Barrier-forming, drug-free nasal spray reduces allergic symptoms induced by house dust mite allergen.

Background: House Dust Mite (HDM) is the most common indoor allergen triggering allergic symptoms. First-line pharmacotherapy treatment is recommended in international guidelines, while the avoidance of allergens represents a still unmet guideline principle. AM-301 is a new non-pharmacological nasal spray that creates a protective gel-like barrier on the nasal mucosa, preventing the contact with the allergens.

Reproxalap Improves Signs and Symptoms of Allergic Conjunctivitis in an Allergen Chamber: A Real-World Model of Allergen Exposure.

Purpose: To assess the prophylactic and treatment activity of reproxalap, a novel reactive aldehyde species inhibitor, in a real-world model of allergen exposure.

Methods: In a randomized, double-masked, vehicle-controlled, crossover Phase 2 trial, 70 adult patients with ≥2 years of moderate to severe allergic conjunctivitis history, a positive skin test to ragweed pollen, and allergen chamber-induced ocular itching and redness scores of ≥2.5 and ≥2 (both scales range from 0 to 4), respectively, were randomized 1:1:1 to one of three sequences: 0.

Technical standards in allergen exposure chambers worldwide - an EAACI Task Force Report.

Allergen exposure chambers (AECs) can be used for controlled exposure to allergenic and non-allergenic airborne particles in an enclosed environment, in order to (i) characterize the pathological features of respiratory diseases and (ii) contribute to and accelerate the clinical development of pharmacological treatments and allergen immunotherapy for allergic disease of the respiratory tract (such as allergic rhinitis, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and allergic asthma). In the guidelines of the European Medicines Agency for the clinical development of products for allergen immunotherapy (AIT), the role of AECs in determining primary endpoints in dose-finding Phase II trials is emphasized. Although methodologically insulated from the variability of natural pollen exposure, chamber models remain confined to supporting secondary, rather than primary, endpoints in Phase III registration trials.

Effects of ectoine containing nasal spray and eye drops on symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.

Background: Patients are often dissatisfied with the symptom control obtained from available pharmacological treatments for seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). Therefore, patients seek for alternative, nonpharmacological options to treat their symptoms. Here, we assessed the efficacy of ectoine nasal spray and ectoine eye drops in comparison to placebo to prevent nasal and ocular symptoms following exposure to pollen in patients with ARC.

Nasal allergen challenge and environmental exposure chamber challenge: A randomized trial comparing clinical and biological responses to cat allergen.

Background: The direct-instillation nasal allergen challenge (NAC) and the environmental exposure chamber (EEC) are 2 methods of conducting controlled allergen provocations. The clinical and biological comparability of these methods has not been thoroughly investigated.

Objective: We sought to compare clinical and immunologic responses to cat allergen in NAC versus EEC.

Effect of olopatadine-mometasone combination nasal spray on seasonal allergic rhinitis symptoms in an environmental exposure chamber study.

Background: GSP301 nasal spray is a fixed-dose combination of the antihistamine olopatadine hydrochloride and the corticosteroid mometasone furoate intended for seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) treatment.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of once-daily or twice-daily GSP301 in a ragweed pollen environmental exposure chamber.

Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, double-dummy study, adults (18-65 years old) with SAR were equally randomized to 665 μg of olopatadine and 25 μg of mometasone (twice-daily GSP301), 665 μg of olopatadine and 50 μg of mometasone (once-daily GSP301), a US Food and Drug Administration-approved formulation of 137 μg of azelastine and 50 μg of fluticasone twice-daily (AzeFlu), a US Food and Drug Administration-approved formulation of 665 μg of olopatadine twice-daily, or placebo (twice-daily).

Pharmacokinetics of intranasal mometasone in the fixed-dose combination GSP301 versus two monotherapy intranasal mometasone formulations.

Background: GSP301 is a fixed-dose combination (FDC) of the antihistamine olopatadine hydrochloride and the corticosteroid mometasone furoate developed as a single nasal spray (NS).

Objective: To assess the relative bioavailability of mometasone administered as GSP301 FDC versus two mometasone monotherapy NS formulations.

Methods: In this single-dose, open-label, crossover study, healthy adults (age range, 18-65 years) were randomized equally to one of six treatment sequences for three 72-hour treatment periods with GSP301 (olopatadine 665 μg-mometasone 50 μg), the mometasone furoate monotherapy component of GSP301 (MF-sponsor, 50 μg), and U.

