Health and Medical Care Tips
Brentuximab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate approved to treat anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) and Hodgkin lymphoma. The drug was approved in August by FDA.
Antibody drug conjugate consists of an antibody linked to a payload drug. This kind of mechanism helps to deliver the drug to targeted cells like cancer cells.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning about the lymphoma drug brentuximab (Adcetris, Seattle Genetics).
This warning comes after two new cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy a rare but serious brain infection.
A new Boxed Warning highlighting this risk has been added to the drug label.
In addition, a new Contraindication warning was added against use of Adcetris with the cancer drug bleomycin due to increased risk of lung toxicity.
Brentuximab was approved by the FDA in August 2011 for the treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
Healthcare professionals should suspend brentuximab dosing if PML is suspected, and discontinue the drug therapy if a diagnosis of PML is confirmed, according to the FDA.
Source: FDA site
Natalizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against the cellular adhesion molecule α4-integrin used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease.
Natalizumab is administered by intravenous infusion every 28 days. The drug is believed to work by reducing the ability of inflammatory immune cells to attach to and pass through the cell layers lining the intestines and blood-brain barrier.
Natalizumab has been found to be effective in treating the symptoms in both Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis. In multiple sclerosis, it also is effective in preventing relapse, vision loss, cognitive decline and significantly improving quality of life in people. [Read more...]
New long-acting nonopioid anesthetic/analgesic for postsurgical pain by US Food and Drug Administration. The drug is bupivacaine extended-release liposome injection (Exparel, Pacira Pharmaceuticals).
Exparel consists of bupivacaine encapsulated in the multivesicular liposome DepoFoam [Pacira Pharmaceutical's extended drug-delivery technology].
The new product is designed to extend the duration of analgesia provided by bupivacaine. Exparel provides continuous and extended postsurgical analgesia for up to 72 hours compared with bupivacaine’s analgesic time of 7 hours.
The new drug is expected to reduce the dependence on opioid use in the postoperative setting.
New-generation anti-inflammatory drug natalizumab in multiple sclerosis, published online October 5, show the drug reduces relapses and disability at 2 years, a Cochrane review findings suggest.
This new review is based on 3 key natalizumab trials involving 2223 patients.
Natalizumab is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits leukocyte migration across the blood–brain barrier. It is said to reduce inflammation in the central nervous system and has been approved worldwide for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. [Read more...]
A case control study published online September 6 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says that nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use in early pregnancy is linked to twice the risk for miscarriage
The authors conducted the study with an aim to quantify the association between having a spontaneous abortion and types and dosages of nonaspirin NSAIDs in a cohort of pregnant women.”
The study consisted of 4705 women who were identified from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry and who had a spontaneous abortion. [Read more...]
A large systematic review confirms that rofecoxib is associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events and also suggests thatt diclofenac also poses an equivalent risk to patients.
Ibuprofen and naproxen are the least likely to increase the risk of MI and coronary heart disease death.
The study has been published by Patricia McGettigan and David Henry on September 27, 2011 in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine. [Read more...]
Eplerenone is an aldosterone antagonist, spironolactone.
Indications
Eplerenone is indicated for the reduction of risk of cardiovascular death in patients with heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction within 3–14 days of an acute myocardial infarction, in combination with standard therapies and as treatment against hypertension. [Read more...]
In a randomized prospective crossover study published recently in Archives of Internal Medicine, it has been found that taking levothyroxine on an empty stomach at bedtime, instead of in the morning before breakfast results in significant improvements in thyroid hormone levels.
The study that included 90 patients who completed the study.
The author suggested that night time tablet is more convenient also
However, bedtime dosing, relative to morning dosing, had no significant impact on measures of quality of life (including fatigue, anxiety and depression), creatinine or lipid levels, blood pressure, body mass index or heart rate.
Arch Intern Med. 2010;170(22):1996-2003. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2010.436
A recent publication in European Respiratory Journal has reported that inhaled corticosteroids can slow the deterioration of lung function in young children with cystic fibrosis.
The present study was led by Dr. De Boeck and colleagues who evaluated the effect of inhalational corticosteroids use on the evolution of lung function, growth, and insulin use in a retrospective analysis of data obtained from the Belgian Cystic Fibrosis Registry for the years 1998 to 2007. .
Eur Respir J. Posted November 11, 2010. Abstract
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