scholarly journals The Efficacy and Safety of Multiple Dose Regimens of Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) Root Extract on Bone and Cartilage Turnover and Menopausal Symptoms

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asger Reinstrup Bihlet ◽  
Inger Byrjalsen ◽  
Jeppe Ragnar Andersen ◽  
Simone Faurholt Simonsen ◽  
Kamilla Mundbjerg ◽  
...  

Background: Menopause is associated with detrimental changes in turnover of bone and cartilage and a variety of symptoms with negative impact on the quality of life. Naturally occurring isoflavones from Radix Pueraria lobata, Kudzu root, may possess chondroprotective and symptom-relieving properties, but efficacy and safety of dosing and dose frequencies required for pharmacological action is unclear.Purpose: This clinical trial evaluates the efficacy on bone and cartilage turnover, menopausal symptoms, and safety of five dose regimens of Kudzu root extract administered either once, twice or three times daily in women with at least mild menopausal symptoms.Materials and Methods: Fifty postmenopausal women were randomized equally into five different dose regimen groups of Kudzu root extract in a four-week, parallel group, open-label, single-center, exploratory study design. Biomarkers CTX-I and CTX-II reflecting bone and cartilage degradation, respectively, were assessed in blood samples and 24-h urine samples. Change from baseline in the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and subscales was evaluated. Safety endpoints were frequency of adverse events, changes in hematology and safety chemistry data, vital signs and electrocardiogram.Results: Fifty women (Age 54.2 years, SD: 2.9) were randomized. After 4 weeks of treatment, biomarkers of bone resorption and cartilage degradation were statistically significantly reduced from baseline levels in the group receiving two capsules three times a day, serum/urine CTX-I (−18.4%, 95% CI: −8.1 to −27.5, p = 0.001/−34.2%, 95% CI: −21.6 to −44.7, p < 0.0001), urine CTX-II (−17.4% 95% CI: −2.5 to −30.0, p = 0.02). The observed effects were consistent across study groups but appeared to favour three times daily dosing. Four weeks of treatment led to statistically significant reductions in the MRS Total Score (p < 0.0001–0.03) in four out of five treatment groups. Kudzu root extract was well tolerated in all dose regimens, and no serious adverse events were reported.Conclusion: The results indicate that Kudzu extract may possess beneficial effects on bone and cartilage health and may be a promising natural alternative to existing treatments for menopausal symptoms. Kudzu root extract was well tolerated for short-term treatment of mild to severe menopausal symptoms in women in all tested doses and dose frequencies.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Reetz ◽  
◽  
Ralf-Dieter Hilgers ◽  
Susanne Isfort ◽  
Marc Dohmen ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Currently, no treatment that delays with the progression of Friedreich ataxia is available. In the majority of patients Friedreich ataxia is caused by homozygous pathological expansion of GAA repeats in the first intron of the FXN gene. Nicotinamide acts as a histone deacetylase inhibitor. Dose escalation studies have shown, that short term treatment with dosages of up to 4 g/day increase the expression of FXN mRNA and frataxin protein up to the levels of asymptomatic heterozygous gene carriers. The long-term effects and the effects on clinical endpoints, activities of daily living and quality of life are unknown. Methods The aim of the NICOFA study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of nicotinamide for the treatment of Friedreich ataxia over 24 months. An open-label dose adjustment wash-in period with nicotinamide (phase A: weeks 1–4) to the individually highest tolerated dose of 2–4 g nicotinamide/day will be followed by a 2 (nicotinamide group): 1 (placebo group) randomization (phase B: weeks 5–104). In the nicotinamide group, patients will continue with their individually highest tolerated dose between 2 and 4 g/d per os once daily and the placebo group patients will be receiving matching placebo. Safety assessments will consist of monitoring and recording of all adverse events and serious adverse events, regular monitoring of haematology, blood chemistry and urine values, regular measurement of vital signs and the performance of physical examinations including cardiological signs. The primary outcome is the change in the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) over time as compared with placebo in patients with Friedreich ataxia based on the linear mixed effect model (LMEM) model. Secondary endpoints are measures of quality of life, functional motor and cognitive measures, clinician’s and patient’s global impression-change scales as well as the up-regulation of the frataxin protein level, safety and survival/death. Perspective The NICOFA study represents one of the first attempts to assess the clinical efficacy of an epigenetic therapeutic intervention for this disease and will provide evidence of possible disease modifying effects of nicotinamide treatment in patients with Friedreich ataxia. Trial registration EudraCT-No.: 2017-002163-17, ClinicalTrials.govNCT03761511.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Jignesh Shah ◽  
Sonia Chandanani ◽  
Jayanthi Reddy ◽  
Hepzibah Kirubamani ◽  
ArunMadhab Boruah ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Michał Szulc ◽  
Radosław Kujawski ◽  
Justyna Baraniak ◽  
Małgorzata Kania-Dobrowolska ◽  
Ewa Kamińska ◽  
...  

