Guideline for the use of therapeutic drug monitoring of antipsychotics to individualize the selection of therapy in the treatment of exacerbation of schizophrenia

Significant individual variability in the concentration of antipsychotics (AP) and its impact on both the efficacy and safety of therapy has been shown in many studies. In this regard, the use of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of AP seems to be a clinically relevant method for the individualization of psychopharmacotherapy in the treatment of exacerbations of schizophrenia. The purpose of this work was to develop recommendations on the use of TDM AP for the individualization of therapy for exacerbation of schizophrenia. Materials and methods. To develop recommendations, a literature search was performed on the Medline, Google Scolar and Elibrary databases and the materials of the dissertation of Potanin S.S. "The role of therapeutic drug monitoring of antipsychotics in the individualization of therapy for exacerbations of paroxysmal-progredient schizophrenia" were used. Results. The conducted literature search made it possible to classify AP according to the degree of expediency of TDM, to determine the optimal therapeutic concentrations for each drug, indications for TDM, and to develop a structured decision-making algorithm depending on the results obtained. The main indications for TDM AP in the treatment of exacerbation of schizophrenia are signs of impaired drug compliance, insufficient efficacy of therapy, pronounced dose-dependent side effects, and the addition of concomitant therapy that can significantly affect the concentration of AP. According to the results obtained, TDM is strongly recommended for clozapine, olanzapine and amisulpride, recommended for risperidone, paliperidone, aripiprazole, quetiapine, haloperidol, ziprasidone, perphenazine, sertindole, trifluoperazine, sulpiride and chlorpromazine, for other antipsychotics TDM may be useful in selected cases. A detailed decision-making algorithm is presented in the form of a table and is based on both the clinical situation and the results of TDM AP. Conclusion. Thus, TDM AP seems to be one of the most relevant and potentially close to the introduction into everyday practice methods of individualization of therapy for exacerbation of schizophrenia

Barth syndrome in an adult patient: an overview of the problem and case report. A review

Barth syndrome is a rare genetic disease caused by abnormal cardiolipin metabolism, characterized by high mortality within 5 years of diagnosis due to heart failure and/or infectious complications. This article describes a clinical case of an adult patient with Barth syndrome. The peculiarities of the course of the disease are described, including the transformation of the hypertrophic type of cardiomyopathy into the hypokinetic type as the patient grew older. This article demonstrates the difficulty in selecting the optimal treatment of a patient with Barth syndrome in real clinical practice, in the absence of clearly prescribed recommendations and pathogenetic therapy

Functional Comparison of Innate Immune Signaling Pathways in Primates

Humans respond differently than other primates to a large number of infections. Differences in susceptibility to infectious agents between humans and other primates are probably due to inter-species differences in immune response to infection. Consistent with that notion, genes involved in immunity-related processes are strongly enriched among recent targets of positive selection in primates, suggesting that immune responses evolve rapidly, yet providing only indirect evidence for possible inter-species functional differences. To directly compare immune responses among primates, we stimulated primary monocytes from humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus macaques with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and studied the ensuing time-course regulatory responses. We find that, while the universal Toll-like receptor response is mostly conserved across primates, the regulatory response associated with viral infections is often lineage-specific, probably reflecting rapid host–virus mutual adaptation cycles. Additionally, human-specific immune responses are enriched for genes involved in apoptosis, as well as for genes associated with cancer and with susceptibility to infectious diseases or immune-related disorders. Finally, we find that chimpanzee-specific immune signaling pathways are enriched for HIV–interacting genes. Put together, our observations lend strong support to the notion that lineage-specific immune responses may help explain known inter-species differences in susceptibility to infectious diseases

Diagnosis and Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Clinical Recommendations of the Russian Gastroenterological Association and Association of Coloproctologists of Russia

Aim. Current clinical recommendations accentuate current methods for the diagnosis and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Key points. IBS is a functional bowel disorder manifested with recurrent, at least weekly, abdominal pain with the following attributes (any two leastwise): link to defecation, its frequency or stool shape. The symptoms are expected to persist for at minimum three months in a total six-month follow-up. Similar to other functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, IBS can be diagnosed basing on the patient symptoms compliance with Rome IV criteria, provided the absence of potentially symptom-causative organic GI diseases. Due to challenging differential diagnosis, IBS can be appropriately established per exclusionem, with pre-examination as follows: general and biochemical blood tests; tissue transglutaminase IgA/IgG antibody tests; thyroid hormones test; faecal occult blood test; hydrogen glucose/ lactulose breath test for bacterial overgrowth; stool test for enteric bacterial pathogens and Clostridium difficile A/B toxins; stool calprotectin test; abdominal ultrasound; OGDS, with biopsy as appropriate; colonoscopy with biopsy. The IBS sequence is typically wavelike, with alternating remissions and exacerbations often triggered by psychoemotional stress. Treatment of IBS patients includes dietary and lifestyle adjustments, various-class drug agents prescription and psychotherapeutic measures.Conclusion. Adherence to clinical recommendations can facilitate timely diagnosis and improve medical aid quality in patients with different clinical IBS variants

Diagnosis and Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Clinical Recommendations of the Russian Gastroenterological Association and Association of Coloproctologists of Russia

