Regadenoson Stress Testing: A Comprehensive Review With a Focused Update.

Regadenoson is a pharmacological stress agent that has been widely used since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2008. For many years, dipyridamole and adenosine, which are non-selective adenosine receptor agonists, were more popular. However, these agents are less preferred now due to their undesirable adverse effects as compared to regadenoson. In the ADVANCE (ADenoscan Versus regAdenosoN Comparative Evaluation) phase 3 clinical trial, regadenoson demonstrated non-inferiority to adenosine for detecting reversible myocardial ischemia. This review summarizes the clinical utilities of regadenoson as the most widely used pharmacological stress agent. Moreover, the use of regadenoson has been documented in specific patient populations. Although regadenoson has established safety and efficacy in most patients with chronic diseases, there are equivocal results in the literature for other chronic diseases. It is warranted to highlight that the use of regadenoson has not been studied in patients of low socioeconomic class; it is a condition that carries a significant burden on the cardiovascular system.

Ivermectin: A Closer Look at a Potential Remedy.

Amid the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, the search for effective treatment and vaccines has been exponentially on the rise. Finding effective treatment has been the core of attention of many scientific reports and antivirals are in the center of those treatments. Numerous antivirals are being studied for the management of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia caused by the SARS-CoV-2. Remdesivir was the first drug to gain emergency FDA approval to be used in COVID-19. Similarly, favipiravir, an anti-influenza drug, is being studied as a potential agent against COVID-19. Contrastingly, hydroxychloroquine has been a controversial drug in the management of COVID-19. Nevertheless, the National Institute of Health (NIH), along with the World Health Organization (WHO), have discontinued clinical trials for hydroxychloroquine as the drug showed little or no survival benefit. Ivermectin, an antihelminthic drug, has shown antiviral properties previously. Additionally, it was described to be effective in vivo against the SARS-CoV-2. However, its survival benefit in patients with COVID-19 has not been documented. We herein propose the theory of inhaled ivermectin which can attain the desired lung concentration that will render it effective against SARS-CoV-2.

Cannabidiol (CBD) for Treatment of Neurofibromatosis-related Pain and Concomitant Mood Disorder: A Case Report.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common genetic disorder. Pain is a major symptom of this disease which can be secondary to the development of plexiform and subcutaneous neurofibromas, musculoskeletal symptoms (such as scoliosis and pseudoarthrosis), and headaches. Visible neurofibromas add significant psychosocial distress for NF1 patients. Along with the chronic pain, psychosocial distress contributes to associated mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Cannabis has been the focus of many studies for treating multiple conditions, including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsonism disease, and many chronic pain conditions. Cannabidiol (CBD) is the major non-psychotropic component of cannabis. CBD has shown anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, as well as having mood stabilizer and anxiolytic effects. In this report, we present the use of cannabidiol (CBD) for the management of chronic pain and concomitant mood disorder in an NF1 patient.