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Biomedical subjects

G Schapel

Publications and source records attributed to G Schapel.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

AUStralian study of titration to effect profile of safety (AUS-STEPS): high-dose gabapentin (neurontin) in partial seizures.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety, tolerability, efficacy, and impact on quality of life of gabapentin (Neurontin; GBP) as adjunctive therapy in patients with refractory partial seizures. METHODS: AUS-STEPS was an open-label, multicenter, prospective study in patients experiencing partial seizures who were inadequately controlled with one to three concurrent antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). GBP treatment was titrated to a maximum of 4,800 mg/day, over a treatment period of 24 weeks, to achieve an efficacious and tolerable dosage. Efficacy was assessed by seizure-frequency data. Quality of life was evaluated by using the QOLIE-10 questionnaire, and safety was assessed by adverse-event reports and clinical laboratory findings. RESULTS: A total of 176 patients received treatment with GBP, with 174 evaluable for intention-to-treat (ITT) efficacy analysis. A reduction of >50% in overall seizure frequency was observed in 93 patients (53%). There was a small (4.6%) overall improvement in QOLIE-10 score. The most frequent adverse events were dizziness (31%), fatigue (29%), somnolence (27%), headache (21%), and ataxia (20%), with no major increase seen in adverse events necessitating discontinuation as the dose of GBP was titrated upward. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that patients with partial epilepsy may be effectively treated with GBP at dosages of < or =4,800 mg/day, without altering the safety profile of the drug.

Acetates↗
PubMed2001

Relation between dosage of carbamazepine and concentration in hair and plasma samples from a compliant inpatient epileptic population.

Compliance is a problem in all areas of therapeutic medicine. Methods for its assessment are classified as either indirect or direct. Indirect assessment is based on criteria such as pill counts, questionnaires, and self-reporting; direct methods involve the analytic measurement of the drugs in biologic fluids such as plasma or urine. Drugs taken either therapeutically or recreationally become incorporated into hair. This prospective study investigated the relation between the daily intake of the antiepileptic drug carbamazepine and both its trough plasma and hair concentrations in a highly supervised inpatient population of patients with epilepsy during a period of 6 months. Results showed that although there was a significant variation between patients resulting from the substantial range in the daily intake of carbamazepine (800-2400 mg/day), the intrapatient variation in both trough plasma and hair concentrations during the 6-month period were not significantly different. The mean intrapatient percentage coefficient of variation in total plasma and hair concentrations of carbamazepine was 11.5 +/- 4.7 and 15.0 +/- 5.2, respectively, both of which were independent of the daily dosage. This relatively small intrapatient variation in hair concentration over time and its close relation to the plasma concentration suggests that hair analysis may be a complementary and useful technique in monitoring drug-taking behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

A double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of vigabatrin 2 g/day and 3 g/day in uncontrolled partial seizures.

The efficacy and tolerability of vigabatrin as add-on therapy was assessed in patients with uncontrolled partial seizures. Ninety-seven patients entered this seven-centre, double-blind, placebo-crossover study. Vigabatrin (2 g or 3 g) or placebo was administered daily. Vigabatrin was well-tolerated and did not cause clinically significant adverse drug effects when added to established anticonvulsant therapy. No significant differences were observed between dose groups for the overall incidence of adverse events, although drowsiness and visual disturbances (diplopia, ataxia, visual abnormalities) showed a dose-related increase with vigabatrin treatment. The results of this study indicate that vigabatrin, given in a daily dose of either 2 g or 3 g is significantly more effective than placebo in reducing seizure frequency among patients with partial seizures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

A survey comparing lamotrigine and vigabatrin in everyday clinical practice.

The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of two new antiepileptic drugs, lamotrigine (LTG) and vigabatrin (GVG) in everyday clinical practice. A comprehensive retrospective survey of a computerized data base and hospital case notes was carried out at the Mersey Regional Epilepsy Clinic (MREC), Liverpool, which services a population of 3 million in the North West of England. The study comprised 333 out-patients with refractory epilepsy exposed to LTG and GVG forming a subset in a total population of 2250 patients with epilepsy held on a comprehensive database. The main outcome measures were duration of treatment with each drug described by a Kaplan-Meier survival curve, seizure control determined by a 50% decrease in seizure frequency and freedom from seizures, and incidence of adverse drug effects leading to discontinuation. The Kaplan-Meier curve indicated a 57% probability of patients continuing to take LTG and 43% GVG after 40 months. A 50% improvement in seizure control followed the addition of LTG in 45% of patients, with 10% seizure free, compared with 32% and 6%, respectively after the addition of GVG. LTG was discontinued because of adverse events (most frequently skin rash) in 15% of patients compared to GVG in 25% (particularly because of personality disturbance and psychiatric disorder). Both LTG and GVG are effective new AEDs in patients with refractory epilepsy, treated in a tertiary referral out-patient setting. LTG has a broader spectrum of antiepileptic efficacy for patients with both partial and idiopathic generalized seizures, whereas GVG should be reserved for patients with partial seizures at low risk of psychiatric disorder.

Anticonvulsants↗
PubMed1996

Tiagabine and non-convulsive status epilepticus.

Three patients who developed clinical evidence of non-convulsive status epilepticus while on high doses of the investigational antiepileptic drug, tiagabine are reported. This apparently paradoxical phenomenon developed when the tiagabine dose was increased to 48 mg/day in one patient, and to 60 mg/day in two other patients, in combination with other antiepileptic drugs. Seizure control improved following reduction in tiagabine dose in one patient and discontinuation of tiagabine in the two others. The observation raises the possibility of a clinically relevant paradoxical epileptogenic effect of GABA-ergic drugs such as tiagabine.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Effect of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) and other salicylates on short-chain fat metabolism in the colonic mucosa. Pharmacological implications for ulcerative colitis.

5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) suppressed nitrite-stimulated oxidation of the fatty acid n-butyrate in a dose-dependent manner in isolated human and rat colonic epithelial cells. 4-ASA had one-sixth of the capacity of 5-ASA and sulphapyridine (SP) little of the capacity of 5-ASA to suppress fatty acid oxidation in human colonic epithelial cells. Sulphasalazine (SASP), azodisalicylic acid (ADS), acetyl-5-ASA and acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) did not suppress fatty acid oxidation in rat colonocytes. The suppression index of fatty acid oxidation (SIFO) of respective salicylic acids correlated with the reported clinical effectiveness of each drug against ulcerative colitis (UC). The capacity of 5-ASA to affect nitrite-stimulated oxidation of fat in the colonic mucosa suggests that nitrite ions and control of fatty acid oxidation play a central role in the development and therapy of active UC.

Aminosalicylic Acids↗
PubMed1978

Traumatic renal arteriovenous fistula.

A case of a 29-year-old man who developed a renal arteriovenous fistula after a gunshot injury is reported. The patient presented with renovascular hypertension associated with high putput cardiac failure, both of which were reversed by surgery.

Adult↗