noscapine and Chronic-Disease

Sequential three-step empirical therapy is useful for the management of chronic cough. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of modified sequential three-step empirical therapy.. Consecutive patients (n = 240) with chronic cough were recruited and randomly assigned to receive modified (modified group) or primary (primary group) sequential three-step empirical therapy. The primary end-point was the overall rate of control of chronic cough. Secondary end-points were the rate of control of chronic cough at each step of therapy, the duration of treatment required, changes in cough symptom score, health-related quality of life and possible adverse effects.. The study was completed by 106 patients in the modified group and 108 patients in the primary group. The overall rate of control of chronic cough was 88.7% in the modified group and 91.7% in the primary group (chi(2) = 0.54, P > 0.05). There were no obvious differences in the rate of control of cough at each step of therapy, the duration of treatment required, patterns of cough symptom scores or improvements in the health-related quality of life between the modified and primary groups. However, the incidence of drowsiness was significantly lower in the modified group than in the primary group (11.7% vs 21.7%, chi(2) = 4.32, P = 0.04).. Modified three-step empirical therapy was as efficacious as primary three-step therapy for chronic cough, but was preferable because it had fewer side-effects.

Topics: Adult; Aminophylline; Antitussive Agents; Budesonide; Cetirizine; Chlorpheniramine; Chronic Disease; Cough; Domperidone; Drug Therapy, Combination; Empirical Research; Humans; Methamphetamine; Middle Aged; Noscapine; Omeprazole; Prednisone; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Sleep Stages; Treatment Outcome

The antitussive effect of several antitussive agents has been objectively evaluated in patients with chronic stable cough due to bronchial carcinoma, pulmonary tuberculosis or chronic obstructive lung disease. The patients received the active antitussive drugs or placebo in a double-blind, randomized crossover design. The preparations were administered at 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. on 7 consecutive nights and no antitussive was given for the following 20 hours. Cough frequency and intensity were recorded from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. The active medications were noscapine (30 mg), dextromethorphan (20 mg), dihydrocodeine (30 mg) and codeine (20, 30 and 60 mg) at 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Cough frequency and intensity were objectively assessed with a pressure transducer placed over the trachea and recorded on a chartrecorder. Statistical analysis was performed with analysis of variance and multiple range testing. Noscapine, dextromethorphan, dihydrocodeine and codeine (60 mg) significantly (p less than 0.001) reduced the cough frequency compared to placebo. They also produced a greater reduction of cough intensity than placebo, codeine (20 mg) and codeine (30 mg) (p less than 0.001). The duration of action of low-dose codeine (6 hours) was unsatisfactory. Subjective preference for dextromethorphan indicates a psychotropic central nervous action of this drug not assessed by the measuring device. Noscapine was equally well tolerated but more neutral psychologically.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antitussive Agents; Bronchitis; Carcinoma, Bronchogenic; Chronic Disease; Clinical Trials as Topic; Codeine; Cough; Dextromethorphan; Double-Blind Method; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Middle Aged; Noscapine; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Asthma; Bronchiectasis; Bronchitis; Chronic Disease; Clinical Trials as Topic; Cough; Drug Evaluation; Drug Tolerance; Female; Guaifenesin; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Noscapine; Placebos; Tuberculosis

Approximately 30 % of epilepsy cases are refractory to current pharmacological treatments through unknown mechanisms. Much work has been done on the role of synaptic components in the pathogenesis of epilepsy, but relatively little attention has been given to the potential role of the microtubules. We investigated the level of microtubule dynamic in 30 human epileptic tissues and two different chronic epilepsy rat models. The administration of microtubule-modulating agent attenuated the progression of chronic epilepsy. By contrast, microtubule-depolymerizing agent aggravated the progression of chronic epilepsy. The electrophysiological index by whole-cell clamp was used to investigate the neuronal excitation and inhibitory synaptic transmission in brain slices after administration of microtubule-modulating agent and microtubule-depolymerizing agent. Interestingly, we found that microtubule-modulating agent significantly increased the frequency of action potential firing in interneurons, and significantly promoted the amplitudes and frequencies of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents. Microtubule-depolymerizing agent had an opposite effect. These findings suggest that modulating hyperdynamic microtubules may take an anti-epileptic effect via postsynaptic mechanisms in interneurons. It could represent a potential pharmacologic target in epilepsy treatment.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Animals; Child; Chronic Disease; Epilepsy; Female; Hippocampus; Humans; Male; Microtubules; Middle Aged; Neocortex; Noscapine; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tubulin Modulators; Young Adult

Topics: Bronchiectasis; Bronchitis; Bronchodilator Agents; Bronchopneumonia; Chronic Disease; Cough; Drug Combinations; Expectorants; Guaifenesin; Humans; Lung Abscess; Lung Neoplasms; Noscapine; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Salicylamides; Suppositories; Tracheitis

Topics: Antitussive Agents; Chronic Disease; Cough; Humans; Lung Diseases; Noscapine