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Drugs & Aging Jul 2022As the population ages, spine-related pain is increasingly common in older adults. While medications play an important role in pain management, their use has limitations... (Review)
Review
As the population ages, spine-related pain is increasingly common in older adults. While medications play an important role in pain management, their use has limitations in geriatric patients due to reduced liver and renal function, comorbid medical problems, and polypharmacy. This review will assess the evidence basis for medications used for spine-related pain in older adults, with a focus on drug metabolism and adverse drug reactions. A PubMed/OVID search crossing common spine, neck, and back pain terms with key words for older adults and geriatrics was combined with common drug classes and common drug names and limited to clinical trials and age over 65 years. The results were then reviewed with identification of commonly used drugs and drug categories: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), acetaminophen, corticosteroids, gabapentin and pregabalin, antispastic and antispasmodic muscle relaxants, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tramadol, and opioids. Collectively, 138 double-blind, placebo-controlled trials were the focus of the review. The review found a variable contribution of high-quality studies examining the efficacy of medications for spine pain primarily in the geriatric population. There was strong evidence for NSAID use with adjustments for gastrointestinal and renal risk factors. Gabapentin and pregabalin had mixed evidence for neuropathic pain. SNRIs had good evidence for neuropathic pain and a more favorable safety profile than TCAs. Tramadol had some evidence in older patients, but more so in persons aged < 65 years. Rational therapeutic choices based on geriatric spine pain diagnosis are helpful, such as NSAIDs and acetaminophen for arthritic and myofascial-based pain, gabapentinoids or duloxetine for neuropathic and radicular pain, antispastic agents for myofascial-based pain, and combination therapy for mixed etiologies. Tramadol can be well tolerated in older patients, but has risks of cognitive and classic opioid side effects. Otherwise, opioids are typically avoided in the treatment of spine-related pain in older adults due to their morbidity and mortality risk and are reserved for refractory severe pain. Whenever possible, beneficial geriatric spine pain pharmacotherapy should employ the lowest therapeutic doses with consideration of polypharmacy, potentially decreased renal and hepatic metabolism, and co-morbid medical disorders.
Topics: Acetaminophen; Aged; Analgesics, Opioid; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Gabapentin; Humans; Neuralgia; Pregabalin; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors; Tramadol
PubMed: 35754070
DOI: 10.1007/s40266-022-00946-x -
Biomedicines Feb 2022(1) Background: Over the last decade, misuse and diversion of medications has appeared to be increasingly concerning phenomena, including a range of different molecules.... (Review)
Review
(1) Background: Over the last decade, misuse and diversion of medications has appeared to be increasingly concerning phenomena, including a range of different molecules. As current knowledge on the abuse of centrally acting anticholinergics is limited, the aim of the present study is to review the relevant published data, focusing on the following molecules: benztropine, biperiden, scopolamine, orphenadrine, and benzhexol/trihexyphenidyl (THP). (2) Methods: A systematic literature review was carried out using Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Research methods were registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021257293). (3) Results: A total of 48 articles, including case reports, surveys, and retrospective case series analyses, were included. Most articles focused on benzhexol/THP ( = 25), and benztropine ( = 4). The routes of administration were mostly oral, and macrodoses together concomitant illicit drugs, e.g., cocaine, have been recorded. Toxidromes included both physical (e.g., tachycardia, tachypnoea, dilatated pupils, dry skin, urinary retention, ataxia, etc.) and psychiatric symptoms (e.g., anxiety, agitation, delirium, etc.). Fatal outcomes were very rare but reported. (4) Conclusion: Results from the present study show that anticholinergic misusing issues are both widespread worldwide and popular. Considering the potential adverse effects associated, healthcare professionals should be vigilant and monitor eventual misusing issues.
PubMed: 35203563
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10020355 -
Computational and Structural... 2023Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with a growing number of incidences in developing countries. However, there are currently few medical...
Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with a growing number of incidences in developing countries. However, there are currently few medical therapies for this disease. Emerged as an effective drug discovery strategy, drug repurposing which owns lower cost and shorter time, is able to identify new indications from existing drugs. In this study, we aimed at identifying potential drug candidates for stroke computationally repurposing approved drugs from Drugbank database. We first developed a drug-target network of approved drugs, employed network-based approach to repurpose these drugs, and altogether identified 185 drug candidates for stroke. To validate the prediction accuracy of our network-based approach, we next systematically searched for previous literature, and found 68 out of 185 drug candidates (36.8 %) exerted therapeutic effects on stroke. We further selected several potential drug candidates with confirmed neuroprotective effects for testing their anti-stroke activity. Six drugs, including cinnarizine, orphenadrine, phenelzine, ketotifen, diclofenac and omeprazole, have exhibited good activity on oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) induced BV2 cells. Finally, we showcased the anti-stroke mechanism of actions of cinnarizine and phenelzine western blot and Olink inflammation panel. Experimental results revealed that they both played anti-stroke effects in the OGD/R induced BV2 cells inhibiting the expressions of IL-6 and COX-2. In summary, this study provides efficient network-based methodologies for identification of drug candidates toward stroke.
PubMed: 37206617
DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.04.018 -
Scientific Reports Aug 2023Orphenadrine (ORP), dimenhydrinate (DMN), and cinnarizine (CNN) were investigated using green-sensitive spectrofluorometric methods. Method, I used for determination of...
