Ocular carteolol: a review of its use in the management of glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

Ocular carteolol (Mikelan), Teoptic, Ocupress) is a nonselective beta-adrenoceptor antagonist with intrinsic sympathomimetic activity (ISA). Ocular carteolol effectively reduces intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) or ocular hypertension (OH). Twice-daily administration of standard carteolol has generally similar IOP-lowering efficacy to other ocular beta-adrenoceptor antagonists such as timolol, betaxolol and metipranolol in patients with OAG or OH.

Azithromycin extended release: a review of its use in the treatment of acute bacterial sinusitis and community-acquired pneumonia in the US.

Azithromycin is a macrolide antibacterial agent. The novel microspheres oral extended-release formulation (Zmax) is the first antibacterial drug approved in the US for administration as a single dose in adult patients with mild to moderate acute bacterial sinusitis (ABS) or community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). It has a broad spectrum of in vitro antibacterial activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative and atypical pathogens that cause ABS and CAP infections (including Streptococcus pneumoniae), and achieves good tissue penetration.

Limaprost.

Limaprost, an alprostadil (prostaglandin E1) analogue, is a vasodilator that increases blood flow and inhibits platelet aggregation. The efficacy of oral limaprost was evaluated in adult Japanese patients in three randomised, double-blind, 6-week trials. One study included patients with thromboangiitis obliterans and two trials included patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis.

Ziprasidone: a review of its use in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Ziprasidone (Geodon, Zeldox) is an atypical antipsychotic agent with a unique neurotransmitter receptor-binding profile. The oral formulation is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with schizophrenia and the intramuscular formulation for the control of acute agitation in these patients. In adult patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, oral ziprasidone was effective at a dosage of 40-80 mg twice daily in patients experiencing a phase of acute illness, and at a dosage of 20-80 mg twice daily in those with chronic schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, including those who were symptomatically stable.

Extended-release intramuscular naltrexone.

An extended-release intramuscular formulation of naltrexone that provides sustained release of the drug over a 28-day period has been developed with the aim of improving treatment adherence in patients treated with naltrexone for alcohol dependence. Biodegradable polylactide-co-glycolide polymer microspheres containing 34% w/w naltrexone are reconstituted in an aqueous suspension just prior to intramuscular administration. Extended-release intramuscular naltrexone 380 mg administered once every 4 weeks, in combination with psychosocial therapy, demonstrated superior efficacy to placebo plus psychosocial therapy in reducing the heavy drinking event rate (primary endpoint) in adult patients with alcohol dependence in a 6-month well controlled trial.

Atazanavir: a review of its use in the management of HIV infection.

Atazanavir (Reyataz) is a novel protease inhibitor (PI) approved for use in combination with other antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV infection. In antiretroviral therapy (ART)-experienced patients the drug is administered with low-dose ritonavir (i.e.

Extended-release carbamazepine capsules : in bipolar I disorder.

An extended-release capsule formulation of carbamazepine is approved for use in adult patients experiencing an acute manic or mixed episode associated with bipolar I disorder. A capsule of extended-release carbamazepine contains three types of bead: immediate release, extended release and enteric release, constituting 25%, 40% and 35% of the dose, respectively.black triangle Extended-release carbamazepine capsules 200--1600 mg/day demonstrated superior antimanic efficacy to placebo in two 3-week, well designed trials in adult patients with bipolar I disorder and acute manic or mixed episodes.

Zolpidem: a review of its use in the management of insomnia.

Zolpidem (Ambien, Stilnox, Myslee, an imidazopyridine, is a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic indicated for the short-term treatment of insomnia. Zolpidem improves sleep in patients with insomnia. Its overall tolerability is favourable when administered according to the manufacturer's prescribing information, with a low propensity to cause clinical residual effects, withdrawal, dependence or tolerance.

Aripiprazole: a review of its use in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Unlabelled: Aripiprazole, a quinolinone derivative, is an atypical antipsychotic drug indicated for the treatment of adult patients with schizophrenia. Aripiprazole 10 or 15 mg once daily is effective and well tolerated in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Although aripiprazole has only been directly compared with haloperidol and olanzapine in treatment-responsive patients to date, current data generally indicate that aripiprazole has a beneficial profile in terms of a low potential for bodyweight gain.

Lanthanum carbonate.

Lanthanum carbonate is a novel, non-aluminium, non-calcium phosphate binding agent that forms a water-insoluble compound, lanthanum phosphate, in the gut. Lanthanum carbonate (elemental lanthanum 375-3000 mg/day) reduced serum phosphorus levels compared with placebo in two randomised, double-blind, multicentre 4-week trials in patients with chronic renal failure receiving regular haemodialysis. In two large, randomised trials in patients with chronic renal failure requiring haemodialysis, lanthanum carbonate (elemental lanthanum 375-3000 mg/day) was as effective as calcium carbonate and/or other conventional phosphate binders in reducing and maintaining serum phosphorus levels (< or =5.

Long-acting risperidone: a review of its use in schizophrenia.

Unlabelled: Long-acting risperidone (Risperdal Consta) is a novel, intramuscular formulation of the atypical antipsychotic risperidone, which has shown efficacy in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia.Long-acting risperidone is pharmacokinetically equivalent to and causes less plasma drug concentration fluctuation than the oral formulation. This novel formulation is an aqueous suspension of microspheres comprising risperidone and a biodegradable copolymer.