sensitive substrate of CYP2D6, and one NME (grazoprevir) was a sensitive substrate of OATP1B1/3 (with changes in exposure greater than 5-fold when co-administered with a strong inhibitor). Interestingly, approximately 75% of identified CYP3A substrates were also substrates of P-gp. As perpetrators, most clinical DDIs involved weak-to-moderate inhibition or induction, with only two drugs (Viekira Pak and idelalisib) showing strong inhibition of CYP3A, and one NME (lumacaftor) considered as a strong CYP3A inducer. Among drugs with large changes in exposure (≥ 5-fold), whether as victim or perpetrator, the most represented therapeutic classes were antivirals and oncology drugs, suggesting a significant risk of clinical DDIs in these patient populations. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Patterns of drug use among a sample of drug users and injecting drug users attending a General Practice in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shakeshaft Anthony

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Aim This study aimed to examine drug use, drug treatment history and risk behaviour among a sample of Iranian drug users seeking treatment through a general practice clinic in Iran. Methods Review of medical records and an intake questionnaire at a large general practice in Marvdasht, Iran, with a special interest in drug dependence treatment. Records from a random sample of injecting drug users (IDU, non-injecting drug users (DU and non-drug using patients were examined. Results 292 records were reviewed (34% IDU, 31% DU and 35% non-drug users. Eighty-three percent were males; all females were non-drug users. The mean age of the sample was 30 years. Of the IDU sample, 67% reported sharing a needle or syringe, 19% of these had done so in prison. Of those who had ever used drugs, being 'tired' of drug use was the most common reason for seeking help (34%. Mean age of first drug use was 20 years. The first drugs most commonly used were opium (72%, heroin (13% and hashish/ other cannabinoids (13%. Three quarters reported having previously attempted to cease their drug use. IDU were more likely than DU to report having ever been imprisoned (41% vs 7% and 41% to have used drugs in prison. Conclusion This study has shown that there is a need for general practice clinics in Iran to treat drug users including those who inject and that a substantial proportion of those who inject have shared needles and syringes, placing them at risk of BBVI such as HIV and hepatitis C. The expansion of services for drug users in Iran such as needle and syringe programs and pharmacotherapies are likely to be effective in reducing the harms associated with opium use and heroin injection.

Effect of drug law enforcement on drug market violence: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Werb, Dan; Rowell, Greg; Guyatt, Gordon; Kerr, Thomas; Montaner, Julio; Wood, Evan

2011-03-01

Violence is amongst the primary concerns of communities around the world and research has demonstrated links between violence and the illicit drug trade, particularly in urban settings. Given the growing emphasis on evidence-based policy-making, and the ongoing severe drug market violence in Mexico and other settings, we conducted a systematic review to examine the impacts of drug law enforcement on drug market violence. We conducted a systematic review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Specifically, we undertook a search of English language electronic databases (Academic Search Complete, PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, Sociological Abstracts, Social Service Abstracts, PAIS International and Lexis-Nexis), the Internet (Google, Google Scholar), and article reference lists, from database inception to January 24, 2011. Overall, 15 studies were identified that evaluated the impact of drug law enforcement on drug market violence, including 11 (73%) longitudinal analyses using linear regression, 2 (13%) mathematical drug market models, and 2 (13%) qualitative studies. Fourteen (93%) studies reported an adverse impact of drug law enforcement on levels of violence. Ten of the 11 (91%) studies employing longitudinal qualitative analyses found a significant association between drug law enforcement and drug market violence. Our findings suggest that increasing drug law enforcement is unlikely to reduce drug market violence. Instead, the existing evidence base suggests that gun violence and high homicide rates may be an inevitable consequence of drug prohibition and that disrupting drug markets can paradoxically increase violence. In this context, and since drug prohibition has not meaningfully reduced drug supply, alternative regulatory models will be required if drug supply and drug market violence are to be meaningfully reduced. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Drugs

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... Used Drugs in the Past Drug Use Prevention Phone Numbers and Websites Search ... who aren't yet born. Drug use can hurt the body and the brain, sometimes forever. Drug use can also lead to addiction, a long-lasting brain disease in which people ...

Evaluation of drug-drug interactions among patients with chronic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: The risk of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) is high in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) necessitating dose adjustments or the avoidance of drug combinations. This study aimed to evaluate DDIs among patients with CKD in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, South-East Nigeria.

Drug policing assemblages: Repressive drug policies and the zonal banning of drug users in Denmark’s club land

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søgaard, Thomas F.; Houborg, Esben; Pedersen, Michael M.

2017-01-01

in local ‘drug policing assemblages’ characterized by inter-agency relation-building, the creative combination of public and private (legal) resources and internal power struggles. It also provides evidence of how drug policing assemblages give rise to many different, and often surprising, forms...... how zonal banning is also used to target drug-using clubbers in Denmark. Methods: Based on ethnographic observations and interviews with nightlife control agents in two Danish cities, the article aims to provide new insights into how the enforcement of national drug policies on drug-using clubbers......, is shaped by plural nightlife policing complexes. Results: The paper demonstrates how the policing of drug-using clubbers is a growing priority for both police and private security agents. The article also demonstrates how the enforcement of zonal bans on drug-using clubbers involves complex collaborative...

[Drugs and light].

Science.gov (United States)

Tønnesen, H H

1997-06-30

The number of drugs that are found to be photochemically unstable or able to induce phototoxic side-effects is steadily increasing. It can be difficult, however, to obtain relevant information on the photoreactivity of drugs or drug products from the commonly used handbooks. This is because of lack of standard methods of evaluation or a requirement for official specifications for a given product. The author points to the main problems connected with interactions between drugs and light in vitro and in vivo. The most obvious result of exposure to light is reduced potency of the drug because of photodecomposition. Adverse effects due to the formation of photodegradation products during storage and use have also been reported. The drug substance can further cause light-induced side-effects after administration to the patient, e.g. phototoxicity and photoallergy. More data on photoreactivity are needed in order to minimize the side-effects of frequently used drugs. The article includes a list of potential photosensitizing drug substances on the Norwegian market.

[Drug delivery systems using nano-sized drug carriers].

Science.gov (United States)

Nakayama, Masamichi; Okano, Teruo

2005-07-01

Nanotechnology has attracted great attention all over the world in recent several years and has led to the establishment of the novel technical field of "nanomedicine" through collaboration with advanced medical technology. Particularly, site-specific drug targeting using particle drug carrier systems has made substantial progress and been actively developed. This review explains the essential factors (size and chemical character) of drug carriers to allow long circulation in the bloodstream avoiding the reticuloendothelial system, and shows the present status and future perspective of several types of nano-carrier systems (water-soluble polymer, liposome and polymeric micelle). We also introduce the novel concept of multi-targeting system (combination of two or more targeting methodologies) for ideal drug therapies.

Observational study of drug-drug interactions in oncological inpatients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Sacramento Díaz-Carrasco

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To determine the prevalence of potential clinically relevant drug- drug interactions in adult oncological inpatients, as well as to describe the most frequent interactions. A standard database was used. Method: An observational, transversal, and descriptive study including patients admitted to the Oncology Service of a reference hospital. All prescriptions were collected twice a week during a month. They were analysed using Lexicomp® database, recording all interactions classified with a level of risk: C, D or X. Results: A total of 1 850 drug-drug interactions were detected in 218 treatments. The prevalence of treatments with at least one clinically relevant interaction was 95%, being 94.5% for those at level C and 26.1% for levels D and X. The drugs most commonly involved in the interactions detected were opioid analgesics, antipsychotics (butyrophenones, benzodiazepines, pyrazolones, glucocorticoids and heparins, whereas interactions with antineoplastics were minimal, highlighting those related to paclitaxel and between metamizole and various antineoplastics. Conclusions: The prevalence of clinically relevant drug-drug interactions rate was very high, highlighting the high risk percentage of them related to level of risk X. Due to the frequency of onset and potential severity, highlighted the concomitant use of central nervous system depressants drugs with risk of respiratory depression, the risk of onset of anticholinergic symptoms when combining morphine or haloperidol with butylscopolamine, ipratropium bromide or dexchlorpheniramine and the multiple interactions involving metamizole.

Rational drug design paradigms: the odyssey for designing better drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Kellici, Tahsin; Ntountaniotis, Dimitrios; Vrontaki, Eleni; Liapakis, George; Moutevelis-Minakakis, Panagiota; Kokotos, George; Hadjikakou, Sotiris; Tzakos, Andreas G; Afantitis, Antreas; Melagraki, Georgia; Bryant, Sharon; Langer, Thierry; Di Marzo, Vincenzo; Mavromoustakos, Thomas

2015-01-01

Due to the time and effort requirements for the development of a new drug, and the high attrition rates associated with this developmental process, there is an intense effort by academic and industrial researchers to find novel ways for more effective drug development schemes. The first step in the discovery process of a new drug is the identification of the lead compound. The modern research tendency is to avoid the synthesis of new molecules based on chemical intuition, which is time and cost consuming, and instead to apply in silico rational drug design. This approach reduces the consumables and human personnel involved in the initial steps of the drug design. In this review real examples from our research activity aiming to discover new leads will be given for various dire warnings diseases. There is no recipe to follow for discovering new leads. The strategy to be followed depends on the knowledge of the studied system and the experience of the researchers. The described examples constitute successful and unsuccessful efforts and reflect the reality which medicinal chemists have to face in drug design and development. The drug stability is also discussed in both organic molecules and metallotherapeutics. This is an important issue in drug discovery as drug metabolism in the body can lead to various toxic and undesired molecules.

Drug-Drug Multicomponent Solid Forms: Cocrystal, Coamorphous and Eutectic of Three Poorly Soluble Antihypertensive Drugs Using Mechanochemical Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Haneef, Jamshed; Chadha, Renu

2017-08-01

The present study deals with the application of mechanochemical approach for the preparation of drug-drug multicomponent solid forms of three poorly soluble antihypertensive drugs (telmisartan, irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide) using atenolol as a coformer. The resultant solid forms comprise of cocrystal (telmisartan-atenolol), coamorphous (irbesartan-atenolol) and eutectic (hydrochlorothiazide-atenolol). The study emphasizes that solid-state transformation of drug molecules into new forms is a result of the change in structural patterns, diminishing of dimers and creating new facile hydrogen bonding network based on structural resemblance. The propensity for heteromeric or homomeric interaction between two different drugs resulted into diverse solid forms (cocrystal/coamorphous/eutectics) and become one of the interesting aspects of this research work. Evaluation of these solid forms revealed an increase in solubility and dissolution leading to better antihypertensive activity in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) salt-induced animal model. Thus, development of these drug-drug multicomponent solid forms is a promising and viable approach to addressing the issue of poor solubility and could be of considerable interest in dual drug therapy for the treatment of hypertension.

75 FR 32482 - Investigational New Drug Applications; Co-development of Investigational Drugs

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-08

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0247] Investigational New Drug Applications; Co-development of Investigational Drugs AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice; establishment of docket; request for comments. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug...

Influence of multidrug resistance and drug transport proteins on chemotherapy drug metabolism.

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Helena; McCann, Andrew; Clynes, Martin; Larkin, Annemarie

2015-05-01

Chemotherapy involving the use of anticancer drugs remains an important strategy in the overall management of patients with metastatic cancer. Acquisition of multidrug resistance remains a major impediment to successful chemotherapy. Drug transporters in cell membranes and intracellular drug metabolizing enzymes contribute to the resistance phenotype and determine the pharmacokinetics of anticancer drugs in the body. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters mediate the transport of endogenous metabolites and xenobiotics including cytotoxic drugs out of cells. Solute carrier (SLC) transporters mediate the influx of cytotoxic drugs into cells. This review focuses on the substrate interaction of these transporters, on their biology and what role they play together with drug metabolizing enzymes in eliminating therapeutic drugs from cells. The majority of anticancer drugs are substrates for the ABC transporter and SLC transporter families. Together, these proteins have the ability to control the influx and the efflux of structurally unrelated chemotherapeutic drugs, thereby modulating the intracellular drug concentration. These interactions have important clinical implications for chemotherapy because ultimately they determine therapeutic efficacy, disease progression/relapse and the success or failure of patient treatment.

Breaking the news or fueling the epidemic? Temporal association between news media report volume and opioid-related mortality.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nabarun Dasgupta

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Historical studies of news media have suggested an association between reporting and increased drug abuse. Period effects for substance use have been documented for different classes of legal and illicit substances, with the suspicion that media publicity may have played major roles in their emergence. Previous analyses have drawn primarily from qualitative evidence; the temporal relationship between media reporting volume and adverse health consequences has not been quantified nationally. We set out to explore whether we could find a quantitative relationship between media reports about prescription opioid abuse and overdose mortality associated with these drugs. We assessed whether increases in news media reports occurred before or after increases in overdose deaths.Our ecological study compared a monthly time series of unintentional poisoning deaths involving short-acting prescription opioid substances, from 1999 to 2005 using multiple cause-of-death data published by the National Center for Health Statistics, to monthly counts of English-language news articles mentioning generic and branded names of prescription opioids obtained from Google News Archives from 1999 to 2005. We estimated the association between media volume and mortality rates by time-lagged regression analyses. There were 24,272 articles and 30,916 deaths involving prescription opioids during the seven-year study period. Nationally, the number of articles mentioning prescription opioids increased dramatically starting in early 2001, following prominent coverage about the nonmedical use of OxyContin. We found a significant association between news reports and deaths, with media reporting preceding fatal opioid poisonings by two to six months and explaining 88% (p<0.0001, df 78 of the variation in mortality.While availability, structural, and individual predispositions are key factors influencing substance use, news reporting may enhance the popularity of psychoactive

Prescription Drugs, Over-the-Counter Drugs, Supplements and Herbal Products

Science.gov (United States)

... at risk? Zika virus and pregnancy Folic acid Medicine safety and pregnancy Birth defects prevention Learn how ... the-counter drugs, supplements and herbal products Prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, supplements and herbal products ...

Drug-drug interactions among recently hospitalised patients--frequent but mostly clinically insignificant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glintborg, Bente; Andersen, Stig Ejdrup; Dalhoff, Kim

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Patients use and store considerable amounts of drugs. The aim of the present study was to identify potential drug-drug interactions between drugs used by patients recently discharged from the hospital and, subsequently, to estimate the clinical implications of these interactions. METHODS......: Patients were visited within 1 week following their discharge from hospital and interviewed about their drug use. Stored products were inspected. We used a bibliography (Hansten and Horn; Wolters Kluwer Health, St. Louis, Mo., 2004) to identify and classify potential drug-drug interactions. RESULTS......: eight per patient; range: 1-24). With respect to those drugs used daily or on demand, 476 potential interactions were identified (126 patients); none were class 1 (always avoid drug combination) and 25 were class 2 (usually avoid combination; 24 patients). Eleven of the potential class 2 interactions...

Exploring drug-target interaction networks of illicit drugs

OpenAIRE

Atreya, Ravi V; Sun, Jingchun; Zhao, Zhongming

2013-01-01

Background Drug addiction is a complex and chronic mental disease, which places a large burden on the American healthcare system due to its negative effects on patients and their families. Recently, network pharmacology is emerging as a promising approach to drug discovery by integrating network biology and polypharmacology, allowing for a deeper understanding of molecular mechanisms of drug actions at the systems level. This study seeks to apply this approach for investigation of illicit dru...

Drug nanocrystals for the formulation of poorly soluble drugs and its application as a potential drug delivery system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Lei; Zhang Dianrui; Chen Minghui

2008-01-01

Formulation of poorly soluble drugs is a general intractable problem in pharmaceutical field, especially those compounds poorly soluble in both aqueous and organic media. It is difficult to resolve this problem using conventional formulation approaches, so many drugs are abandoned early in discovery. Nanocrystals, a new carrier-free colloidal drug delivery system with a particle size ranging from 100 to 1000 nm, is thought as a viable drug delivery strategy to develop the poorly soluble drugs, because of their simplicity in preparation and general applicability. In this article, the product techniques of the nanocrystals were reviewed and compared, the special features of drug nanocrystals were discussed. The researches on the application of the drug nanocrystals to various administration routes were described in detail. In addition, as introduced later, the nanocrystals could be easily scaled up, which was the prerequisite to the development of a delivery system as a market product

Drug-drug interactions in prescriptions for hospitalized elderly with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiago Aparecido Maschio de Lima

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The objective was to determine the rate of potential drug-drug interactions in prescriptions for elderly diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome in a teaching hospital. This is an exploratory, descriptive study that analyzed 607 prescriptions through databases to identify and classify the interactions based on intensity (major, moderate or minor, the mechanism (pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamics and documentation relevance. We detected 10,162 drug-drug interactions, distributed in 554 types of different combinations within the prescribed drugs, and 99% of prescriptions presented at least one and a maximum of 53 interactions; highlighting the prevalence of major and moderates ones. There was a correlation between the number of drug-drug interactions and the number of prescribed drugs and the hospitalization time. This study contributes for the delimitation of a prevalence pattern in drug-drug interactions in prescriptions for Acute Coronary Syndrome, besides subsidizing the importance of the effective implementation of the Clinical Pharmacy in teaching hospitals.

Potential drug-drug interactions on in-patient medication ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Potential drug-drug interactions on in-patient medication prescriptions at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in western Uganda: prevalence, clinical importance and associated factors. SJ Lubinga, E Uwiduhaye ...

Abuse of antiretroviral drugs combined with addictive drugs by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Reports of the use of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to produce a highly addictive drug called nyaope or whoonga are of major concern as ARVs are easily accessible in sub-Saharan Africa, including to pregnant women. Use of illicit drugs by pregnant women may result in serious adverse effects in their infants. We have ...

Hidden Wholesale: The drug diffusing capacity of online drug cryptomarkets

OpenAIRE

Aldridge, Judith A; Décary-Hétu, David

2016-01-01

Background: In spite of globalizing processes ‘offline’ retail drug markets remain localized and – in recent decades – typically ‘closed’, in which dealers sell primarily to known customers. We characterize drug cryptomarkets as ‘anonymous open’ marketplaces that allow the diffusion of drugs across locales. Where cryptomarket customers make stock-sourcing purchases for offline distribution, the cryptomarket may indirectly serve drug users who are not themselves cryptomarket customers, thereby...

IMPROVING ACCESS TO DRUGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Max Joseph Herman

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Although essentially not all therapies need drug intervention, drugs is still an important components in health sector, either in preventive, curative, rehabilitative or promotion efforts. Hence the access to drugs is a main problem, either in international or national scale even to the smallest unit. The problem on access to drugs is very complicated and cannot be separated especially from pharmacy management problems; moreover in general from the overall lack of policy development and effective of health policy, and also the implementation process. With the policy development and effective health policy, rational drug uses, sufficient health service budget so a country can overcome the health problems. Besides infrastructures, regulations, distribution and cultural influences; the main obstacles for drug access is drugs affordability if the price of drugs is an important part and determined by many factors, especially the drug status whether is still patent orgenerics that significantly decrease cost of health cares and enhance the drugs affordability. The determination of essential drug prices in developing countries should based on equity principal so that poor people pay cheaper and could afford the essential drugs. WHO predicts two third of world population can not afford the essential drugs in which in developing countries, some are because of in efficient budget allocation in consequence of drug distribution management, including incorrect selection and allocation and also irrational uses. In part these could be overcome by enhancing performances on the allocation pharmacy needs, including the management of information system, inventory management, stock management and the distribution. Key words: access, drugs, essential drugs, generic drugs

[Two news drugs (ivacaftor & bedaquiline), one biomarker (florbetapir) and a re-positioned drug (propranolol) on the market].

Science.gov (United States)

Monneret, C

2014-07-01

Among the new molecular entities approved by the EMEA and the FDA in 2012, four have caught our attention for their significant contribution to the health of patient. First of all, among the notable 2012 approvals, is ivacaftor or Kalydeco®. This is the first treatment that targets one of the gene defects that is underlying cause of cystic fibrosis. This is also an example of the promise of personalized medicine. The benefits with bedaquiline or Sirturo® are its ability to likely provide clinically relevant activity as part of multi-drug regimens against tuberculosis (TB) based on clinical data in multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) patients, who were defined as being at least resistant against the two major tuberculostatic medicines (isaoniazide and rifampicine). On December 2012 and then, on December 2013, the FDA and European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorization for Sirturo® (bedaquiline), respectively, for use as part of a combination therapy for pulmonary multidrug resistant tuberculosis in adult patients when an effective treatment regimen cannot otherwise be composed for reasons of resistance or tolerability. Amyvid®, which is a solution for injection that contains the active substance florbetapir (18F), is a radiopharmaceutical that emits low amounts of radiation and works by targeting and attaching to β-amyloid plaques in the brain. This enables doctors to know whether or not significant amount of plaques are present in order to know if the patient is unlikely or not, to have Alzheimer's disease. Finally, the last topics addresses the propranolol, which is a beta-blocker, used alone or together with other medicines to treat high blood pressure. Propranolol is gaining a new lease of life for treating infantile hemangioma. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Drug-drug interactions of antifungal agents and implications for patient care.

Science.gov (United States)

Gubbins, Paul O; Amsden, Jarrett R

2005-10-01

Drug interactions in the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys result from alterations in pH, ionic complexation, and interference with membrane transport proteins and enzymatic processes involved in intestinal absorption, enteric and hepatic metabolism, renal filtration and excretion. Azole antifungals can be involved in drug interactions at all the sites, by one or more of the above mechanisms. Consequently, azoles interact with a vast array of compounds. Drug-drug interactions associated with amphotericin B formulations are predictable and result from the renal toxicity and electrolyte disturbances associated with these compounds. The echinocandins are unknown cytochrome P450 substrates and to date are relatively devoid of significant drug-drug interactions. This article reviews drug interactions involving antifungal agents that affect other agents and implications for patient care are highlighted.

Adverse Drug Reactions Related to Drug Administration in Hospitalized Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallelli, Luca; Siniscalchi, Antonio; Palleria, Caterina; Mumoli, Laura; Staltari, Orietta; Squillace, Aida; Maida, Francesca; Russo, Emilio; Gratteri, Santo; De Sarro, Giovambattista

2017-01-01

Drug treatment may be related to the development of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). In this paper, we evaluated the ADRs in patients admitted to Catanzaro Hospital. After we obtained the approval by local Ethical Committee, we performed a retrospective study on clinical records from March 01, 2013 to April 30, 2015. The association between drug and ADR or between drug and drug-drug-interactions (DDIs) was evaluated using the Naranjo's probability scale and Drug Interaction Probability Scale (DIPS), respectively. During the study period, we analyzed 2870 clinical records containing a total of 11,138 prescriptions, and we documented the development of 770 ADRs. The time of hospitalization was significantly higher (P<0.05) in women with ADRs (12.6 ± 1.2 days) with respect to men (11.8± 0.83 days). Using the Naranjo score, we documented a probable association in 78% of these reactions, while DIPS revealed that about 22% of ADRs were related to DDIs. Patients with ADRs received 3052 prescriptions on 11,138 (27.4%) having a mean of 6.1±0.29 drugs that was significantly higher (P<0.01) with respect to patients not experiencing ADRs (mean of 3.4±0.13 drugs). About 19% of ADRs were not diagnosed and were treated as new diseases. Our results indicate that drug administration induces the development of ADRs also during the hospitalization, particularly in elderly women. Moreover, we also documented that ADRs in some patients are under-diagnosed, therefore, it is important to motivate healthcare to report the ADRs in order to optimize the patients' safety. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Drug Use among Seniors on Public Drug Programs in Canada, 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Proulx, Jeff; Hunt, Jordan

2015-01-01

Seniors take more drugs than younger Canadians because, on average, they have a higher number of chronic conditions. Although taking multiple medications may be necessary to manage these conditions, it is important to consider the benefits and risks of each medication and the therapeutic goals of the patient. This article provides an in-depth look at the number and types of drugs used by seniors using drug claims data from the CIHI's National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System Database, representing approximately 70% of seniors in Canada. In 2012, almost two-thirds (65.9%) of seniors on public drug programs had claims for five or more drug classes, while 27.2% had claims for 10 or more, and 8.6% had claims for 15 or more. The most commonly used drug class was statins, used by nearly half (46.6%) of seniors. Nearly two-thirds (60.9%) of seniors living in long-term care (LTC) facilities had claims for 10 or more drug classes. Proton pump inhibitors were the most commonly used drug class among seniors living in LTC facilities (used by 37.0% of seniors in LTC facilities), while statins ranked seventh (29.8%).

Drugs and drug policy in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leuw, Ed.

