integrativepharm.com

New Revisions to the Book

Dr. Greg Sperber — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:44:23 +0000

It has been quite a while since I posted anything and almost a year since I put up the last revisions to the book. So without further ado, more revisions:

Change TOC: Chapter 6, Section 13, should be Drugs Used To Treat Sickle Cell Disease

Change table of contents: Chapter 7. Drugs Affecting the Endocrine System

p. 6: Figure 2.1: title on y axis should read: (mg/mL)

p.10 Paragraph 3 under Phase II: “The juice will induce CYP to metabolize the drug and speed elimination, ultimately decreasing the drug’s effectiveness.” Should be changed to: “The juice will inhibit CYP, slowing both the metabolism of the drug and its elimination, potentially increasing the drug’s effective dose.”

p. 18: the last word in the CL entry should read “body” not blood

p.32: under number 7, line 5, “blnd” should read “bland,” second to last line should read “bland diet”

p. 40: neostigmine should be listed before pyridostigmine in box

p. 42:homatropine is a ophthalmic agent and should be erased from the box and the book

p. 42: Ipratropium should be added to gray box.

p. 45: Add Combivent brand name to Albuterol. A footnote should read “Combination of Albuterol and Ipratropium”

p. 46 In figure 4.5, the shaded circle in the middle should say norepinephrine not dopamine

p. 50: methylphenidate should be in all caps

p. 67: Please add to drug box before Bromocriptine: Apomorphine [SubQ] (a poe MOR feen) (Apokyn®)

p.67: Remove Pergolide from drug box as it is now discontinued

p.72: Add before first complete paragraph: Apomorphine requires the use of an antiemetic before dosing. However, serotonin antagonists should not be used in this capacity as they may cause severe hypotension when combined.

p. 72: Before last paragraph and “Vitamin” heading: add heading “Other” and under it: Levodopa may cause false positives or negatives for glucose and/ketones on some urinary dipstick tests.

P. 73 Change LunestaTM under Eszopiclone to Lunesta^TM and make sure it is added to brand name and general indexes

P. 91. In shaded box, 2^nd line should say serotonin, not serotnin

p.96 last paragraph on left side of page (under MOA): there should be either an alpha symbol or the word alpha before the -2-adrenergic

p. 98 Wellbutrin XLTM should be Wellbutrin XL^TM

p. 106: In drug box: Aripipazole should be Aripiprazole

p.106: In box, TM after Symbyax and Consta should be changed to ®

p. 117: Acid should be all caps under Valproic Acid

p. 164: Under Amlodipine, Lotrel should have a footnote just like Benazepril on page 128

p.164 Under Amlodipine, Caduet should have footnote 21

p. 180: Section title should be Drugs Used To Treat Sickle Cell Disease.

p. 196: Eliminate the whole function section, it is a repeat of what is on p. 194

p. 212: Fluticasone should have Advair Diskus® as a brand name with a footnote the same as Chapter 4, footnote 8

p.221: In drug box under beta 2 adrenergic agonists, should say chapter 4, section 4

On page 225 in the eosinophil pull quote: change “thay” on last line to “they”

Page 287: Stevens-Johnson…change colon at end of first sentence to a period.

p. 288: Under Emtriciticabine, Atripla should have footnote 16

p. 288: Under Emtriciticabine, Truvada should have footnote 17

p. 288: Under Ritonavir, Kaletra should have footnote 19

p. 314: 1^st paragraph, 2^nd to last sentence, remove comma between “treating, a large”

P. 326: In pull quote Cystinuria: add “in the urine” to the end

p. 331: figure 11.4 hard to read, should be much larger, probably the width of the page

p. 335: 1^st column under function, 1^st paragraph 2nd to last sentence should read “up to 36 hours”

p.337: 1^st column, 1^st paragraph, last sentence decreased should be increased

p.387: the last word in the CL entry should read “body” not blood

p.395: CL entry should be changed to Clearance (CL) and the last word should read “body” not blood

p.396 enteral should read “drugs that are oral or rectal in administration”

p.398 in vitro should read “within glass”

p398. In vivo should read “within life”

p.399. parenteral should end after “injections” and “and inhaled agents” should be erased

p.399. very last sentence under pH first word should be “acidic”

Red Yeast Rice considered dangerous by FDA

Dr. Greg Sperber — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 07:09:25 +0000

The FDA has released a warning that the use of red yeast rice (also known as red rice yeast, by its latin name, Monascus purpureus, or by its Chinese name, Hong Qu) may pose a hazard to patients. Their rarionale is that it contains several varieties of HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, also known as statins. They consider this an adulteration of an herbal supplement by a pharmaceutical drug.

