Safety and efficacy of feprazone for long-term treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Long-term safety and efficacy of feprazone (4-prenyl-1,2-diphenyl-3,5-pyrazolidinedione), an antirheumatic drug that is well tolerated in the gastrointestinal tract, were assessed in a noncontrolled multicenter trial. Administered at a daily dosage of 600 mg for a mean duration of 114.1 days, feprazone was well tolerated by 43 (77%) of 56 treated subjects. Thirteen patients reported side effects, but only five discontinued treatment. The side effects were generally mild and occurred in the first weeks of therapy. Feprazone was found effective after one month on both considered indices of disease activity: Ritchie index (articular index for assessment of joint tenderness) and corticosteroid consumption.

Double-blind trial of feprazone and phenylbutazone in acute gout.

A double-blind trial was carried out in 24 patients with acute gout to compare the efficacy and tolerance of feprazone, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, with that of phenylbutazone. Patients received 800 mg of either drug daily for 2 days and then 600 mg daily for up to 8 days. The results of patient assessment showed there was no significant difference between the two groups in time taken either to significant improvement or to final resolution of the gout attack. No side-effects were reported with either drug.

A double-blind trial of feprazone in osteoarthritis of the hip.

A double-blind crossover study was carried out in 21 patients with osteoarthrosis of the hip to compare the efficacy and tolerance of feprazone (600 mg/day) and ibuprofen (1200 mg/day), each drug being given for 4 weeks. No statistically significant changes were noted in any of the objective parameters measured, but patients' subjective assessments of pain showed a significant improvement in pain levels (p less than or equal to 0.05, day and night) after feprazone. One patient, who had reported a rash at initial assessment, was withdrawn at the end of the first treatment period (on feprazone) when he developed a severe rash, 1 patient was withdrawn because of exacerbation of symptoms (on ibuprofen) and a further patient was lost to follow-up because of intercurrent illness. Both drugs were well tolerated by the other patients and the few side-effects reported were minor in nature.

A monitored-release study of methrazone in general practice.

Methrazone, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, was used on a monitored release study in general practice to treat 2,693 patients with rheumatoid or osteoarthritis. In a dose of 200 mg three times daily, it appeared to produce clear benefit in between 50% and 60% of patients. Adverse reactions such as dyspepsia and skin rash led to the drug being withdrawn in 11% of patients. There were three major adverse reactions possibly due to the drug (haematemesis, rectal bleeding and acute purpura), but no cases of severe leucopenia or thrombocytopenia. Methrazone is a useful anti-inflammatory agent. In particular, it is unlikely to cause interactions with other drugs, including cardiac glycosides such as digoxin.

Miscellaneous rheumatological conditions treated in monitored-release studies with feprazone.

In two monitored-release studies of feprazone (Methrazone), one in hospital and the other in general practice and involving a total of about 4,000 patients, there were 343 patients with a variety of sero-negative rheumatological conditions or soft tissue lesions. The diagnoses included spondylosis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, capsulitis, frozen shoulder, polymyalgia rheumatica and gout. Most of the patients were classified as moderately or severely affected. Feprazone in a dose of 200 mg thrice daily appeared to benefit about 60% of patients during a course of 8 weeks of therapy. No serious adverse reactions directly attributable to the drug were recorded. About 20% of patients stopped treatment because of side-effects, usually gastro-intestinal disturbance or rash. Two patients experienced a marked fall in platelet count which might have been due to the drug, but neither developed any signs of thrombocytopenic purpura.

[Topical treatment of thrombophlebitis with feprazone and benzydamine. Controlled clinical study]. / Trattamento topico delle tromboflebiti con feprazone e benzidamina. Studio clinico controllato

Topical anti-inflammatory management of superficial and deep phlebopathy with feprazone and benzidamine was compared in a double-blind test. Both drugs were active and well tolerated. Significantly less time was needed to obtain a cure with feprazone.

[Use of nimesulide in inflammations of the upper respiratory tract]. / Impiego della nimesulide nelle flogosi delle vie respiratorie superiori.

In a controlled clinical study of 40 patients, aged 18 to 65, suffering from acute inflammatory pathology of the upper respiratory tract or from a chronic form flaring into acute crisis, without any general symptoms of infection, were assigned at random to treatment with nimesulide in tablet form (100 mg x 2/day), or with phenylprenazone in capsules (200 mg x 2/day) for a period of seven days. In both groups a clinically significant reduction of the symptoms was obtained (congestion and edema of the pharyngeal mucosa, cough) as well as an improvement in the values of conductance and MCTt. Epigastralgy was evidenced in three subjects treated with nimesulide and in four treated with phenylprenazone. No significant variations of the laboratory parameters were found in either treatment group.

[Pharmacological and clinical profile of tiaprofenic acid]. / Profilo farmacologico e clinico dell'acido tiaprofenico.

Tiaprofenic acid is a new generation anti-inflammatory drug synthesized to be a valid alternative to both cortisone preparations and other NSADs since it is less toxic yet equally effective. Its anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic activity is due to a particular interference mechanism active in the early phases of the inflammatory process (PG synthesis inhibition, stabilization of lysosomal membranes). Thanks to its good trophism toward tissues in the otolaryngological area and its tolerability this drug would appear particularly suited for the treatment of inflammatory E.N.T. pathologies.

Feprazone compared with indomethacin in the management of rheumatoid arthritis.

A double-blind cross-over trial of feprazone 450 mg daily and indomethacin 75 mg daily was carried out in fourteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity was indistinguishable from that of indomethacin under the conditions of the trial. Seven patients expressed a preference for feprazone and four for indomethacin. Feprazone appeared to be well tolerated and free from serious side-effects. These results suggest that feprazone will be a useful drug in the management of rheumatoid arthritis.