The study was carried out on alcohol-preferring male Wistar rats. The following drugs were repeatedly (28×) administered: acamprosate (500 mg/kg, p.o.), naltrexone (0.1 mg/kg, i.p), and Pueraria lobata (kudzu) root extract (KU) (500 mg/kg, p.o.) and its isoflavones: daidzin (40 mg/kg, p.o.) and puerarin (150 mg/kg, p.o.). Their effects on a voluntary alcohol intake were assessed. KU and alcohol were also given for 9 days in an experiment on alcohol tolerance development. Finally, total and active ghrelin levels in peripheral blood serum were measured by ELISA method. Acamprosate, naltrexone, daidzin, and puerarin, reducing the alcohol intake, caused an increase in both forms of ghrelin levels. On the contrary, though KU inhibited the alcohol intake and alcohol tolerance development, it reduced ghrelin levels in alcohol-preferring rats. The changes of ghrelin concentration could play a role as an indicator of the currently used drugs. The other effect on the KU-induced shift in ghrelin levels in the presence of alcohol requires further detailed study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Bai ◽  
Gang Gang Li ◽  
Qingmin Liu ◽  
Xinwu Niu ◽  
Ruilian Li ◽  
...  

Background. The role of interleukin-12 (IL-12), interleukin-23 (IL-23), and interleukin-17 (IL-17) has been recognized in psoriasis pathogenesis, and new drugs targeting this axis have already been developed which may provide a new therapeutic approach for patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. Objective. To compare the direct and indirect evidences of the efficacy and safety of brodalumab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, ustekinumab, guselkumab, tildrakizumab, and risankizumab in the short-term treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis using network meta-analysis (NMA). Methods. A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for the available relevant studies. NMA was conducted by Stata 15.0 software using relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence interval to assess the clinical effectiveness and safety. Ranked the efficacy and safety for each drug accordance with the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Results. This meta-analysis included 28 studies. All the interventions performed better than placebo in short-term achievement. Based on the result of SUCRA, ixekizumab 80 mg every 2 weeks ranked the highest in short-term achievement of PASI 75 (SUCRA = 93.0%). Brodalumab 210 mg ranked the highest in short-term achievement of PASI 100 (SUCRA = 85.0%). Secukinumab 300 mg ranked the highest in short-term achievement of sPGA 0/1 or IGA 0/1 or PGA 0/1 (SUCRA = 98.1%). In terms of having a risk of adverse events, the rates were higher in brodalumab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, and ustekinumab 45 mg compared with placebo. Ixekizumab 80 mg every 4 weeks ranked the highest in the risk of adverse events during short-term treatment (SUCRA = 4.5%). Guselkumab 50 mg ranked the highest in the risk of serious adverse events during short-term treatment (SUCRA = 25.9%). Ixekizumab 80 mg every 4 weeks ranked the highest in the risk of discontinuations due to adverse events during short-ter treatment (SUCRA = 10.7%). Conclusions. IL-17, IL-12/23, and IL-23 inhibitors had high efficacy in the achievement of PASI 75, PASI 100, and sPGA 0/1 or IGA 0/1 or PGA 0/1 in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis after 12 or 16 weeks of treatment. IL-17 inhibitors showed superior efficacy. However, its clinical safety was poor. Risankizumab appeared to have relatively high efficacy and low risk. The clinical tolerance of other biological agents needs to be further observed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing-Di Yan ◽  
Xiao-Feng Cong ◽  
Sha-Sha Zhao ◽  
Meng Ren ◽  
Zi-Ling Liu ◽  
...  

