Epidemiological and functional profile of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in Manaus, Amazonas / Perfil epidemiológico e funcional de pacientes com diagnóstico de esclerose múltipla em Manaus, Amazonas

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated, inflammatory disease characterized by repeated episodes of demyelization. Objective: The present study aimed to trace the epidemiological and functional profile of patients with Multiple Sclerosis treated at a Reference Hospital in Manaus-AM. Method: 80 charts were selected for screening and subsequent application of the Functional Independence Measure (MIF) scale. Results: 32 patients were included in the study, 23 females (74%), whose mean age was 35 (± 12) years, with a relationship between females and males of 2.5. The mean diagnostic time for men was 7.8 years and for women of 5.3 years. The mean score on the Total MIF scale was 110.9 (± 17.5). Conclusion: Epidemiological characteristics are in line with most similar studies, but lack further studies aimed at assessing the functionality of individuals with MS.

A esclerose múltipla (EM) é uma doença imuno-mediada, inflamatória, caracterizada por repetidos episódios de desmielinização. Objetivo: Traçar o perfil epidemiológico e funcional dos pacientes com Esclerose Múltipla atendidos em um Hospital de Referência de Manaus-AM. Método: Foram selecionados 80 prontuários para triagem e posterior aplicação da escala de Medida de Independência Funcional (MIF). Resultado: Foram incluídos no estudo 32 pacientes, 23 do sexo feminino (74%) cuja média de idade era de 35 (± 12) anos verificando uma relação entre mulheres e homens de 2.5. O tempo de diagnóstico médio para os homens foi de 7.8 anos e para as mulheres de 5,3 anos. A média do escore na escala de MIF Total foi de 110,9 (± 17,5). Conclusão: As características epidemiológicas estão em consonância com a maioria dos estudos semelhantes, mas carecem de mais estudos voltados para a avaliação da funcionalidade de indivíduos com EM.

Pharmacokinetics of pentoxifylline and its main metabolites in patients with different degrees of heart failure following a single dose of a modified-release formulation.

Pentoxifylline (PTX) is extensively metabolized in the body, and all its 3 plasma metabolites (M1, M4, M5) are pharmacologically active. The authors evaluated the pharmacokinetics of PTX and its metabolites in 20 patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Eleven had moderate and 9 severe CHF. The time courses of PTX, M1, M4, and M5 plasma levels were determined after oral administration of a sustained-release 600-mg tablet of PTX, and for each compound, AUC, maximal plasma concentration (C(max)), and time to C(max) (T(peak)) were calculated. Compared with patients with moderate CHF, those with severe CHF showed a significant delay in T(peak) of PTX (3.9 vs 1.6 hours) and M5 (5.6 vs 3.6 hours), a 59% significant increase in M5 AUC, and a 56% nonsignificant increase in PTX AUC. In the whole population, the AUCs of PTX, M4, and M5 were inversely correlated with markers of liver function, whereas the AUCs of M4 and M5 were inversely correlated with the creatinine clearance. In view of the kinetic features of slow-release formulations (flip-flop phenomenon), the delay in T(peak) of PTX in patients with severe CHF compared with moderate CHF should be ascribed to a reduced elimination rate.

VKORC1, CYP2C9 and CYP4F2 genetic-based algorithm for warfarin dosing: an Italian retrospective study.

AIM: A total of 371 patients under stable warfarin therapy were retrospectively selected to develop a pharmacogenetic algorithm to identify the individual maintenance dose. MATERIALS & METHODS: The variables that were entered into the algorithm were: VKORC1, CYP2C9 and CYP4F2 polymorphisms, body surface area and age. RESULTS: The percentage of cases whose predicted mean weekly warfarin dose was within 20% of the actual maintenance dose was 51.8% considering patients overall, and were 36.2, 66.2 and 55.4%, respectively, taking into account patients requiring low (≤25 mg/week), intermediate (25-45 mg/week) and high (≥45 mg/week) doses. The algorithm could correctly assign 73.8 and 63.2% of patients to the low- and high-dose regimens, respectively. We developed and validated a pharmacogenetic algorithm in a series of Italian patients, we then tested, in the same series of italian patients, the formulas of three published algorithms. These three algorithms were developed and validated by their authors in a series of patients different from our own. The performance of our algorithm in our patients series was slightly higher than that achieved when using the three other algorithms in our patients series. CONCLUSION: The high predictive accuracy of low and high warfarin requirements of our algorithm warrants its application in prospective studies for clinical validation.