Pharmacokinetics of intranasal olopatadine in the fixed-dose combination GSP301 versus two monotherapy intranasal olopatadine formulations.

Background: GSP301 is a fixed-dose combination of the antihistamine olopatadine hydrochloride and the corticosteroid mometasone furoate developed as a single nasal spray.

Objective: To assess the relative bioavailability of olopatadine administered as GSP301 versus two olopatadine monotherapy nasal spray formulations.

Methods: In this single-dose, open-label, crossover study, healthy adults (18-65 years old) were equally randomized to one of six treatment sequences for three 48-hour treatment periods with GSP301 (olopatadine 665 μg-mometasone 50 μg), the olopatadine monotherapy component of GSP301 (OLO-sponsor; 665 μg) and U.

Onset of Action of the Fixed Combination Intranasal Azelastine-Fluticasone Propionate in an Allergen Exposure Chamber.

Background: A fixed-dose combination of intranasal azelastine hydrochloride and fluticasone propionate (MP-AzeFlu) is the most effective treatment of allergic rhinitis, but its onset of action requires further investigation.

Objective: To compare the onset of action of MP-AzeFlu with the free combination of oral loratadine (LORA) and intranasal fluticasone propionate (INFP).

Methods: In this single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, double-dummy, 3-period crossover trial, allergic rhinitis symptoms were induced in asymptomatic patients by ragweed pollen challenge in an allergen environmental exposure chamber.

A Pilot Study Investigating Clinical Responses and Biological Pathways of Azelastine/Fluticasone in Nonallergic Vasomotor Rhinitis before and after Cold Dry Air Provocation.

Background: Nonallergic vasomotor rhinitis (NAVMR) has been considered a diagnosis by exclusion due to unknown mechanisms or lack of diagnostic biomarkers.

Methods: To determine clinical responses and biological pathways in NAVMR subjects challenged to cold dry air (CDA) in an environmental exposure chamber (EEC) pre- and posttreatment with azelastine/fluticasone (AzeFlu), 30 NAVMR subjects, prescreened for CDA-induced symptoms (approx. 14°C, <15% relative humidity, ×1 h) were randomized to treatment with AzeFlu (n = 20) or placebo (n = 10) for 2 weeks.

A Phase 2 Exploratory Study of a Novel Interleukin-1 Receptor Inhibitor (EBI-005) in the Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Allergic Conjunctivitis.

Objectives: Many allergic conjunctivitis (AC) patients are inadequately treated with conventional therapies or require steroids. EBI-005 was developed to address the late phase allergic response. This study's objectives were to evaluate two adapted clinical models for this indication and to assess safety and biological activity of EBI-005 in AC.

A proof-of-concept study of the effect of a novel H3-receptor antagonist in allergen-induced nasal congestion.

Background: H1-receptor inverse agonists are used effectively for treating several symptoms of allergic rhinitis, including nasal itching, rhinorrhea, and sneezing, although most agents are not very effective in treating nasal congestion.

Objective: This study evaluated the relative efficacy of a novel selective H3-receptor antagonist, JNJ-39220675, in preventing nasal congestion induced by exposing participants with ragweed allergy to ragweed allergen in an environmental exposure chamber model.

Methods: In this single-dose, patient-blind, double-dummy, placebo- and active-controlled, phase IIa cross-over study, 53 participants were randomized to JNJ-39220675 plus placebo, placebo plus pseudoephedrine, or only placebo.

Fel d 1-derived peptide antigen desensitization shows a persistent treatment effect 1 year after the start of dosing: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Background: Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis is an increasingly common source of morbidity, with sensitivity to cats accounting for 10% to 15% of disease burden. Allergy to cats is also a major risk factor for the development of asthma.

Objectives: We sought to probe the persistence of the treatment effect of a novel F el d 1-derived peptide antigen desensitization (Cat-PAD) 1 year after the start of treatment in subjects with cat allergy-induced rhinoconjunctivitis after standardized allergen challenge.

Solubilized nasal steroid (CDX-947) when combined in the same solution nasal spray with an antihistamine (CDX-313) provides improved, fast-acting symptom relief in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Studies indicate that allergy sufferers remain dissatisfied with available antiallergic therapies. A new convenient formulation of solubilized steroid combined in the same nasal spray solution with antihistamine may provide added symptom relief. The objective was to evaluate effects of CDX-947 (solubilized budesonide) and CDX-313 (solubilized azelastine + budesonide) against their suspension-type comparators (budesonide [Rhinocort Aqua {RA}] or azelastine + budesonide [Astelin] {AS} + RA]) and placebo on nasal allergy symptoms of patients exposed to controlled levels of ragweed pollen in an environmental exposure chamber (EEC).

