Internal Medicine Alert 2005-11-15

Pharmacology Watch

Roche is Under Pressure Over Its Antiviral Drug Tamiflu; ACE Inhibitors or ARBs for Prediabetics?; Xigris is Approved for Severe Sepsis; ACE Inhibitors Inhibiting Aortic Valve Stenosis?; FDA Actions

Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement

Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®): Current Treatment Indications and Its Role in the Treatment/Prevention of Avian Influenza

Neuraminidase inhibitors are a class of antivirals that have activity against both influenza A and B viruses. Influenza neuraminidase cleaves terminal sialic acid residues and damages the receptors recognized by viral hemagglutinin, thereby facilitating release of virus from infected cells. In the presence of a neuraminidase inhibitor, release of virus from infected cells is impaired and the progeny viruses that are freed clump together, as sialic acid has not been cleaved.

Should You Use Soybean Protein to Lower Your Patients’ Blood Pressure?

Soybean cookies reduced diastolic and systolic blood pressure by 3 to 4 mg Hg more than did carbohydrate cookies.

Daily Esomeprazole and Erosive Esophagitis

Although this study concluded that daily therapy with esomeprazole was superior to on-demand therapy, these results remain open to question.

Getting Practical with Monitoring in Type 2 Diabetes

A meta-analysis of the medical literature shows that self-monitoring of blood glucose by type 2 diabetics not on insulin does not improve control of the disease compared with regular monitoring of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Patients spend considerable time and resources with daily monitoring of their blood sugars. Physicians increasingly rely on quarterly HbA1c levels as a marker of control.

Pharmacology Update: Drospirenone and Estradiol Tablets (Angeliq®)

A new combination hormone product has been approved for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Drospirenone (DRSP), a progestin with mineralo-corticoid activity, is combined with estradiol (E2). DRSP is the same progestin found in the popular oral contraceptive, Yasmin®. DRSP-E2 is marketed by Berlex as Angeliq®.

Clinical Briefs By Louis Kuritzky, MD

Dietary Phytoestrogens and Lung Cancer Risk; Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccine in the Elderly; Why Does Tadalafil Cause Back Pain?

ECG Review: How Many PVCs?

Internal Medicine Alert – November 15, 2005

November 15, 2005