Known as the “pregnancy mask,” over six million Americans are impacted by hormonally induced melasma every year, making it one of the most common skin concerns in the United States. Affecting female patients in 90% of cases, melasma appears in large, dense patches of pigmentation, usually on the malar, mandibular and centrofacial areas of the face. Although melasma can affect anyone, it tends t...

Pharmacokinetics The pharmacological treatment of the elderly differs from that of younger patients, mainly because of altered pharmacokinetics and the higher proportion of patients with organic disorders. Pharmacokinetics describes the way in which drugs reach their target tissues. Absorption Absorption is not grossly affected in the elderly although there are reductions in gastric pH, area of...

Osteoporosis is a major health problem that affects 4 to 6 million women and 1 to 2 million men in the US, with an even larger number of individuals having osteopenia or decreased bone mineral density (BMD) (1). The most significant consequence of osteoporosis is osteoporotic fractures, which in 1995 resulted in health care expenditures in the US of $13.8 billion (2). Consequently, the preventi...

Anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) is effective in the prevention and treatment of thrombotic complications in many clinical conditions, including atrial fibrillation (that represents today the most frequent indication for anticoagulant treatment), venous thromboembolism, acute coronary syndromes and after invasive cardiac procedures. Bleeding is the most important complication o...

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