Orphenadrine (ORP), dimenhydrinate (DMN), and cinnarizine (CNN) were investigated using green-sensitive spectrofluorometric methods. Method, I used for determination of DMN in 0.1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) and 1.0% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) at 286 nm after λ 222 nm, while for determination of ORP in 1.0% w/v SDS involves measuring the fluorescence at 285 nm after λ 220 nm. For DMN and ORP, the detection and quantitation limits were 2.99 and 4.71 and 9.08 and 14.29 ng/mL, respectively. The ranges of DMN and ORP were 0.10-1.0 and 0.04-0.5 µg/mL, respectively, in micellar aqueous solution. Method II, the derivative intensities of DMN and CNN were measured at a fixed of different wavelength between the excitation and the emission wavelengths (Δλ) = 60 nm at 282 and 322 nm, at the zero crossing of each other, respectively. The detection and quantitation limits for DMN and CNN were 1.77 and 0.88 ng/mL and 5.36 and 2.65 ng/mL, correspondingly, through the entire range of 0.1-1.0 µg/mL for DMN and CNN. The linearity was perfectly determined through the higher values of the correlation coefficient ranging from 0.9997 to 0.9999 for both direct and synchronous methods. The precision of the proposed methods was also confirmed via the lower values of the standard deviation which ranged from 0.39 to 1.11. The technique was expanded to analyze this mixture in combined tablets and laboratory-prepared mixtures. The method validation was done depending on the international conference on harmonization (ICH) recommendations. An analysis of the statistical data revealed a high agreement between the proposed data and the comparison methodology. Three different assessment methods demonstrated the greenness of the technique.
Topics: Cinnarizine; Dimenhydrinate; Hydrochloric Acid; Laboratories; Orphenadrine; Spectrometry, Fluorescence
PubMed: 37599333
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40559-x -
Journal of Clinical and Experimental... 2022Muscle cramps are witnessed in 22-88% of patients with cirrhosis of liver and frequently lead to sleep disturbance with an appalling impact on quality of life. Despite... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Muscle cramps are witnessed in 22-88% of patients with cirrhosis of liver and frequently lead to sleep disturbance with an appalling impact on quality of life. Despite such a high prevalence, there is lack of evidence-based management protocol due to scarcity of trials on treatment options in the literature. This study aimed to review systematically the available therapeutic options for muscle cramps in patients with cirrhosis of liver.
METHODS
A systematic review of the relevant databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science) to identify treatments for muscle cramps in patients with hepatic cirrhosis was performed. Studies meeting the selection criteria were reviewed and assessed for risk of bias and analyzed.
RESULTS
Twenty-four publications were identified as eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 17 prospective studies were included. Taurine, methocarbamol, baclofen, and orphenadrine are relatively safer and effective treatment option for muscle cramps in cirrhosis on the basis of recently conducted RCTs. Moreover, l-carnitine, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), pregabalin, zinc, and vitamin D are also safe and showed beneficial effects on muscle cramps. However, studies on vitamin E revealed contradictory results.
CONCLUSION
Taurine, BCAAs, orphenadrine, and baclofen are safe and well-tolerated treatment options for muscle cramps in cirrhosis. However, well-designed randomized controlled clinical trials are the need of the hour to determine the most suitable treatment options for skeletal muscle cramps in patients with cirrhosis of liver.
PubMed: 35677500
DOI: 10.1016/j.jceh.2021.10.147 -
The Medical Letter on Drugs and... Mar 2022
Topics: Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Humans; Pain; Pharmaceutical Preparations
PubMed: 35231019
DOI: No ID Found -
The Journal of Emergency Medicine Apr 2022Low back pain (LBP) causes 2.6 million visits to U.S. emergency departments (EDs) annually. These patients are often treated with skeletal muscle relaxants (SMRs).
BACKGROUND
Low back pain (LBP) causes 2.6 million visits to U.S. emergency departments (EDs) annually. These patients are often treated with skeletal muscle relaxants (SMRs).
OBJECTIVES
The goal of this study was to determine whether efficacy of SMRs is associated with age, sex, or baseline LBP severity.
METHODS
This was a planned analysis of data from 4 randomized studies of patients with acute nonradicular LBP. Patients were enrolled during an ED visit and followed-up 1 week later. The primary outcome was improvement in the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) between ED discharge and the 1-week follow-up. We compared the change in RMDQ among 8 groups: placebo, baclofen, metaxalone, tizanidine, diazepam, orphenadrine, methocarbamol, and cyclobenzaprine. All patients also received a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. We performed analysis of variance to determine statistically significant differences between medications and linear regression to determine the association of age, sex, and baseline severity with the primary outcome.
RESULTS
The mean improvement in RMDQ per group was placebo 10.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 9.5-11.5), baclofen 10.6 (95% CI 8.6-12.7), metaxalone 10.3 (95% CI 8.1-12.4), tizanidine 11.5 (95% CI 9.5-13.4), diazepam 11.1 (95% CI 9-13.2), orphenadrine 9.5 (95% CI 7.4-11.5), methocarbamol 8.1 (95% CI 6.1-10.1), and cyclobenzaprine 10.1 (95% CI 8.3-12). The between-group differences were not statistically significantly different. Results were similar regardless of age, sex, and baseline severity. Higher baseline RMDQ was associated with greater clinical improvement (B coefficient 5.7, p < 0.01). Adverse medication effects were more common with cyclobenzaprine than with placebo (p < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
Among patients in the ED with acute LBP treated with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, SMRs do not improve outcomes more than placebo. Neither age, sex, nor baseline impairment impacts these results.
Topics: Acute Pain; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Baclofen; Diazepam; Humans; Low Back Pain; Methocarbamol; Neuromuscular Agents; Orphenadrine; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 35067395
DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2021.09.025