BACKGROUND Epoetin alfa and darbepoetin alfa are erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) indicated for the treatment of anemia in chronic renal failure, including patients on dialysis and patients not on dialysis. Clinical experience demonstrates that the dose conversion ratio (DCR) between epoetin alfa and darbepoetin alfa is nonproportional across the dosing spectrum. However, previous calcu...

Glycogen storage disease type 2, Pompe disease, is a progressive muscle disorder with a wide range of phenotypic presentations, caused by an inherited deficiency of the enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase. Although only a few patients have been treated with recombinant human alpha-glucosidase from rabbit milk since 2004, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with alglucosidase alfa has been licensed for t...

Alginate denotes a group of industrially important 1-4-linked biopolymers composed of the C-5-epimers β-D-mannuronic acid (M) and α-L-guluronic acid (G). The polysaccharide is manufactured from brown algae where it constitutes the main structural cell wall polymer. The physical properties of a given alginate molecule, e.g., gel-strength, water-binding capacity, viscosity and biocompatibility, a...

BACKGROUND Anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often requires treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO). This study investigated the therapeutic equivalence between lyophilized powder and standard liquid EPO alfa by subcutaneous (SC) administration in hemoglobin maintenance among patients on hemodialysis. METHODS This was a single-blinded, randomized, controlled, s...

(/) Neiman RS, Barcos M, Berard C, Bonner H, Mann R, Rydell RE, et al. Granulocytic sarcoma: a clinicopathologic study of 61 biopsied cases. Cancer 1981;48:1426-37. (2) Moore DM, Kalvakolanu DV, Lippman SM, Kavanagh JJ, Hong WK, Borden EC, et al. Retinoic acid and interferon in human cancer: mechanistic and clinical studies. Semin Hematoll994;31:31-7. (3) Adamson PC, Bailey J, Pluda J, Poplack ...

AlgE1, AlgE5 and AlgE6 are members of a family of mannuronan C-5 epimerases encoded by the bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii, and are active in the biosynthesis of alginate, where they catalyse the post-polymerization conversion of beta-D-mannuronic acid (M) residues into alpha-L-guluronic acid residues (G). All enzymes show preference for introducing G-residues neighbouring a pre-existing G. Th...

A BSTRACT Background Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with cirrhosis is difficult to treat. In patients with chronic hepatitis C but without cirrhosis, once-weekly administration of interferon modified by the attachment of a 40-kd branched-chain polyethylene glycol moiety (peginterferon alfa-2a) is more efficacious than a regimen of unmodified interferon. We examined the ef...

BACKGROUND Darbepoetin alfa is an erythropoietic agent with a 3-fold longer elimination half-life than recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo), which allows less frequent dosing. This study investigated the safety and efficacy of darbepoetin alfa for treating anaemia in dialysis patients, using a dosing regimen that was independent of the patient's body weight (unit dosing). METHODS Dialysi...

BACKGROUND An independent meta-analysis of randomized comparative trials of peginterferons alfa-2a and alfa-2b, both combined with ribavirin, analyzed the probability of achieving a sustained virological response (SVR). OBJECTIVE To estimate the long-term cost-effectiveness of treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C with peginterferon alfa-2a (180μg/week) plus ribavirin (800-1200mg/day...

Calcium-induced alginate gel bead (Alg-Ca) coated with an alginate hydrolysate (Alg), e.g. the guluronic acid block (GB) was prepared and the model drug, hydrocortisone release profiles were investigated under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Their molecular weights were one sixth or one tenth that of Alg and the diffraction patterns of the hydrolysates resembled that of Alg. The drug rel...