The influence of polypharmacy on grade III/IV toxicity, prior discontinuation of chemotherapy and overall survival in ovarian cancer.

Background: Ovarian cancer is mostly diagnosed in the elderly woman who is likely to have comorbid disease and to take several comedications on a regular basis. Aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of polypharmacy on grade III/IV toxicity, prior discontinuation of chemotherapy and survival.

Patients And Methods: In this individual participant data meta-analysis the original data of three phase II/III studies of the North-Eastern German Society of Gynecological Oncology (NOGGO) were analyzed using multivariate logistic and Cox regression.

Genetic variants of the insulin receptor substrate-1 are influencing the therapeutic efficacy of oral antidiabetics.

Aim: The therapeutic efficacy of oral hypoglycaemic drugs varies between individuals, and pharmacogenetic factors contribute to this variability. The Gly972Arg polymorphism in the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) has been shown to play a role in insulin signal transduction and therapeutic failure to sulphonylurea drugs.

Methods: We studied the association between the IRS-1 polymorphism and the haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level in diabetic patients treated with insulinotropic versus non-insulinotropic hypoglycaemic drugs as a marker for the efficacy of an antidiabetic treatment.

Inhibition of 17β-estradiol activation by CYP1A1: genotype- and regioselective inhibition by St. John's Wort and several natural polyphenols.

Several epidemiological studies associate certain CYP1A1 genotypes, alone or in combination, with an increased risk of estrogen-related cancers. Previously we demonstrated that metabolic activation of estrogens by CYP1A1 is a genotype-dependent reaction with the CYP1A1.2 (Ile462Val) variant being the most efficient catalyst (Kisselev et al.

Moxifloxacin does not alter ciclosporin pharmacokinetics in transplant patients: a multiple-dose, uncontrolled, single-centre study.

Background: Moxifloxacin has a broad antibacterial spectrum and rapid bactericidal activity, and is thus a good option for the treatment of bacterial infections in patients who have undergone organ or bone marrow transplantation. Transplant patients also receive immunosuppressant therapy such as ciclosporin.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to assess the steady-state pharmacokinetics of ciclosporin with and without concomitant treatment with moxifloxacin in transplant recipients.

Genetic polymorphisms in endothelin-receptor-subtype-a-gene as susceptibility factor for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Introduction: Traits of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) such as impaired ventilatory control, craniofacial abnormalities, and concomitant cardiovascular diseases are associated with modified endothelin-1 gene (EDN-1) or endothelin-receptor-subtype-a (EDNRA) gene. The endothelin system regulates the cardiovascular homeostasis. EDN-1 interacts mainly with EDNRA for signal transduction.