Long-term therapy with rivastigmine tartrate (Generic Exelon, Novartis), a drug that has been indicated for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, may be a treatment option for patients with sub-cortical vascular dementia, which is associated with poor blood circulation in the brain. Vascular dementia is the second most common cause of dementia after [...]
Physicians should be cautious when prescribing topical miconazole for patients taking warfarin, advise clinicians from Eastbourne District Hospital in England. They report on a case of an 80-year-old man who had been applying the broad-spectrum antifungal to the right groin area for two weeks. Although he had been taking warfarin for a long time for [...]
Compatibility data on commonly used drug combinations ensure safe and efficacious administration. The data can also improve patient care and decrease costs by eliminating the need for additional venous access. However, compatibility information is only available from pharmaceutical companies for admixtures in various solutions. Researchers from the University of Utah Hospital tested the visual compatibility [...]
The FDA has granted marketing clearance for drug oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®, Novartis) tablets and oral suspension for use as monotherapy in children four years of age and older with partial seizures. This is the first antiepileptic drug to be approved as a single-agent therapy in children since 1978. Many children with epilepsy take multiple medications to [...]
GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it has further reduced the not-for-profit prices of its medicines used for patients with human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the world’s poorest countries by up to 47%. The latest reduction lowers the cost of amivudine/zidovudine (Combivir®)to 90 cents per day. The company has also reduced the not-for-profit [...]
Results from the largest controlled clinical trials ever conducted for the prevention of migraine headaches demonstrate that generic topiramate (Topamax drug, Ortho-McNeil), an antiseizure medication, can help prevent migraine attacks. Beneficial effects were observed as early as one month into treatment. These findings were presented on April 2, 2003, at the 55th annual meeting of [...]
The FDA has approved pre-filled syringes of peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys®, Roche) to treat chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a blood-borne disease of the liver. HCV infection is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer and is the primary reason for liver transplants in the U.S. An estimated 2.7 million Americans have chronic hepatitis [...]
