Influence of food and antacid administration on fluoride bioavailability from enteric-coated sodium fluoride tablets.

The relative bioavailability of enteric-coated sodium fluoride (NaF) tablets (10 mg F-) has been assessed following administration with a standard calcium-rich breakfast or calcium-poor lunch, and 2 h before or simultaneously with antacid administration (2.4 g aluminum-magnesium hydroxide), versus intake on an empty stomach. Twelve volunteers were studied 3 times according to an open, three-way crossover design over a 24 h period at weekly intervals. Meals were found to decrease the peak serum concentration of NaF from 122 micrograms/L during fasting (after baseline subtraction) to 71 and 88 micrograms/L with breakfast and lunch respectively, and to slow its absorption rate with Tmax increasing from 3.3 to 7.3 and 11.2 hours, without altering its bioavailability. Antacid impaired the bioavailability of NaF by 80% when administered simultaneously, with AUC decreasing from 987 to 155 micrograms.h/L, but had no significant effect when taken 2 h before NaF. In conclusion, the enteric-coated NaF tablets used in this study can be administered with food or after a 2-hour delay following antacid administration, but should not be taken simultaneously with antacid

Advancing the Science of Developmental Neurotoxicity (DNT): Testing for Better Safety Evaluation

Developmental neurotoxicity is recognized by various stakeholders as an area that needs development of alternative tests to current animal testing guidelines. To address this need the 3rd International Conference on Alternatives for Developmental Neurotoxicity Testing (DNT3) was organized by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM). This conference discussed usefulness of alternative tools such as in vitro and non-mammalian test methods as well as in silico modeling for assessing the potential of chemicals to induce developmental neurotoxicity. Speakers presented evidence for the prevalence of developmental neurotoxicity associated with environmental chemicals. The participants of the conference also exchanged views about the science and policy aspects of DNT testing and pointed to the pressing need to develop a strategy, including specific criteria, for enabling the use of data produced by alternative test methods for assessing DNT hazards and risk assessment given that conventional test methods are costly and slow.JRC.I.2-Validation of Alternative Method

A revision of the Plateremaeidae (Acari: Oribatei)

The family Plateremaeidae is revised, and includes the following taxa: Plateremaeus Berlese, with the only species P. ornatissimus (Berlese), from Brazil; Allodamaeus Banks, with the species ewingi (Banks), from the USA, coralgablensis, sp. n. (type-locality: USA, Flórida, Coral Gables), and ornatos Balogh & Csiszár, from Argentina; Lophoremaeus, gen. n., with two species: mirabilis Csiszár, from Bulgaria, the type-species, and laminipes (Berlese), n. comb., from Italy; Paralopheremaeus, gen. n., with the species legendrei (Balogh), n. comb., from Madagascar; Calipteremaeus, gen. n., with the species yaginumai (Aoki), n. comb., from Japan; the following species are considered incertae sedis: Plateremaeus carinulatus (Berlese), from Brasil, P. complanatus (Berlese), from Chile, P. rotundatus Berlese, from Japan, and P. tunicatus ( Balogh, from Zaire.<br>A família Plateremaeidae é revista, e inclui os seguintes táxons: Plateremaeus Berlese, com a única espécie P. ornatissimus (Berlese), do Brazil; Allodamaeus Banks, com as espécies ewingi (Banks), dos Estados Unidos, coralgablensis, sp. n. (localidade-tipo: Estados Unidos, Flórida, Coral Gables) e ornatos Balogh & Csziszár, da Argentina; Lophoremaeus, gen. n., com duas espécies: mirabilis Csiszár, da Bulgária, espécie-tipo, e laminipes (Berlese), n. comb., da Itália; Paralopheremaeus, gen. n., com a espécie legendrei (Balogh), n. comb., de Madagascar; Calipteremaeus. gen. n., com a espécie yaginumai (Aoki), n. comb., do Japão; as seguintes espécies são consideradas incertae sedis: Plateremaeus carinulatus (Berlese), do Brasil, P. complanatus (Berlese), do Chile, P. rotundatus Berlese, do Japão, e P. tunicatus (Balogh), do Zaire

Does the "Silver bullet" lose its shine over the time? Assessment of loss of lithium response in a preliminary sample of bipolar disorder outpatients

Background: Though often perceived as a "silver bullet" treatment for bipolar disorder (BD), lithium has seldom reported to lose its efficacy over the time. Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess cases of refractoriness toward restarted lithium in BD patients who failed to preserve maintenance. Method: Treatment trajectories associated with re-instituted lithium following loss of achieved lithium-based maintenance in BD were retrospectively reviewed for 37 BD-I patients (median age 52 years; F: M=17: 20 or 46% of the total) over an 8.1-month period on average. Results: In our sample only 4 cases (roughly 11% of the total, of whom F: M=2: 2) developed refractoriness towards lithium after its discontinuation. Thirty-three controls (F: M=15: 18) maintained lithium response at the time of re-institution. No statistically significant difference between cases and controls was observed with respect to a number of demographic and clinical features but for time spent before first trial ever with lithium in life (8.5 vs. 3 years; U=24.5, Z=-2.048, p=.041) and length of lithium discontinuation until new therapeutic attempt (5.5 vs. 2 years; U=8, Z=-2.927, p=.003) between cases vs. controls respectively. Tapering off of lithium was significantly faster among cases vs. controls (1 vs. 7 days; U=22, Z=-2.187), though both subgroups had worrisome high rates of poor adherence overall. Conclusion: Although intrinsic limitations of the present preliminary assessment hamper the validity and generalizability of overall results, stating the clinical relevance of the topic further prospective research is warranted. The eventual occurrence of lithium refractoriness may indeed be associated with peculiar course trajectories and therapeutic outcomes ultimately urging the prescribing clinicians to put efforts in preserving maintenance of BD in the absence of any conclusive research insight on the matter. © Fornaro et al