Introduction
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. It is a reversible airway obstruction, occurring 8 to 10% of the population worldwide. According to a study in 2005, asthma affects over 15 million Americans, with more than 2 million annual emergency room visits. Asthma patients have a hyper-responsiveness in their airways and generally and increase in their airway smooth muscle cell mass. This hyperplasia is due to the normal response to the injury and repair to the airway caused by exacerbations. The main choice of therapy for asthma patients is β2- adrenergic agonists. Racemic albuterol has been the drug of choice for a short acting bronchodilator for a long time, but since the development of levalbuterol, there is the question of which drug is a better choice for therapy. Efficacy and cost of treatment must both be taken into consideration in each study of these therapies to determine which is best for the treatment of asthma.
Overview
Racemic albuterol is a β2- adrenergic agonist that is a 50:50 mixture of two isomers, (R) albuterol and (S) albuterol. These two isomers are mirror images of each other, and rotate light in opposite directions. (R) Albuterol is an active isomer and in this combination acts an active bronchodilator. The other half of the mixture, (S) albuterol, does not actually possess any bronchodilator activity and was until recently considered an “inactive” distomer or physiologically inert. The “R” stands for rectus or right, while the “S” is for sinister or left. Racemic albuterol was synthesized for maximal airway smooth muscle dilation while minimizing the α- and β1-receptor mediated effects on the cardiovascular system. Levalbuterol is the single (R)-isomer and has a...
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...ospitalized at a total cost of $600,000. The difference of $400,000 saved by treating with levalbuterol makes the extra $5000 spent on the drug seem much less in comparison.
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Antiarrhythmic agents are used to suppress abnormal rhythms of the heart. Many attempts have been made to classify antiarrhythmic agents. There is a problem from the fact that many of the antiarrhythmic agents have multiple actions, making any classification accurate. Betapace (sotalol) comes in tablets and solution for oral a...
In the article "The Effect of Theophylline and ß2 agonists on Airway Reactivity" it says that more airway responsiveness occurs in asthma, chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, and other diseases. Theophylline and ß2 agonists are used commonly for maintenance therapy for symptoms associated with the increased responsiveness. Both can reduce airway responsiveness to a variety of chemical irritants.. (Ahrens 15S)
Ventolin is a brand name of the drug albuterol sulfate HFA, and its generic name is adrenergic bronchodilator. It is mostly taken as an inhalator, but can also be taken as tablets or syrup. It treats the symptoms of bronchospasms.
Mrs. Jones has a history of COPD. She was already taking albuterol for her illness and it was ineffective when she took it that day. Mrs. Jones had been a smoker but had quit several years ago. According to Chojnowski (2003), smoking is a major causative factor in the development of COPD. Mrs. Jones's primary provider stated that she had a mixed type of COPD. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) was established to address the growing problem of COPD. The GOLD standards identify three conditions that contribute to the structural changes found in COPD: Chronic bronchiolitis, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. A mixed diagnosis means that the patient has a combination of these conditions (D., Chojnowski, 2003). Mrs. Jones chronically displayed the characteristic symptoms of COPD. "The characteristic symptoms are cough, sputum production, dyspnea on exertion, and decreased exercise tolerance." (D., Chojnowski, 2003, p. 27).
asthma and lung cancer, the study of its effects on lung development are quite limited; consequently, there
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Lipid altering drugs include several classes of medications each of which have their own mechanism of action. Statins inhibit HMG CoA reductase (hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase), which is the rate-limiting enzyme for the production of cholesterol in the liver. Statins competitively inhibit this enzyme and induce an increased expression of LDL receptors in the liver. Which in turn increases the uptake catabolism of serum LDL into the liver resulting in decreased serum cholesterol level. This reduction in serum LDL and cholesterol levels has resulted in reduction of 10-year CHD and stroke risk. Pitavastatin was approved in Japan since 2003 and was granted FDA approval in 2009 and is marketed under the name of Livalo. Several phase III and IV trials have shown that Pitavastatin is both safe and efficacious in lowering both serum LDL and Triglycerides (TG) by 29.1% and 22.7% respectively from baseline levels which was significant. These studies showed that only 10% of Pitavastatin treated patients had adverse events (AE) in which 84% of these events were mild and about 1% were serious adverse events (SAE)6, 12, 14, 16-26, 28-31. Atorvastatin is the most commonly used statin in clinical practice; the F...
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Asthma is chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by recurring episodes of wheeling and breathlessness. It often exists with allergies and can be worsened through exposure to allergens. In fact, asthma is complicated syndromes that have neither single definition nor complete explanation to the point. In light of its treatment, it is worthwhile to notice that asthma cannot be cured, instead can be only managed by avoiding exposure to allergens and/or by using medications regularly.
Most of you may not think of asthma as a killer disease, yet more that 5,000 Americans die of asthma each year. According to the Mayo Clinic web page, asthma also accounts for more that 400,000 hospital discharges annually. As the number of people with asthma increases, the more likely you are to come in contact with a person who has the disease. As far as I can remember, I have had asthma my whole life. My mother and one of my sisters also have asthma, so I have a first hand experience with it. This morning, I will discuss some interesting facts about asthma, I will specifically focus on what it is, warning signs, symptoms, causes, and the treatments that are used.
Even though there is no cure for asthma, there are two main types of medication used for the treatment of it. The first is long term medication that aids in decreasing the inflammation of a person’s airways and also serves as a preventative measure for symptoms and asthma attacks. These medicines are usually anti-inflammatory drugs that are taken daily to reduce future symptoms, but do not act as a quick fix...