1991-01-01

The Dutch parliament enacted the revised Opium Act in 1976. This penal law is part of the Dutch drug policy framework that includes tolerance for nonconforming lifestyles, risk reduction in regard to the harmful health and social consequences of drug taking, and penal measures directed against

Food and Drug Administration Drug Approval Process: A History and Overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Christopher Ty

2016-03-01

In this article, the processing of investigational and new drug applications is described and the standard and expedited review processes are examined. The efforts of the US Food and Drug Administration to ensure greater agency transparency and fiscal responsibility and intensify oversight during the drug development and approval process are reviewed. Often attributed to a decrease in the number of uninsured adults, both the increase in prescription drug sales and the high costs associated with bringing a new drug to market highlight the necessity for a streamlined and cost-effective process to deliver these drugs safely and effectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Drug use patterns among Thai illicit drug injectors amidst increased police presence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suwannawong Paisan

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Thailand has traditionally pursued an aggressive enforcement-based anti-illicit drug policy in an effort to make the country "drug-free." In light of this ongoing approach, we sought to assess impacts of enforcement on drug use behaviors among a cohort of injection drug users (IDU in Thailand. We examined drug use patterns among IDU participating in a cross-sectional study conducted in Bangkok (n = 252. Participants were asked to provide data regarding patterns of drug use in the previous six months, including types of drugs consumed, method of consumption, frequency of use, and weekly income spent on drugs. We also conducted bivariate analyses to identify a possible effect of a reported increase in police presence on measures of drug use and related risk behaviors among study participants. One hundred fifty-five (61.5% individuals reported injection heroin use and 132 (52.4% individuals reported injection midazolam use at least daily in the past six months. Additionally, 86 (34.1% individuals reported at least daily injection Yaba and Ice (i.e., methamphetamine use. Participants in our study reported high levels of illicit drug use, including the injection of both illicit and licit drugs. In bivariate analyses, no association between increased police presence and drug use behaviors was observed. These findings demonstrate high ongoing rates of drug injecting in Thailand despite reports of increased levels of strict enforcement and enforcement-related violence, and raise questions regarding the merits of this approach.

Drug abuse first aid

Science.gov (United States)

... use of these drugs is a form of drug abuse. Medicines that are for treating a health problem ... about local resources. Alternative Names Overdose from drugs; Drug abuse first aid References Myck MB. Hallucinogens and drugs ...

Molecularly precise dendrimer-drug conjugates with tunable drug release for cancer therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhuxian; Ma, Xinpeng; Murphy, Caitlin J; Jin, Erlei; Sun, Qihang; Shen, Youqing; Van Kirk, Edward A; Murdoch, William J

2014-10-06

The structural preciseness of dendrimers makes them perfect drug delivery carriers, particularly in the form of dendrimer-drug conjugates. Current dendrimer-drug conjugates are synthesized by anchoring drug and functional moieties onto the dendrimer peripheral surface. However, functional groups exhibiting the same reactivity make it impossible to precisely control the number and the position of the functional groups and drug molecules anchored to the dendrimer surface. This structural heterogeneity causes variable pharmacokinetics, preventing such conjugates to be translational. Furthermore, the highly hydrophobic drug molecules anchored on the dendrimer periphery can interact with blood components and alter the pharmacokinetic behavior. To address these problems, we herein report molecularly precise dendrimer-drug conjugates with drug moieties buried inside the dendrimers. Surprisingly, the drug release rates of these conjugates were tailorable by the dendrimer generation, surface chemistry, and acidity. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

DRUGS IN SPORT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David R. Mottram

2005-12-01

Full Text Available This new edition includes fresh information regarding drugs use and abuse in sport and the updated worldwide anti-doping laws, and changes to the prohibited and therapeutic use exemption lists. The objectives of the book are to review/discuss the latest information on drugs in sport by considering i actions of drugs and hormones, ii medication and nutritional supplements in sport, iii the latest doping control regulations of the WADA, iv the use of banned therapeutic drugs in sport, v an assessment of the prevalence of drug taking in sport. FEATURES A common, uniform strategy and evidence-based approach to organizing and interpreting the literature is used in all chapters. This textbook is composed of twelve parts with sub-sections in all of them. The topics of the parts are: i An introduction to drugs and their use in sport, ii Drug use and abuse in sport, iii Central nervous system stimulants, iv WADA regulations in relation to drugs used in the treatment of respiratory tract disorders, v Androgenic anabolic steroids, vi Peptide and glycoprotein hormones and sport, vii Blood boosting and sport, viii Drug treatment of inflammation in sports injuries, ix Alcohol, anti-anxiety drugs and sport, x Creatine, xi Doping control and sport, xii Prevalence of drug misuse in sport. Each specific chapter has been systematically developed from the data available in prospective, retrospective, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. The tables and figures are numerous, helpful and very useful. AUDIENCE The book provides a very useful resource for students on sports related courses, coaches and trainers, researchers, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, pharmacologists, healthcare professionals in the fields of sports medicine and those involved in the management and administration side of sport. The readers are going to discover that this is an excellent reference book. Extensively revised new edition of this book is also a first-rate resource for

Rings in drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Richard D; MacCoss, Malcolm; Lawson, Alastair D G

2014-07-24

We have analyzed the rings, ring systems, and frameworks in drugs listed in the FDA Orange Book to understand the frequency, timelines, molecular property space, and the application of these rings in different therapeutic areas and target classes. This analysis shows that there are only 351 ring systems and 1197 frameworks in drugs that came onto the market before 2013. Furthermore, on average six new ring systems enter drug space each year and approximately 28% of new drugs contain a new ring system. Moreover, it is very unusual for a drug to contain more than one new ring system and the majority of the most frequently used ring systems (83%) were first used in drugs developed prior to 1983. These observations give insight into the chemical novelty of drugs and potentially efficient ways to assess compound libraries and develop compounds from hit identification to lead optimization and beyond.

Evaluation and appraisal of drug information services in a rural secondary level care hospital, Anantapur, AP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rohit Bhavsar

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Drug Information Center (DIC is an information center which provides drug information (DI to healthcare professionals. The aim was to evaluate the performance of DIC for improving the quality and quantity of information services provided to the healthcare professionals. The service was provided free of cost to the customers. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted for the period of 6 months from February to August 2011 excluding May due to vacation. Customers were asked: how did they find the service provided to them? Was it good, satisfactory, or need improvement? There were written feedback forms to be filled by the customers, including customer satisfaction questions. The official publication of the DIC, RIPER PDIC Bulletin was screened for its types of articles/number of drug news published. The bulletin is circulated for free to the healthcare professionals electronically. Results and Discussion: A total of 232 queries were obtained during the study period of 6 months. Average number of queried received to the DIC was 39 per month. Most preferred mode of queries was personal access (89%. Majority of queries were received from nurses, i.e., 162 (70% queries and 81% of all queries were drug oriented for improving knowledge. There were only 19% of the queries for individual patients; doctors asked most of those queries. Only 3% queries answered were rated as need improvement by the healthcare professionals. Rest were considered as either Good (56% or satisfactory (49%. Range of drug news published in each bulletin was 3-4 and most of the other articles include expert opinion to improve practice or training. Conclusion: The DI services were satisfactorily used for academic interests. Nurses used the service for the highest compared to other health care professionals. Future studies should plan to establish the usefulness of DI to improve healthcare practice.

[Designer drugs in Jutland].

Science.gov (United States)

Simonsen, K W; Kaa, E

2001-04-16

The aim of this investigation was to examine illegal tablets and capsules seized in Jutland, the western part of Denmark, during the period 1995-1999. The drugs are described according to technical appearance (colour, logo, score, diameter) and content of synthetic drugs. All illegal tablets and capsules received during the period 1995-1999 (109 cases containing 192 different samples) were examined. MDMA was the most common drug and was seen during the entire period. Amphetamine was the second most common drug and has been frequently detected during the the last two years. Drugs like MDE, MBDB, BDB, and 2-CB were rarely seen and they disappeared quickly from the illegal market. MDA appeared on the market at the end of 1999. Only 53% of the tablets contained MDMA as the sole drug. Eighty-one percent of the tablets/capsules contained only one synthetic drug, whereas 13% contained a mixture of two or more synthetic drugs. Six per cent of the samples did not contain a euphoric drug/designer drug. The content of MDMA, MDE, and amphetamine in the tablets varied greatly. MDMA is apparently the drug preferred by the users, but still only half of the tablets contained MDMA as the only drug. The rest of the tablets contained either another synthetic drug or a mixture of drugs. In conclusion, the increasing supply of various drugs with different and unpredictable effects and of miscellaneous quality brings about the risk of serious and complicated intoxications.

Information for Consumers (Drugs)

Science.gov (United States)

... approved drugs Drugs@FDA Information on FDA-approved brand name and generic drugs including labeling and regulatory history Drugs with Approved Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) REMS is a risk management plan required by FDA for certain prescription drugs, ...

Adverse drug reactions induced by cardiovascular drugs in outpatients.

Science.gov (United States)

Gholami, Kheirollah; Ziaie, Shadi; Shalviri, Gloria

2008-01-01

Considering increased use of cardiovascular drugs and limitations in pre-marketing trials for drug safety evaluation, post marketing evaluation of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) induced by this class of medicinal products seems necessary. To determine the rate and seriousness of adverse reactions induced by cardiovascular drugs in outpatients. To compare sex and different age groups in developing ADRs with cardiovascular agents. To assess the relationship between frequencies of ADRs and the number of drugs used. This cross-sectional study was done in cardiovascular clinic at a teaching hospital. All patients during an eight months period were evaluated for cardiovascular drugs induced ADRs. Patient and reaction factors were analyzed in detected ADRs. Patients with or without ADRs were compared in sex and age by using chi-square test. Assessing the relationship between frequencies of ADRs and the number of drugs used was done by using Pearson analysis. The total number of 518 patients was visited at the clinic. ADRs were detected in 105 (20.3%) patients. The most frequent ADRs were occurred in the age group of 51-60. The highest rate of ADRs was recorded to be induced by Diltiazem (23.5%) and the lowest rate with Atenolol (3%). Headache was the most frequent detected ADR (23%). Assessing the severity and preventability of ADRs revealed that 1.1% of ADRs were detected as severe and 1.9% as preventable reactions. Women significantly developed more ADRs in this study (chi square = 3.978, PPearson=0.259, P<0.05). Monitoring ADRs in patients using cardiovascular drugs is a matter of importance since this class of medicines is usually used by elderly patients with critical conditions and underlying diseases.

Projecting future drug expenditures--2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, James M; Shah, Nilay D; Vermeulen, Lee C; Doloresco, Fred; Martin, Patrick K; Blake, Sharon; Matusiak, Linda; Hunkler, Robert J; Schumock, Glen T

2009-02-01

Drug expenditure trends in 2007 and 2008, projected drug expenditures for 2009, and factors likely to influence drug expenditures are discussed. Various factors are likely to influence drug expenditures in 2009, including drugs in development, the diffusion of new drugs, drug safety concerns, generic drugs, Medicare Part D, and changes in the drug supply chain. The increasing availability of important generic drugs and drug safety concerns continue to moderate growth in drug expenditures. The drug supply chain remains dynamic and may influence drug expenditures, particularly in specialized therapeutic areas. Initial data suggest that the Medicare Part D benefit has influenced drug expenditures, but the ultimate impact of the benefit on drug expenditures remains unclear. From 2006 to 2007, total U.S. drug expenditures increased by 4.0%, with total spending rising from $276 billion to $287 billion. Drug expenditures in clinics continue to grow more rapidly than in other settings, with a 9.9% increase from 2006 to 2007. Hospital drug expenditures increased at a moderate rate of only 1.6% from 2006 to 2007; through the first nine months of 2008, hospital drug expenditures increased by only 2.8% compared with the same period in 2007. In 2009, we project a 0-2% increase in drug expenditures in outpatient settings, a 1-3% increase in expenditures for clinic-administered drugs, and a 1-3% increase in hospital drug expenditures.

Teenagers and drugs

Science.gov (United States)

Teenagers and drugs; Symptoms of drug use in teenagers; Drug abuse - teenagers; Substance abuse - teenagers ... for a specialist who has experience working with teenagers. Do not hesitate, get help right away. The ...

[New drug development by innovative drug administration--"change" in pharmaceutical field].

Science.gov (United States)

Nagai, T

1997-11-01

New drug development can be made by providing products of higher "selectivity for the drug" for medical treatment. There are two ways for the approach to get higher "selectivity of drug": 1) discovery of new compounds with high selectivity of drug; 2) innovation of new drug administration, that is new formulation and/or method with high selectivity of drug by integration and harmonization of various hard/soft technologies. An extensive increase of biological information and advancement of surrounding science and technology may modify the situation as the latter overcomes the former in the 21 century. As the science and technology in the 21 century is said to be formed on "3H", that is, 1. hybrid; 2. hi-quality; 3. husbandry, the new drug development by innovative drug administration is exactly based on the science and technology of 3H. Its characteristic points are interdisciplinary/interfusion, international, of philosophy/ethics, and systems of hard/hard/heart. From these points of view, not only the advance of unit technology but also a revolution in thinking way should be "must" subjects. To organize this type of research well, a total research activity such as ROR (research on research) might take an important and efficient role. Here the key words are the "Optimization technology" and "Change in Pharmaceutical Fields." As some examples of new drug innovation, our trials on several topical mucosal adhesive dosage forms and parenteral administration of peptide drugs such as insulin and erythropoietin will be described.

Non-medical use of prescription drugs among illicit drug users: A case study on an online drug forum.

Science.gov (United States)

Rönkä, Sanna; Katainen, Anu

2017-01-01

The non-medical use of prescription drugs is a growing phenomenon associated with increasing health-related harms. However, little is known about the drivers of this process among illicit drug users. Our aim is to show how the qualities of pharmaceutical drugs, pharmaceutical related knowledge, online communities sharing this knowledge and medical professionals mediate and transform the consumption behaviour related to pharmaceutical drugs. The data consist of discussion threads from an online drug use forum. Using actor network theory (ANT), we analysed translations that mediate the online user community's relationship with pharmaceutical drugs. Differences in experienced drug effects are explained both as a process of 'learning' and as differences in brain chemistry at the receptor level. Both science- and experience-based information are shared on best practices to optimise use, avoid adverse health effects and maximise the experience of intoxication. The expanded context of doctors' practices places stress on the medical framework for drug use. Our analysis shows how the non-medical use of psychoactive pharmaceuticals relates to joint, medicalised ideas of bodies as sites of medical experimentation, as well as to the collective process of constructing 'pharmaceutical competences' in user networks. Understandings of intoxication have increasingly been permeated with the pharmacological and scientific logic of knowledge. The forum works as a platform for harm reduction inspired exchange of knowledge. However, the user community's knowledge sharing practices can generate a shared perception of a sufficient or even superior drug use experience and knowledge. This may lead to overdoses and other risky behaviour, and thereby contribute to increased harms related to non-medical use of prescription drugs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Systematic evaluation of drug-disease relationships to identify leads for novel drug uses.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, A P; Butte, A J

2009-11-01

Drug repositioning refers to the discovery of alternative uses for drugs--uses that are different from that for which the drugs were originally intended. One challenge in this effort lies in choosing the indication for which a drug of interest could be prospectively tested. We systematically evaluated a drug treatment-based view of diseases in order to address this challenge. Suggestions for novel drug uses were generated using a "guilt by association" approach. When compared with a control group of drug uses, the suggested novel drug uses generated by this approach were significantly enriched with respect to previous and ongoing clinical trials.

The role of drug profiles as similarity metrics: applications to repurposing, adverse effects detection and drug-drug interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vilar, Santiago; Hripcsak, George

2017-07-01

Explosion of the availability of big data sources along with the development in computational methods provides a useful framework to study drugs' actions, such as interactions with pharmacological targets and off-targets. Databases related to protein interactions, adverse effects and genomic profiles are available to be used for the construction of computational models. In this article, we focus on the description of biological profiles for drugs that can be used as a system to compare similarity and create methods to predict and analyze drugs' actions. We highlight profiles constructed with different biological data, such as target-protein interactions, gene expression measurements, adverse effects and disease profiles. We focus on the discovery of new targets or pathways for drugs already in the pharmaceutical market, also called drug repurposing, in the interaction with off-targets responsible for adverse reactions and in drug-drug interaction analysis. The current and future applications, strengths and challenges facing all these methods are also discussed. Biological profiles or signatures are an important source of data generation to deeply analyze biological actions with important implications in drug-related studies. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Drugs Approved for Rhabdomyosarcoma

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for rhabdomyosarcoma. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries. There may be drugs used in rhabdomyosarcoma that are not listed here.

Prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in cancer patients treated with oral anticancer drugs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Leeuwen, R. W. F.; Brundel, D. H. S.; Neef, C.; van Gelder, T.; Mathijssen, R. H. J.; Burger, D. M.; Jansman, F. G. A.

2013-01-01

Background: Potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) in patients with cancer are common, but have not previously been quantified for oral anticancer treatment. We assessed the prevalence and seriousness of potential PDDIs among ambulatory cancer patients on oral anticancer treatment. Methods: A

Prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in cancer patients treated with oral anticancer drugs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.W.F. van Leeuwen (Roelof); D.H.S. Brundel (D. H S); C. Neef (Cees); T. van Gelder (Teun); A.H.J. Mathijssen (Ron); D.M. Burger (David); F.G.A. Jansman (Frank)

2013-01-01

textabstractBackground: Potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) in patients with cancer are common, but have not previously been quantified for oral anticancer treatment. We assessed the prevalence and seriousness of potential PDDIs among ambulatory cancer patients on oral anticancer treatment.

Adverse drug reactions induced by cardiovascular drugs in outpatients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gholami K

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Considering increased use of cardiovascular drugs and limitations in pre-marketing trials for drug safety evaluation, post marketing evaluation of adverse drug reactions (ADRs induced by this class of medicinal products seems necessary.Objectives: To determine the rate and seriousness of adverse reactions induced by cardiovascular drugs in outpatients. To compare sex and different age groups in developing ADRs with cardiovascular agents. To assess the relationship between frequencies of ADRs and the number of drugs used. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done in cardiovascular clinic at a teaching hospital. All patients during an eight months period were evaluated for cardiovascular drugs induced ADRs. Patient and reaction factors were analyzed in detected ADRs. Patients with or without ADRs were compared in sex and age by using chi-square test. Assessing the relationship between frequencies of ADRs and the number of drugs used was done by using Pearson analysis. Results: The total number of 518 patients was visited at the clinic. ADRs were detected in 105 (20.3% patients. The most frequent ADRs were occurred in the age group of 51-60. The highest rate of ADRs was recorded to be induced by Diltiazem (23.5% and the lowest rate with Atenolol (3%. Headache was the most frequent detected ADR (23%. Assessing the severity and preventability of ADRs revealed that 1.1% of ADRs were detected as severe and 1.9% as preventable reactions. Women significantly developed more ADRs in this study (chi square = 3.978, P<0.05. ADRs more frequently occurred with increasing age in this study (chi square = 15.871, P<0.05. With increasing the number of drugs used, the frequency of ADRs increased (Pearson=0.259, P<0.05. Conclusion: Monitoring ADRs in patients using cardiovascular drugs is a matter of importance since this class of medicines is usually used by elderly patients with critical conditions and underlying diseases.

Prediction of resistance development against drug combinations by collateral responses to component drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munck, Christian; Gumpert, Heidi; Nilsson Wallin, Annika

2014-01-01

the genomes of all evolved E. coli lineages, we identified the mutational events that drive the differences in drug resistance levels and found that the degree of resistance development against drug combinations can be understood in terms of collateral sensitivity and resistance that occurred during...... adaptation to the component drugs. Then, using engineered E. coli strains, we confirmed that drug resistance mutations that imposed collateral sensitivity were suppressed in a drug pair growth environment. These results provide a framework for rationally selecting drug combinations that limit resistance......Resistance arises quickly during chemotherapeutic selection and is particularly problematic during long-term treatment regimens such as those for tuberculosis, HIV infections, or cancer. Although drug combination therapy reduces the evolution of drug resistance, drug pairs vary in their ability...

Consistency of psychotropic drug-drug interactions listed in drug monographs.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xinyue; Hatton, Randy C; Zhu, Yanmin; Hincapie-Castillo, Juan M; Bussing, Regina; Barnicoat, Marie; Winterstein, Almut G

With an increasing prevalence of psychotropic polypharmacy, clinicians depend on drug-drug interaction (DDI) references to ensure safe regimens, but the consistency of such information is frequently questioned. To evaluate the consistency of psychotropic DDIs documented in Clinical Pharmacology (CP), Micromedex (MM), and Lexicomp (LC) and summarize consistent psychotropic DDIs. In May 2016, we extracted severe or major psychotropic DDIs for 102 psychotropic drugs, including central nervous system (CNS) stimulants, antidepressants, an antimanic agent (lithium), antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, and anxiolytics-sedatives-hypnotics from CP, MM, and LC. We then summarized the psychotropic DDIs that were included in all 3 references and with evidence quality of "excellent" or "good" based on MM. We identified 1496, 938, and 1006 unique severe or major psychotropic DDIs from CP, MM, and LC, respectively. Common adverse effects related to psychotropic DDIs include increased or decreased effectiveness, CNS depression, neurotoxicity, QT prolongation, serotonin syndrome, and multiple adverse effects. Among these interactions, only 371 psychotropic DDIs were documented in all 3 references, 59 of which had "excellent" or "good" quality of evidence based on MM. The consistency of psychotropic DDI documentation across CP, MM, and LC is poor. DDI documentations need standards that would encourage consistency among drug information references. The list of the 59 DDIs may be useful in the assessment of psychotropic polypharmacy and highlighting DDI alerts in clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automatic extraction of drug indications from FDA drug labels.

Science.gov (United States)

Khare, Ritu; Wei, Chih-Hsuan; Lu, Zhiyong

2014-01-01

Extracting computable indications, i.e. drug-disease treatment relationships, from narrative drug resources is the key for building a gold standard drug indication repository. The two steps to the extraction problem are disease named-entity recognition (NER) to identify disease mentions from a free-text description and disease classification to distinguish indications from other disease mentions in the description. While there exist many tools for disease NER, disease classification is mostly achieved through human annotations. For example, we recently resorted to human annotations to prepare a corpus, LabeledIn, capturing structured indications from the drug labels submitted to FDA by pharmaceutical companies. In this study, we present an automatic end-to-end framework to extract structured and normalized indications from FDA drug labels. In addition to automatic disease NER, a key component of our framework is a machine learning method that is trained on the LabeledIn corpus to classify the NER-computed disease mentions as "indication vs. non-indication." Through experiments with 500 drug labels, our end-to-end system delivered 86.3% F1-measure in drug indication extraction, with 17% improvement over baseline. Further analysis shows that the indication classifier delivers a performance comparable to human experts and that the remaining errors are mostly due to disease NER (more than 50%). Given its performance, we conclude that our end-to-end approach has the potential to significantly reduce human annotation costs.

[Therapeutic drug monitoring of three antiepileptic drugs - Back on twenty years of experience].

Science.gov (United States)

Serragui, Samira; Zalagh, Fatima; Tanani, Driss Soussi; Ouammi, Lahcen; Moussa, Latifa Ait; Badrane, Narjis; Bencheikh, Rachida Soulaymani

2016-01-01

The therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of antiepileptic drugs is a tool widely used in the management of epilepsy. In Morocco, this monitoring is carried out by the Centre Anti Poison et Pharmacovigilance (CAPM) since April 1995. This is a retrospective study spanning 20 years. It concerns the therapeutic drug monitoring of Phenobarbital (PB) of carbamazepine (CBZ) and valproic acid (VPA). Therapeutic drug monitoring of the 3 antiepileptic drugs represent 58.85% of all applications received by the CAPM. The dosage of PB was ranked first followed by that of CBZ and finally by the VPA. Weak demand for therapeutic drug monitoring in Morocco could be explained by the low number of neurologists in addition to social factors. With its affordable price by patients, PB is the most prescribed antiepileptic drug in our country, which explains the high demand for its dosage. As for the therapeutic drug monitoring of the antiepileptic drug, they were mainly related to age, the occurrence of adverse effects, the association antiepileptic drugs or in the case of verification of patient compliance. Efforts are required for promoting the interests of therapeutic drug monitoring of antiepileptic drug in the management of epilepsy in Morocco.

Drug-specific characteristics of thrombocytopenia caused by non-cytotoxic drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen-Bjergaard, U; Andersen, M; Hansen, P B

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To analyse drug-specific clinical characteristics and to investigate the possible influence of epidemiological and other factors on thrombocytopenia induced by selected non-cytotoxic drugs. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of drug-induced thrombocytopenia reported to the Danish...... determined by the drug itself and also by its usage pattern. No specific patient-related factor responsible for the heterogeneity of the clinical appearance of the adverse reaction was identified. Factors related to the physician, such as monitoring recommendations or level of attention towards the adverse...

