Recently Diagnosed Epilepsies: Adherence, Tolerance And Prognosis Of The First Epileptic Drug [epilepsias Recem-diagnosticadas: Aderencia, Tolerancia E Prognostico Com A Primeira Droga]

There are few data related to recently diagnosed epilepsy (RDE) in Brazil. We followed up 78 patients ages ranging from 6 to 61 years (average 17.96) with RDE for 12.68 months (1-29 months) aiming to evaluate adherence, tolerance and efficacy of the first epileptic drug used. All patients had partial seizures with or without secondarily generalized and tonic-clonic seizures for an average of 7.68 months (4 days to 7 years). We found 11 patients (14.10%) not adherent to the treatment and 14 (17.94%) with side-effects that provoked the drug substitution. The most prevalent side-effects were dysmorphic signs such as hirsutism and gingival hyperplasia, gastro-intestinal symptoms, idiosyncratic reations and sedation. Sixty-six per cent of the patients were seizure-free after 8 weeks and 63.8% for 56 weeks of treatment. These data are consistent with the international literature. The ratio of non-adherent to the treatment was high (14.10%), probably due to socio-economic and cultural aspects of the studied population. We stressed that 17.94% of the patients do not tolerate the first antiepileptic drug, requiring substitution. Approximately 2/3 of the patients with RDE obtained good results with the first medication.81151

Antibody responses to

This study evaluates the differences in host immune responses to defined plasmodial antigens in four geographically different regions in which malaria is endemic. Sera from 527 individuals were tested for the presence of antibodies specific for three types of plasmodial antigen : liver-stage antigen (LSA-1), blood-stage antigen (SPF 70) and circumsporozoite (CS) antigen (NANP)4. The individuals taking part in the study comprised : patients with transfusional malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum or P. vivax; non-immune migrants residing in an endemic area in Rondônia; Amazonian Indians from the states of Para (Xingu PA) and Mato Grosso (Xingu MT); people living in a hyperendemic area in Africa (Burkina-Faso); and controls that had never been to a malaria endemic area. None of the transfusional sera displayed antibodies against sporozoite or to liver stage antigen, although 80% of the P. falciparum transfusional malaria sera contained IgG antibodies against the blood-stage peptide. A low percentage of Indians from Xingu PA and of non-immune migrants displayed antibodies against liver-stage (27% and 17%) and sporozoite (11% and 12%) peptides, although a greater frequency of antibodies against blood-stage peptide (50% and 49%) was observed in both cases. Indians from Xingu MT exhibited a greater frequency of antibodies against liver, sporozoite and blood-stage peptides (45%, 50% and 58%). Only hyperimmune African individuals exhibited higher percentages of antibodies against liver- (64%) and blood-stage antigens (87%), contrasting with a low frequency of antibodies against the CS repeat (33%). Taken together, the present data confirm that Rondonian migrants and Indians from Xingu PA constitute populations with limited exposure and immunity to P. falciparum malaria infection and conversely, Xingu MT Indians and Africans have been more exposed to malaria infection. In conclusion this study indicates that the immune response to these malaria parasite peptides can be used to assess malaria transmission in epidemiological surveys

Challenges and Future Prospects for the Delivery of Biologics: Oral Mucosal, Pulmonary, and Transdermal Routes

© 2017, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. Biologic products are large molecules such as proteins, peptides, nucleic acids, etc., which have already produced many new drugs for clinical use in the last decades. Due to the inherent challenges faced by biologics after oral administration (e.g., acidic stomach pH, digestive enzymes, and limited permeation through the gastrointestinal tract), several alternative routes of administration have been investigated to enable sufficient drug absorption into systemic circulation. This review describes the buccal, sublingual, pulmonary, and transdermal routes of administration for biologics with relevant details of the respective barriers. While all these routes avoid transit through the gastrointestinal tract, each has its own strengths and weaknesses that may be optimal for specific classes of compounds. Buccal and sublingual delivery enable rapid drug uptake through a relatively permeable barrier but are limited by small epithel

Carbohydrate mouth rinse improves cycling performance carried out until the volitional exhaustion

Carbohydrates (CHO) are among the most investigated nutritional ergogenic aids, and may be consumed in different forms, e.g., mouth rinse with carbohydrate solution (MRCS). In this sense, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of MRCS on the performance of physically active individuals undergoing a physical exercise session carried out until the volitional exhaustion. METHODS: This is a counter-balanced randomized study, with a double-blind design. The sample consisted of twenty-one physically active healthy men with a mean (±SD) of age of 22.4 (±2.7) years old, 76.7 (±6.0) cm of height,12.1% (±3.7) of body fat mass, and 23.9 (±2.4) kg/m 2 of body mass index. After familiarizing the participants with the protocol (cycle ergometer, with oral mouth rinse procedure) and assessing the maximal lactate steady state the cycling exercise was performed until the volitional exhaustion in the following conditions: without mouth rinse (CONTROL), PLACEBO and MRCS. RESULTS: Time to reach exhaustion was statistically different (P<0.0001) between conditions (control: 43.0±27.5 minutes; placebo: 57.4±30.6 minutes; MRCS: 70.9±30.3 minutes). CONCLUSIONS: The administration of MRCS was shown to be effective in improving cycling performance, increasing the time to exhaustion until the volitional exhaustion. Thus, the use of methodology proposed by the present study may help coaches and practitioners improve the performance of physically active young adults5911