Nocdurna:old medication is looking for a new ailment

Desmopressin has been launched in a new jacket: Nocdurna. Desmopressin has so far been used mainly for treatment of bedwetting in children and adolescents. The indication for desmopressin has now been expanded to 'nocturia as a consequence of idiopathic night-time polyuria in adults'. We strongly doubt the added value of this medication for this indication.</p

Nocdurna: Oud medicament zoekt nieuwe kwaal

Desmopressin has been launched in a new jacket: Nocdurna. Desmopressin has so far been used mainly for treatment of bedwetting in children and adolescents. The indication for desmopressin has now been expanded to 'nocturia as a consequence of idiopathic night-time polyuria in adults'. We strongly doubt the added value of this medication for this indication

Phase transitions in diglyceride monolayers studied by computer simulations, pressure-area isotherms and x-ray diffraction

1,2-sn-diglyceride monolayers exhibit unique and complex phase transitions as a function of surface pressure. The dynamical response of the layer on expanding the film has been investigated by computer simulations, (π-A) isotherms and grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction. Good agreement is found between the simulations and experiments. The Langmuir film undergoes two phase transitions occurring at 38.3 and 39.8 Å2/molecule. The transition at low surface density is associated with a tilt of ≈14° in the direction close to nearest neighbour. The first transition is unique for the diglyceride molecules and has not been observed for other amphiphilic molecules. It is driven by a competition of hydrophobic/hydrophilic and intra/intermolecular forces and can be pictured as a «seesaw» mechanism. Due to the close packing of the chains at high surface pressure, the sn-1 ester group aligns with the alkyl chain, and only the sn-2 ester group is favoured to lay at the aqueous interface. Hydrophilic forces attract the sn-1 ester group, but its motion towards the aqueous subphase is hindered by intra- and intermolecular chain interactions. On expansion, the intermolecular interaction decreases, and at the first transition, the intramolecular interaction between the two chains is strong enough to cause a «swelling» of the molecules. The diffraction pattern determined in the different mesophases reveals that the layer maintains its hexagonal structure up to the second phase. Concomitant with the tilt, the structure relaxed from a hexagonal to a distorted hexagonal lattice