Repurposing salicylanilide anthelmintic drugs to combat drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajamuthiah, Rajmohan; Fuchs, Beth Burgwyn; Conery, Annie L; Kim, Wooseong; Jayamani, Elamparithi; Kwon, Bumsup; Ausubel, Frederick M; Mylonakis, Eleftherios

2015-01-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacterium that has become the leading cause of hospital acquired infections in the US. Repurposing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs for antimicrobial therapy involves lower risks and costs compared to de novo development of novel antimicrobial agents. In this study, we examined the antimicrobial properties of two commercially available anthelmintic drugs. The FDA approved drug niclosamide and the veterinary drug oxyclozanide displayed strong in vivo and in vitro activity against methicillin resistant S. aureus (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC): 0.125 and 0.5 μg/ml respectively; minimum effective concentration: ≤ 0.78 μg/ml for both drugs). The two drugs were also effective against another Gram-positive bacteria Enterococcus faecium (MIC 0.25 and 2 μg/ml respectively), but not against the Gram-negative species Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter aerogenes. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of niclosamide and oxyclozanide were determined against methicillin, vancomycin, linezolid or daptomycin resistant S. aureus clinical isolates, with MICs at 0.0625-0.5 and 0.125-2 μg/ml for niclosamide and oxyclozanide respectively. A time-kill study demonstrated that niclosamide is bacteriostatic, whereas oxyclozanide is bactericidal. Interestingly, oxyclozanide permeabilized the bacterial membrane but neither of the anthelmintic drugs exhibited demonstrable toxicity to sheep erythrocytes. Oxyclozanide was non-toxic to HepG2 human liver carcinoma cells within the range of its in vitro MICs but niclosamide displayed toxicity even at low concentrations. These data show that the salicylanilide anthelmintic drugs niclosamide and oxyclozanide are suitable candidates for mechanism of action studies and further clinical evaluation for treatment of staphylococcal infections.

DenguePredict: An Integrated Drug Repositioning Approach towards Drug Discovery for Dengue.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, QuanQiu; Xu, Rong

2015-01-01

Dengue is a viral disease of expanding global incidence without cures. Here we present a drug repositioning system (DenguePredict) leveraging upon a unique drug treatment database and vast amounts of disease- and drug-related data. We first constructed a large-scale genetic disease network with enriched dengue genetics data curated from biomedical literature. We applied a network-based ranking algorithm to find dengue-related diseases from the disease network. We then developed a novel algorithm to prioritize FDA-approved drugs from dengue-related diseases to treat dengue. When tested in a de-novo validation setting, DenguePredict found the only two drugs tested in clinical trials for treating dengue and ranked them highly: chloroquine ranked at top 0.96% and ivermectin at top 22.75%. We showed that drugs targeting immune systems and arachidonic acid metabolism-related apoptotic pathways might represent innovative drugs to treat dengue. In summary, DenguePredict, by combining comprehensive disease- and drug-related data and novel algorithms, may greatly facilitate drug discovery for dengue.

Drugs, money, and power: the Canadian drug shortage.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaposy, Chris

2014-03-01

This article describes the shortage of generic injectable medications in Canada that affected hospitals in 2012. It traces the events leading up to the drug shortage, the causes of the shortage, and the responses by health administrators, pharmacists, and ethicists. The article argues that generic drug shortages are an ethical problem because health care organizations and governments have an obligation to avoid exposing patients to resource scarcity. The article also discusses some options governments could pursue in order to secure the drug supply and thereby fulfill their ethical obligations.

Digital Drug Dosing: Dosing in Drug Assays by Light-Defined Volumes of Hydrogels with Embedded Drug-Loaded Nanoparticles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faralli, Adele; Melander, Fredrik; Larsen, Esben Kjær Unmack

2014-01-01

Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based hydrogels are widely used for biomedical applications, including matrices for controlled drug release. We present a method for defining drug dosing in screening assays by light-activated cross-linking of PEG-diacrylate hydrogels with embedded drug-loaded liposome...

Drug Interaction API

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Interaction API is a web service for accessing drug-drug interactions. No license is needed to use the Interaction API. Currently, the API uses DrugBank for its...

Drug Retention Times

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Center for Human Reliability Studies

2007-05-01

The purpose of this monograph is to provide information on drug retention times in the human body. The information provided is based on plausible illegal drug use activities that might be engaged in by a recreational drug user.

YouTube, "Drug Videos" and Drugs Education

Science.gov (United States)

Manning, Paul

2013-01-01

Aims: This article reports on findings to emerge from a project examining YouTube "drug videos" in the light of an emerging literature on the relationship between YouTube and health education. The aim of this article is to describe the variety of discourses circulated by the "drug videos" available on YouTube and to consider…

Microfluidic Devices for Drug Delivery Systems and Drug Screening

Science.gov (United States)

Kompella, Uday B.; Damiati, Safa A.

2018-01-01

Microfluidic devices present unique advantages for the development of efficient drug carrier particles, cell-free protein synthesis systems, and rapid techniques for direct drug screening. Compared to bulk methods, by efficiently controlling the geometries of the fabricated chip and the flow rates of multiphase fluids, microfluidic technology enables the generation of highly stable, uniform, monodispersed particles with higher encapsulation efficiency. Since the existing preclinical models are inefficient drug screens for predicting clinical outcomes, microfluidic platforms might offer a more rapid and cost-effective alternative. Compared to 2D cell culture systems and in vivo animal models, microfluidic 3D platforms mimic the in vivo cell systems in a simple, inexpensive manner, which allows high throughput and multiplexed drug screening at the cell, organ, and whole-body levels. In this review, the generation of appropriate drug or gene carriers including different particle types using different configurations of microfluidic devices is highlighted. Additionally, this paper discusses the emergence of fabricated microfluidic cell-free protein synthesis systems for potential use at point of care as well as cell-, organ-, and human-on-a-chip models as smart, sensitive, and reproducible platforms, allowing the investigation of the effects of drugs under conditions imitating the biological system. PMID:29462948

Drug Facts

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... abuse, addiction, and treatment. Watch Videos Information About Drugs Alcohol Bath Salts Cocaine Heroin Marijuana MDMA Meth Pain Medicines Spice (K2) Tobacco/Nicotine Other Drugs You can ...

The worldwide trend of using botanical drugs and strategies for developing global drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Kyungseop

2017-03-01

Natural product drugs, or botanical drugs, are drugs composed of natural substances which have constituents with healthenhancing or medicinal activities. In Korea, government-led projects brought attention to botanical drugs invigorating domestic botanical drug industry. Foreign markets, as well, are growing bigger as the significance of botanical drugs stood out. To follow along with the tendency, Korea puts a lot of effort on developing botanical drugs suitable for global market. However, standards for approving drug sales vary by countries. And also, thorough standardization, certification, clinical studies and data of these will be required as well as data confirming safety and effectiveness. Meanwhile, as an international exchange in botanical drug market continues, the importance of plant resources was emphasized. Thus countries' ownership of domestic natural resources became vital. Not only establishing a systematic method to secure domestic plant resources, but also cooperation with other countries on sharing natural resources is essential to procure natural resources effectively. Korea started to show visible results with botanical drugs, and asthma/COPD treatment made out of speedwell is one example. Sufficient investment and government's active support for basic infrastructure for global botanical drugs will bring Korea to much higher level of botanical drug development. [BMB Reports 2017; 50(3): 111-116].

Characteristics and drug utilization patterns for heavy users of prescription drugs among the elderly

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Øymoen, Anita; Pottegård, Anton; Almarsdóttir, Anna Birna

2015-01-01

drug users accounted for 75.4% of their use in 2012, and five of these were cardiovascular drugs. The development over time for the ten most used drug classes followed the same pattern among heavy drug users and in the general population. CONCLUSION: There is a skewed utilization of prescription drugs...... frequently used drugs among heavy drug users and development in use over time. METHOD: This is a descriptive study. Heavy drug users were defined as the accumulated top 1 percentile who accounted for the largest share of prescription drug use measured in number of dispensed defined daily doses (DDDs...

Antifungal therapy: drug-drug interactions at your fingertips

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lempers, V.J.; Bruggemann, R.J.

2016-01-01

The Information Age has revolutionized the ability of healthcare professionals (HCPs) to oversee a substantial body of clinically relevant information literally at one's fingertips. In the field of clinical pharmacology, this may be particularly useful for managing drug-drug interactions (DDIs). A

Drugs Approved for Neuroblastoma

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for neuroblastoma. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

National Drug Code Directory

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Drug Listing Act of 1972 requires registered drug establishments to provide the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a current list of all drugs manufactured,...

Drugs Approved for Retinoblastoma

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for retinoblastoma. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI’s Cancer Drug Information summaries.

An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Clinical Significance of Drug-Drug Interactions Between Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs and Non-Antirheumatic Drugs According to Rheumatologists and Pharmacists

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Roon, Eric N.; van den Bemt, Patricia M. L. A.; Jansen, Tim L. Th. A.; Houtman, Nella M.; van de Laar, Mart A. F. J.; Brouwers, Jacobus R. B. J.

Background: Clinically relevant drug-drug interactions (DDIs) must be recognized in a timely manner and managed appropriately to prevent adverse drug reactions or therapeutic failure. Because the evidence for most DDIs is based on case reports or poorly documented clinical information, there is a

Facilitation of transscleral drug delivery by drug loaded magnetic polymeric particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Mousavikhamene, Zeynab; Abdekhodaie, Mohammad J; Ahmadieh, Hamid

2017-10-01

A unique method was used to facilitate ocular drug delivery from periocular route by drug loaded magnetic sensitive particles. Injection of particles in periocular space along the eye axis followed by application of magnetic field in front of the eye would trigger the magnetic polymeric particles to move along the direction of magnetic force and reside against the outer surface of the sclera. This technique prevents removal of drug in the periocular space, observed in conventional transscleral drug delivery systems and hence higher amount of drug can enter the eye in a longer period of time. The experiments were performed by fresh human sclera and an experimental setup. Experimental setup was designed by side by side diffusion cell and hydrodynamic and thermal simulation of the posterior segment of the eye were applied. Magnetic polymeric particles were synthesized by alginate as a model polymer, iron oxide nanoparticles as a magnetic agent and diclofenac sodium as a model drug and characterized by SEM, TEM, DLS and FT-IR techniques. According to the SEM images, the size range of particles is around 60 to 800nm. The results revealed that the cumulative drug transfer from magnetic sensitive particles across the sclera improves by 70% in the presence of magnetic field. The results of this research show promising method of drug delivery to use magnetic properties to facilitate drug delivery to the back of the eye. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Discontinued drugs in 2012: cardiovascular drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hong-Ping; Jiang, Hong-Min; Xiang, Bing-Ren

2013-11-01

The continued high rate of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has attracted wide concern and great attention of pharmaceutical industry. In order to reduce the attrition of cardiovascular drug R&D, it might be helpful recapitulating previous failures and identifying the potential factors to success. This perspective mainly analyses the 30 cardiovascular drugs dropped from clinical development in 2012. Reasons causing the termination of the cardiovascular drugs in the past 5 years are also tabulated and analysed. The analysis shows that the attrition is highest in Phase II trials and financial and strategic factors and lack of clinical efficacy are the principal reasons for these disappointments. To solve the four problems (The 'better than the Beatles' problem, the 'cautious regulator' problem, the 'throw money at it' tendency and the 'basic researchbrute force' bias) is recommended as the main measure to increase the number and quality of approvable products.

[Are there any sex/gender differences in drug use and drug addiction?].

Science.gov (United States)

Mendrek, Adrianna

Drug use and drug addiction have been traditionally considered to be a male problem, however the gender gap has been decreasing over the past few decades. Thus, while the prevalence of alcohol, cannabis and nicotine dependence is still overall greater among men than among women, sex/gender differences in the abuse of stimulants and opiates seem to have disappeared. Moreover, women appear to be more prone to develop drug dependence, suffer more severe physical and psychological consequences of drug abuse, and have more difficulties quitting the habit. Numerous psychological, socio-cultural and biological factors have been implicated in these changing statistics. For example, while a large proportion of men initiate drug use to induce feelings of elation, energy or focus, women frequently start taking drugs to alleviate pre-existing mental health problems, including high levels of stress, feelings of alienation, depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. This maladaptive self-medication strategy often results in a faster transition to a habitual drug use and eventually a more severe dependence. In addition, the socio-cultural norms (particularly in the Western society) have changed dramatically over the past few decades. Thus, while there is still a more severe stigma and prejudice against women who use drugs (especially if they are pregnant of have children), overall there is much greater acceptance of women's drug use than it was several decades ago. Moreover, women have much greater access to various drugs of abuse than they used to have. Finally, over the past couple of decades new research started emerging pointing to some neurobiological factors that could also contribute to sex differences in drug addiction. Thus, there is now evidence that dopamine system, which for decades has been strongly implicated in drug reinforcement, is sexually dimorphic. The number of dopaminergic neurons, the density of the dopaminergic terminals, as well as

Mexico's "ley de narcomenudeo" drug policy reform and the international drug control regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackey, Tim K; Werb, Daniel; Beletsky, Leo; Rangel, Gudelia; Arredondo, Jaime; Strathdee, Steffanie A

2014-11-14

It has been over half a century since the landmark Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was adopted, for the first time unifying international drug policy under a single treaty aimed at limiting use, manufacture, trade, possession, and trafficking of opiates, cannabis, and other narcotics. Since then, other international drug policy measures have been adopted, largely emphasizing enforcement-based approaches to reducing drug supply and use. Recently, in response to concerns that the historic focus on criminalization and enforcement has had limited effectiveness, international drug policies have begun to undergo a paradigm shift as countries seek to enact their own reforms to partially depenalize or deregulate personal drug use and possession. This includes Mexico, which in 2009 enacted national drug policy reform partially decriminalizing possession of small quantities of narcotics for personal consumption while also requiring drug treatment for repeat offenders. As countries move forward with their own reform models, critical assessment of their legal compatibility and effectiveness is necessary. In this commentary we conduct a critical assessment of the compatibility of Mexico's reform policy to the international drug policy regime and describe its role in the current evolving drug policy environment. We argue that Mexico's reform is consistent with flexibilities allowed under international drug treaty instruments and related commentaries. We also advocate that drug policy reforms and future governance efforts should be based on empirical evidence, emphasize harm reduction practices, and integrate evidence-based evaluation and implementation of drug reform measures.

Risk of drug interaction: combination of antidepressants and other drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miyasaka Lincoln Sakiara

2003-01-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency of combination of antidepressants with other drugs and risk of drug interactions in the setting public hospital units in Brazil. METHODS: Prescriptions of all patients admitted to a public hospital from November 1996 to February 1997 were surveyed from the hospital's data processing center in São Paulo, Brazil. A manual search of case notes of all patients admitted to the psychiatric unit from January 1993 to December 1995 and all patients registered in the affective disorders outpatient clinic in December 1996 was carried out. Patients taking any antidepressant were identified and concomitant use of drugs was checked. By means of a software program (Micromedex® drug interactions were identified. RESULTS: Out of 6,844 patients admitted to the hospital, 63 (0.9% used antidepressants and 16 (25.3% were at risk of drug interaction. Out of 311 patients in the psychiatric unit, 63 (20.2% used antidepressants and 13 of them (20.6% were at risk. Out of 87 patients in the affective disorders outpatient clinic, 43 (49.4% took antidepressants and 7 (16.2% were at risk. In general, the use of antidepressants was recorded in 169 patients and 36 (21.3% were at risk of drug interactions. Twenty different forms of combinations at risk of drug interactions were identified: four were classified as mild, 15 moderate and one severe interaction. CONCLUSION: In the hospital general units the number of drug interactions per patient was higher than in the psychiatric unit; and prescription for depression was lower than expected.

Drug accumulation by means of noninvasive magnetic drug delivery system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuzawa, M.; Mishima, F.; Akiyama, Y.; Nishijima, S.

2011-01-01

The medication is one of the most general treatment methods, but drugs diffuse in the normal tissues other than the target part by the blood circulation. Therefore, side effect in the medication, particularly for a drug with strong effect such as anti-cancer drug, are a serious issue. Drug Delivery System (DDS) which accumulates the drug locally in the human body is one of the techniques to solve the side-effects. Magnetic Drug Delivery System (MDDS) is one of the active DDSs, which uses the magnetic force. The objective of this study is to accumulate the ferromagnetic drugs noninvasively in the deep part of the body by using MDDS. It is necessary to generate high magnetic field and magnetic gradient at the target part to reduce the side-effects to the tissues with no diseases. The biomimetic model was composed, which consists of multiple model organs connected with diverged blood vessel model. The arrangement of magnetic field was examined to accumulate ferromagnetic drug particles in the target model organ by using a superconducting bulk magnet which can generate high magnetic fields. The arrangement of magnet was designed to generate high and stable magnetic field at the target model organ. The accumulation experiment of ferromagnetic particles has been conducted. In this study, rotating HTS bulk magnet around the axis of blood vessels by centering on the target part was suggested, and the model experiment for magnet rotation was conducted. As a result, the accumulation of the ferromagnetic particles to the target model organ in the deep part was confirmed.

Enhanced drug delivery capabilities from stents coated with absorbable polymer and crystalline drug.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlyle, Wenda C; McClain, James B; Tzafriri, Abraham R; Bailey, Lynn; Zani, Brett G; Markham, Peter M; Stanley, James R L; Edelman, Elazer R

2012-09-28

Current drug eluting stent (DES) technology is not optimized with regard to the pharmacokinetics of drug delivery. A novel, absorbable-coating sirolimus-eluting stent (AC-SES) was evaluated for its capacity to deliver drug more evenly within the intimal area rather than concentrating drug around the stent struts and for its ability to match coating erosion with drug release. The coating consisted of absorbable poly-lactide-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and crystalline sirolimus deposited by a dry-powder electrostatic process. The AC-SES demonstrated enhanced drug stability under simulated use conditions and consistent drug delivery balanced with coating erosion in a porcine coronary implant model. The initial drug burst was eliminated and drug release was sustained after implantation. The coating was absorbed within 90 days. Following implantation into porcine coronary arteries the AC-SES coating is distributed in the surrounding intimal tissue over the course of several weeks. Computational modeling of drug delivery characteristics demonstrates how distributed coating optimizes the load of drug immediately around each stent strut and extends drug delivery between stent struts. The result was a highly efficient arterial uptake of drug with superior performance to a clinical bare metal stent (BMS). Neointimal thickness (0.17±0.07 mm vs. 0.28±0.11 mm) and area percent stenosis (22±9% vs. 35±12%) were significantly reduced (pstent implantation in an overlap configuration in porcine coronary arteries. Inflammation was significantly reduced in the AC-SES compared to the BMS at both 30 and 90 days after implantation. Biocompatible, rapidly absorbable stent coatings enable the matching of drug release with coating erosion and provide for the controlled migration of coating material into tissue to reduce vicissitudes in drug tissue levels, optimizing efficacy and reducing potential toxicity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Oligonucleic Acid Drug List: monrd0013 [Oligonucleic Acid Drug Database[Archive

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available NA. ... https://www.sarepta.com/our-product, https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB06014, ...http://www.rxlist.com/exondys-51-drug.htm, https://www.drugs.com/ingredient/eteplirsen.html DB06014 P11532 1EG3

Evaluation of drug interaction microcomputer software: Dambro's Drug Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Poirier, T I; Giudici, R A

1990-01-01

Dambro's Drug Interactions was evaluated using general and specific criteria. The installation process, ease of learning and use were rated excellent. The user documentation and quality of the technical support were good. The scope of coverage, clinical documentation, frequency of updates, and overall clinical performance were fair. The primary advantages of the program are the quick searching and detection of drug interactions, and the attempt to provide useful interaction data, i.e., significance and reference. The disadvantages are the lack of current drug interaction information, outdated references, lack of evaluative drug interaction information, and the inability to save or print patient profiles. The program is not a good value for the pharmacist but has limited use as a quick screening tool.

[Drug induced diarrhea].

Science.gov (United States)

Morard, Isabelle; Hadengue, Antoine

2008-09-03

Diarrhea is a frequent adverse event involving the most frequently antibiotics, laxatives and NSAI. Drug induced diarrhea may be acute or chronic. It may be due to expected, dose dependant properties of the drug, to immuno-allergic or bio-genomic mechanisms. Several pathophysiological mechanisms have been described resulting in osmotic, secretory or inflammatory diarrhea, shortened transit time, or malabsorption. Histopathological lesions sometimes associated with drug induced diarrhea are usually non specific and include ulcerations, inflammatory or ischemic lesions, fibrous diaphragms, microscopic colitis and apoptosis. The diagnosis of drug induced diarrhea, sometimes difficult to assess, relies on the absence of other obvious causes and on the rapid disappearance of the symptoms after withdrawal of the suspected drug.

Other Drugs of Abuse

Science.gov (United States)

... People Abuse » Other Drugs of Abuse Other Drugs of Abuse Listen There are many other drugs of abuse, ... and Rehab Resources About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) | About This Website Tools and Resources | Contact ...

Writing Drug Cultures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nissen, Morten

2012-01-01

The paper juxtaposes the cultural mediation of experience through drugs with that performed with text. As a sample of the currently radically changing relations between professional and lay knowledge in the field of drug interventions, the website of a Copenhagen institution for young drug users ...

"9th Annual Congress on Drug Formulation & Drug Design"

OpenAIRE

Monty Karl

2017-01-01

Conference Series has been instrumental in conducting international meetings for seven years, and very excited to expand Europe, America and Asia Pacific continents. Previous meetings were held in major cities like Belgium, Tokyo, Madrid, with success the meetings again scheduled in three continents. It’s time to announce 9th Annual Congress on Drug Formulation & Drug Design October 19-21, 2017 Seoul, South Korea . Drug Formulation 2017 is a 3-day event offering the Exhibition, at venue to sh...

Predicting adverse drug reaction profiles by integrating protein interaction networks with drug structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Liang-Chin; Wu, Xiaogang; Chen, Jake Y

2013-01-01

The prediction of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) has become increasingly important, due to the rising concern on serious ADRs that can cause drugs to fail to reach or stay in the market. We proposed a framework for predicting ADR profiles by integrating protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks with drug structures. We compared ADR prediction performances over 18 ADR categories through four feature groups-only drug targets, drug targets with PPI networks, drug structures, and drug targets with PPI networks plus drug structures. The results showed that the integration of PPI networks and drug structures can significantly improve the ADR prediction performance. The median AUC values for the four groups were 0.59, 0.61, 0.65, and 0.70. We used the protein features in the best two models, "Cardiac disorders" (median-AUC: 0.82) and "Psychiatric disorders" (median-AUC: 0.76), to build ADR-specific PPI networks with literature supports. For validation, we examined 30 drugs withdrawn from the U.S. market to see if our approach can predict their ADR profiles and explain why they were withdrawn. Except for three drugs having ADRs in the categories we did not predict, 25 out of 27 withdrawn drugs (92.6%) having severe ADRs were successfully predicted by our approach. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Drugs in breast milk.

Science.gov (United States)

Hervada, A R; Feit, E; Sagraves, R

1978-09-01

The amount of drug excreted into breast milk is dependent upon the lipid solubility of the medication, the mechanism of transport, the degree of ionization, and change in plasma pH. The higher the lipid solubility, the greater the concentration in human milk. The majority of drugs are transported into mammary blood capillaries by passive diffusion. The rest are transported by reverse pinocytosis. Once the drug has entered the epithelial cells of breast tissue, the drug molecules are excreted into the human milk by active transport, passive diffusion, or apocrine secretion. The amount of free (active) drug available for transport depends on the degree of protein binding the plasma pH. Another factor affecting excretion of drugs is the time when breast feeding occurs. In the 1st few days of life, when colostrum is present, water-soluble drugs pass through the breast more easily than afterwards when milk is produced. Then lipid-soluble drugs cross in higher concentrations. The effect on nursing infants is dependent on the amount excreted into the milk, the total amount absorbed by the infant, and the toxicity of the drug. The use of the following drugs in breast feeding mothers is reviewed: anticoagulants, antihypertensives and diuretics, antimicrobials, drugs affecting the central nervous system (alcohol, chloral hydrate, meprobamate, lithium, and aspirin), marijuana, other drugs (antihistamines, atropine, ergot alkaloids, laxatives, nicotine, iodides, propylthiouracil, theophylline), hormones (insulin, thyroxine, and oral contraceptives), and radiopharmaceuticals.

Drug detection in breath: non-invasive assessment of illicit or pharmaceutical drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Trefz, Phillip; Kamysek, Svend; Fuchs, Patricia; Sukul, Pritam; Schubert, Jochen K; Miekisch, Wolfram

2017-03-20

Breath analysis not only holds great potential for the development of new non-invasive diagnostic methods, but also for the identification and follow up of drug levels in breath. This is of interest for both, forensic and medical science. On the one hand, the detection of drugs of abuse in exhaled breath-similar to the well-known breath alcohol tests-would be highly desirable as an alternative to blood or urine analysis in situations such as police controls for drugged driving. The non-invasive detection of drugs and their metabolites is thus of great interest in forensic science, especially since marijuana is becoming legalized in certain parts of the US and the EU. The detection and monitoring of medical drugs in exhaled breath without the need of drawing blood samples on the other hand, is of high relevance in the clinical environment. This could facilitate a more precise medication and enable therapy control without any burden to the patient. Furthermore, it could be a step towards personalized medicine. This review gives an overview of the current state of drug detection in breath, including both volatile and non-volatile substances. The review is divided into two sections. The first section deals with qualitative detection of drugs (drugs of abuse), while the second is related to quantitative drug detection (medical drugs). Chances and limitations are discussed for both aspects. The detection of the intravenous anesthetic propofol is presented as a detailed example that demonstrates the potential, requirements, pitfalls and limitations of therapeutic drug monitoring by means of breath analysis.