Background and Objective: We performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of antigen-specific immunotherapy (Belagenpumatucel-L, MAGE-A3, L-BLP25, and TG4010) in the treatment of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). </P><P> Methods: A comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science was conducted. Eligible studies were clinical trials of patients with NSCLC who received the antigenspecific immunotherapy. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS). Pooled risk ratios (RRs) were calculated for overall response rate (ORR) and the incidence of adverse events. </P><P> Results: In total, six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 4,806 patients were included. Pooled results showed that, antigen-specific immunotherapy did not significantly prolong OS (HR=0.92, 95%CI: 0.83, 1.01; P=0.087) and PFS (HR=0.93, 95%CI: 0.85, 1.01; P=0.088), but improved ORR (RR=1.72, 95%CI: 1.11, 2.68; P=0.016). Subgroup analysis based on treatment agents showed that, tecemotide was associated with a significant improvement in OS (HR=0.85, 95%CI: 0.74, 0.99; P=0.03) and PFS (HR=0.70, 95%CI: 0.49, 0.99, P=0.044); TG4010 was associated with an improvement in PFS (HR=0.87, 95%CI: 0.75, 1.00, P=0.058). In addition, NSCLC patients who were treated with antigen-specific immunotherapy exhibited a significantly higher incidence of adverse events than those treated with other treatments (RR=1.11, 95%CI: 1.00, 1.24; P=0.046). </P><P> Conclusion: Our study demonstrated the clinical survival benefits of tecemotide and TG4010 in the treatment of NSCLC. However, these evidence might be limited by potential biases. Therefore, further well-conducted, large-scale RCTs are needed to verify our findings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingxia Wang ◽  
Guanqi Wang ◽  
Haiyan Ma ◽  
Baoen Shan

Introduction: Crizotinib was approved to treat anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)- positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by the Food and Drug Administration in 2011.We conducted a systematic review of clinical trials and retrospective studies to compare the efficacy and safety of crizotinib with chemotherapy. </P><P> Methods: We searched electronic databases from inception to Dec. 2016. Clinical trials and retrospective studies regarding crizotinib and crizotinib versus chemotherapy in treatment of NSCLC were eligible. The primary outcomes were the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). Results: Nine studies (five clinical trials and four retrospective studies) including 729 patients met the inclusion criteria. Crizotinib treatment revealed 1-year OS of 77.1% and PFS of 9.17 months. And crizotinib had a better performance than chemotherapy in ORR (OR: 4.97, 95%CI: 3.16 to 7.83, P<0.00001, I2=35%). DCR revealed superiority with crizotinib than chemotherapy (OR: 3.42, 95% CI: 2.33 to 5.01, P<0.00001, I2=0%). PR (partial response) were significant superior to that of chemotherapy through direct systematic review. No statistically significant difference in CR (complete response) was found between crizotinib-treated group and chemotherapy-treated group. Regarding SD (stable disease), chemotherapy-treated group had a better performance than crizotinib-treated group. Common adverse events associated with crizotinib were visual disorder, gastrointestinal side effects, and elevated liver aminotransferase levels, whereas common adverse events with chemotherapy were fatigue, nausea, and hematologic toxicity. This systematic review revealed improved objective response rate and increased disease control rate in crizotinib group comparing with chemotherapy group. Crizotinib treatment would be a favorable treatment option for patients with ALK-positive NSCLC. ALK inhibitors may have future potential applications in other cancers driven by ALK or c-MET gene mutations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Shehab ◽  
Asim Ahmed Elnour ◽  
Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula ◽  
Joseph Pulavelil Kurian ◽  
Gazi Hassan ◽  
...  

