RESUMEN
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In April 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a first-in-class atypical antipsychotic medication called pimavanserin for the treatment of Parkinson disease psychosis (PDP). We aim to inform readers about its indications, effectiveness, and safety profile. RECENT FINDINGS: Pimavanserin acts as an inverse agonist at serotonin 5-HT2A receptors and has negligible effects on other receptors, thereby avoiding the D2 receptor antagonism that can potentially worsen motor symptoms. Its FDA approval was based primarily on the results of a single randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. SUMMARY: While pimavanserin appears to be a safe, effective, and well-tolerated therapeutic option for PDP, additional clinical trials and open-label extension studies are needed to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of this promising therapy. In the meantime, prescribers need to be aware of the possible adverse effects of pimavanserin including QT interval prolongation and a potential to cause a paradoxical worsening of symptoms.
RESUMEN
A retrospective cohort study of children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and strokes was used to test the hypothesis that exchange transfusion at the time of stroke presentation more effectively prevents second strokes than does simple transfusion. Children receiving simple transfusion had a 5-fold greater relative risk (95% confidence interval = 1.3 to 18.6) of second stroke than those receiving exchange transfusion.
Asunto(s)
Anemia de Células Falciformes/complicaciones , Anemia de Células Falciformes/terapia , Recambio Total de Sangre , Accidente Cerebrovascular/terapia , Adolescente , Transfusión Sanguínea , Niño , Preescolar , Supervivencia sin Enfermedad , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Recurrencia , Estudios Retrospectivos , Medición de Riesgo , Factores de Riesgo , Accidente Cerebrovascular/etiología , Accidente Cerebrovascular/prevención & control , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that children with sickle cell disease (SCD) who have an initial stroke temporally unrelated to another medical event are at higher risk for recurrent stroke than are children who had strokes temporally related to medical events. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of children with SCD and stroke who received regularly scheduled blood transfusions for a minimum of 5 years was conducted. Medical records were examined for the documentation of antecedent or concurrent medical events (hypertension, acute chest syndrome, aplastic crisis, fever associated with infection, exchange transfusion) associated with physician contact within 14 days before the initial stroke. RESULTS: A total of 137 pediatric patients from 14 centers were studied. Mean age at first stroke was 6.3 years (1.4 to 14.0 years) with mean follow-up of 10.1 years (5 to 24 years). Thirty-one (22%) patients had a second stroke (2.2 per 100 patient years); 26 patients had an identified medical or concurrent event associated with their initial stroke. None of these patients had recurrent stroke 2 or more years after the initial event. The remaining 111 patients had an ongoing risk of recurrent stroke (1.9 per 100 patient-years) despite long-term transfusions (P =.038). CONCLUSIONS: The absence of an antecedent or concurrent medical event associated with an initial stroke is a major risk factor for subsequent stroke while receiving regular transfusions.