Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis of teicoplanin in patients with MRSA infections.

Background: Teicoplanin is a glycopeptide antibiotic that has been used to treat serious, invasive infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria. The area under the drug concentration-time curve (AUC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was identified as a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) parameter of glycopeptide antibiotics that correlated with bacteriological responses and clinical outcomes. Although optimized dosing regimens based on PK-PD are needed, a PK-PD analysis of teicoplanin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections has not yet been performed.

Development of initial loading procedure for teicoplanin in critically ill patients with severe infections.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is now endemic in many hospitals. Infection with MRSA is more frequent in the intensive care unit (ICU) than in general wards. Therefore, appropriate treatments for MRSA infections will lead to good outcomes in the ICU.

An initial dosing method for teicoplanin based on the area under the serum concentration time curve required for MRSA eradication.

Teicoplanin is a glycopeptide antibacterial agent that has a long serum half-life and therefore takes time to achieve steady-state conditions. An appropriate initial dosing is needed for teicoplanin to promptly reach an effective serum trough concentration. However, little information is available on tailoring the initial dosing for patients with various characteristics.

Determination of teicoplanin trough concentration target and appropriate total dose during the first 3 days: a retrospective study in patients with MRSA infections.

An initial loading procedure has been recommended to enable teicoplanin to promptly reach an effective serum concentration for the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of teicoplanin to determine the therapeutic target for the teicoplanin trough concentration and an appropriate dosing method during the first 3 days. The mean trough concentrations were 13.

Characterization of olivetol synthase, a polyketide synthase putatively involved in cannabinoid biosynthetic pathway.

Alkylresorcinol moieties of cannabinoids are derived from olivetolic acid (OLA), a polyketide metabolite. However, the polyketide synthase (PKS) responsible for OLA biosynthesis has not been identified. In the present study, a cDNA encoding a novel PKS, olivetol synthase (OLS), was cloned from Cannabis sativa.

Correlation between voriconazole trough plasma concentration and hepatotoxicity in patients with different CYP2C19 genotypes.

Voriconazole metabolism is mostly mediated via the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 isozyme. The non-wild (mutant) type of CYP2C19 is generally found in 60-70% of Asian populations. Because the voriconazole trough plasma concentration has been reported to correlate with hepatotoxicity, this study investigated the effect of CYP2C19 polymorphism on the relationship between voriconazole trough concentrations and liver function abnormalities in 29 Japanese patients with fungal infections (CYP2C19 wild-type, n=10; non-wild-type, n=19).

Identification and characterization of cannabinoids that induce cell death through mitochondrial permeability transition in Cannabis leaf cells.

Cannabinoids are secondary metabolites stored in capitate-sessile glands on leaves of Cannabis sativa. We discovered that cell death is induced in the leaf tissues exposed to cannabinoid resin secreted from the glands, and identified cannabichromenic acid (CBCA) and Delta(1)-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) as unique cell death mediators from the resin. These cannabinoids effectively induced cell death in the leaf cells or suspension-cultured cells of C.