High-dose allopurinol, a safe and inexpensive xanthine oxidase inhibitor used for decades for the treatment of gout, also appears to be an effective anti-ischemic drug in patients with angina pectoris, according to findings from a randomized, placebo-controlled study.
Nilotinib and dasatinib each appear to be safe and more effective than the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib for inducing complete cytogenetic response and major molecular response in patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia, according to the findings of two randomized phase III studies involving a total of 1,365 CML patients.
Nearly 30% of ischemic stroke patients with documented symptom start times who were treated at hospitals that participate in a national quality of care improvement initiative presented for treatment within the first 60 minutes of stroke onset, when the volume of salvageable brain and the patients capacity to benefit from reperfusion therapy are the greatest, Dr. Jeffrey L. Saver and his colleagues reported in the July issue of Stroke, published online ahead of print June 3. Despite their early arrival, however, these patients often have longer waits for clot-busting treatment than do some who arrive later, the authors wrote.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (EGMN) More information on the risks and severity of hypersensitivity reactions associated with the monoclonal antibody motavizumab is needed before it is approved for preventing serious lower respiratory tract infections with respiratory syncytial virus in high-risk infants, according to the majority of a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel.
