Publications by authors named "Henry E Pertinez"
Article Synopsis
- - The study aimed to assess innovative cross-over study designs in non-human primate (NHP) models to evaluate the effectiveness of standard tuberculosis drugs: Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide, and Ethambutol.
- - Two experiments were conducted; the first revealed no significant differences in drug combinations despite expected pathology levels, while the second experiment showed clearer results in terms of drug impact on lung pathology and immune response using a different strain of M. tb.
- - Overall, the findings support the use of NHP models for drug efficacy evaluation, indicating potential for further refinement of cross-over study designs in future tuberculosis research.
Background: Intrapulmonary pharmacokinetics may better explain response to tuberculosis (TB) treatment than plasma pharmacokinetics. We explored these relationships by modeling bacillary clearance in sputum in adult patients on first-line treatment in Malawi.
Methods: Bacillary elimination rates (BER) were estimated using linear mixed-effects modelling of serial time-to-positivity in mycobacterial growth indicator tubes for sputum collected during the intensive phase of treatment (weeks 0-8) for microbiologically confirmed TB.
Background: Further work is required to understand the intrapulmonary pharmacokinetics of first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. This study aimed to describe the plasma and intrapulmonary pharmacokinetics of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol, and explore relationships with clinical treatment outcomes in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.
Methods: Malawian adults with a first presentation of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis received standard 6-month first-line therapy.
Recombinant alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) is used in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients but is not optimal in terms of efficacy or tolerability. Toll-like 7 receptor (TLR-7) agonists stimulate the innate immune system to produce, among other cytokines, IFN-alpha and are being evaluated as alternative drugs to treat HCV infection. This paper describes the application of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) modeling to understanding the behavior of a TLR-7 agonist [9-benzyl-8-hydroxy-2-(2-methoxyethoxy) adenine (BHMA)] in mice, using IFN-alpha as a biomarker.
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