The basics of preclinical drug development for neurodegenerative disease indications.

Preclinical development encompasses the activities that link drug discovery in the laboratory to initiation of human clinical trials. Preclinical studies can be designed to identify a lead candidate from several hits; develop the best procedure for new drug scale-up; select the best formulation; determine the route, frequency, and duration of exposure; and ultimately support the intended clinical trial design. The details of each preclinical development package can vary, but all have some common features.

Pharmacist detection of peripheral arterial disease through the use of a handheld Doppler.

Study Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a program in which pharmacists screened at-risk patients for peripheral arterial disease using a handheld doppler device.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Primary care and consultative outpatient clinic.

Assessment of geriatric information on the drug label for commonly prescribed drugs in older people.

Older people contribute to a significant portion of all prescription drug use and expenditures in the United States. Despite this, older people are often excluded from clinical trials examining the safety and efficacy of drugs. It is unclear to what extent drugs commonly used in older people contain information about prescribing in older people on their product labeling.

Colesevelam: potential uses for the newest bile resin.

Colesevelam is the newest bile resin with a unique chemical structure. It binds to bile acids with higher affinity than traditional bile acid sequestrants and has fewer gastrointestinal side effects and drug interactions. Colesevelam is safe and efficacious alone or in combination with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) in reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels.

Colesevelam hydrochloride.

The pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, clinical efficacy, drug interactions, adverse effects, and dosage and administration of colesevelam hydrochloride are reviewed. Colesevelam hydrochloride is a nonabsorbed lipid-lowering agent approved for use alone or in combination with hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors for the reduction of low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia. Colesevelam forms nonabsorbable complexes with bile acids in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, resulting in changes in plasma lipid levels, including total, LDL, and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides.