Drugs

Pinder, R.; Brogden, R.; Speight, T.; Avery, G.

doi: 10.2165/00003495-197713020-00001pmid: 402258

Sodium valproate1 has a broad spectrum of anticonvulsant activity, but is structurally unrelated to conventional antiepileptic drugs. Its proposed mode of action is mediated through effects on the function of brain γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). However, the elevations in brain and cerebellar GABA, and the concomitant reductions in levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate, occur in animals at dose levels which are unlikely to be achieved during the treatment of epileptic patients.

Katz, Michael

doi: 10.2165/00003495-197713020-00002pmid: 319991

This article describes the drugs used in helminthic infections and their therapeutic indications, mode of action, toxicity and other details of each of the recommended drugs, and discusses the nature and treatment of infection by helminths important in human medicine. Infestation due to the roundworms Enterobius vermicularis, Ascaris lumbricoides and the hookworms, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus can all be treated effectively with pyrantel pamoate. For Enterobius vermicularis, however, a newer drug, mebendazole, is equally as effective. The advantage of these drugs in the indicated circumstances is that they can be administered in a single dose. Unfortunately, pyrantel pamoate is not a panacea and in the case of Necator it is not as effective as in the other roundworms. In that situation the use of tetrachlorethylene is preferable. For treatment of Strongyloides stercoralis, an important human parasite, because it can become disseminated and lead to fatal infections in immunoin-competent hosts, the only effective drug is thiabendazole. In treatment of Trichuris trichiura infection, mebendazole, administered over a period of 3 days, is the most effective available drug.

Bailey, Ross

doi: 10.2165/00003495-197713020-00003pmid: 837860

Doherty, James; Kane, J.; Phillips, J.; Adamson, J.

doi: 10.2165/00003495-197713020-00004pmid: 319992

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doi: 10.2165/00003495-197713020-00005pmid: N/A