Drugs in sport

OpenAIRE

Robinson, D

2007-01-01

This new edition includes fresh information regarding drugs use and abuse in sport and the updated worldwide anti-doping laws, and changes to the prohibited and therapeutic use exemption lists. The objectives of the book are to review/discuss the latest information on drugs in sport by considering i) actions of drugs and hormones, ii) medication and nutritional supplements in sport, iii) the latest doping control regulations of the WADA, iv) the use of banned therapeutic drugs in sport, v) an...

Identification of clinically significant drug-drug interactions in cardiac ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To identify clinically significant potential drug-drug interactions in cardiac intensive care units of two tertiary care ... hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes or other diseases .... May result in digoxin toxicity (nausea, vomiting, cardiac.

DrugQuest - a text mining workflow for drug association discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Papanikolaou, Nikolas; Pavlopoulos, Georgios A; Theodosiou, Theodosios; Vizirianakis, Ioannis S; Iliopoulos, Ioannis

2016-06-06

Text mining and data integration methods are gaining ground in the field of health sciences due to the exponential growth of bio-medical literature and information stored in biological databases. While such methods mostly try to extract bioentity associations from PubMed, very few of them are dedicated in mining other types of repositories such as chemical databases. Herein, we apply a text mining approach on the DrugBank database in order to explore drug associations based on the DrugBank "Description", "Indication", "Pharmacodynamics" and "Mechanism of Action" text fields. We apply Name Entity Recognition (NER) techniques on these fields to identify chemicals, proteins, genes, pathways, diseases, and we utilize the TextQuest algorithm to find additional biologically significant words. Using a plethora of similarity and partitional clustering techniques, we group the DrugBank records based on their common terms and investigate possible scenarios why these records are clustered together. Different views such as clustered chemicals based on their textual information, tag clouds consisting of Significant Terms along with the terms that were used for clustering are delivered to the user through a user-friendly web interface. DrugQuest is a text mining tool for knowledge discovery: it is designed to cluster DrugBank records based on text attributes in order to find new associations between drugs. The service is freely available at http://bioinformatics.med.uoc.gr/drugquest .

[Generic drugs: good or bad? Physician's knowledge of generic drugs and prescribing habits].

Science.gov (United States)

García, A J; Martos, F; Leiva, F; Sánchez de la Cuesta, F

2003-01-01

In this article we analyze the responses of 1220 Spanish physicians who participated in a survery about generic drugs. A previously validated questionnaire was sent to physicians through the Spanish Medical Councils of the different provinces. Four items were analyzed: what doctors know about generic drugs (knowledge); physicians' prescribing habits concerning these drugs (attitude and professional competence); how prescription of generic drugs effects pharmaceutical costs amd, finally, what doctors believe a generic drug should be. The influence of physician-related variables (age, type of contract, specialty, workload, etc.) on prescribing of generic drugs was also analyzed. In view of the results, we believe that to rationalize expenditure through and appropriate policy on generic drugs Spanish health authorities should offer more and better training and information (clear and independent) about what generic drugs are.

International Drug Control Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-24

Common illegal drugs include cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and synthetic drugs. International trade in these drugs represents a lucrative and what...into effect, decriminalizing “personal use” amounts of marijuana , heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other internationally sanctioned drugs.15 While...President Calls for Legalizing Marijuana ,”CNN.com, May 13, 2009. 15 “Mexico Legalizes Drug Possession,” Associated Press, August 21, 2009. 16 In support

Profit-driven drug testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Collen, Mark

2012-01-01

Random drug testing of people being treated for chronic pain has become more common. Physicians may drug test patients on opioid therapy as a result of concerns over prosecution, drug misuse, addiction, and overdose. However, profit motive has remained unexplored. This article suggests profits also drive physician drug-testing behavior and evidence is offered, including an exploration of Medicare reimbursement incentives and kickbacks for drug testing.

A Novel Drug-Mouse Phenotypic Similarity Method Detects Molecular Determinants of Drug Effects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeanette Prinz

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The molecular mechanisms that translate drug treatment into beneficial and unwanted effects are largely unknown. We present here a novel approach to detect gene-drug and gene-side effect associations based on the phenotypic similarity of drugs and single gene perturbations in mice that account for the polypharmacological property of drugs. We scored the phenotypic similarity of human side effect profiles of 1,667 small molecules and biologicals to profiles of phenotypic traits of 5,384 mouse genes. The benchmarking with known relationships revealed a strong enrichment of physical and indirect drug-target connections, causative drug target-side effect links as well as gene-drug links involved in pharmacogenetic associations among phenotypically similar gene-drug pairs. The validation by in vitro assays and the experimental verification of an unknown connection between oxandrolone and prokineticin receptor 2 reinforces the ability of this method to provide new molecular insights underlying drug treatment. Thus, this approach may aid in the proposal of novel and personalized treatments.

Drug Enforcement Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

This fact sheet contains information relating to drug abuse and abusers; drug traffic legislation; law enforcement; and descriptions of commonly used narcotics, stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. Also included is a short but explicit listing of audiovisual aids, an annotated bibliography, and drug identification pictures. The booklet…

Prescription Drugs

Science.gov (United States)

... different competition is going on: the National Football League (NFL) vs. drug use. Read More » 92 Comments ... Future survey highlights drug use trends among the Nation’s youth for marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes, e-cigarettes (e- ...

Drug Control

Science.gov (United States)

Leviton, Harvey S.

1975-01-01

This article attempts to assemble pertinent information about the drug problem, particularily marihuana. It also focuses on the need for an educational program for drug control with the public schools as the main arena. (Author/HMV)

Drugs Approved for Leukemia

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the FDA for use in leukemia. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries. The list includes generic names, brand names, and common drug combinations, which are shown in capital letters.

Potential Drug-Drug Interactions among Patients prescriptions collected from Medicine Out-patient Setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Farooqui, Riffat; Hoor, Talea; Karim, Nasim; Muneer, Mehtab

2018-01-01

To identify and evaluate the frequency, severity, mechanism and common pairs of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in prescriptions by consultants in medicine outpatient department. This cross sectional descriptive study was done by Pharmacology department of Bahria University Medical & Dental College (BUMDC) in medicine outpatient department (OPD) of a private hospital in Karachi from December 2015 to January 2016. A total of 220 prescriptions written by consultants were collected. Medications given with patient's diagnosis were recorded. Drugs were analyzed for interactions by utilizing Medscape drug interaction checker, drugs.com checker and stockley`s drug interactions index. Two hundred eleven prescriptions were selected while remaining were excluded from the study because of unavailability of the prescribed drugs in the drug interaction checkers. In 211 prescriptions, two common diagnoses were diabetes mellitus (28.43%) and hypertension (27.96%). A total of 978 medications were given. Mean number of medications per prescription was 4.6. A total of 369 drug-drug interactions were identified in 211 prescriptions (175%). They were serious 4.33%, significant 66.12% and minor 29.53%. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions were 37.94% and 51.21% respectively while 10.84% had unknown mechanism. Number wise common pairs of DDIs were Omeprazole-Losartan (S), Gabapentine- Acetaminophen (M), Losartan-Diclofenac (S). The frequency of DDIs is found to be too high in prescriptions of consultants from medicine OPD of a private hospital in Karachi. Significant drug-drug interactions were more and mostly caused by Pharmacodynamic mechanism. Number wise evaluation showed three common pairs of drugs involved in interactions.

Drug metabolism and ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wynne, Hilary

2005-06-01

Older people are major consumers of drugs and because of this, as well as co-morbidity and age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, are at risk of associated adverse drug reactions. While age does not alter drug absorption in a clinically significant way, and age-related changes in volume of drug distribution and protein binding are not of concern in chronic therapy, reduction in hepatic drug clearance is clinically important. Liver blood flow falls by about 35% between young adulthood and old age, and liver size by about 24-35% over the same period. First-pass metabolism of oral drugs avidly cleared by the liver and clearance of capacity-limited hepatically metabolized drugs fall in parallel with the fall in liver size, and clearance of drugs with a high hepatic extraction ratio falls in parallel with the fall in hepatic blood flow. In normal ageing, in general, activity of the cytochrome P450 enzymes is preserved, although a decline in frail older people has been noted, as well as in association with liver disease, cancer, trauma, sepsis, critical illness and renal failure. As the contribution of age, co-morbidity and concurrent drug therapy to altered drug clearance is impossible to predict in an individual older patient, it is wise to start any drug at a low dose and increase this slowly, monitoring carefully for beneficial and adverse effects.

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... abuse, addiction, and treatment. Watch Videos Information About Drugs Alcohol Bath Salts Cocaine Heroin Marijuana MDMA Meth ... 662-HELP (4357) at any time to find drug treatment centers near you. I want my daughter ...

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... Nicotine Facts Other Drugs of Abuse What is Addiction? What are some signs and symptoms of someone ... use problem? How Does Drug Use Become an Addiction? What Makes Someone More Likely to Get Addicted ...

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... form Search Menu Home Drugs That People Abuse Alcohol Facts Bath Salts Facts Cocaine (Coke, Crack) Facts ... addiction, and treatment. Watch Videos Information About Drugs Alcohol Bath Salts Cocaine Heroin Marijuana MDMA Meth Pain ...

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Full Text Available ... Home Drugs That People Abuse Alcohol Facts Bath Salts Facts Cocaine (Coke, Crack) Facts Heroin (Smack, Junk) ... treatment. Watch Videos Information About Drugs Alcohol Bath Salts Cocaine Heroin Marijuana MDMA Meth Pain Medicines Spice ( ...

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) at any time to find drug treatment centers near you. I ... The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , the ...

Recent trends for drug lag in clinical development of oncology drugs in Japan: does the oncology drug lag still exist in Japan?

Science.gov (United States)

Maeda, Hideki; Kurokawa, Tatsuo

2015-12-01

This study exhaustively and historically investigated the status of drug lag for oncology drugs approved in Japan. We comprehensively investigated oncology drugs approved in Japan between April 2001 and July 2014, using publicly available information. We also examined changes in the status of drug lag between Japan and the United States, as well as factors influencing drug lag. This study included 120 applications for approval of oncology drugs in Japan. The median difference over a 13-year period in the approval date between the United States and Japan was 875 days (29.2 months). This figure peaked in 2002, and showed a tendency to decline gradually each year thereafter. In 2014, the median approval lag was 281 days (9.4 months). Multiple regression analysis identified the following potential factors that reduce drug lag: "Japan's participation in global clinical trials"; "bridging strategies"; "designation of priority review in Japan"; and "molecularly targeted drugs". From 2001 to 2014, molecularly targeted drugs emerged as the predominant oncology drug, and the method of development has changed from full development in Japan or bridging strategy to global simultaneous development by Japan's taking part in global clinical trials. In line with these changes, the drug lag between the United States and Japan has significantly reduced to less than 1 year.

EXPLORING THE PATTERN OF POLYPHARMACY AND PROPORTION OF DRUG TO DRUG INTERACTIONS AND ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS IN THE ELDERLY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijayashree Thyagaraj

2017-07-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND The geriatric population is increasing as a result of advanced medical facilities. This population also faces a number of medical health challenges. They tend to receive multiple medications often leading to Drug-Drug Interactions (DDIs Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs and other clinical consequences, which compromises their quality of life if not endangering it as well. There are few Indian studies focusing on this problem. Hence, this study was undertaken with the aim to assess the polypharmacy pattern, proportion of DDIs and adverse drug reactions in the geriatric population in a tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a cross-sectional study wherein data from 201 geriatric inpatient’s prescriptions were collected. The prescriptions were assessed for demographic details such as age, gender, comorbidities and drugs prescribed. All prescriptions were evaluated for polypharmacy, DDIs and ADRs. DDIs were assessed using Micromedex software. Patients were stratified into groups and DDIs were compared between the groups, gender and also with number of drugs used. RESULTS There were 201 patients with a mean age of approximately 70 years. Polypharmacy occurred in 73.63% of them with mean number of drugs being 6.23. The number of drugs used increased significantly with age (p=0.0001. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity. Polypharmacy was strongly associated with hypertension and dyslipidaemia. A total of 129 (64.17% patients accounted for 425 potential DDIs. The most common drug involved in DDIs was aspirin. A subset analysis of ADRs showed an occurrence of 50.68% with 10.81% being definitely avoidable. CONCLUSION Elderly individuals are at increased risk of being on polypharmacy. This comes with the risk of several potential DDIs, which in turn may lead to adverse drug reactions, which results in morbidity. Doctors involved in the care of the elderly should be aware of these facts and exercise caution while adding any

Drugs of Abuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Donald E., Ed.

This Drug Enforcement Administration publication delivers clear, scientific information about drugs in a factual, straightforward way, combined with precise photographs shot to scale. The publication is intended to serve as an A to Z guide for drug history, effects, and identification information. Chapters are included on the Controlled Substances…

ORIGINAL ARTICLES Prevalence of drug-drug interactions of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2008-02-02

Feb 2, 2008 ... Table II. Frequency of level 2 interactions between ARVs and the other drugs. Interacting ARVs and other drugs. N. %*. Didanosine + ketoconazole. 1. 0.91. Didanosine + ofloxacin. 1. 0.91. Didanosine + ciprofloxacin. 2. 1.82. Didanosine + iraconazole. 3. 2.73. Didanosine + ketoconazole. 2. 1.82. Efavirenz ...

Population and Drugs

OpenAIRE

Feberová, Beata

2008-01-01

PEOPLE AND DRUGS II. Author: Križanová L. Tutor: Práznovcová L. Dept. of Social and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Kralove, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic Background: It is necessary to rationalize the system of funding of health service. One of the ways how to achieve this aim is monitoring of drug prescription and patient's financial participation on the therapy. Aim of study: Observation and analysis of drug prescription aimed at the prescription of the drug...

Species differences in drug glucuronidation: Humanized UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1 mice and their application for predicting drug glucuronidation and drug-induced toxicity in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujiwara, Ryoichi; Yoda, Emiko; Tukey, Robert H

2018-02-01

More than 20% of clinically used drugs are glucuronidated by a microsomal enzyme UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT). Inhibition or induction of UGT can result in an increase or decrease in blood drug concentration. To avoid drug-drug interactions and adverse drug reactions in individuals, therefore, it is important to understand whether UGTs are involved in metabolism of drugs and drug candidates. While most of glucuronides are inactive metabolites, acyl-glucuronides that are formed from compounds with a carboxylic acid group can be highly toxic. Animals such as mice and rats are widely used to predict drug metabolism and drug-induced toxicity in humans. However, there are marked species differences in the expression and function of drug-metabolizing enzymes including UGTs. To overcome the species differences, mice in which certain drug-metabolizing enzymes are humanized have been recently developed. Humanized UGT1 (hUGT1) mice were created in 2010 by crossing Ugt1-null mice with human UGT1 transgenic mice in a C57BL/6 background. hUGT1 mice can be promising tools to predict human drug glucuronidation and acyl-glucuronide-associated toxicity. In this review article, studies of drug metabolism and toxicity in the hUGT1 mice are summarized. We further discuss research and strategic directions to advance the understanding of drug glucuronidation in humans. Copyright © 2017 The Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling Drug-Carrier Interaction in the Drug Release from Nanocarriers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Like Zeng

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Numerous nanocarriers of various compositions and geometries have been developed for the delivery and release of therapeutic and imaging agents. Due to the high specific surface areas of nanocarriers, different mechanisms such as ion pairing and hydrophobic interaction need to be explored for achieving sustained release. Recently, we developed a three-parameter model that considers reversible drug-carrier interaction and first-order drug release from liposomes. A closed-form analytical solution was obtained. Here, we further explore the ability of the model to capture the release of bioactive molecules such as drugs and growth factors from various nanocarriers. A parameter study demonstrates that the model is capable of resembling major categories of drug release kinetics. We further fit the model to 60 sets of experimental data from various drug release systems, including nanoparticles, hollow particles, fibers, and hollow fibers. Additionally, bootstrapping is used to evaluate the accuracy of parameter determination and validate the model in selected cases. The simplicity and universality of the model and the clear physical meanings of each model parameter render the model useful for the design and development of new drug delivery systems.

TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM: REVIEW

OpenAIRE

Vishvakarama Prabhakar; Agarwal Shivendra; Sharma Ritika; Saurabh Sharma

2012-01-01

Various new technologies have been developed for the transdermal delivery of some important drugs. Today about 74% of drugs are taken orally and are found not to be as effective as desired. To improve such characters transdermal drug delivery system was emerged. Drug delivery through the skin to achieve a systemic effect of a drug is commonly known as transdermal drug delivery and differs from traditional topical drug delivery. Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) are dosage forms involve...

Drug repositioning: Re-investigating existing drugs for new therapeutic indications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B M Padhy

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Drug discovery and development is an expensive, time-consuming, and risky enterprise. In order to accelerate the drug development process with reduced risk of failure and relatively lower costs, pharmaceutical companies have adopted drug repositioning as an alternative. This strategy involves exploration of drugs that have already been approved for treatment of other diseases and/or whose targets have already been discovered. Various techniques including data mining, bioinformatics, and usage of novel screening platforms have been used for identification and screening of potential repositioning candidates. However, challenges in clinical trials and intellectual property issues may be encountered during the repositioning process. Nevertheless, such initiatives not only add value to the portfolio of pharmaceutical companies but also provide an opportunity for academia and government laboratories to develop new and innovative uses of existing drugs for infectious and neglected diseases, especially in emerging countries like India.

Drug repositioning: re-investigating existing drugs for new therapeutic indications.

Science.gov (United States)

Padhy, B M; Gupta, Y K

2011-01-01

Drug discovery and development is an expensive, time-consuming, and risky enterprise. In order to accelerate the drug development process with reduced risk of failure and relatively lower costs, pharmaceutical companies have adopted drug repositioning as an alternative. This strategy involves exploration of drugs that have already been approved for treatment of other diseases and/or whose targets have already been discovered. Various techniques including data mining, bioinformatics, and usage of novel screening platforms have been used for identification and screening of potential repositioning candidates. However, challenges in clinical trials and intellectual property issues may be encountered during the repositioning process. Nevertheless, such initiatives not only add value to the portfolio of pharmaceutical companies but also provide an opportunity for academia and government laboratories to develop new and innovative uses of existing drugs for infectious and neglected diseases, especially in emerging countries like India.

Drugs and Young People

Science.gov (United States)

Drug abuse is a serious public health problem. It affects almost every community and family in some way. Drug abuse in children and teenagers may pose a ... of young people may be more susceptible to drug abuse and addiction than adult brains. Abused drugs ...

Drugs in sport.

Science.gov (United States)

McGrath, J C; Cowan, D A

2008-06-01

This themed issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology has been compiled and edited by Ian McGrath, Regius Professor of Physiology at University of Glasgow and David Cowan, Director of the Drug Control Centre at King's College London. It contains 11 articles covering the mechanisms of action of the major groups of drugs used illicitly in sport. The articles, written by experts in how drugs work, set out where drugs can or cannot affect sporting performance, how this relates to their legitimate medicinal use, their other detrimental effects and how they can be detected. Publication coincides with Olympic year, when sport is highlighted in the public mind and much speculation is made concerning the use of drugs. The articles provide a framework of expert, accurate knowledge to inform and facilitate these debates and to help to overcome the ill-informed and dangerous anecdotal information by which sports men and women are persuaded to misuse drugs in the mistaken belief that this will improve their performance without present or future ill effects. A unique article is included by the Spedding brothers, Mike with a long career in drug discovery and Charlie, the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Marathon Bronze Medallist and still the English National Marathon record holder. From their unique experience, they describe the insidious and unfair way that drug-assisted performance undermines the ethos of sport and endangers the vital place of sport in maintaining the health of the population.

Comparison of a drug versus money and drug versus drug self-administration choice procedure with oxycodone and morphine in opioid addicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Comer, Sandra D; Metz, Verena E; Cooper, Ziva D; Kowalczyk, William J; Jones, Jermaine D; Sullivan, Maria A; Manubay, Jeanne M; Vosburg, Suzanne K; Smith, Mary E; Peyser, Deena; Saccone, Phillip A

2013-09-01

This double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the effects of oral morphine (0, 45, 135 mg/70 kg) and oral oxycodone (0, 15, 45 mg/70 kg) on buprenorphine-maintained opioid addicts. As a 3: 1 morphine : oxycodone oral dose ratio yielded equivalent subjective and physiological effects in nondependent individuals, this ratio was used in the present study. Two self-administration laboratory procedures - that is, a drug versus money and a drug versus drug procedure - were assessed. Study participants (N=12) lived in the hospital and were maintained on 4 mg/day sublingual buprenorphine. When participants chose between drug and money, money was preferred over all drug doses; only high-dose oxycodone was self-administered more than placebo. When participants chose between drug and drug, both drugs were chosen more than placebo, high doses of each drug were chosen over low doses, and high-dose oxycodone was preferred over high-dose morphine. The subjective, performance-impairing, and miotic effects of high-dose oxycodone were generally greater than those of high-dose morphine. The study demonstrated that a 3: 1 oral dose ratio of morphine : oxycodone was not equipotent in buprenorphine-dependent individuals. Both self-administration procedures were effective for assessing the relative reinforcing effects of drugs; preference for one procedure should be driven by the specific research question of interest.

Drug Facts

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Full Text Available ... Pain Medicine (Oxy, Vike) Facts Spice (K2) Facts Tobacco and Nicotine Facts Other Drugs of Abuse What ... Heroin Marijuana MDMA Meth Pain Medicines Spice (K2) Tobacco/Nicotine Other Drugs You can call 1-800- ...

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Full Text Available ... Numbers and Websites Search Share Listen English Español Information about this page Click on the button that ... about drug abuse, addiction, and treatment. Watch Videos Information About Drugs Alcohol Bath Salts Cocaine Heroin Marijuana ...

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Drugged Driving

Science.gov (United States)

... Survey Results Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2/Spice) Unpredictable Danger Drug and Alcohol Use in College-Age Adults in 2016 Monitoring the Future 2016 Survey Results Drug and Alcohol Use in College-Age Adults in 2015 View All NIDA Home ...

Pharmacogenetics of drug-drug interaction and drug-drug-gene interaction : A systematic review on CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bahar, Muh Akbar; Setiawan, Didik; Hak, Eelko; Wilffert, Bob

Currently, most guidelines on drug-drug interaction (DDI) neither consider the potential effect of genetic polymorphism in the strength of the interaction nor do they account for the complex interaction caused by the combination of DDI and drug-gene interaction (DGI) where there are multiple

Drug delivery and formulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Breitkreutz, Jörg; Boos, Joachim

2011-01-01

Paediatric drug delivery is a major challenge in drug development. Because of the heterogeneous nature of the patient group, ranging from newborns to adolescents, there is a need to use appropriate excipients, drug dosage forms and delivery devices for different age groups. So far, there is a lack of suitable and safe drug formulations for children, especially for the very young and seriously ill patients. The new EU legislation will enforce paediatric clinical trials and drug development. Current advances in paediatric drug delivery include interesting new concepts such as fast-dissolving drug formulations, including orodispersible tablets and oral thin strips (buccal wafers), and multiparticulate dosage forms based on mini-tabletting or pelletization technologies. Parenteral administration is likely to remain the first choice for children in the neonatal period and for emergency cases. Alternative routes of administration include transdermal, pulmonary and nasal drug delivery systems. A few products are already available on the market, but others still need further investigations and clinical proof of concept.

Herb-drug interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Fugh-Berman, A

2000-01-08

Concurrent use of herbs may mimic, magnify, or oppose the effect of drugs. Plausible cases of herb-drug interactions include: bleeding when warfarin is combined with ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), garlic (Allium sativum), dong quai (Angelica sinensis), or danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza); mild serotonin syndrome in patients who mix St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) with serotonin-reuptake inhibitors; decreased bioavailability of digoxin, theophylline, cyclosporin, and phenprocoumon when these drugs are combined with St John's wort; induction of mania in depressed patients who mix antidepressants and Panax ginseng; exacerbation of extrapyramidal effects with neuroleptic drugs and betel nut (Areca catechu); increased risk of hypertension when tricyclic antidepressants are combined with yohimbine (Pausinystalia yohimbe); potentiation of oral and topical corticosteroids by liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra); decreased blood concentrations of prednisolone when taken with the Chinese herbal product xaio chai hu tang (sho-salko-to); and decreased concentrations of phenytoin when combined with the Ayurvedic syrup shankhapushpi. Anthranoid-containing plants (including senna [Cassia senna] and cascara [Rhamnus purshiana]) and soluble fibres (including guar gum and psyllium) can decrease the absorption of drugs. Many reports of herb-drug interactions are sketchy and lack laboratory analysis of suspect preparations. Health-care practitioners should caution patients against mixing herbs and pharmaceutical drugs.