Non-clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and safety findings for the antihistamine bepotastine besilate.

Scope: The purpose of this review is to examine published non-clinical literature on the antihistamine bepotastine besilate, including pharmacokinetic and pharmacologic properties.

Methods: Standard literature searches using diverse databases were used to find articles on bepotastine besilate published between 1997 and 2009. Articles primarily described non-clinical data utilized for the development of an oral formulation of bepotastine besilate and were published in Japanese.

Establishing the onset of action of intranasal corticosteroids: is there an ideal study design?

Intranasal corticosteroids (INs) are considered the most effective pharmaceutical treatments for nasal allergic rhinitis (AR) symptoms and are recommended as first-line therapy for moderate-to-severe symptoms. United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for clinical development of drug products for AR describe three study types used to determine medication onset of action: (1) standard phase 3 efficacy studies, (2) park-setting studies, and (3) environmental exposure chamber studies. This study was designed to review the U.

Pollinex Quattro: a novel and well-tolerated, ultra short-course allergy vaccine.

Pollinex Quattro is a novel, ultra short-course vaccine for treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis from grass, tree or ragweed pollen allergy. Its unique formulation combines chemically modified allergens adsorbed onto a L-tyrosine depot to enhance tolerability with the novel adjuvant, monophosphoryl lipid A, to improve efficacy. Controlled clinical studies indicate that four preseasonal injections with grass or tree formulations significantly reduce rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms and medication use, as well as elevate allergen-specific immunoglobulin G and blunt elevation of immunoglobulin E upon allergen exposure.

Potassium channel diversity within the muscular components of the feline lower esophageal sphincter.

We hypothesized that regional differences in electrophysiological properties exist within the musculature of the feline lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and that they may potentially contribute to functional asymmetry within the LES. Freshly isolated esophageal smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from the circular muscle and sling regions within the LES were studied under a patch clamp. The resting membrane potential (RMP) of the circular SMCs was significantly more depolarized than was the RMP of the sling SMCs, resulting from a higher Na+ and Cl- permeability in circular muscle than in sling muscle.

Activation of mesangial cell MAPK in response to homocysteine.

Background: Alteration in mesangial cell function is central to the progression of glomerular disease in numerous models of chronic renal failure (CRF). Animal models of chronic glomerular disease are characterized by mesangial cell proliferation and elaboration of extracellular matrix protein (ECM), resulting in glomerulosclerosis. Elevated plasma levels of homocysteine (Hcy) are seen in both animal models and humans with CRF, and have been proposed to contribute to the high prevalence of vascular disease in this group.

Generation of a phenotypic array of hypothalamic neuronal cell models to study complex neuroendocrine disorders.

Knowledge of how the brain achieves its diverse central control of basic physiology is severely limited by the virtual absence of appropriate cell models. Isolation of clonal populations of unique peptidergic neurons from the hypothalamus will facilitate these studies. Herein we describe the mass immortalization of mouse primary hypothalamic cells in monolayer culture, resulting in the generation of a vast representation of hypothalamic cell types.

Temperature and redox state dependence of native Kv2.1 currents in rat pancreatic beta-cells.

In pancreatic beta-cells, voltage-dependent K(+) (Kv) channels repolarise glucose-stimulated action potentials. Kv channels are therefore negative regulators of Ca(2+) entry and insulin secretion. We have recently demonstrated that Kv2.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor activation antagonizes voltage-dependent repolarizing K(+) currents in beta-cells: a possible glucose-dependent insulinotropic mechanism.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) acts through its G-protein-coupled receptor to enhance glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells. This is believed to result from modulation of at least two ion channels: ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channels and voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels. Here, we report that GLP-1 receptor signaling also regulates the activity of beta-cell voltage-dependent K(+) (K(V)) channels, themselves potent glucose-dependent regulators of insulin secretion.

The multiple actions of GLP-1 on the process of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

The physiological effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) are of immense interest because of the potential clinical relevance of this peptide. Produced in intestinal L-cells through posttranslational processing of the proglucagon gene, GLP-1 is released from the gut in response to nutrient ingestion. Peripherally, GLP-1 is known to affect gut motility, inhibit gastric acid secretion, and inhibit glucagon secretion.