PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J R Minor

Publications and source records attributed to J R Minor.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

AIDS buyers' clubs.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1996

Drug interactions in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Patients with AIDS who are receiving optimal medical care, including combination therapy with antiretroviral agents and more effective prophylaxis and therapy for opportunistic infections and neoplasms, are surviving longer. However, the potential for drug interactions in these patients is increased because many of the currently used antibiotics and antiviral agents have profound effects on the hepatic cytochrome P-450 enzyme system, on renal tubular function, and on bone marrow function. In this AIDS Commentary, Dr. Piscitelli and colleagues have succinctly reviewed the current state of our knowledge regarding the potential for additive or synergistic drug interactions that can result in enhanced toxicity or, alternatively, augmented therapeutic benefit. Information on these interactions will become more important as more intensive and effective therapy becomes available for persons with far-advanced infection due to human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

Absorption↗
PubMed1996

Immune-based therapies for treatment of HIV infection.

OBJECTIVE: To review the in vitro, animal, and clinical data on immune-based therapies for treatment of HIV infection. DATA SOURCES: An extensive MEDLINE search was performed for interleukins, interferons, immunotoxins, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-directed agents, vaccines, and gene therapy. STUDY SELECTION: In vitro experiments with immune-based agents in cell lines infected with HIV were included. In addition, all human studies and case reports that used these agents in patients infected with HIV were selected. Additional literature included abstracts from international meetings on HIV and AIDS. DATA EXTRACTION: Data regarding activity, efficacy, and toxicity were extracted from in vitro and in vivo studies. When conflicting data were observed, both viewpoints were stated to give an unbiased analysis. Because HIV research involves multiple social, ethical, and scientific issues, perspectives on these problems were addressed, where appropriate. DATA SYNTHESIS: Current antiretroviral therapy is limited to short-term responses and has minimal effect on overall survival. Because the human immune response to HIV infection is effective at keeping the virus suppressed for a number of years, a focus of HIV research has been to examine immune-based therapies for treatment of HIV infection that attempt to augment enhance, or boost the patient's immune system. Interleukins, interferons, immunotoxins, TNF-directed therapies, vaccines, and gene therapy have been studied in patients infected with HIV. Properties shared among these therapeutic modalities include adverse effect profiles, response rates dependent on baseline immunocompetence, the potential to activate viral replication, the need for supportive care, and sensitive laboratory tests required for monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: Immune-based agents represent a new approach to the treatment of HIV infection. Whereas antiretrovirals only inhibit viral replication, these agents are designed to enhance the immune system of the patient. Future attempts to manage HIV infection may combine standard nucleoside analogs with immune-based therapies.

AIDS Vaccines↗
PubMed1995

Compatibility and activity of aldesleukin (recombinant interleukin-2) in presence of selected drugs during simulated Y-site administration: evaluation of three methods.

The compatibility and biological activity of aldesleukin (a form of recombinant interleukin-2) in the presence of selected i.v. drugs during simulated Y-site administration was studied. Five milliliters of aldesleukin 33,800 IU/mL in 5% dextrose injection was mixed in glass test tubes with 5 mL of each of 19 i.v. drugs prepared at concentrations used in routine clinical practice. The compatibility of the combinations was assessed by visual examination and spectrophotometry at 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 hours after preparation, and bioassays were conducted to determine the activity of aldesleukin in the combinations. Lorazepam was the only drug visually incompatible with aldesleukin. All the secondary drugs were spectrophotometrically compatible with aldesleukin. However, the bioassays showed that the following drugs reduced the activity of aldesleukin: ganciclovir sodium, lorazepam, pentamidine isethionate, prochlorperazine edisylate, and promethazine hydrochloride. Thus, aldesleukin became less biologically active when combined with four drugs for which visual examination suggested compatibility and when combined with five drugs for which spectrophotometry indicated compatibility. Aldesleukin 33,800 IU/mL in 5% dextrose injection lost significant biological activity in the presence of prochlorperazine edisylate, promethazine hydrochloride, lorazepam, ganciclovir sodium, and pentamidine isethionate during simulated Y-site administration. Visual assessment and spectrophotometry may not be valid methods for assessing possible changes in the biological activity of aldesleukin when combined with other agents.

Anti-Infective Agents↗
PubMed1991

Foscarnet sodium.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a major opportunistic viral pathogen frequently causing disease in immunocompromised patients such as organ transplant recipients and people with AIDS, may present as pneumonitis, gastrointestinal disease, or encephalitis. Its most common manifestation in patients with AIDS is retinitis which, if left untreated, invariably progresses to extensive retinal necrosis and ultimately to blindness. Ganciclovir sodium, currently the only licensed antiviral agent for the treatment of CMV retinitis, effectively controls this infection in a majority of AIDS patients, but significant granulocytopenia or thrombocytopenia related to ganciclovir therapy often limit its clinical application. Myelosuppression may be further exacerbated in AIDS patients by such other agents as zidovudine or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, often necessitating dosage reductions or discontinuation of these agents in patients receiving ganciclovir. Foscarnet sodium, a pyrophosphate analog active against both cytomegalovirus and the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV), may be an effective alternative to ganciclovir in the management of CMV retinitis. Trials with intravenous foscarnet in CMV retinitis have reported favorable results using initial daily doses of 180-230 mg/kg/d given as intermittent infusions every eight hours, followed by maintenance regimens of 60-90 mg/kg/d given as single daily one- or two-hour infusions. Foscarnet therapy may result in renal impairment, and indefinite intravenous maintenance therapy may be required to prevent recurrence of CMV infection. Despite these drawbacks, foscarnet's lack of major myelosuppressive toxicity, and its activity in suppressing HIV replication, make this a potentially safe and effective alternative agent for the management of CMV infection, especially in AIDS patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