Aims: We aim to investigate the efficacy and safety of pitavastatin 4 mg in a population of people living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Background: Pitavastatin is a member of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors family which was approved for use in adult subjects with primary hyperlipidemia or mixed dyslipidemia. To date, no published studies have assessed the efficacy and safety of pitavastatin in the United Arab Emirates. Objective: The main objective of the current study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of pitavastatin in subjects with dyslipidemia for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases based on total cardiovascular risk. Methods: This was a multicentre (four private hospitals) prospective cohort study to analyze data on the use of pitavastatin for dyslipidemia in adult outpatients in Abu Dhabi and Dubai emirates, United Arab Emirates. We have followed-up the clinical profiles of subjects in four hospitals for six-weeks during the period from June 2015 to June 2017. Efficacy was based on the evaluation of the mean (± standard deviation) change in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol between baseline and week six after the initiation of pitavastatin therapy. Safety was reported as the incidence of adverse events occurred with the use of pitavastatin and the development of new-onset diabetes. Results: A total of 400 subjects who were receiving pitavastatin 4 mg were included. The mean age of subjects was 50.7 ±10.8 years, of these 79.0% were males. At the baseline, the mean level of total cholesterol was 185.4 ±41.5 mg/dL, low density lipoprotein was 154.9 ±48.55 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 40.5 ±11.23 mg/dL and fasting blood glucose was 115.0 (±16.63) mg/dl. At the end of six weeks, low density lipoprotein levels significantly decreased to 112.09 ±41.90 mg/dl (standard mean difference [SMD] (-42.8%), 95% CI: -42.88 [-49.17 to -36.58] mg/dl, P <0.001), while high density lipoprotein levels improved (SMD, 95% CI: 1.77% [0.25 to 3.28] mg/dl, P <0.022). There were 55 subjects (13.7%) reported various adverse events such as myalgia (7.5%), sleep disorders (2.5%), and myopathy (2.2%). Furthermore, 4 (1.0%) have had developed new-onset diabetes post six-weeks of initiation of pitavastatin therapy. Conclusion: Pitavastatin 4 mg had howed robust efficacy in reducing LDL-C levels and improving HDL-C levels in subjects with dyslipidemias. The use of pitavastatin was associated with a low discontinuation rate, fewer adverse events, and very limited cases of new-onset diabetes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammed Rashid ◽  
Madhan Ramesh ◽  
K. Shamshavali ◽  
Amit Dang ◽  
Himanshu Patel ◽  
...  

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the sixth primary cause of cancer death. However, conflicts are present about the efficacy and safety of Non-steroidal anti-androgens (NSAA) for its treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of NSAAs versus any comparator for the treatment of advanced or metastatic PCa (mPCa). Methodology: MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library were searched. References of included studies and clinicaltrials.gov were also searched for relevant studies. Only English language studies after 1990 were considered for review. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the efficacy and safety of NSAAs as compared with any other comparator including surgery or chemotherapy in mPCa patients were included. The outcomes include efficacy, safety and the tolerability of the treatment. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool was used for quality assessment. Two authors were independently involved in the selection, extraction and quality assessment of included studies and disagreements were resolved by discussion or by consulting a third reviewer. Results: Fifty-eight out of 1307 non-duplicate RCTs with 29154 patients were considered for the review. NSAA showed significantly better progression-free survival [PFS] (Hazard ratio [HR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46-0.78; P=0.0001), time to distant metastasis or death [TTD] (HR, 0.80; 95% CI 0.73-0.91; p<0.0001), objective response (Odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% CI 1.06-2.54; P=0.03) and clinical benefits (OR, 1.33; 95% CI 1.08-1.63; P=0.006) as compared to the control group. There was no significant difference observed between the groups in terms of overall survival (HR, 0.95; 95%CI, 0.87-1.03; P=0.18) and time to progression (HR, 0.93; 95% CI 0.77-1.11; P=0.43). Treatment-related adverse events were more with the NSAA group, but the discontinuation due to lack of efficacy reason was 43% significantly lesser than the control group in patients with mPCa. Rest of the outcomes were appeared to be non-significant. Conclusion: Treatment with NSAA was appeared to be better efficacious with respect to PFS, TTD, and response rate with considerable adverse events when compared to the control group in patients with metastatic PCa.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document