Quantitative prediction of drug side effects based on drug-related features.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Yanqing; Zhang, Wen

2017-09-01

Unexpected side effects of drugs are great concern in the drug development, and the identification of side effects is an important task. Recently, machine learning methods are proposed to predict the presence or absence of interested side effects for drugs, but it is difficult to make the accurate prediction for all of them. In this paper, we transform side effect profiles of drugs as their quantitative scores, by summing up their side effects with weights. The quantitative scores may measure the dangers of drugs, and thus help to compare the risk of different drugs. Here, we attempt to predict quantitative scores of drugs, namely the quantitative prediction. Specifically, we explore a variety of drug-related features and evaluate their discriminative powers for the quantitative prediction. Then, we consider several feature combination strategies (direct combination, average scoring ensemble combination) to integrate three informative features: chemical substructures, targets, and treatment indications. Finally, the average scoring ensemble model which produces the better performances is used as the final quantitative prediction model. Since weights for side effects are empirical values, we randomly generate different weights in the simulation experiments. The experimental results show that the quantitative method is robust to different weights, and produces satisfying results. Although other state-of-the-art methods cannot make the quantitative prediction directly, the prediction results can be transformed as the quantitative scores. By indirect comparison, the proposed method produces much better results than benchmark methods in the quantitative prediction. In conclusion, the proposed method is promising for the quantitative prediction of side effects, which may work cooperatively with existing state-of-the-art methods to reveal dangers of drugs.

Drug Pricing Reforms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaiser, Ulrich; Mendez, Susan J.; Rønde, Thomas

2015-01-01

Reference price systems for prescription drugs have found widespread use as cost containment tools. Under such regulatory regimes, patients co-pay a fraction of the difference between pharmacy retail price of the drug and a reference price. Reference prices are either externally (based on drug...... prices in other countries) or internally (based on domestic drug prices) determined. In a recent study, we analysed the effects of a change from external to internal reference pricing in Denmark in 2005, finding that the reform led to substantial reductions in prices, producer revenues, and expenditures...... for patients and the health insurance system. We also estimated an increase in consumer welfare but the size effect depends on whether or not perceived quality differences between branded and other drugs are taken into account....

Oral Drug Delivery Systems Comprising Altered Geometric Configurations for Controlled Drug Delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priya Bawa

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Recent pharmaceutical research has focused on controlled drug delivery having an advantage over conventional methods. Adequate controlled plasma drug levels, reduced side effects as well as improved patient compliance are some of the benefits that these systems may offer. Controlled delivery systems that can provide zero-order drug delivery have the potential for maximizing efficacy while minimizing dose frequency and toxicity. Thus, zero-order drug release is ideal in a large area of drug delivery which has therefore led to the development of various technologies with such drug release patterns. Systems such as multilayered tablets and other geometrically altered devices have been created to perform this function. One of the principles of multilayered tablets involves creating a constant surface area for release. Polymeric materials play an important role in the functioning of these systems. Technologies developed to date include among others: Geomatrix® multilayered tablets, which utilizes specific polymers that may act as barriers to control drug release; Procise®, which has a core with an aperture that can be modified to achieve various types of drug release; core-in-cup tablets, where the core matrix is coated on one surface while the circumference forms a cup around it; donut-shaped devices, which possess a centrally-placed aperture hole and Dome Matrix® as well as “release modules assemblage”, which can offer alternating drug release patterns. This review discusses the novel altered geometric system technologies that have been developed to provide controlled drug release, also focusing on polymers that have been employed in such developments.

Genomes2Drugs: identifies target proteins and lead drugs from proteome data.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Toomey, David

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Genome sequencing and bioinformatics have provided the full hypothetical proteome of many pathogenic organisms. Advances in microarray and mass spectrometry have also yielded large output datasets of possible target proteins\\/genes. However, the challenge remains to identify new targets for drug discovery from this wealth of information. Further analysis includes bioinformatics and\\/or molecular biology tools to validate the findings. This is time consuming and expensive, and could fail to yield novel drugs if protein purification and crystallography is impossible. To pre-empt this, a researcher may want to rapidly filter the output datasets for proteins that show good homology to proteins that have already been structurally characterised or proteins that are already targets for known drugs. Critically, those researchers developing novel antibiotics need to select out the proteins that show close homology to any human proteins, as future inhibitors are likely to cross-react with the host protein, causing off-target toxicity effects later in clinical trials. METHODOLOGY\\/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To solve many of these issues, we have developed a free online resource called Genomes2Drugs which ranks sequences to identify proteins that are (i) homologous to previously crystallized proteins or (ii) targets of known drugs, but are (iii) not homologous to human proteins. When tested using the Plasmodium falciparum malarial genome the program correctly enriched the ranked list of proteins with known drug target proteins. CONCLUSIONS\\/SIGNIFICANCE: Genomes2Drugs rapidly identifies proteins that are likely to succeed in drug discovery pipelines. This free online resource helps in the identification of potential drug targets. Importantly, the program further highlights proteins that are likely to be inhibited by FDA-approved drugs. These drugs can then be rapidly moved into Phase IV clinical studies under \\'change-of-application\\' patents.

Genomes2Drugs: identifies target proteins and lead drugs from proteome data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Toomey

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Genome sequencing and bioinformatics have provided the full hypothetical proteome of many pathogenic organisms. Advances in microarray and mass spectrometry have also yielded large output datasets of possible target proteins/genes. However, the challenge remains to identify new targets for drug discovery from this wealth of information. Further analysis includes bioinformatics and/or molecular biology tools to validate the findings. This is time consuming and expensive, and could fail to yield novel drugs if protein purification and crystallography is impossible. To pre-empt this, a researcher may want to rapidly filter the output datasets for proteins that show good homology to proteins that have already been structurally characterised or proteins that are already targets for known drugs. Critically, those researchers developing novel antibiotics need to select out the proteins that show close homology to any human proteins, as future inhibitors are likely to cross-react with the host protein, causing off-target toxicity effects later in clinical trials. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To solve many of these issues, we have developed a free online resource called Genomes2Drugs which ranks sequences to identify proteins that are (i homologous to previously crystallized proteins or (ii targets of known drugs, but are (iii not homologous to human proteins. When tested using the Plasmodium falciparum malarial genome the program correctly enriched the ranked list of proteins with known drug target proteins. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Genomes2Drugs rapidly identifies proteins that are likely to succeed in drug discovery pipelines. This free online resource helps in the identification of potential drug targets. Importantly, the program further highlights proteins that are likely to be inhibited by FDA-approved drugs. These drugs can then be rapidly moved into Phase IV clinical studies under 'change-of-application' patents.

Will growth in cryptomarket drug buying increase the harms of illicit drugs?

Science.gov (United States)

Aldridge, Judith; Stevens, Alex; Barratt, Monica J

2018-05-01

Cryptomarkets-on-line, anonymous market-places for illicit goods and services that specialize mainly in drugs-account for a small but rapidly growing share of the illicit drug market in many countries. Policy responses so far are based generally on the assumption that their rise will only increase drug harms. In this contribution for debate, we question this assumption. We provide a narrative review of the emerging literature connected to drug cryptomarkets. We use MacCoun & Reuter's formula to understand the effect of population-level increases in use on total harm as depending on the level of harm associated with each unit of use. We then consider the potential for cryptomarkets to increase or decrease the harms and benefits related to each unit of drug use, with specific attention to the quality of drugs sold and the non-drug-related harms and benefits for customers. It is likely that cryptomarkets will increase both the amount and the range of substances that are sold. However, we argue that the effects on harms will depend upon whether cryptomarkets also increase the quality and safety of products that are sold, provide harm-reducing information to consumers and reduce transactional conflict involved in drug purchasing. There is an emerging and rapidly growing evidence base connected to the macro and micro harms and benefits of cryptomarkets for drug users. Future researchers should use appropriately matched comparative designs to establish more firmly the differential harms and benefits of sourcing drugs both on- and off-line. While it is unlikely that the on-line drug trade can be eradicated completely, cryptomarkets will respond to regulation and enforcement in ways that have complex, and sometimes unanticipated, effects on both harms and benefits. © 2017 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.

Better drug history taking: an assessment of the DRUGS mnemonic.

Science.gov (United States)

Hocking, G; Kalyanaraman, R; deMello, W F

1998-06-01

To improve drug history taking before anaesthesia, we have previously suggested a checklist with the mnemonic DRUGS (Doctor, Recreational, User, Gynaecological, Sensitivities). We have now tested this mnemonic in 1053 patients admitted for surgery, comparing the results with the information obtained in the original clerking. Use of the mnemonic yielded additional information in 621 patients (59%). Drugs which had gone unrecorded in routine clerking were detected in 24% of patients on medication. Of 199 patients with high alcohol intake, this feature had been recorded in only 38 (19%). Unprescribed medicines, being taken by 158, had been noted in only 31 (20%). Of women taking oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy, more than two-thirds had not given this information. Sensitivities had been recorded accurately in 100 patients but the mnemonic yielded relevant information in a further 85. On this evidence, use of the simple DRUGS mnemonic improves drug history taking in anaesthetic practice.

Distribution of red blood cell antigens in drug-resistant and drug ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

sofo

Frequency distribution of ABO, Rh-Hr, MN, Kell blood group system antigens were studied in 277 TB patients (151-drug-sensitive and 126 drug-resistant) of pulmonary tuberculosis to know whether there was any association between them, and also between drug resistance and sensitiveness. They were compared with 485 ...

The interpretation of hair analysis for drugs and drug metabolites.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuypers, Eva; Flanagan, Robert J

2018-02-01

Head hair analysis for drugs and drug metabolites has been used widely with the aim of detecting exposure in the weeks or months prior to sample collection. However, inappropriate interpretation of results has likely led to serious miscarriages of justice, especially in child custody cases. The aim of this review is to assess critically what can, and perhaps more importantly, what cannot be claimed as regards the interpretation of hair test results in a given set of circumstances in order to inform future testing. We searched the PubMed database for papers published 2010-2016 using the terms "hair" and "drug" and "decontamination", the terms "hair" and "drug" and "contamination", the terms "hair" and "drug-facilitated crime", the terms "hair" and "ethyl glucuronide", and the terms "hair", "drug testing" and "analysis". Study of the reference lists of the 46 relevant papers identified 25 further relevant citations, giving a total of 71 citations. Hair samples: Drugs, drug metabolites and/or decomposition products may arise not only from deliberate drug administration, but also via deposition from a contaminated atmosphere if drug(s) have been smoked or otherwise vaporized in a confined area, transfer from contaminated surfaces via food/fingers, etc., and transfer from sweat and other secretions after a single large exposure, which could include anesthesia. Excretion in sweat of endogenous analytes such as γ-hydroxybutyric acid is a potential confounder if its use is to be investigated. Cosmetic procedures such as bleaching or heat treatment of hair may remove analytes prior to sample collection. Hair color and texture, the area of the head the sample is taken from, the growth rate of individual hairs, and how the sample has been stored, may also affect the interpretation of results. Toxicological analysis: Immunoassay results alone do not provide reliable evidence on which to base judicial decisions. Gas or liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection

Drug Information in Space Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Bayuse, Tina M.

2009-01-01

Published drug information is widely available for terrestrial conditions. However, information on dosing, administration, drug interactions, stability, and side effects is scant as it relates to use in Space Medicine. Multinational crews on board the International Space Station present additional challenges for drug information because medication nomenclature, information available for the drug as well as the intended use for the drug is not standard across countries. This presentation will look at unique needs for drug information and how the information is managed in Space Medicine. A review was conducted of the drug information requests submitted to the Johnson Space Center Pharmacy by Space Medicine practitioners, astronaut crewmembers and researchers. The information requested was defined and cataloged. A list of references used was maintained. The wide range of information was identified. Due to the information needs for the medications in the on-board medical kits, the Drug Monograph Project was created. A standard method for answering specific drug information questions was generated and maintained by the Johnson Space Center Pharmacy. The Drug Monograph Project will be presented. Topic-centered requests, including multinational drug information, drug-induced adverse reactions, and medication events due to the environment will be highlighted. Information management of the drug information will be explained. Future considerations for drug information needs will be outlined.

Compulsory drug detention and injection drug use cessation and relapse in Bangkok, Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Fairbairn, Nadia; Hayashi, Kanna; Ti, Lianping; Kaplan, Karyn; Suwannawong, Paisan; Wood, Evan; Kerr, Thomas

2015-01-01

Strategies to promote the reduction and cessation of injection drug use are central to human immunodeficiency virus prevention and treatment efforts globally. Though drug use cessation is a major focus of drug policy in Thailand, little is known about factors associated with injection cessation and relapse in this setting. A cross-sectional study was conducted between July and October 2011 of a community-recruited sample of people who inject drugs in Bangkok, Thailand. Using multivariate logistic regression, we examined the prevalence and correlates of injection drug use cessation with subsequent relapse. Among 422 participants, 209 (49.5%) reported a period of injection drug use cessation of at least one year. In multivariate analyses, incarceration (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 13.07), voluntary drug treatment (AOR 2.75), midazolam injection (AOR 2.48) and number of years since first injection (AOR 1.07) were positively associated with injection cessation of duration greater than a year (all P Thailand. © 2014 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

The impact of the Orphan Drug Act on drug discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Haffner, Marlene E; Maher, Paul D

2006-11-01

For nearly a quarter of a century the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development has administered the US Orphan Drug Act, which assists in bringing a wide variety of drug and biological (drug) products to treat rare diseases to market. Enthusiasm for rare disease product development has been sustained, seen throughout a wide spectrum of product types and disease conditions, and has resulted in clinically meaningful medical advances. Development of programmes for rare disease treatment worldwide, coupled with the development of drugs for diseases affecting developing countries, attests to the strength of this legislation. The marketing of almost 300 products in the US for rare diseases also testifies to the depth and intensity of scientific endeavour in this area.

Pharmacotherapies for decreasing maladaptive choice in drug addiction: Targeting the behavior and the drug.

Science.gov (United States)

Perkins, Frank N; Freeman, Kevin B

2018-01-01

Drug addiction can be conceptualized as a disorder of maladaptive decision making in which drugs are chosen at the expense of pro-social, nondrug alternatives. The study of decision making in drug addiction has focused largely on the role of impulsivity as a facilitator of addiction, in particular the tendency for drug abusers to choose small, immediate gains over larger but delayed outcomes (i.e., delay discounting). A parallel line of work, also focused on decision making in drug addiction, has focused on identifying the determinants underlying the choice to take drugs over nondrug alternatives (i.e., drug vs. nondrug choice). Both tracks of research have been valuable tools in the development of pharmacotherapies for treating maladaptive decision making in drug addiction, and a number of common drugs have been studied in both designs. However, we have observed that there is little uniformity in the administration regimens of potential treatments between the designs, which hinders congruence in the development of single treatment strategies to reduce both impulsive behavior and drug choice. The current review provides an overview of the drugs that have been tested in both delay-discounting and drug-choice designs, and focuses on drugs that reduced the maladaptive choice in both designs. Suggestions to enhance congruence between the findings in future studies are provided. Finally, we propose the use of a hybridized, experimental approach that may enable researchers to test the effectiveness of therapeutics at decreasing impulsive and drug choice in a single design. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Drug-drug interactions involving antidepressants: focus on desvenlafaxine.

Science.gov (United States)

Low, Yvette; Setia, Sajita; Lima, Graca

2018-01-01

Psychiatric and physical conditions often coexist, and there is robust evidence that associates the frequency of depression with single and multiple physical conditions. More than half of patients with depression may have at least one chronic physical condition. Therefore, antidepressants are often used in cotherapy with other medications for the management of both psychiatric and chronic physical illnesses. The risk of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) is augmented by complex polypharmacy regimens and extended periods of treatment required, of which possible outcomes range from tolerability issues to lack of efficacy and serious adverse events. Optimal patient outcomes may be achieved through drug selection with minimal potential for DDIs. Desvenlafaxine is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor approved for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder. Pharmacokinetic studies of desvenlafaxine have shown a simple metabolic profile unique among antidepressants. This review examines the DDI profiles of antidepressants, particularly desvenlafaxine, in relation to drugs of different therapeutic areas. The summary and comparison of information available is meant to help clinicians in making informed decisions when using desvenlafaxine in patients with depression and comorbid chronic conditions.

Hepatic transporter drug-drug interactions: an evaluation of approaches and methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Beth; Riley, Robert J

2017-12-01

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) continue to account for 5% of hospital admissions and therefore remain a major regulatory concern. Effective, quantitative prediction of DDIs will reduce unexpected clinical findings and encourage projects to frontload DDI investigations rather than concentrating on risk management ('manage the baggage') later in drug development. A key challenge in DDI prediction is the discrepancies between reported models. Areas covered: The current synopsis focuses on four recent influential publications on hepatic drug transporter DDIs using static models that tackle interactions with individual transporters and in combination with other drug transporters and metabolising enzymes. These models vary in their assumptions (including input parameters), transparency, reproducibility and complexity. In this review, these facets are compared and contrasted with recommendations made as to their application. Expert opinion: Over the past decade, static models have evolved from simple [I]/k i models to incorporate victim and perpetrator disposition mechanisms including the absorption rate constant, the fraction of the drug metabolised/eliminated and/or clearance concepts. Nonetheless, models that comprise additional parameters and complexity do not necessarily out-perform simpler models with fewer inputs. Further, consideration of the property space to exploit some drug target classes has also highlighted the fine balance required between frontloading and back-loading studies to design out or 'manage the baggage'.

Medicaid Drug Rebate Program Data

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Product Data for Drugs in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. The rebate drug product data file contains the active drugs that have been reported by participating drug...

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Cigs Other Drugs Related Topics Addiction Science Adolescent Brain Comorbidity College-Age & Young Adults Criminal Justice Drugged Driving Drug Testing Drugs and the Brain Genetics Global Health Health Consequences of Drug Misuse ...

Abuse of prescription drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilford, B B

1990-01-01

An estimated 3% of the United States population deliberately misuse or abuse psychoactive medications, with severe consequences. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than half of patients who sought treatment or died of drug-related medical problems in 1989 were abusing prescription drugs. Physicians who contribute to this problem have been described by the American Medical Association as dishonest--willfully misprescribing for purposes of abuse, usually for profit; disabled by personal problems with drugs or alcohol; dated in their knowledge of current pharmacology or therapeutics; or deceived by various patient-initiated fraudulent approaches. Even physicians who do not meet any of these descriptions must guard against contributing to prescription drug abuse through injudicious prescribing, inadequate safeguarding of prescription forms or drug supplies, or acquiescing to the demands or ruses used to obtain drugs for other than medical purposes. PMID:2349801

Indian aspects of drug information resources and impact of drug information centre on community.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauhan, Nitesh; Moin, Sabeeya; Pandey, Anushree; Mittal, Ashu; Bajaj, Umakant

2013-04-01

Drug information centre refer to facility specially set aside for, and specializing in the provision of drug information and related issues. The purpose of drug information center is to provide authentic individualized, accurate, relevant and unbiased drug information to the consumers and healthcare professionals regarding medication related inquiries to the nation for health care and drug safety aspects by answering their call regarding the all critical problems on drug information, their uses and their side effects. Apart from that the center also provides in-depth, impartial source of crucial drug information to meet the needs of the practicing physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals to safeguard the health, financial and legal interests of the patient and to broaden the pharmacist role visible in the society and community. The service should include collecting, reviewing, evaluating, indexing and distributing information on drugs to health workers. Drug and poisons information centers are best established within major teaching hospitals. This allows access to clinical experience, libraries, research facilities and educational activities. Information present in the current paper will not only enlighten the role of drug information center but also focused on the rational use of drug.

Indian aspects of drug information resources and impact of drug information centre on community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nitesh Chauhan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Drug information centre refer to facility specially set aside for, and specializing in the provision of drug information and related issues. The purpose of drug information center is to provide authentic individualized, accurate, relevant and unbiased drug information to the consumers and healthcare professionals regarding medication related inquiries to the nation for health care and drug safety aspects by answering their call regarding the all critical problems on drug information, their uses and their side effects. Apart from that the center also provides in-depth, impartial source of crucial drug information to meet the needs of the practicing physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals to safeguard the health, financial and legal interests of the patient and to broaden the pharmacist role visible in the society and community. The service should include collecting, reviewing, evaluating, indexing and distributing information on drugs to health workers. Drug and poisons information centers are best established within major teaching hospitals. This allows access to clinical experience, libraries, research facilities and educational activities. Information present in the current paper will not only enlighten the role of drug information center but also focused on the rational use of drug.

Clinical risk management in Dutch community pharmacies: the case of drug-drug interactions.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buurma, H.; Smet, P.A.G.M. de; Egberts, A.C.G.

2006-01-01

BACKGROUND: The prevention of drug-drug interactions requires a systematic approach for which the concept of clinical risk management can be used. The objective of our study was to measure the frequency, nature and management of drug-drug interaction alerts as these occur in daily practice of Dutch

Competitive release of drug resistance following drug treatment of mixed Plasmodium chabaudi infections.

Science.gov (United States)

de Roode, Jacobus C; Culleton, Richard; Bell, Andrew S; Read, Andrew F

2004-09-14

Malaria infections are often genetically diverse, potentially leading to competition between co-infecting strains. Such competition is of key importance in the spread of drug resistance. The effects of drug treatment on within-host competition were studied using the rodent malaria Plasmodium chabaudi. Mice were infected simultaneously with a drug-resistant and a drug-sensitive clone and were then either drug-treated or left untreated. Transmission was assessed by feeding mice to Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. In the absence of drugs, the sensitive clone competitively suppressed the resistant clone; this resulted in lower asexual parasite densities and also reduced transmission to the mosquito vector. Drug treatment, however, allowed the resistant clone to fill the ecological space emptied by the removal of the sensitive clone, allowing it to transmit as well as it would have done in the absence of competition. These results show that under drug pressure, resistant strains can have two advantages: (1) they survive better than sensitive strains and (2) they can exploit the opportunities presented by the removal of their competitors. When mixed infections are common, such effects could increase the spread of drug resistance.

Enhanced drug delivery capabilities from stents coated with absorbable polymer and crystalline drug

OpenAIRE

Carlyle, Wenda C.; McClain, James B.; Tzafriri, Abraham R.; Bailey, Lynn; Zani, Brett G.; Markham, Peter M.; Stanley, James R.L.; Edelman, Elazer R.

2012-01-01

Current drug eluting stent (DES) technology is not optimized with regard to the pharmacokinetics of drug delivery. A novel, absorbable-coating sirolimus-eluting stent (AC-SES) was evaluated for its capacity to deliver drug more evenly within the intimal area rather than concentrating drug around the stent struts and for its ability to match coating erosion with drug release. The coating consisted of absorbable poly-lactide-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and crystalline sirolimus deposited by a dry-p...

Dendrimers for Drug Delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhay Singh Chauhan

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Dendrimers have come a long way in the last 25 years since their inception. Originally created as a wonder molecule of chemistry, dendrimer is now in the fourth class of polymers. Dr. Donald Tomalia first published his seminal work on Poly(amidoamine (PAMAM dendrimers in 1985. Application of dendrimers as a drug delivery system started in late 1990s. Dendrimers for drug delivery are employed using two approaches: (i formulation and (ii nanoconstruct. In the formulation approach, drugs are physically entrapped in a dendrimer using non-covalent interactions, whereas drugs are covalently coupled on dendrimers in the nanoconstruct approach. We have demonstrated the utility of PAMAM dendrimers for enhancing solubility, stability and oral bioavailability of various drugs. Drug entrapment and drug release from dendrimers can be controlled by modifying dendrimer surfaces and generations. PAMAM dendrimers are also shown to increase transdermal permeation and specific drug targeting. Dendrimer platforms can be engineered to attach targeting ligands and imaging molecules to create a nanodevice. Dendrimer nanotechnology, due to its multifunctional ability, has the potential to create next generation nanodevices.

Vaginal drug distribution modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, David F; Yuan, Andrew; Gao, Yajing

2015-09-15

This review presents and applies fundamental mass transport theory describing the diffusion and convection driven mass transport of drugs to the vaginal environment. It considers sources of variability in the predictions of the models. It illustrates use of model predictions of microbicide drug concentration distribution (pharmacokinetics) to gain insights about drug effectiveness in preventing HIV infection (pharmacodynamics). The modeling compares vaginal drug distributions after different gel dosage regimens, and it evaluates consequences of changes in gel viscosity due to aging. It compares vaginal mucosal concentration distributions of drugs delivered by gels vs. intravaginal rings. Finally, the modeling approach is used to compare vaginal drug distributions across species with differing vaginal dimensions. Deterministic models of drug mass transport into and throughout the vaginal environment can provide critical insights about the mechanisms and determinants of such transport. This knowledge, and the methodology that obtains it, can be applied and translated to multiple applications, involving the scientific underpinnings of vaginal drug distribution and the performance evaluation and design of products, and their dosage regimens, that achieve it. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predictors of illicit drug/s use among university students in Northern Ireland, Wales and England.