Aim. Current clinical recommendations accentuate current methods for the diagnosis and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Key points. IBS is a functional bowel disorder manifested with recurrent, at least weekly, abdominal pain with the following attributes (any two leastwise): link to defecation, its frequency or stool shape. The symptoms are expected to persist for at minimum three months in a total six-month follow-up. Similar to other functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, IBS can be diagnosed basing on the patient symptoms compliance with Rome IV criteria, provided the absence of potentially symptom-causative organic GI diseases. Due to challenging differential diagnosis, IBS can be appropriately established per exclusionem, with pre-examination as follows: general and biochemical blood tests; tissue transglutaminase IgA/IgG antibody tests; thyroid hormones test; faecal occult blood test; hydrogen glucose/ lactulose breath test for bacterial overgrowth; stool test for enteric bacterial pathogens and Clostridium difficile A/B toxins; stool calprotectin test; abdominal ultrasound; OGDS, with biopsy as appropriate; colonoscopy with biopsy. The IBS sequence is typically wavelike, with alternating remissions and exacerbations often triggered by psychoemotional stress. Treatment of IBS patients includes dietary and lifestyle adjustments, various-class drug agents prescription and psychotherapeutic measures.Conclusion. Adherence to clinical recommendations can facilitate timely diagnosis and improve medical aid quality in patients with different clinical IBS variants

Efficacy of Physiologically Active nutrients in the Treatment of Asthenic Disorders in Patients with Chronic Diffuse Liver Diseases

Over the period after an exacerbation of chronic liver diseases, patients often retain common symptoms (weakness or fatigue, bad mood, sleep disorder, vegetative disorders — asthenic syndrome). In the context of prevention and treatment of these symptoms, such nutraceutical products as enriched foods in the form of tablets, sachets, etc, have been increasingly attracting research attention.Aim. To study the efficacy of the “Hepato Smart” nutraceutical product for the treatment of asthenic syndrome in outpatients suffering from chronic diffuse liver diseases with compensated function and functional disorders of the gallbladder over the period after exacerbation.Materials and methods. The study included 50 patients, with 41 of them having completed the program. The nutraceutical product (curcumin, piperine, tanshinone IIA, choline; standardized for curcumin and choline) was assigned 1 pill 3 times a day with meals for 4 weeks. To objectify common symptoms, we used a D-FIS questionnaire (Daily Fatigue Impact Scale), a 4DSQ Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire for assessing distress, depression, anxiety and somatization, and a SF-36 questionnaire for assessing the quality of life.Results. Following 4 weeks of the “Hepato Smart” course, a statistically significant decrease in fatigue was noted by D-FIS scores (p = 0.003), as well as a decrease in the level of distress, depression, anxiety and somatization by 4DSQ scores (p = 0.005; p = 0.006; p = 0.003; p = 0.003, respectively). The quality of patients’ life according to the SF36 questionnaire also improved due to both physical and psychological components (p = 0.003). 16 patients continued taking the preparation for another 8 weeks to maintain the achieved result. As an additional effect, the disappearance of pain in the right hypochondrium was noted in those cases when patients presented this complaint at the time of inclusion in the observation program. The safety profile was good, 1/3 of the patients noted the appearance of heartburn, which was eliminated when taking the product with food.Conclusion. The “Hepato Smart” nutraceutical product improves the general condition of patients with chronic diffuse liver diseases and functional disorders of the gallbladder due to a significant reduction in fatigue and anxiety. It also improves the quality of patients’ life due to the physical and mental components of health

Efficacy of Physiologically Active nutrients in the Treatment of Asthenic Disorders in Patients with Chronic Diffuse Liver Diseases

Over the period after an exacerbation of chronic liver diseases, patients often retain common symptoms (weakness or fatigue, bad mood, sleep disorder, vegetative disorders — asthenic syndrome). In the context of prevention and treatment of these symptoms, such nutraceutical products as enriched foods in the form of tablets, sachets, etc, have been increasingly attracting research attention.Aim. To study the efficacy of the “Hepato Smart” nutraceutical product for the treatment of asthenic syndrome in outpatients suffering from chronic diffuse liver diseases with compensated function and functional disorders of the gallbladder over the period after exacerbation.Materials and methods. The study included 50 patients, with 41 of them having completed the program. The nutraceutical product (curcumin, piperine, tanshinone IIA, choline; standardized for curcumin and choline) was assigned 1 pill 3 times a day with meals for 4 weeks. To objectify common symptoms, we used a D-FIS questionnaire (Daily Fatigue Impact Scale), a 4DSQ Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire for assessing distress, depression, anxiety and somatization, and a SF-36 questionnaire for assessing the quality of life.Results. Following 4 weeks of the “Hepato Smart” course, a statistically significant decrease in fatigue was noted by D-FIS scores (p = 0.003), as well as a decrease in the level of distress, depression, anxiety and somatization by 4DSQ scores (p = 0.005; p = 0.006; p = 0.003; p = 0.003, respectively). The quality of patients’ life according to the SF36 questionnaire also improved due to both physical and psychological components (p = 0.003). 16 patients continued taking the preparation for another 8 weeks to maintain the achieved result. As an additional effect, the disappearance of pain in the right hypochondrium was noted in those cases when patients presented this complaint at the time of inclusion in the observation program. The safety profile was good, 1/3 of the patients noted the appearance of heartburn, which was eliminated when taking the product with food.Conclusion. The “Hepato Smart” nutraceutical product improves the general condition of patients with chronic diffuse liver diseases and functional disorders of the gallbladder due to a significant reduction in fatigue and anxiety. It also improves the quality of patients’ life due to the physical and mental components of health