Liquid melevodopa versus standard levodopa in patients with Parkinson disease and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

Objectives: Patients with Parkinson disease exhibit a highly increased prevalence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which has been also associated with the severity of motor fluctuations. Aim of this study was to test the efficacy of liquid levodopa with higher bioavailability in patients with SIBO.

Methods: Thirty-three patients with Parkinson disease underwent both lactulose and glucose breath tests to assess the presence of SIBO.

Evaluation of efficacy, pharmacokinetics and tolerability of peptidomimetic aspartic proteinase inhibitors as cream formulation in experimental vaginal candidiasis.

Objectives: It has been previously shown that the treatment with the two protease inhibitors APG12 and APG19 confers protection in a rat model of mucosal candidiasis; in this study, we examined whether these peptidomimetic inhibitors are also effective as a cream formulation in reducing Candida albicans vaginal infection.

Methods: These efficacy studies were performed in a rat model of estrogen-dependent rat vaginitis by C. albicans on both azole-susceptible and azole-resistant C.

Variability of raltegravir plasma levels in the clinical setting.

Therapeutic drug monitoring of raltegravir Ctrough levels was carried out in the setting of the Raltegravir Switch for Toxicity or Adverse events (RASTA) trial, a randomized pilot study exploring a 48-week safety and efficacy of treatment switch to raltegravir associated with tenofovir/emtricitabine or abacavir/lamivudine in patients with regimens with optimal virologic control. Blood sampling for measurement of raltegravir plasma levels was carried out at weeks 4, 12, 24, 36 and 48. Plasma samples were analysed by a recently developed and validated UPLC-MS method.

Validation of a new HPLC-UV method for determination of the antibiotic linezolid in human plasma and in bronchoalveolar lavage.

A rapid and selective HPLC-UV method was developed for the quantification of linezolid (LNZ) in human plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) at the concentrations associated with therapy. Plasma samples were extracted by solid-phase extraction followed by evaporation to dryness and reconstitution in mobile phase solution. The chromatographic separation was carried out on a C18 column with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of dihydrogen phosphate buffer 50 mm (pH 3.

The role of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is associated with gastrointestinal motility abnormalities favoring the occurrence of local infections. The aim of this study was to investigate whether small intestinal bacterial overgrowth contributes to the pathophysiology of motor fluctuations. Thirty-three patients and 30 controls underwent glucose, lactulose, and urea breath tests to detect small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and Helicobacter pylori infection.