Science.gov (United States)

El Ansari, Walid; Vallentin-Holbech, Lotte; Stock, Christiane

2014-12-16

The use of illicit drug/s among university students is a public health concern. Nevertheless, many UK studies investigated a narrow spectrum of variables to explore their association/s with illicit drug/s use. We assessed the associations between a wide range of socio-demographic, health and wellbeing variables (independent variables) and having used illicit drug/s regularly, occasionally or never in life (dependent variables). Data (3706 students) were collected from seven universities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, using a self-administered questionnaire. About 5% of the sample had regularly used illicit drug/s, 25% occasionally, and 70% never. Regular drug use (RDU) was significantly more likely among males aged 21-29 years, daily smokers, those with heavy episodic drinking or possible alcohol dependency (CAGE test), and those who perceived their academic performance better than their peers. RDU was less likely among students with high health awareness and those living with parents. The predictors of occasional drug use (ODU) were similar to those of RDU. However, in addition, students with higher perceived stress were less likely, and students who felt financial burden/s were more likely to report ODU, while no association with academic performance was found. Never use of illicit drug/s was inversely associated with most of the variables listed above, and was positively associated with religiosity. Illicit drug/s use goes along with other substance use (alcohol and smoking). The finding that illicit drug/s use was higher among students reporting good academic performance was surprising and raises the question of whether illicit drug/s may be used as performance enhancing drugs. The factors identified with illicit drug/s use in this study could be utilized to develop appropriate public health policies and preventive measures for the health of students. Multilevel, value based, comprehensive, and strategic long-term intervention plans are required. This

The Impact of College Drug Policy on Students' Drug Usage

Science.gov (United States)

Sawyer, Holly N.

2012-01-01

Illicit drug usage at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) is a topic of limited research. The research questions that guided this study were (a) What is the relationship between college policy on illicit drugs and students' frequency of drug usage after controlling for college location (urban or rural) and students' age,…

An Outreach Program in Drug Education; Teaching a Rational Approach to Drug Use

Science.gov (United States)

Sorensen, James L.; Joffe, Stephen J.

1975-01-01

Aimed at encouraging rational decision making about drug use, a peer oriented drug education program was conducted in a community youth project. Youth and leaders shared feelings and knowledge about drugs. Compared with four program dropouts, six participants exhibited more positive attitudes toward the drug group, its leaders and themselves.…

Adverse drug reaction and concepts of drug safety in Ayurveda: An overview

Science.gov (United States)

Ajanal, Manjunath; Nayak, Shradda; Prasad, Buduru Sreenivasa; Kadam, Avinash

2013-01-01

Drug safety is a very basic and fundamental concept in medical practice. ADRs play an important role in assessing patient safety in any system of medicine. Pharmacovigilance study is thus significant to understand treatment outcomes. Current raised issue with respect to complementary and alternative system medicine (CAM) like Ayurveda is increased in number of safety reports along with report misinterpretation; this generates the negative impact on system. Although, Ayurveda which is holistic system of medicine from India has elaborated the causes and methods of drug-induced consequences along with preventive measures the available data in classical texts is scattered. The compilation and analysis along with modern concept drug safety is need of the hour. Present literature review was conducted from various compendium of Ayurveda and electronic data base with search terms of ‘Vyapad’, ‘Viruddha’, ‘Ahita’, ‘herb–herb interaction’, ‘idiosyncrasy’, ‘Prakritiviruddha’ etc. The reported information was analysed for the possible correlation on concept of ADR and Pharmacovigilance of current science. Overall review demonstrated that drug interaction, iatrogenic, over dose, administration of unsuitable drugs, reprehensive drug administration with respect to disease, complication from five procedural therapies (Panchakarma) and reprehensible preparation of mineral drug are nearer to the modern causes of ADR. Thus, concept of drug safety and ADR is not new to the Ayurveda. The concept “Drug which is not appropriate to be used as medicine”(Abheshaja) of Ayurveda sounds similar as that of modern pharmacovigilance. PMID:24563588

Drug specificity in drug versus food choice in male rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Tunstall, Brendan J; Riley, Anthony L; Kearns, David N

2014-08-01

Although different classes of drug differ in their mechanisms of reinforcement and effects on behavior, little research has focused on differences in self-administration behaviors maintained by users of these drugs. Persistent drug choice despite available reinforcement alternatives has been proposed to model behavior relevant to addiction. The present study used a within-subjects procedure, where male rats (Long-Evans, N = 16) were given a choice between cocaine (1.0 mg/kg/infusion) and food (a single 45-mg grain pellet) or between heroin (0.02 mg/kg/infusion) and food in separate phases (drug order counterbalanced). All rats were initially trained to self-administer each drug, and the doses used were based on previous studies showing that small subsets of rats tend to prefer drug over food reinforcement. The goal of the present study was to determine whether rats that prefer cocaine would also prefer heroin. Choice sessions consisted of 2 forced-choice trials with each reinforcer, followed by 14 free-choice trials (all trials separated by 10-min intertrial interval). Replicating previous results, small subsets of rats preferred either cocaine (5 of the 16 rats) or heroin (2 of the 16 rats) to the food alternative. Although 1 of the 16 rats demonstrated a preference for both cocaine and heroin to the food alternative, there was no relationship between degree of cocaine and heroin preference in individual rats. The substance-specific pattern of drug preference observed suggests that at least in this animal model, the tendencies to prefer cocaine or heroin in preference to a nondrug alternative are distinct behavioral phenomena.

Target mediated drug disposition with drug-drug interaction, Part II: competitive and uncompetitive cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Gilbert; Jusko, William J; Schropp, Johannes

2017-02-01

We present competitive and uncompetitive drug-drug interaction (DDI) with target mediated drug disposition (TMDD) equations and investigate their pharmacokinetic DDI properties. For application of TMDD models, quasi-equilibrium (QE) or quasi-steady state (QSS) approximations are necessary to reduce the number of parameters. To realize those approximations of DDI TMDD models, we derive an ordinary differential equation (ODE) representation formulated in free concentration and free receptor variables. This ODE formulation can be straightforward implemented in typical PKPD software without solving any non-linear equation system arising from the QE or QSS approximation of the rapid binding assumptions. This manuscript is the second in a series to introduce and investigate DDI TMDD models and to apply the QE or QSS approximation.

Micelle-like nanoassemblies based on polymer-drug conjugates as an emerging platform for drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhihong; Wang, Yutao; Zhang, Na

2012-07-01

During the past decades, polymer-drug conjugates are one of the hottest topics in novel drug development fields. Amphiphilic polymer-drug conjugates in aqueous solution could form micelles or micelle-like nanoassemblies. Compared with polymer-drug conjugates and the micelles into which drugs are physically entrapped, micelles or micelle-like nanoassemblies based on polymer-drug conjugates bring several additional advantages, including increased drug-loading capacity, enhanced intracellular uptake, reduced systemic toxicity, and improved therapeutic efficacy. This review focuses on recent progress achieved in the research field of micelles or micelle-like nanoassemblies based on polymer-drug conjugates. Firstly, properties of polymers, drugs, and linkers which could be used to build polymer-drug conjugate micelles or micelle-like nanoassemblies are summarized. Then, the characterization methods are described. Finally, the drug-targeting mechanisms are discussed. Micelles or micelle-like nanoassemblies based on polymer-drug conjugates as an emerging platform have the potential to achieve medical treatments with enhanced therapeutic effect. The application of micelles or micelle-like nanoassemblies based on polymer-drug conjugates may give new life to old active compounds abandoned due to their low solubility problems. For clinical application, there is a need to further optimize the properties of the polymer, drug, and linker.

Drug Elucidation: Invertebrate Genetics Sheds New Light on the Molecular Targets of CNS Drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donard S. Dwyer

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Many important drugs approved to treat common human diseases were discovered by serendipity, without a firm understanding of their modes of action. As a result, the side effects and interactions of these medications are often unpredictable, and there is limited guidance for improving the design of next-generation drugs. Here, we review the innovative use of simple model organisms, especially Caenorhabditis elegans, to gain fresh insights into the complex biological effects of approved CNS medications. Whereas drug discovery involves the identification of new drug targets and lead compounds/biologics, and drug development spans preclinical testing to FDA approval, drug elucidation refers to the process of understanding the mechanisms of action of marketed drugs by studying their novel effects in model organisms. Drug elucidation studies have revealed new pathways affected by antipsychotic drugs, e.g., the insulin signaling pathway, a trace amine receptor and a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Similarly, novel targets of antidepressant drugs and lithium have been identified in C. elegans, including lipid-binding/transport proteins and the SGK-1 signaling pathway, respectively. Elucidation of the mode of action of anesthetic agents has shown that anesthesia can involve mitochondrial targets, leak currents and gap junctions. The general approach reviewed in this article has advanced our knowledge about important drugs for CNS disorders and can guide future drug discovery efforts.

Predicting transporter-mediated drug interactions: Commentary on: "Pharmacokinetic evaluation of a drug transporter cocktail consisting of digoxin, furosemide, metformin and rosuvastatin" and "Validation of a microdose probe drug cocktail for clinical drug interaction assessments for drug transporters and CYP3A".

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, L; Sparreboom, A

2017-04-01

Transporters, expressed in various tissues, govern the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs, and consequently their inherent safety and efficacy profiles. Drugs may interact with a transporter as a substrate and/or an inhibitor. Understanding transporter-mediated drug-drug interactions (DDIs), in addition to enzyme-mediated DDIs, is an integral part of risk assessment in drug development and regulatory review because the concomitant use of more than one medication in patients is common. © 2016 ASCPT.

Drug abuse among the students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Zaman

2015-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT:Drug abuse is the willful misuse of either licit or illicit drugs for the purpose of recreation, perceived necessity or convenience. Drug abuse is a more intense and often willful misuse of drugs often to the point of addiction. In the eastern world the incidence shows a decline or a static pattern but the number of drug addicts is still enormous.. The major drug of abuse are heroin and marijuana but designer drugs are shown to be on the increase. The aim of the study is to determine the ratio of the drug abuse in student. For this purpose we selected different institutions including “the university of Lahore”, “Forman Christian college”(private sector and Punjab university(Govt sector and conducted survey in 500 student. High proportion of students was found abusing drugs. From this study, we came across multiple factors which are the main cause of drug abuse in medical student including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, as well as personality disorder like antisocial personality disorder. The most commonly abused drugs include stimulants, opioids, and benzodiazepines, antihistamines. Although survey have indicated high rate of illicit and prescription drugs misuse among college students, few have assessed the negative consequences, personel concerns, or interest in intervention for drugs use. Drug abuse although regarded as a personality disorder, may also be seen as worldwide epidemic with evolutionary genetic, physiology and environmental influences Controlling and affecting human behavior. Globally, the use has reached all time high. The study showed males are more drug abusers as compared to females. The drug abuse ratio in students of private sector is more as compared to Govt sector.

Drug-model membrane interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deniz, Usha K.

1994-01-01

In the present day world, drugs play a very important role in medicine and it is necessary to understand their mode of action at the molecular level, in order to optimise their use. Studies of drug-biomembrane interactions are essential for gaining such as understanding. However, it would be prohibitively difficult to carry out such studies, since biomembranes are highly complex systems. Hence, model membranes (made up of these lipids which are important components of biomembranes) of varying degrees of complexity are used to investigate drug-membrane interactions. Bio- as well as model-membranes undergo a chain melting transition when heated, the chains being in a disordered state above the transition point, T CM . This transition is of physiological importance since biomembranes select their components such that T CM is less than the ambient temperature but not very much so, so that membrane flexibility is ensured and porosity, avoided. The influence of drugs on the transition gives valuable clues about various parameters such as the location of the drug in the membrane. Deep insights into drug-membrane interactions are obtained by observing the effect of drugs on membrane structure and the mobilities of the various groups in lipids, near T CM . Investigation of such changes have been carried out with several drugs, using techniques such as DSC, XRD and NMR. The results indicate that the drug-membrane interaction not only depends on the nature of drug and lipids but also on the form of the model membrane - stacked bilayer or vesicles. The light that these results shed on the nature of drug-membrane interactions is discussed. (author). 13 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab

Drugs Approved for Cervical Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cervical cancer. The list includes generic names, brand names, and common drug combinations, which are shown in capital letters. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Testicular Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for testicular cancer. The list includes generic names, brand names, and common drug combinations, which are shown in capital letters. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Hodgkin Lymphoma

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Hodgkin lymphoma. The list includes generic names, brand names, and common drug combinations, which are shown in capital letters. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for myeloproliferative neoplasms. The list includes generic names, brand names, and common drug combinations, which are shown in capital letters. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drug-induced hair loss.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-01

Hair loss can have major psychological consequences. It can be due to a wide variety of causes, including hormonal disorders, dietary factors, infections, inflammation, trauma, emotional factors, and cancer. Drugs can also induce hair loss, by interacting with the hair growth cycle. Drug-induced hair loss may be immediate or delayed, sudden or gradual, and diffuse or localised. It is usually reversible after drug discontinuation. The drugs most often implicated in hair loss are anticancer agents, interferon, azole antifungals, lithium, immunosuppressants, and many other drugs belonging to a variety of pharmacological classes.

Fabrication of drug eluting implants: study of drug release mechanism from titanium dioxide nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamlekhan, Azhang; Shokuhfar, Tolou; Sinha-Ray, Suman; Yarin, Alexander L; Takoudis, Christos; Mathew, Mathew T; Sukotjo, Cortino

2015-01-01

Formation of titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNTs) on a titanium surface holds great potential for promoting desirable cellular response. However, prolongation of drug release from these nano-reservoirs remains to be a challenge. In our previous work TNTs were successfully loaded with a drug. In this study the effect of TNTs dimensions on prolongation of drug release is quantified aiming at the introduction of a simple novel technique which overcomes complications of previously introduced methods. Different groups of TNTs with different lengths and diameters are fabricated. Samples are loaded with a model drug and rate of drug release over time is monitored. The relation of the drug release rate to the TNT dimensions (diameter, length, aspect ratio and volume) is established. The results show that an increase in any of these parameters increases the duration of the release process. However, the strongest parameter affecting the drug release is the aspect ratio. In fact, TNTs with higher aspect ratios release drug slower. It is revealed that drug release from TNT is a diffusion-limited process. Assuming that diffusion of drug in (Phosphate-Buffered Saline) PBS follows one-dimensional Fick’s law, the theoretical predictions for drug release profile is compatible with our experimental data for release from a single TNT. (paper)

The relationship between drug use settings, roles in the drug economy, and witnessing a drug overdose in Baltimore, Maryland.

Science.gov (United States)

Latkin, Carl A; Edwards, Catie; Davey-Rothwell, Melissa A; Yang, Cui; Tobin, Karin E

2018-02-12

There has been a dramatic increase in drug overdose deaths in the United States. In the current study, the authors examined factors associated with witnessing a drug overdose. A sample of 450 substance users in Baltimore, Maryland, were recruited for a behavioral intervention and were administered a survey. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to compare participants who never witnessed a drug overdose with those who witnessed one in the prior 6 months and those who witnessed an overdose over 6 months ago. Most (58%) participants were male, 40% experienced homelessness in the prior 6 months, 63% reported a history of heroin injecting, 84% had snorted heroin, 75% reported witnessing a drug overdose, and 38% experienced an overdose. In multinomial logistic regression models, witnessing an overdose in the past 6 months was associated with number of different types of places where drugs were used (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.34), history of experiencing an overdose (aOR = 1.80), injecting heroin and/or speedball (aOR = 1.78), and snorting heroin (aOR = 1.54). Witnessing an overdose more than 6 months ago was associated with number of different places where drugs were used (aOR = 1.25), history of experiencing an overdose (aOR = 1.61), snorting heroin (aOR = 1.42), and injecting heroin or speedball (aOR = 1.47). These data suggest that people who engage in more public and frequent drug use, and hence are more likely to witness an overdose, should be targeted for interventions to prevent and treat drug overdose.

Pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction and their implication in clinical management

OpenAIRE

Palleria, Caterina; DI PAOLO, Antonello; Giofrè, Chiara; Caglioti, Chiara; Leuzzi, Giacomo; Siniscalchi, Antonio; De Sarro, Giovambattista; Gallelli, Luca

2013-01-01

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are one of the commonest causes of medication error in developed countries, particularly in the elderly due to poly-therapy, with a prevalence of 20-40%. In particular, poly-therapy increases the complexity of therapeutic management and thereby the risk of clinically important DDIs, which can both induce the development of adverse drug reactions or reduce the clinical efficacy. DDIs can be classify into two main groups: pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic. In thi...

Do national drug policies influence antiretroviral drug prices? Evidence from the Southern African Development community.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yao; Galárraga, Omar

2017-03-01

The efficacy of low- and middle-income countries’ (LMIC) national drug policies in managing antiretroviral (ARV) pharmaceutical prices is not well understood. Though ARV drug prices have been declining in LMIC over the past decade, little research has been done on the role of their national drug policies. This study aims to (i) analyse global ARV prices from 2004 to 2013 and (ii) examine the relationship of national drug policies to ARV prices. Analysis of ARV drug prices utilized data from the Global Price Reporting Mechanism from the World Health Organization (WHO). Ten of the most common ARV drugs (first-line and second-line) were selected. National drug policies were also assessed for 12 countries in the South African Development Community (SADC), which self-reported their policies through WHO surveys. The best predictor of ARV drug price was generic status—the generic versions of 8 out of 10 ARV drugs were priced lower than branded versions. However, other factors such as transaction volume, HIV prevalence, national drug policies and PEPFAR/CHAI involvement were either not associated with ARV drug price or were not consistent predictors of price across different ARV drugs. In the context of emerging international trade agreements, which aim to strengthen patent protections internationally and potentially delay the sale of generic drugs in LMIC, this study shines a spotlight on the importance of generic drugs in controlling ARV prices. Further research is needed to understand the impact of national drug policies on ARV prices.

Accelerating Precision Drug Development and Drug Repurposing by Leveraging Human Genetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulley, Jill M; Shirey-Rice, Jana K; Lavieri, Robert R; Jerome, Rebecca N; Zaleski, Nicole M; Aronoff, David M; Bastarache, Lisa; Niu, Xinnan; Holroyd, Kenneth J; Roden, Dan M; Skaar, Eric P; Niswender, Colleen M; Marnett, Lawrence J; Lindsley, Craig W; Ekstrom, Leeland B; Bentley, Alan R; Bernard, Gordon R; Hong, Charles C; Denny, Joshua C

2017-04-01

The potential impact of using human genetic data linked to longitudinal electronic medical records on drug development is extraordinary; however, the practical application of these data necessitates some organizational innovations. Vanderbilt has created resources such as an easily queried database of >2.6 million de-identified electronic health records linked to BioVU, which is a DNA biobank with more than 230,000 unique samples. To ensure these data are used to maximally benefit and accelerate both de novo drug discovery and drug repurposing efforts, we created the Accelerating Drug Development and Repurposing Incubator, a multidisciplinary think tank of experts in various therapeutic areas within both basic and clinical science as well as experts in legal, business, and other operational domains. The Incubator supports a diverse pipeline of drug indication finding projects, leveraging the natural experiment of human genetics.

Albumin–Polymer–Drug Conjugates: Long Circulating, High Payload Drug Delivery Vehicles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smith, Anton Allen Abbotsford; Zuwala, Kaja; Pilgram, Oliver

2016-01-01

Albumin is an exquisite tool of nature used in biomedicine to achieve long blood residence time for drugs, but the payload it can carry is typically limited to one molecule per protein. In contrast, synthetic macromolecular prodrugs contain multiple copies of drugs per polymer chain but offer only...... a marginal increase in the circulation lifetime of the drugs. We combine the benefits of the two platforms and at the same time overcome their respective limitations. Specifically, we develop the synthesis of albumin–polymer–drug conjugates to obtain long circulating, high payload drug delivery vehicles....... In vivo data validate that albumin endows the conjugate with a blood residence time similar to that of the protein and well exceeding that of the polymer. Therapeutic activity of the conjugates is validated using prodrugs of panobinostat, an HIV latency reversal agent, in which case the conjugates matched...

Prisoners' views about the drugs problem in prisons, and the new Prison Service drug strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gore, S M; Bird, A G; Cassidy, J

1999-09-01

Three hundred and seventy-five out of 575 prisoners (222/299 drug users and 153/267 non-users) who responded to a self-completion health care questionnaire at two prisons in 1997 commented on drugs in prisons. One hundred and forty-eight out of 176 responses expressed negative opinions about mandatory drugs testing (MDT), and 107 said that MDT promoted switching to or increased use of heroin/hard drugs'. Sixty-two prisoners suggested that more help/counselling was needed for drug users, 52 segregation of drug users/drug-free wings, and 50 more security on visits/in corridors after medication. The new Prison Service drug strategy has revised random MDT. It targets those who supply drugs, and supports those who want to stop using drugs, and accords with prisoners' views about the heroin problem in prisons.

Emerging Frontiers in Drug Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Tibbitt, Mark W; Dahlman, James E; Langer, Robert

2016-01-27

Medicine relies on the use of pharmacologically active agents (drugs) to manage and treat disease. However, drugs are not inherently effective; the benefit of a drug is directly related to the manner by which it is administered or delivered. Drug delivery can affect drug pharmacokinetics, absorption, distribution, metabolism, duration of therapeutic effect, excretion, and toxicity. As new therapeutics (e.g., biologics) are being developed, there is an accompanying need for improved chemistries and materials to deliver them to the target site in the body, at a therapeutic concentration, and for the required period of time. In this Perspective, we provide an historical overview of drug delivery and controlled release followed by highlights of four emerging areas in the field of drug delivery: systemic RNA delivery, drug delivery for localized therapy, oral drug delivery systems, and biologic drug delivery systems. In each case, we present the barriers to effective drug delivery as well as chemical and materials advances that are enabling the field to overcome these hurdles for clinical impact.

Therapeutic drug monitoring of atypical antipsychotic drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grundmann Milan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder often associated with cognitive impairment and affective, mainly depressive, symptoms. Antipsychotic medication is the primary intervention for stabilization of acute psychotic episodes and prevention of recurrences and relapses in patients with schizophrenia. Typical antipsychotics, the older class of antipsychotic agents, are currently used much less frequently than newer atypical antipsychotics. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM of antipsychotic drugs is the specific method of clinical pharmacology, which involves measurement of drug serum concentrations followed by interpretation and good cooperation with the clinician. TDM is a powerful tool that allows tailor-made treatment for the specific needs of individual patients. It can help in monitoring adherence, dose adjustment, minimizing the risk of toxicity and in cost-effectiveness in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The review provides complex knowledge indispensable to clinical pharmacologists, pharmacists and clinicians for interpretation of TDM results.

76 FR 11790 - Drugs for Human Use; Drug Efficacy Study Implementation; Oral Prescription Drugs Offered for...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-03

... subject of an approved new drug application (NDA) or abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) (other than... 23, 1983, notice, the manufacturer had submitted supplemental applications proposing to reformulate... Laboratories, a subsidiary of Elan Corp., PLC, 800 Gateway Blvd., South San Francisco, CA 94080; Copley...

Tuberculosis drug issues: prices, fixed-dose combination products and second-line drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Laing, R O; McGoldrick, K M

2000-12-01

Access to tuberculosis drugs depends on multiple factors. Selection of a standard list of TB drugs to procure is the first step. This paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of procuring and using fixed-dose combination (FDC) products for both the intensive and continuation phases of treatment. The major advantages are to prevent the emergence of resistance, to simplify logistic management and to reduce costs. The major disadvantage is the need for the manufacturers to assure the quality of these FDCs by bioavailability testing. The paper reports on the inclusion of second-line TB drugs in the 1999 WHO Essential Drug List (EDL). The need to ensure that these drugs are used within established DOTS-Plus programs is stressed. The price of TB drugs is determined by many factors, including producer prices, local taxes and duties as well as mark-ups and fees. TB drug prices for both the public and private sectors from industrialized and developing countries are reported. Price trends over time are also reported. The key findings of this study are that TB drug prices have generally declined in developing countries while they have increased in developed countries, both for the public and private sectors. Prices vary between countries, with the US paying as much as 95 times the price paid in a specific developing country. The prices of public sector first-line TB drugs vary little between countries, although differences do exist due to the procurement methods used. The price of tuberculin, a diagnostic agent, has increased dramatically in the US, with substantial inter-country variations in price. The paper suggests that further research is necessary to identify the reasons for the price disparities and changes over time, and suggests methods which can be used by National Tuberculosis Programme managers to ensure availability of quality assured TB drugs at low prices.

