[Comparison of the Pharmaceutical Characteristics of Brand-name and Generic Pramipexole Extended-release Tablets and Their PTP Usability].

The pramipexole extended-release (long acting) tablet, a D2 receptor agonist commonly used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, has increasingly demonstrated usability for patients with long acting performance and patient adherence improvements. As a generic drug it is sold by six companies while a brand name drug is also marketed. As these formulations are hygroscopic it is described as such in package inserts so that tablets will only be removed from the press-through package (PTP) immediately before ingestion.

Drug Release Profiles and Disintegration Properties of Pectin Films.

We assessed the disintegration profiles of the film dosage forms (FDs) prepared using pectin by measuring the amount of pectin dissolved from the films in a limited amount of aqueous medium. Furthermore, we used miconazole and dexamethasone as standard drugs and investigated the relationship between the disintegration rate of the FDs and the rate of drug release. We used two types of pectin in this study to develop thin films with a thickness of approximately 25⁻35 μm.

Control of Drug Dissolution Rate from Film Dosage Forms Containing Valsartan.

Film dosage forms (FDs) containing valsartan (VST), a popular antihypertensive drug, were prepared using a casting method with sodium alginate and other polysaccharides as the film base. Drug dissolution profiles of the FDs were investigated in limited medium. The FDs were 170-200 μm thick and were easy to handle.

[Property of metronidazole film prepared with natural polysaccharides].

Film dosage forms containing metronidazole (MZ) were prepared from natural polysaccharides, such as pullulan (PUL) or sodium alginate (ALG), without heating or controlling the pH. The release profiles of MZ from the films were investigated. In the absence of a drug, the casting method resulted in the polysaccharide forming a circular film, and the presence of MZ affected film formation.

Effect of imatinib mesilate on the disposition kinetics of ciclosporin in rats.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of imatinib mesilate on the disposition kinetics of ciclosporin in rats. The blood concentration-time course and pharmacokinetic parameters of ciclosporin did not significantly change after intravenous injection of ciclosporin (10 mg kg(-1)) in rats treated with imatinib mesilate (50 mg kg(-1)) as compared with a control. When ciclosporin (10 mg kg(-1)) was orally administered, the time course, area under the curve, bioavailability and peak blood concentration of ciclosporin were significantly increased in rats that had been treated with imatinib mesilate 2 h before ciclosporin administration as compared with the control.