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July 03 Effect of Once Daily Alfuzosin on Urinary Symptoms
DiscussionThe Fifth Consultation on BPH and the latest American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines[4,18,19] indicate that the goal of therapy for LUTS in BPH is to improve symptomatology concomitantly with quality of life. BPH is a chronic disease and patient compliance is important in achieving efficacy of treatment.[18] LUTS are present over 24 hours, and it is possible to obtain good control of symptoms if therapy is maintained for 24 hours.[4,18,19] Otherwise these patients usually prefer non-invasive treatments and specifically pharmacological therapy.[3] The clinical efficacy and safety of a1-blockers in symptomatic patients with BPH is well documented. Different studies demonstrate a rapid improvement in flow rates and a rapid relief of urinary symptoms after treatment with alfuzosin 2.5 or 5mg twice daily.[20-22] Long-term benefits, such as maintenance of symptom relief, reduction in the incidence of acute urinary retention, and a low incidence of sexual and cardiovascular adverse effects, were also demonstrated.[20-22] Recently, a new once-a-day alfuzosin formulation has become available that seems to improve the efficacy and tolerability of the earlier formulation.[4] Van Kerrebroeck et al. demonstrated that alfuzosin 10mg OD is an effective treatment for LUTS and is associated with improvements in symptoms and flow rates for up to 12 months of treatment compared with placebo.[23] The present study confirms the efficacy of alfuzosin in terms of providing symptom relief and improvements in urinary flow parameters. In particular, we observed a significant reduction (39.5%) in urinary symptoms, assessed by I-PSS after a week of treatment with alfuzosin OD. This finding compares well with Djavan and Marberger's investigation of a-blocker efficacy (30-40% reduction in symptoms).[24] Furthermore, while studies have evaluated drug effects on urinary flow rates by means of office uroflowmetry, no previous clinical study has investigated 24-hour efficacy assessed by home-based measurement of maximum flow. Verification of efficacy over 24 hours is important to ensure good patient compliance.[16] Many patients are not able to void at the clinic as they do normally. The patient has to void in an environment that can be very embarrassing and requires a bladder full enough to obtain a representative volume.[25] Variability between consecutive flow measurements may also be found in the clinic. Multiple office samples taken in privacy, at different times of the day when voiding is felt, has also been proposed. Unfortunately, this situation is difficult to accomplish and time consuming. A home uroflowmeter (P-Flow) evaluation as proposed by de La Rosette et al.[16] may provide reliable results. In the present study, home flowmetry showed that alfuzosin 10mg OD produced a significant improvement in terms of Qmax and voiding volume. In particular, it is clinically relevant that alfuzosin 10mg OD led to an improvement in Qmax of 36% after 8 hours and of 33% after 24 hours. These data show that alfuzosin is effective after the first dose and its efficacy is maintained over 24 hours with an improvement in Qmax that compares well with that reported by Djavan and Marberger (16-25%).[24] Our data are also supported by Marks et al.,[26] who demonstrated in a uroflowmetry study a similar Qmax improvement 8 hours after the first dose and after 4 days of treatment using the same OD alfuzosin formulation as in the current study. Geomatrix® technology guarantees a longer median time to Cmax (tmax) values; in fact, these are longer for the OD formulation (4.0-16.0h) than for the 2.5mg three-times-daily or 5mg twice-daily formulations (0.5-1.5h).[27] This evidence demonstrates that alfuzosin OD exhibits a urodynamically measurable effect within hours of the first dose and maintains this level over 24 hours, thus avoiding the necessity to obtain steady state. Improvement in flow rates seems to be related to alfuzosin treatment, and changes in Qmax observed at different evaluations during the same day of treatment should be related to the circadian changes in urinary pattern. Mean Qmax recorded at different times during the day during treatment was always higher than mean Qmax recorded at the same time of day during the baseline assessment in our study. The present study appears to clinically confirm the pharmacokinetic studies of alfuzosin 10mg OD, demonstrating that it ensures 24-hour coverage with a delay in tmax compared with alfuzosin 5mg twice daily.[28] A peak plasma concentration of alfuzosin was observed 8 hours after the administration of alfuzosin 10mg OD compared with after 3 hours for alfuzosin 5mg twice daily.[28] According to the plasma concentration profiles, alfuzosin 10mg OD should be clinically effective over 24 hours as observed in our study by means of improvement in urinary flow rates. Limitations of our study include the small group of patients evaluated. However, it should be taken into account that about 300 urinary flows were analysed and screened for artefacts, and that home flowmetry is a time-consuming procedure not easily performed for a large series of data. Furthermore, the Fifth Consultation on Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia recommends further research into the potential benefits of home flowmetry and into its role in assessing new medical treatment.[29] Printer- Friendly Email This Clin Drug Invest. 2005;25(6):359-365. ©2005 Adis Data Information BV April 13 Acne Vulgaris and Related DisordersLong-term antibiotic use may be complicated by gram-negative folliculitis, in which superficial pustules or nodules develop at the anterior nares and page outward on the face. There have been several instances of self-annihilation and psychological condition occurring in patients receiving oral isotretinoin. Estrogens in the form of oral contraceptives can be beneficial for patients with acne; progestins, however, can exacerbate the statement. A ware of brightness sources have been tested for the tending of acne.
January 29 Finasteride: Oral Therapy Preserves Crowning Glory?Effective therapeutic options for the organization of male plan hair loss are limited. Oral finasteride offers a new glide path to the organization of male decoration hair loss, demonstrating reasonable efficacy and an acceptable tolerability strikingness. The main drawback associated with the use of finasteride is that its beneficial effects are temporary and reorientation within approximately 1 year of playing direction. |
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