Compliance with national guidelines for the management of drug-drug interactions in Dutch community pharmacies.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buurma, H.; Schalekamp, T.; Egberts, A.C.G.; Smet, P.A.G.M. de

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists contribute to the detection and prevention of drug therapy-related problems, including drug-drug interactions. Little is known about compliance with pharmacy practice guidelines for the management of drug-drug interaction alerts. OBJECTIVE: To measure the compliance of

Open source drug discovery--a new paradigm of collaborative research in tuberculosis drug development.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhardwaj, Anshu; Scaria, Vinod; Raghava, Gajendra Pal Singh; Lynn, Andrew Michael; Chandra, Nagasuma; Banerjee, Sulagna; Raghunandanan, Muthukurussi V; Pandey, Vikas; Taneja, Bhupesh; Yadav, Jyoti; Dash, Debasis; Bhattacharya, Jaijit; Misra, Amit; Kumar, Anil; Ramachandran, Srinivasan; Thomas, Zakir; Brahmachari, Samir K

2011-09-01

It is being realized that the traditional closed-door and market driven approaches for drug discovery may not be the best suited model for the diseases of the developing world such as tuberculosis and malaria, because most patients suffering from these diseases have poor paying capacity. To ensure that new drugs are created for patients suffering from these diseases, it is necessary to formulate an alternate paradigm of drug discovery process. The current model constrained by limitations for collaboration and for sharing of resources with confidentiality hampers the opportunities for bringing expertise from diverse fields. These limitations hinder the possibilities of lowering the cost of drug discovery. The Open Source Drug Discovery project initiated by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India has adopted an open source model to power wide participation across geographical borders. Open Source Drug Discovery emphasizes integrative science through collaboration, open-sharing, taking up multi-faceted approaches and accruing benefits from advances on different fronts of new drug discovery. Because the open source model is based on community participation, it has the potential to self-sustain continuous development by generating a storehouse of alternatives towards continued pursuit for new drug discovery. Since the inventions are community generated, the new chemical entities developed by Open Source Drug Discovery will be taken up for clinical trial in a non-exclusive manner by participation of multiple companies with majority funding from Open Source Drug Discovery. This will ensure availability of drugs through a lower cost community driven drug discovery process for diseases afflicting people with poor paying capacity. Hopefully what LINUX the World Wide Web have done for the information technology, Open Source Drug Discovery will do for drug discovery. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Successful drug desensitization in patients with delayed-type allergic reactions to anti-tuberculosis drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krittaecho Siripassorn

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of anti-tuberculosis drug desensitization. Methods: This was a retrospective study. Inclusion criteria were as follows: age >18 years, documented tuberculosis infection, a previous cutaneous allergic reaction to anti-tuberculosis drugs, and having undergone drug desensitization between January 2003 and March 2014. The definition of allergic reaction to anti-tuberculosis drugs included (1 a temporal relationship between drug use and the allergic reaction; (2 improvement in the allergic reaction after drug withdrawal; (3 recurrence of the allergic reaction after reintroduction of only the offending drug; and (4 absence of other causes. Results: A total of 19 desensitization procedures were performed. The drugs used for these procedures were isoniazid (n = 7, rifampicin (n = 6, or ethambutol (n = 6. Of note, severe allergic reactions (Stevens–Johnson syndrome (n = 4, erythema multiforme (n = 3, and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic syndrome (n = 1 were included. All patients underwent resolution of the previous allergic reactions before desensitization. The median duration of desensitization was 18 days. The success rate was 78.9%. The allergic reactions following failed desensitization were not severe; most were maculopapular rashes. Conclusions: The desensitization protocol for anti-tuberculosis drugs was associated with a high success rate, and the individuals who failed desensitization experienced mild allergic reactions. Keywords: Desensitization, Antituberculosis, Steven-Johnson syndrome, Allergic drug reaction, Tolerance induction, Drug allergy

Drug problems in contemporary China: a profile of Chinese drug users in a metropolitan area.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Kaicheng; Zhang, Lening; Liu, Jianhong

2011-03-01

Drug problems are reemerging in China since the nation implemented economic reform and an "open door" policy in the early 1980s. This is causing both national and international concern. However, knowledge and understanding of the Chinese drug problem is fairly limited because of the nation's unique social and political history. In response to this shortage of information, our study presents a profile of Chinese drug users. Data were collected from a survey of drug users attending mandatory treatment centres in a large city in 2009. We present a demographic profile of the drug users, describe their patterns of drug use, their access to drugs and their history of drug treatment. Chinese drug users, like those from the U.S., are likely to be unemployed and have a low level of education. However, they are more likely than those in the U.S. to use heroin, Bingdu (methamphetamine) and Maguo (a derivative of methamphetamine), and they pay less for their drugs. This profile of drug users is informative and valuable for drug prevention, intervention, and treatment in the Chinese setting because knowing and understanding the drug population is essential for effective control. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carrier-free, functionalized pure drug nanorods as a novel cancer-targeted drug delivery platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yanan; An Feifei; Zhang Xiaohong; Yang Yinlong; Liu Zhuang; Zhang Xiujuan

2013-01-01

A one-dimensional drug delivery system (1D DDS) is highly attractive since it has distinct advantages such as enhanced drug efficiency and better pharmacokinetics. However, drugs in 1D DDSs are all encapsulated in inert carriers, and problems such as low drug loading content and possible undesirable side effects caused by the carriers remain a serious challenge. In this paper, a novel, carrier-free, pure drug nanorod-based, tumor-targeted 1D DDS has been developed. Drugs are first prepared as nanorods and then surface functionalized to achieve excellent water dispersity and stability. The resulting drug nanorods show enhanced internalization rates mainly through energy-dependent endocytosis, with the shape-mediated nanorod (NR) diffusion process as a secondary pathway. The multiple endocytotic mechanisms lead to significantly improved drug efficiency of functionalized NRs with nearly ten times higher cytotoxicity than those of free molecules and unfunctionalized NRs. A targeted drug delivery system can be readily achieved through surface functionalization with targeting group linked amphipathic surfactant, which exhibits significantly enhanced drug efficacy and discriminates between cell lines with high selectivity. These results clearly show that this tumor-targeting DDS demonstrates high potential toward specific cancer cell lines. (paper)

Potential drug-drug interactions with direct oral anticoagulants in elderly hospitalized patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, Heather L; Polasek, Thomas M

2017-10-01

To determine the prevalence and nature of potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in elderly hospitalized patients. This was a retrospective observational study. Inclusion criteria were: aged over 65 years; taking apixaban, rivaroxaban or dabigatran; and admitted to the Repatriation General Hospital between April 2014 and July 2015. A list of clinically relevant 'perpetrator' drugs was compiled from product information, the Australian Medicines Handbook, the Australian National Prescribing Service resources, and local health network guidelines. The prevalence and nature of potential DDIs with DOACs was determined by comparing inpatient drug charts with the list of perpetrator drugs. There were 122 patients in the study with a mean age of 82 years. Most patients had nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and were taking DOACs to prevent thrombotic stroke (83%). Overall, 45 patients (37%) had a total of 54 potential DDIs. Thirty-five patients had potential pharmacodynamic DDIs with antidepressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antiplatelets (35/122, 29%). Nineteen patients had potential pharmacokinetic DDIs (19/122, 16%). Of these, 68% (13/19) were taking drugs that increase DOAC plasma concentrations (amiodarone, erythromycin, diltiazem or verapamil) and 32% (6/19) were taking drugs that decrease DOAC plasma concentrations (carbamazepine, primidone or phenytoin). There were no cases of patients taking contraindicated interacting drugs. Potential DDIs with DOACs in elderly hospital inpatients are relatively common, particularly interactions that may increase the risk of bleeding. The risk-benefit ratio of DOACs in elderly patients on polypharmacy should always be carefully considered.

Immediate or deferred adjustment of drug regimens in multidose drug dispensing systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mertens, Bram J; Kwint, Henk-Frans; van Marum, Rob J; Bouvy, Marcel L

2018-05-18

Multidose drug dispensing (MDD) is used to help patients take their medicines appropriately. Little is known about drug regimen changes within these MDD systems and how they are effectuated by the community pharmacist. Manual immediate adjustments of the MDD system could introduce dispensing errors. MDD guidelines therefore recommend to effectuate drug regimen changes at the start of a new MDD system. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, type, procedure followed, immediate necessity, and time taken to make MDD adjustments. This was a cross-sectional study in eight community pharmacies in the Netherlands. All adjustments to MDD systems were systematically documented for 3 weeks by the community pharmacist. Overall, 261 MDD adjustments involving 364 drug changes were documented for 250 patients: 127 (35%) drug changes involved the addition of a new drug, 124 (34%) a change in dosage, and 95 (26%) drug discontinuation. Of the MDD adjustments, 135 (52%) were effectuated immediately: 81 (31%) by adjusting the MDD system manually, 49 (19%) by temporarily dispensing the drug separately from the MDD system, and 5 (2%) by ordering a new MDD system. Pharmacists considered that 36 (27%) of the immediate MDD adjustments could have been deferred until the next MDD system was produced. Immediate adjustment took significantly longer than deferred adjustment (p < 0.001). This study shows that in patients using MDD systems, over half of the drug regimen changes are adjusted immediately. The necessity of these immediate changes should be critically evaluated. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The importance of drug metabolites synthesis: the case-study of cardiotoxic anticancer drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hrynchak, Ivanna; Sousa, Emília; Pinto, Madalena; Costa, Vera Marisa

2017-05-01

Anticancer drugs are presently guarantying more survivors as a result of more powerful drugs or combinations of drugs used in therapy. Thus, it has become more crucial to study and overcome the side effects of these therapies. Cardiotoxicity is one of the most relevant side effects on the long-term cancer survivors, because of its high social and economic impact. Drug metabolism can result in active metabolites or toxic metabolites that can lead to important side effects. The metabolites of anticancer drugs are possible culprits of cardiotoxicity; however, the cardiotoxicity of many of the metabolites in several drug classes was not yet suitably studied so far. On the other hand, the use of prodrugs that are bioactivated through metabolism can be a good alternative to obtain more cardio safe drugs. In this review, the methods to obtain and study metabolites are summarized and their application to the study of a group of anticancer drugs with acknowledged cardiotoxicity is highlighted. In this group of drugs, doxorubicin (DOX, 1), mitoxantrone (MTX, 2), cyclophosphamide (CTX, 3) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, 4) are included, as well as the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as imatinib (5), sunitinib (6) and sorafenib (7). Only with the synthesis and purification of considerable amounts of the metabolites can reliable studies be performed, either in vitro or in vivo that allow accurate conclusions regarding the cardiotoxicity of anticancer drug metabolites and then pharmacological prevention or treatment of the cardiac side effects can be done.

Venetoclax (ABT-199) Might Act as a Perpetrator in Pharmacokinetic Drug-Drug Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Johanna; Gajek, Thomas; Köhler, Bruno Christian; Haefeli, Walter Emil

2016-02-24

Venetoclax (ABT-199) represents a specific B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) inhibitor that is currently under development for the treatment of lymphoid malignancies. So far, there is no published information on its interaction potential with important drug metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters, or its efficacy in multidrug resistant (MDR) cells. We therefore scrutinized its drug-drug interaction potential in vitro. Inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) was quantified by commercial kits. Inhibition of drug transporters (P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1), breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs)) was evaluated by the use of fluorescent probe substrates. Induction of drug transporters and drug metabolizing enzymes was quantified by real-time RT-PCR. The efficacy of venetoclax in MDR cells lines was evaluated with proliferation assays. Venetoclax moderately inhibited P-gp, BCRP, OATP1B1, OATP1B3, CYP3A4, and CYP2C19, whereas CYP2B6 activity was increased. Venetoclax induced the mRNA expression of CYP1A1, CYP1A2, UGT1A3, and UGT1A9. In contrast, expression of ABCB1 was suppressed, which might revert tumor resistance towards antineoplastic P-gp substrates. P-gp over-expression led to reduced antiproliferative effects of venetoclax. Effective concentrations for inhibition and induction lay in the range of maximum plasma concentrations of venetoclax, indicating that it might act as a perpetrator drug in pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions.

Firm- and drug-specific patterns of generic drug payments by US medicaid programs: 1991-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelton, Christina M L; Chang, Lenisa V; Guo, Jeff J; Yu, Yan; Berry, Edmund A; Bian, Boyang; Heaton, Pamela C

2014-04-01

The entry of generic drugs into markets previously monopolized by patented, branded drugs often represents large potential savings for healthcare payers in the USA. Our objectives were to describe and explain the trends in drug reimbursement by public Medicaid programmes post-generic entry for as many drug markets and for as long a time period as possible. The data were the Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Quarterly utilization and expenditure data from 1991 to 2008 were extracted for 83 drugs, produced by 229 firms, that experienced initial generic entry between 1992 and 2004. A relative 'price' for a specific drug, firm and quarter was constructed as Medicaid reimbursement per unit (e.g. tablet, capsule or vial) divided by average reimbursement per unit for the branded drug the year before entry. Fixed-effects models controlling for time-, firm- and drug-specific differences were estimated to explain reimbursement. Twelve quarters after generic entry, 18 % of drugs had average per-unit reimbursement less than 50 % of the original branded-drug reimbursement. For each additional firm manufacturing the drug, reimbursement per unit, relative to the pre-generic-entry branded-drug reimbursement, was estimated to fall by 17 (p < 0.01) and 3 (p < 0.01) percentage points for generic and branded-drug companies, respectively. Each additional quarter post-generic entry brought a 2 (p < 0.01) percentage point drop in relative reimbursement. State Medicaid programmes generally have been able to obtain relief from high drug prices following patent expirations for many branded-drug medications by adjusting reimbursement following the expanded competition in the pharmaceutical market.

77 FR 8262 - Draft Guidance on Investigational New Drug Applications for Positron Emission Tomography Drugs...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-14

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2012-D-0081] Draft Guidance on Investigational New Drug Applications for Positron Emission Tomography Drugs; Availability AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug...

Drugs Approved for Multiple Myeloma

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for multiple myeloma and other plasma cell neoplasms. The list includes generic names, brand names, and common drug combinations, which are shown in capital letters. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

A Drug Combination Screen Identifies Drugs Active against Amoxicillin-induced Round Bodies of Borrelia burgdorferi Persisters from an FDA Drug Library

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie eFeng

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Although currently recommended antibiotics for Lyme disease such as doxycycline or amoxicillin cure the majority of the patients, about 10-20% of patients treated for Lyme disease may experience lingering symptoms including fatigue, pain, or joint and muscle aches. Under stress conditions such as starvation or antibiotic exposure, Borrelia burgdorferi can develop round body forms, which are a type of persister bacteria that are not killed by current Lyme antibiotics. To identify more effective drugs that are active against the round bodies of B. burgdorferi, we established a round body persister model induced by amoxicillin and screened the Food and Drug Administration (FDA drug library consisting of 1581 drug compounds and also 22 drug combinations using the SYBR Green I/propidium iodide (PI viability assay. We identified 23 drug candidates that have higher activity against the round bodies of B. burgdorferi than either amoxicillin or doxycycline. Eleven of these scored better than metronidazole and tinidazole which have been previously described to be active against round bodies. While some drug candidates such as daptomycin and clofazimine overlapped with a previous screen against stationary phase B. burgdorferi persisters, additional drug candidates active against round bodies we identified include artemisinin, ciprofloxacin, nifuroxime, fosfomycin, chlortetracycline, sulfacetamide, sulfamethoxypyridazine and sulfathiozole. Two triple drug combinations had the highest activity against round bodies and stationary phase B. burgdorferi persisters: artemisinin/cefoperazone/doxycycline and sulfachlorpyridazine/daptomycin/doxycycline. These findings confirm and extend previous findings that certain drug combinations have superior activity against B. burgdorferi persisters in vitro, even if pre-treated with amoxicillin. These findings may have implications for improved treatment of Lyme disease.

Recommendation Techniques for Drug-Target Interaction Prediction and Drug Repositioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Alaimo, Salvatore; Giugno, Rosalba; Pulvirenti, Alfredo

2016-01-01

The usage of computational methods in drug discovery is a common practice. More recently, by exploiting the wealth of biological knowledge bases, a novel approach called drug repositioning has raised. Several computational methods are available, and these try to make a high-level integration of all the knowledge in order to discover unknown mechanisms. In this chapter, we review drug-target interaction prediction methods based on a recommendation system. We also give some extensions which go beyond the bipartite network case.

Grapefruit and drug interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-01

Since the late 1980s, grapefruit juice has been known to affect the metabolism of certain drugs. Several serious adverse effects involving drug interactions with grapefruit juice have been published in detail. The components of grapefruit juice vary considerably depending on the variety, maturity and origin of the fruit, local climatic conditions, and the manufacturing process. No single component accounts for all observed interactions. Other grapefruit products are also occasionally implicated, including preserves, lyophylised grapefruit juice, powdered whole grapefruit, grapefruit seed extract, and zest. Clinical reports of drug interactions with grapefruit juice are supported by pharmacokinetic studies, each usually involving about 10 healthy volunteers, in which the probable clinical consequences were extrapolated from the observed plasma concentrations. Grapefruit juice inhibits CYP3A4, the cytochrome P450 isoenzyme most often involved in drug metabolism. This increases plasma concentrations of the drugs concerned, creating a risk of overdose and dose-dependent adverse effects. Grapefruit juice also inhibits several other cytochrome P450 isoenzymes, but they are less frequently implicated in interactions with clinical consequences. Drugs interacting with grapefruit and inducing serious clinical consequences (confirmed or very probable) include: immunosuppressants, some statins, benzodiazepines, most calcium channel blockers, indinavir and carbamazepine. There are large inter-individual differences in enzyme efficiency. Along with the variable composition of grapefruit juice, this makes it difficult to predict the magnitude and clinical consequences of drug interactions with grapefruit juice in a given patient. There is increasing evidence that transporter proteins such as organic anion transporters and P-glycoprotein are involved in interactions between drugs and grapefruit juice. In practice, numerous drugs interact with grapefruit juice. Although only a few

Position-aware deep multi-task learning for drug-drug interaction extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Deyu; Miao, Lei; He, Yulan

2018-05-01

A drug-drug interaction (DDI) is a situation in which a drug affects the activity of another drug synergistically or antagonistically when being administered together. The information of DDIs is crucial for healthcare professionals to prevent adverse drug events. Although some known DDIs can be found in purposely-built databases such as DrugBank, most information is still buried in scientific publications. Therefore, automatically extracting DDIs from biomedical texts is sorely needed. In this paper, we propose a novel position-aware deep multi-task learning approach for extracting DDIs from biomedical texts. In particular, sentences are represented as a sequence of word embeddings and position embeddings. An attention-based bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) network is used to encode each sentence. The relative position information of words with the target drugs in text is combined with the hidden states of BiLSTM to generate the position-aware attention weights. Moreover, the tasks of predicting whether or not two drugs interact with each other and further distinguishing the types of interactions are learned jointly in multi-task learning framework. The proposed approach has been evaluated on the DDIExtraction challenge 2013 corpus and the results show that with the position-aware attention only, our proposed approach outperforms the state-of-the-art method by 0.99% for binary DDI classification, and with both position-aware attention and multi-task learning, our approach achieves a micro F-score of 72.99% on interaction type identification, outperforming the state-of-the-art approach by 1.51%, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting drug-induced liver injury: antithyroid drugs as instances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Heidari

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Methimazole and propylthiouracil have been used in the management of hyperthyroidism for more than half a century. However, hepatotoxicity is one of the most deleterious side effects associated with these medications. The mechanism(s of hepatic injury induced by antithyroid agents is not fully recognized yet. Furthermore, there are no specific tools for predicting the occurrence of hepatotoxicity induced by these drugs. The purpose of this article is to give an overview on possible susceptibility factors in liver injury induced by antithyroid agents. Age, gender, metabolism characteristics, alcohol consumption, underlying diseases, immunologic mechanisms, and drug interactions are involved in enhancing antithyroid drugs-induced hepatic damage. An outline on the clinically used treatments for antithyroid drugs-induced hepatotoxicity and the potential therapeutic strategies found to be effective against this complication are also discussed.

Supersaturating drug delivery systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laitinen, Riikka; Löbmann, Korbinian; Grohganz, Holger

2017-01-01

of the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs by increasing the driving force for drug absorption. However, ASDs often require a high weight percentage of carrier (usually a hydrophilic polymer) to ensure molecular mixing of the drug in the carrier and stabilization of the supersaturated state, often leading......Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) are probably the most common and important supersaturating drug delivery systems for the formulation of poorly water-soluble compounds. These delivery systems are able to achieve and maintain a sustained drug supersaturation which enables improvement...... strategy for poorly-soluble drugs. While the current research on co-amorphous formulations is focused on preparation and characterization of these systems, more detailed research on their supersaturation and precipitation behavior and the effect of co-formers on nucleation and crystal growth inhibition...

Drug Reactions - Multiple Languages

Science.gov (United States)

... PDF Drug Interactions - HIV medicines, part 6 - English MP3 Drug Interactions - HIV medicines, part 6 - 简体中文 (Chinese, Simplified (Mandarin dialect)) MP3 Drug Interactions - HIV medicines, part 6 - English MP4 ...

Updates on drug-target network; facilitating polypharmacology and data integration by growth of DrugBank database.

Science.gov (United States)

Barneh, Farnaz; Jafari, Mohieddin; Mirzaie, Mehdi

2016-11-01

Network pharmacology elucidates the relationship between drugs and targets. As the identified targets for each drug increases, the corresponding drug-target network (DTN) evolves from solely reflection of the pharmaceutical industry trend to a portrait of polypharmacology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potentials of DrugBank database in advancing systems pharmacology. We constructed and analyzed DTN from drugs and targets associations in the DrugBank 4.0 database. Our results showed that in bipartite DTN, increased ratio of identified targets for drugs augmented density and connectivity of drugs and targets and decreased modular structure. To clear up the details in the network structure, the DTNs were projected into two networks namely, drug similarity network (DSN) and target similarity network (TSN). In DSN, various classes of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs with distinct therapeutic categories were linked together based on shared targets. Projected TSN also showed complexity because of promiscuity of the drugs. By including investigational drugs that are currently being tested in clinical trials, the networks manifested more connectivity and pictured the upcoming pharmacological space in the future years. Diverse biological processes and protein-protein interactions were manipulated by new drugs, which can extend possible target combinations. We conclude that network-based organization of DrugBank 4.0 data not only reveals the potential for repurposing of existing drugs, also allows generating novel predictions about drugs off-targets, drug-drug interactions and their side effects. Our results also encourage further effort for high-throughput identification of targets to build networks that can be integrated into disease networks. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Adolescent Brain Comorbidity College-Age & Young Adults Criminal Justice Drugged Driving Drug Testing Drugs and the Brain Genetics Global Health Health Consequences of Drug Misuse Hepatitis (Viral) ...

Generic Drugs: Questions and Answers

Science.gov (United States)

... Vaccines, Blood & Biologics Animal & Veterinary Cosmetics Tobacco Products Drugs Home Drugs Resources for You Information for Consumers (Drugs) Questions & Answers Generic Drugs: Questions & Answers Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More ...

77 FR 71802 - Guidance on Investigational New Drug Applications for Positron Emission Tomography Drugs...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-04

... Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Drugs.'' The guidance is intended to assist manufacturers of PET drugs... one self-addressed adhesive label to assist that office in processing your requests. See the... ``Investigational New Drug Applications for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Drugs.'' The guidance summarizes the...

78 FR 52429 - New Animal Drugs; Withdrawal of Approval of New Animal Drug Applications; Diethylcarbamazine...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-23

... 558 [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0839] New Animal Drugs; Withdrawal of Approval of New Animal Drug...: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect the withdrawal of approval of three new animal drug applications (NADAs) at the sponsors' request...

How do researchers categorize drugs, and how do drug users categorize them?

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Juliet P; Antin, Tamar M J

2012-01-01

This paper considers drug classifications and terms widely used in US survey research, and compares these to classifications and terms used by drug users. We begin with a critical review of drug classification systems, including those oriented to public policy and health services as well as survey research. We then consider the results of a pile sort exercise we conducted with 76 respondents within a mixed method study of Southeast Asian American adolescent and young adult drug users in urban Northern California, USA. We included the pile sort to clarify how respondents handled specific terms which we understood to be related to Ecstasy and methamphetamines. Results of the pile sort were analyzed using graphic layout algorithms as well as content analysis of pile labels. Similar to the national surveys, our respondents consistently differentiated Ecstasy terms from methamphetamine terms. We found high agreement between some specific local terms ( thizz , crystal ) and popular drug terms, while other terms thought to be mainstream ( crank , speed ) were reported as unknown by many respondents. In labeling piles, respondents created taxonomies based on consumption method (in particular, pill ) as well as the social contexts of use. We conclude by proposing that divergences between drug terms utilized in survey research and those used by drug users may reflect two opposing tendencies: the tendency of survey researchers to utilize standardized language that constructs persons and experiences as relatively homogeneous, varying only within measurable degrees, and the tendency of drug users to utilize specialized language (argot) that reflects their understandings of their experiences as hybrid and diverse. The findings problematize the validity of drug terms and categories used in survey research.