The facts are that red yeast rice is a staple of the Chinese diet and has been consumed in considerable quantities for millenia. Without harm. There is no “adulteration;” the entire class of statin drugs was discovered by research on red yeast rice. In other words, a scientist studying red yeast rice discovered lovastatin and with refining and more research, it was approved for treating cholesterol. Now, the FDA has sent warning letters to manufacturers who process and bottle red yeast rice demanding they cease selling it.

Of course this is not to say that red yeast rice is completely harmless, but all herbs have warnings and risks. For more info check out the following websites:

Chinese red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) for primary hyperlipidemia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Mayo Clinic

Medicinenet

WebMD

Omeprazole & Esomeprazole do not increase risks of heart disease

Dr. Greg Sperber — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 06:36:46 +0000

Preliminary findings from a review of safety data found that Omeprazole (Prilosec and Zegerid) and Esomeprazole (Nexium) may have increased the risk of heart problems. Further review indicated that there is no substantial increase in heart problems when these medicines are used long term. This interpretation is based on two small long-term studies and further research may change this interpretation. Both of these agents are proton pump inhibitors which help reduce stomach acid in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and peptic ulcer disease (PUD).

FDA Release

Carbamazepine may cause fatal disease in certain individuals

Dr. Greg Sperber — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 06:26:30 +0000

Carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol) may cause fatal skin reactions, such as Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysism, in certain individuals. These individuals have a particular gene that is more common in individuals of Asian descent. The gene can be screened for and patients with gene are advised not to intiate drug therapy as the risks outweigh the benefits. Carbamazepine is used to treat epilepsy.

FDA Release

Book Errata

Dr. Greg Sperber — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:05:52 +0000

Here is the first list of errata for the book. They are all small typos but could have some impact on the book’s use.

Lunesta was not included in either the brand name index or the general index of the book. It is found on page 73.

p. vi: Chapter 6, Section 13, should be Drugs Used To Treat Sickle Cell Disease

p. vi: Chapter 7. Drugs Affecting the Endocrine System

p. 6: Figure 2.1: title on y axis should read: (mg/mL)

p. 18: the last word in the CL entry should read “body” not blood

p.32: under number 7, line 5, “blnd” should read “bland,” second to last line should read “bland diet”

p.96 last paragraph on left side of page (under MOA): there should be either an alpha symbol or the word alpha before the -2-adrenergic

p. 180: Section title should be Drugs Used To Treat Sickle Cell Disease.

p.221: In drug box under beta 2 adrenergic agonists, should say chapter 4, section 4

P. 326: In pull quote Cystinuria: add “in the urine” to the end

p. 335: 1^st column under function, 1^st paragraph s2nd to last sentence should read “up to 36 hours”

p.387: the last word in the CL entry should read “body” not blood

p.395: CL entry should be changed to Clearance (CL) and the last word should read “body” not blood

p.396 enteral should read “drugs that are oral or rectal in administration”

p.398 in vitro should read “within glass”

p398. In vivo should read “within life”

p.399. parenteral should end after “injections” and “and inhaled agents” should be erased

It’s Out!

Dr. Greg Sperber — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:01:28 +0000

The book has been out for a little while now, officially from early November. For more information and a few sample chapters go to my publisher’s Blue Poppy’s Website.

Welcome to integrativepharm.com

Dr. Greg Sperber — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 06:25:21 +0000

Thanks for checking this site out. We are actively working to get a database together of drug herb interactions where anyone can enter either a pharmaceutical drug, drug class, herb, or herb category and get a list of drug herb interactions with references and levels of evidence. This site stems from the book Integrated Pharmacology, Combining Modern Pharmacology and Chinese Medicine. That means that we be posting errata, changes, and upcoming additions to the book. We are also dedicated to posting breaking news in both the herb and pharmaceutical industries. Pretty ambitious…