O comércio de medicamentos de gênero na mídia impressa brasileira: misoprostol e mulheres The illegal market for gender-related drugs as portrayed in the Brazilian news media: the case of misoprostol and women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debora Diniz

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Este artigo analisa como a mídia impressa brasileira noticia o comércio clandestino do misoprostol, o principal medicamento para aborto. Foram recuperadas 1.429 notícias, de 220 veículos de informação impressos e eletrônicos, entre 2004 e 2009. A análise foi realizada em 524 notícias de 62 veículos impressos regionais e nacionais. O misoprostol é pauta permanente, mas o enquadramento das notícias é policial, diverso do aborto como uma questão religiosa, política e de saúde pública que domina a mídia brasileira. O misoprostol está inserido no mercado ilegal de medicamentos de gênero, tais como os para emagrecimento, disfunção erétil ou anabolizantes. Sessenta e quatro (12% notícias impressas apresentam histórias de vida de mulheres que abortaram com o misoprostol. As mulheres têm de 13 a 46 anos e sua inserção de classe demarca diferentes experiências de aborto. Três personagens foram identificados nos itinerários de aborto: amigas, intermediários e médicos. As histórias de aborto tardio são confundidas com a tipificação penal do infanticídio e são casos-limite para a narrativa midiática.This article analyzes how the Brazilian news media covers the illegal market for misoprostol, the main drug used to induce abortion. A total of 1,429 news stories were retrieved from 220 print and electronic media channels from 2004 to 2009. The analysis included 524 stories from 62 regional and national newspapers. Misoprostol appeared repeatedly in the news, but was usually approached from a criminal perspective, unlike abortion as a whole, which the Brazilian media routinely covers as a religious, political, and public health issue. Misoprostol is part of the illegal gender-related drug market, along with drugs for weight loss and erectile dysfunction and anabolic steroids. Sixty-four (12% of the news stories told life histories of women who had aborted with misoprostol. The women's ages ranged from 13 to 46 years, and

Effect of Drug Loading Method and Drug Physicochemical Properties on the Material and Drug Release Properties of Poly (Ethylene Oxide Hydrogels for Transdermal Delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Shet Hui Wong

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Novel poly (ethylene oxide (PEO hydrogel films were synthesized via UV cross-linking with pentaerythritol tetra-acrylate (PETRA as cross-linking agent. The purpose of this work was to develop a novel hydrogel film suitable for passive transdermal drug delivery via skin application. Hydrogels were loaded with model drugs (lidocaine hydrochloride (LID, diclofenac sodium (DIC and ibuprofen (IBU via post-loading and in situ loading methods. The effect of loading method and drug physicochemical properties on the material and drug release properties of medicated film samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM, swelling studies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR, tensile testing, rheometry, and drug release studies. In situ loaded films showed better drug entrapment within the hydrogel network and also better polymer crystallinity. High drug release was observed from all studied formulations. In situ loaded LID had a plasticizing effect on PEO hydrogel, and films showed excellent mechanical properties and prolonged drug release. The drug release mechanism for the majority of medicated PEO hydrogel formulations was determined as both drug diffusion and polymer chain relaxation, which is highly desirable for controlled release formulations.

Precise control of the drug kinetics by means of non-invasive magnetic drug delivery system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuzawa, M.; Mishima, F.; Akiyama, Y.; Nishijima, S.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We examined the kinetics of ferromagnetic drugs by simulation. ► We tried to accumulate the magnetic drug in the target part by rotating a magnet. ► Ferromagnetic drugs were accumulated in the target part along the rotating axis. ► Ferromagnetic drugs could be swept downstream in the off-axis part. -- Abstract: In order to solve the problems of the side effects and medical lowering, has been advanced a study on the drug delivery system (DDS) to accumulate the drugs locally in the body with minimum dosage. The DDS is a system that controls the drug kinetics in the body precisely and accumulates the drug locally at the target part, keeping the drugs at high density. Among the DDS, the magnetic drug delivery system (MDDS) is the one that we studied. This is a technique to accumulate drugs by using the magnetic force as the physical driving force. Our previous researches showed the possibility of the technique of MDDS to accumulate the drugs with higher accumulation rate and locality than the traditional methods. It is necessary to apply a strong external magnetic field and a high magnetic gradient to accumulate the ferromagnetic drugs at a deep diseased part non-invasively. However, by applying a static magnetic field from one direction, the drug accumulates only at the surface of the body locates near the magnet. In this study, we tried to change the magnetic field applied by a superconducting bulk magnet with time, in order to make a constant and strong magnetic field applied in the center of the body and to accumulate the ferromagnetic drugs at the deep target part in the body. First of all, the effect of the surface treatment of the ferromagnetic drugs to prevent its absorption in the normal tissue was examined. Then, to increase the accumulation rate of the ferromagnetic drugs at the target part, the distribution of magnetic field was changed, and the optimum spatial and temporal conditions of magnetic field were examined

Ordinance on radioactive drugs or drugs treated with ionizing rays (AMRadV)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

The ordinance relates to the rules governing the marketing permit (approval) for, and prohibition of, radiosterilized and radioactive drugs (section 1 respectively section 2) according to section 7, subsection 1, of the Drugs Act. It applies also to dental filling materials and artificial denture materials. Excluded are finished drugs. (HP) [de

Interaction of Drug or Food with Drug Transporters in Intestine and Liver.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakanishi, Takeo; Tamai, Ikumi

2015-01-01

Oral bioavailability (F) is determined as fraction of the drug dose absorbed through the gastrointestinal membranes (Fa), the unmetabolized fraction of the absorbed dose that passes through the gut into the portal blood (Fg), and the hepatic first pass availability (Fh), namely F is expressed as the product of Fa, Fg and Fh (F = Fa.Fg.Fh). Current evidence suggests that transporter proteins play a role in intestinal absorption and hepatobiliary clearance of drugs. Among those transporters, this review will focus on PEPT1 and OATP2B1 as influx transporter and p-glycoprotein (P-gp) and BCRP as efflux transporter in intestinal epithelial cells, and on OATP1B1 and 1B3 as influx transporter and MRP2 as efflux transporter in hepatocytes, respectively, because drug-drug (DDI) and -food (DFI) interactions on these transporter are considered to affect bioavailability of their substrate drugs. DDI and DFI may reduce systemic exposure to drug by blocking influx transporters in intestine, but increase it by modulating influx and efflux transporters in liver and efflux transporters in intestines. Namely, drug disposition and efficacy are likely affected by DDI and DFI, resulting in treatment failures or increase in adverse effect. Therefore, it is of significantly importance to understand precise mechanism of DDI and DFI. This review will present information about transporter-based DDI and DFI in the processes of intestinal absorption and hepatic clearance of drugs, and discuss about their clinical implication.

Optimal Anti-cancer Drug Profiles for Effective Penetration of the Anti-cancer Drug Market by Generic Drugs in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Shibata, Shoyo; Matsushita, Maiko; Saito, Yoshimasa; Suzuki, Takeshi

2017-01-01

The increased use of generic drugs is a good indicator of the need to reduce the increasing costs of prescription drugs. Since there are more expensive drugs compared with other therapeutic areas, "oncology" is an important one for generic drugs. The primary objective of this article was to quantify the extent to which generic drugs in Japan occupy each level of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. The dataset used in this study was created from publicly available information obtained from the IMS Japan Pharmaceutical Market database. Data on the total amount of sales and number of prescriptions for anti-cancer drugs between 2010 and 2016 in Japan were selected. The data were categorized according to the third level of the ATC classification system. All categories of the ATC classification system had increased market shares in Japan between 2010 and 2016. The barriers to market entry were relatively low in L01F (platinum anti-neoplastics), L01C (plant-based neoplastics), L02B (cytostatic hormone antagonists), and L01D (anti-neoplastic antibiotics) but were high in L02A (cytostatic hormones), L01H (protein kinase inhibitors), and L01B (anti-metabolites). Generic cancer drugs could bring savings to Japanese health care systems. Therefore, their development should be directed toward niche markets, such as L02A, L01H, and L01B, and not competitive markets.

Large-scale prediction of drug-target interactions using protein sequences and drug topological structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cao Dongsheng [Research Center of Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China); Liu Shao [Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008 (China); Xu Qingsong [School of Mathematical Sciences and Computing Technology, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China); Lu Hongmei; Huang Jianhua [Research Center of Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China); Hu Qiannan [Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Wuhan University), Ministry of Education, and Wuhan University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan 430071 (China); Liang Yizeng, E-mail: yizeng_liang@263.net [Research Center of Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China)

2012-11-08

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Drug-target interactions are predicted using an extended SAR methodology. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A drug-target interaction is regarded as an event triggered by many factors. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Molecular fingerprint and CTD descriptors are used to represent drugs and proteins. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Our approach shows compatibility between the new scheme and current SAR methodology. - Abstract: The identification of interactions between drugs and target proteins plays a key role in the process of genomic drug discovery. It is both consuming and costly to determine drug-target interactions by experiments alone. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new in silico prediction approaches capable of identifying these potential drug-target interactions in a timely manner. In this article, we aim at extending current structure-activity relationship (SAR) methodology to fulfill such requirements. In some sense, a drug-target interaction can be regarded as an event or property triggered by many influence factors from drugs and target proteins. Thus, each interaction pair can be represented theoretically by using these factors which are based on the structural and physicochemical properties simultaneously from drugs and proteins. To realize this, drug molecules are encoded with MACCS substructure fingerings representing existence of certain functional groups or fragments; and proteins are encoded with some biochemical and physicochemical properties. Four classes of drug-target interaction networks in humans involving enzymes, ion channels, G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and nuclear receptors, are independently used for establishing predictive models with support vector machines (SVMs). The SVM models gave prediction accuracy of 90.31%, 88.91%, 84.68% and 83.74% for four datasets, respectively. In conclusion, the results demonstrate the ability of our proposed method to predict the drug

Drugs Approved for Esophageal Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for esophageal cancer. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Kaposi Sarcoma

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Kaposi sarcoma. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Skin Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for skin cancer. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Vulvar Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for vulvar cancer. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Bone Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for bone cancer. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Malignant Mesothelioma

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for malignant mesothelioma. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Endometrial Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for endometrial cancer. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI's Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drug development in neuropsychopharmacology.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritze, Jürgen

2008-03-01

Personalized medicine is still in its infancy concerning drug development in neuropsychopharmacology. Adequate biomarkers with clinical relevance to drug response and/or tolerability and safety largely remain to be identified. Possibly, this kind of personalized medicine will first gain clinical relevance in the dementias. The clinical relevance of the genotyping of drug-metabolizing enzymes as suggested by drug licensing authorities for the pharmacokinetic evaluation of medicinal products needs to be proven in sound clinical trials.

Microencapsulation of protein drugs for drug delivery: strategy, preparation, and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Guanghui

2014-11-10

Bio-degradable poly(lactide) (PLA)/poly(lactide-glycolide) (PLGA) and chitosan microspheres (or microcapsules) have important applications in Drug Delivery Systems (DDS) of protein/peptide drugs. By encapsulating protein/peptide drugs in the microspheres, the serum drug concentration can be maintained at a higher constant value for a prolonged time, or injection formulation can be changed to orally or mucosally administered formulation. PLA/PLGA and chitosan are most often used in injection formulation and oral formulation. However, in the preparation and applications of PLA/PLGA and chitosan microspheres containing protein/peptide drugs, the problems of broad size distribution and poor reproducibility of microspheres, and deactivation of protein during the preparation, storage and release, are still big challenges. In this article, the techniques for control of the diameter of microspheres and microcapsules will be introduced at first, then the strategies about how to maintain the bioactivity of protein drugs during preparation and drug release will be reviewed and developed in our research group. The membrane emulsification techniques including direct membrane emulsification and rapid membrane emulsification processes were developed to prepare uniform-sized microspheres, the diameter of microspheres can be controlled from submicron to 100μm by these two processes, and the reproducibility of products can be guaranteed. Furthermore, compared with conventional stirring method, the big advantages of membrane emulsification process were that the uniform microspheres with much higher encapsulation efficiency can be obtained, and the release behavior can be adjusted by selecting microsphere size. Mild membrane emulsification condition also can prevent the deactivation of proteins, which frequently occurred under high shear force in mechanical stirring, sonification, and homogenization methods. The strategies for maintaining the bioactivity of protein drug were

Drugs Approved for Liver Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for liver cancer. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI’s Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Penile Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for penile cancer. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI’s Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Initial Drug Dissolution from Amorphous Solid Dispersions Controlled by Polymer Dissolution and Drug-Polymer Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yuejie; Wang, Shujing; Wang, Shan; Liu, Chengyu; Su, Ching; Hageman, Michael; Hussain, Munir; Haskell, Roy; Stefanski, Kevin; Qian, Feng

2016-10-01

To identify the key formulation factors controlling the initial drug and polymer dissolution rates from an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD). Ketoconazole (KTZ) ASDs using PVP, PVP-VA, HMPC, or HPMC-AS as polymeric matrix were prepared. For each drug-polymer system, two types of formulations with the same composition were prepared: 1. Spray dried dispersion (SDD) that is homogenous at molecular level, 2. Physical blend of SDD (80% drug loading) and pure polymer (SDD-PB) that is homogenous only at powder level. Flory-Huggins interaction parameters (χ) between KTZ and the four polymers were obtained by Flory-Huggins model fitting. Solution (13)C NMR and FT-IR were conducted to investigate the specific drug-polymer interaction in the solution and solid state, respectively. Intrinsic dissolution of both the drug and the polymer from ASDs were studied using a Higuchi style intrinsic dissolution apparatus. PXRD and confocal Raman microscopy were used to confirm the absence of drug crystallinity on the tablet surface before and after dissolution study. In solid state, KTZ is completely miscible with PVP, PVP-VA, or HPMC-AS, demonstrated by the negative χ values of -0.36, -0.46, -1.68, respectively; while is poorly miscible with HPMC shown by a positive χ value of 0.23. According to solution (13)C NMR and FT-IR studies, KTZ interacts with HPMC-AS strongly through H-bonding and dipole induced interaction; with PVPs and PVP-VA moderately through dipole-induced interactions; and with HPMC weakly without detectable attractive interaction. Furthermore, the "apparent" strength of drug-polymer interaction, measured by the extent of peak shift on NMR or FT-IR spectra, increases with the increasing number of interacting drug-polymer pairs. For ASDs with the presence of considerable drug-polymer interactions, such as KTZ/PVPs, KTZ/PVP-VA, or KTZ /HPMC-AS systems, drug released at the same rate as the polymer when intimate drug-polymer mixing was ensured (i.e., the SDD systems

Differentiation of drug and non-drug Cannabis using a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay.

Science.gov (United States)

Rotherham, D; Harbison, S A

2011-04-15

Cannabis sativa is both an illegal drug and a legitimate crop. The differentiation of illegal drug Cannabis from non-drug forms of Cannabis is relevant in the context of the growth of fibre and seed oil varieties of Cannabis for commercial purposes. This differentiation is currently determined based on the levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in adult plants. DNA based methods have the potential to assay Cannabis material unsuitable for analysis using conventional means including seeds, pollen and severely degraded material. The purpose of this research was to develop a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay for the differentiation of "drug" and "non-drug"Cannabis plants. An assay was developed based on four polymorphisms within a 399 bp fragment of the tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) synthase gene, utilising the snapshot multiplex kit. This SNP assay was tested on 94 Cannabis plants, which included 10 blind samples, and was able to differentiate between "drug" and "non-drug"Cannabis in all cases, while also differentiating between Cannabis and other species. Non-drug plants were found to be homozygous at the four sites assayed while drug Cannabis plants were either homozygous or heterozygous. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

DrugMetZ DB: an anthology of human drug metabolizing Chytochrome P450 enzymes.

Science.gov (United States)

Antony, Tresa Remya Thomas; Nagarajan, Shanthi

2006-11-14

Understandings the basics of Cytochrome P450 (P450 or CYP) will help to discern drug metabolism. CYP, a super-family of heme-thiolate proteins, are found in almost all living organisms and is involved in the biotransformation of a diverse range of xenobiotics, therapeutic drugs and toxins. Here, we describe DrugMetZ DB, a database for CYP metabolizing drugs. The DB is implemented in MySQL, PHP and HTML. www.bicpu.edu.in/DrugMetZDB/

21 CFR 316.23 - Timing of requests for orphan-drug designation; designation of already approved drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

...) A sponsor may request orphan-drug designation at any time in the drug development process prior to... 21 Food and Drugs 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Timing of requests for orphan-drug designation..., DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS FOR HUMAN USE ORPHAN DRUGS Designation of an Orphan...

Drugs Approved for Vaginal Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

This page lists cancer drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent vaginal cancer. The list includes generic names and brand names. The drug names link to NCI’s Cancer Drug Information summaries.

Drugs Approved for Breast Cancer

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... Ask about Your Treatment Research Drugs Approved for Breast Cancer This page lists cancer drugs approved by the ... are not listed here. Drugs Approved to Prevent Breast Cancer Evista (Raloxifene Hydrochloride) Raloxifene Hydrochloride Tamoxifen Citrate Drugs ...

Drug use as consumer behavior.

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Foxall, Gordon Robert; Sigurdsson, Valdimar

2011-12-01

Seeking integration of drug consumption research by a theory of memory function and emphasizing drug consumption rather than addiction, Müller & Schumann (M&S) treat drug self-administration as part of a general pattern of consumption. This insight is located within a more comprehensive framework for understanding drug use as consumer behavior that explicates the reinforcement contingencies associated with modes of drug consumption.

Drug discrimination: A versatile tool for characterization of CNS safety pharmacology and potential for drug abuse.

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Swedberg, Michael D B

2016-01-01

Drug discrimination studies for assessment of psychoactive properties of drugs in safety pharmacology and drug abuse and drug dependence potential evaluation have traditionally been focused on testing novel compounds against standard drugs for which drug abuse has been documented, e.g. opioids, CNS stimulants, cannabinoids etc. (e.g. Swedberg & Giarola, 2015), and results are interpreted such that the extent to which the test drug causes discriminative effects similar to those of the standard training drug, the test drug would be further characterized as a potential drug of abuse. Regulatory guidance for preclinical assessment of abuse liability by the European Medicines Agency (EMA, 2006), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, 2010), the International Conference of Harmonization (ICH, 2009), and the Japanese Ministry of Health Education and Welfare (MHLW, 1994) detail that compounds with central nervous system (CNS) activity, whether by design or not, need abuse and dependence liability assessment. Therefore, drugs with peripheral targets and a potential to enter the CNS, as parent or metabolite, are also within scope (see Swedberg, 2013, for a recent review and strategy). Compounds with novel mechanisms of action present a special challenge due to unknown abuse potential, and should be carefully assessed against defined risk criteria. Apart from compounds sharing mechanisms of action with known drugs of abuse, compounds intended for indications currently treated with drugs with potential for abuse and or dependence are also within scope, regardless of mechanism of action. Examples of such compounds are analgesics, anxiolytics, cognition enhancers, appetite control drugs, sleep control drugs and drugs for psychiatric indications. Recent results (Swedberg et al., 2014; Swedberg & Raboisson, 2014; Swedberg, 2015) on the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 5 (mGluR5) antagonists demonstrate that compounds causing hallucinatory effects in humans did not exhibit

21 CFR 201.105 - Veterinary drugs.

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2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Veterinary drugs. 201.105 Section 201.105 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL LABELING Exemptions From Adequate Directions for Use § 201.105 Veterinary drugs. A drug subject to the...

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

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Full Text Available ... Addiction Science Adolescent Brain Comorbidity College-Age & Young Adults Criminal Justice Drugged Driving Drug Testing Drugs and ... Link campaign. This campaign shows teens and young adults that non-injection drug use and alcohol use ...

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

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Full Text Available ... Drugs of Abuse Commonly Abused Drugs Charts Emerging Trends and Alerts Alcohol Club Drugs Cocaine Fentanyl Hallucinogens ... Substance Use and SUDs in LGBT Populations Treatment Trends & Statistics Women and Drugs Publications Search Publications Orderable ...

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

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Full Text Available ... Drugged Driving Drug Testing Drugs and the Brain Genetics Global Health Health Consequences of Drug Misuse Hepatitis ( ... Party" "Text Message" NIDA Home Site Map Accessibility Privacy FOIA(NIH) Working at NIDA FAQs Contact Subscribe ...

Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

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Full Text Available ... Related Topics Addiction Science Adolescent Brain Comorbidity College-Age & Young Adults Criminal Justice Drugged Driving Drug Testing ... please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/age/youth/index.html​ . Resources Publications Drug Facts: Drug ...

Common drug-drug interactions in antifungal treatments for superficial fungal infections.

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Gupta, Aditya K; Versteeg, Sarah G; Shear, Neil H

2018-04-01

Antifungal agents can be co-administered alongside several other medications for a variety of reasons such as the presence of comorbidities. Pharmacodynamic interactions such as synergistic and antagonistic interactions could be the result of co-administered medications. Pharmacokinetic interactions could also transpire through the inhibition of metabolizing enzymes and drug transport systems, altering the absorption, metabolism and excretion of co-administered medications. Both pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions can result in hospitalization due to serious adverse effects associated with antifungal agents, lower therapeutic doses required to achieve desired antifungal activity, and prevent antifungal resistance. Areas covered: The objective of this review is to summarize pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions associated with common antifungal agents used to treat superficial fungal infections. Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions that impact the therapeutic effects of antifungal agents and drugs that are influenced by the presence of antifungal agents was the context to which these antifungal agents were addressed. Expert opinion: The potential for drug-drug interactions is minimal for topical antifungals as opposed to oral antifungals as they have minimal exposure to other co-administered medications. Developing non-lipophilic antifungals that have unique metabolizing pathways and are topical applied are suggested properties that could help limit drug-drug interactions associated with future treatments.

A review of drug-drug interactions in older HIV-infected patients.

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Chary, Aarthi; Nguyen, Nancy N; Maiton, Kimberly; Holodniy, Mark

2017-12-01

The number of older HIV-infected people is growing due to increasing life expectancies resulting from the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Both HIV and aging increase the risk of other comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and some malignancies, leading to greater challenges in managing HIV with other conditions. This results in complex medication regimens with the potential for significant drug-drug interactions and increased morbidity and mortality. Area covered: We review the metabolic pathways of ART and other medications used to treat medical co-morbidities, highlight potential areas of concern for drug-drug interactions, and where feasible, suggest alternative approaches for treating these conditions as suggested from national guidelines or articles published in the English language. Expert commentary: There is limited evidence-based data on ART drug interactions, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the older HIV-infected population. Choosing and maintaining effective ART regimens for older adults requires consideration of side effect profile, individual comorbidities, interactions with concurrent prescriptions and non-prescription medications and supplements, dietary patterns with respect to dosing, pill burden and ease of dosing, cost and affordability, patient preferences, social situation, and ART resistance history. Practitioners must remain vigilant for potential drug interactions and intervene when there is a potential for harm.

Characterization of particulate drug delivery systems for oral delivery of Peptide and protein drugs.

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Christophersen, Philip Carsten; Fano, Mathias; Saaby, Lasse; Yang, Mingshi; Nielsen, Hanne Mørck; Mu, Huiling

2015-01-01

Oral drug delivery is a preferred route because of good patient compliance. However, most peptide/ protein drugs are delivered via parenteral routes because of the absorption barriers in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract such as enzymatic degradation by proteases and low permeability acrossthe biological membranes. To overcome these barriers, different formulation strategies for oral delivery of biomacromolecules have been proposed, including lipid based formulations and polymer-based particulate drug delivery systems (DDS). The aim of this review is to summarize the existing knowledge about oral delivery of peptide/protein drugs and to provide an overview of formulationand characterization strategies. For a better understanding of the challenges in oral delivery of peptide/protein drugs, the composition of GI fluids and the digestion processes of different kinds of excipients in the GI tract are summarized. Additionally, the paper provides an overview of recent studies on characterization of solid drug carriers for peptide/protein drugs, drug distribution in particles, drug release and stability in simulated GI fluids, as well as the absorption of peptide/protein drugs in cell-based models. The use of biorelevant media when applicable can increase the knowledge about the quality of DDS for oral protein delivery. Hopefully, the knowledge provided in this review will aid the establishment of improved biorelevant models capable of forecasting the performance of particulate DDS for oral peptide/protein delivery.

Current approaches for the discovery of drugs that deter substance and drug abuse.

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Yasgar, Adam; Simeonov, Anton

2014-11-01

Much has been presented and debated on the topic of drug abuse and its multidimensional nature, including the role of society and its customs and laws, economical factors, and the magnitude and nature of the burden. Given the complex nature of the receptors and pathways implicated in regulation of the cognitive and behavioral processes associated with addiction, a large number of molecular targets have been interrogated during recent years to discover starting points for development of small-molecule interventions. This review describes recent developments in the field of early drug discovery for drug abuse interventions with an emphasis on the advances published during the 2012 - 2014 period. Technologically, the processes/platforms utilized in drug abuse drug discovery are nearly identical to those used in the other disease areas. A key complicating factor in drug abuse research is the enormous biological complexity surrounding the brain processes involved and the associated difficulty in finding 'good' targets and achieving exquisite selectivity of treatment agents. While tremendous progress has been made during recent years to use the power of high-throughput technologies to discover proof-of-principle molecules for many new targets, next-generation models will be especially important in this field. Examples include: seeking advantageous drug-drug combinations, the use of automated whole-animal behavioral screening systems, advancing our understanding of the role of epigenetics in drug addiction and the employment of organoid-level 3D test platforms (also referred to as tissue-chip or organs-on-chip).

Inkjet Printing of Drug-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles—A Platform for Drug Development